From The Functional Equivalence Theory To Talk About The History Of The World Environment Translation Practice

The functional equivalence theory is the core of the famous translation theorist Eugene A.Nida’s theories which requires to reproduce in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language message, first in terms of meaning and second in terms of style. Meanwhile this theory allows certain freedom and flexibility to the interpreters in that adjustment is needed to achieve functional equivalence. In addition, the application of the functional equivalence is studied on lexical level, the syntactic level and so on. The theory is based on Nida’s translation practice of The Bible. It has exerted a tremendous influence on the translation studies not only in western countries but also in Asian countries. When it was first introduced into China, it enjoyed a high reputation. Although, as time went by, it was much challenged and questioned by some of the translation theorists, it is still of great value in terms of its practical contributions. This thesis tries to study and discuss the value of the functional equivalence in guiding translation practice.This thesis is divided into five parts. The first chapter is a brief introduction of the current situation of the research and the significance of this paper. The second chapter briefly introduces the development of the functional equivalence theory and the practice strategies of translation theory. The third chapter analyzes the theory further, taking the author’s practical translation of An Environmental History of the World as a case study, from the aspects of lexical level, syntactic level and so on. Chapter four summarizes chapter two and three, discussing the guiding value of the theory. The last chapter comes to the conclusion that the functional equivalence theory is a feasible translation criterion to guide the practice of translation.