Translation Equivalence From The Perspective Of Register Analysis

Translation equivalence has always been one of the central issues in translationtheories. Howevef, scholars have different and even opposing opinions on how translationequivalence should be defined and what significance and value it has in the field of'translation theory and practice, and the debates concemed are still on the move.In this thesis, translation equivalence is intended to seek from the perspective ofregister analysis. Register analysis is one of the most important theories of Halliday'sSystemic Functional Grammar. Such an approach is proved to be effective in dealing withtransIation equivalence in different text tyPes.Based on his register analysis, Halliday insists that the register features of the sourcetext should be reproduced, showing the corresponding field. mode and tenor in the targettext. So far as I am concerned, English and Chinese are culturally distinct andlinguistically remote. The reproduction of the source text registers, therefOre, should' depend on the function, which the source text intends to achieve in the target culture. lnsuch a case, the source text registers may be preserved in the target text when there isuniformity between conventions of texts of different cultures, and the target text registersare also possible to be established fOr the target audience when contradiction existsbett'een them. Moreover, as each of the register planes, field, mode and tenor,corresponds to one of the metafunctions realized by language and exhibited in every texttype. Translation equivalence is expected to be established in terms of the ideational.interpersonal and textual metafunctions.