constructing pathways to translation - Higher Education Commission

Semantic Fields is that they are not fixed. Semantic Fields are always changing, with
new words and expressions being introduced into the language and others being dropped,
as they become less relevant to the needs of the linguistic community, with the passage
of time and changing experiential needs for expression and communication.
2.6 EQUIVALENCE
Translation is actually the matter of Equivalence, which is being dealt with at the
following six levels and Baker (1992) has been used as an informing source for the
following discussion:
2.6.1 EQUIVALENCE AT WORD LEVEL
Different kinds of non equivalence require different strategies, some very straight
forward, others more involved and difficult to handle. In addition to the nature of nonequivalence,
the context and purpose of translation will often rule out some strategies
and favour others. It is therefore, important to know, at the onset about the common
problems of non equivalence.
2.6.1.1 COMMON PROBLEMS OF NON EQUIVALENCE
The following are some common types of non -equivalence at the word level. The
example for each type is given in chapters 5-8 of the present thesis, with reference to
each novel.
a. Culture specific Concepts:
The Source-Language word may express a concept which is totally unknown in the
Target Language culture. The concept in question may be abstract or concrete, it may
relate to a religious belief, a social custom, or even a type of food.
b. The SL Concept is Not Lexicalized in the TL:
The source language SL word may express a concept which is known in Culture but
simply not lexicalized, that is not ‘allocated’ a target language word to express it.
Landslide has no ready equivalent in many languages, although it simply means
‘overwhelming majority’.
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