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signs into another, i.e. from verbal art into music, dance, cinema or
painting."
Kelly (1979, p132) maintains that "Dynamic equivalence seeks for
the word of the source text a unit equivalent in communicative effect".
Kelly thus confines the concept of 'translation unit' to the word which
is the minimal unit of translation. We do not translate word by word
simply because languages differ with regard to lexes. To be adequately
translated the source text must be perceived in its entirety.
Perception is a fundamental requisite for dynamic equivalence.
"Modulation and adaptation" says Nida, "are adjustments to language
experience". (1964, p239) The notion of communicative function is
also held by Catford who states that:
"For translation to occur, then both source and target texts
must be relatable to the functionally relevant features of the
situation,.... which are functionally relevant to the
communicative function of the text in that situation." (1965,
p94)
What is functionally relevant, in this sense, is arguable. Catford
proposes that the co-text will provide the translator with information
which will help him to decide on what features can be considered as
functionally relevant to the text in situation.
Equivalence, a much used and abused term in Translation Studies,
does not mean 'sameness' or 'synonymy', for any two texts (ST and TT)
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