Linguistic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Linguistic - Essay Example The more these parameters are accurate and effective, the more help they offer in streamlining the process of translation in a convincing way. â€Å"[T]ranslation is the ability to mediate between cultures, to explain one to another; mixed loyalties; the pushes and pulls of the source and target cultures† (Robinson, 1997, p. 222). In order to achieve equivalence in translation, it is imperative that the translation services strike a balance between the culture and language, though it is undoubtedly a difficult task to accomplish. Language and culture both are of extreme significance in the process of translation because of the strong link between the three of them. This is the very reason why different languages not only differ in the ways of expression of ideas, but also vary in the fundamental ideas expressed in them. So different societies speaking different languages tend to visualize and perceive things from different perspectives. According to the Whorfian Hypothesis, â €Å"The relationship between language and culture is that the structure of a language determines the way in which speakers of that language view the world. Different speakers will experience the world differently at the same level in which the languages they speak differ structurally† (Whorf cited in Wardhaugh, 1998, p. 216). ... One category of scholars base the translation on the source oriented theory whereas the other category of scholars place emphasis on the target oriented ideals while translating texts. The second approach is more commonly applied in the contemporary online market in terms of localization and adaptation. There is also a third category of scholars who tend to balance out the faithfulness of text with the accommodation of the targeted audiences. â€Å"W]hen translating, it is important to consider not only the lexical impact on the target language reader, but also the manner in which cultural aspects may be perceived and make translating decisions accordingly† (Burgos and Jaimes, n.d., p. 426). Of the two approaches towards translation, the context oriented approach is more flexible with respect to equivalence as compared to the source oriented approach. Nevertheless, there is lack of convincing grounds for the denial of the significance of equivalence as a concept in the context oriented approach. â€Å"Instead of clarifying that their rather (text-free) context-bound approach by its very nature does not include the concept of equivalence, these theories attempt to deny the nature of translation itself by portraying it as non-equivalence related phenomenon/activity† (Cuellar, n.d.). This is one of the main loopholes in the context-based approach towards translation. Since the process is non-equivalence based, the result is just another kind of language that is plainly an imitation, and cultural adaptation rather than an exact translation of the original language. Theories of Equivalence in Translation Various theories of equivalence have been proposed in the past like the Jakobson’s Equivalence Theory, and Nida’s Equivalence Theory. According to the Jakobson’s