types of nonequivalence

7/28/2019 Types of Nonequivalence

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TYPES OF NONEQUIVALENCE

Prof. univ. dr. Elena

Croitoru


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Culture specific elements

The SL word expresses a concept which isunknown in the TLC; it may refer to a social

custom, a religious belief or a type of food

pr ivacyloneliness;intimacye.g..

ai r ing cupboard


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The SL concept not lexicalized in the

TL

The SL word expresses a concept which is

known in the TC but is not lexicalized :e.g. savoury- tasty; pleasant smelling;

(fig.) agreeable, good

standard ordinary

landsl ide overwhelming majority


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The SL word semantically complex

A single word consisting of a singlemorpheme may express a more complex setof meanings

e.g. polysemy of words

Cunningsly(i ret), artful,shrewd, sharp

(viclean), mischievous (t rengar); smart(detept, iste), skillful(ndemnat ic,pr icepu t, iscu si t); ellegant(elegant,atrgtor)


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SL and TL make different distinctions

in meaning

The TL makes more or fewer distinctions in

meaning than the SL What is relevant in meaning to the SL may

not be so in the TL

e.g. comego

br ing - fetch


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No superordinate in the TL

The TL lacks a superordinate though it has

specific words (hyponyms):e.g. faci l i t ies any equipment, building,

services provided for a particular activity or

purpose


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No TL hyponym (specific term)

Superordinate:house

Specific words: bungalow, cottage, chalet,lodge, hut, mansion, manor, villa, hall

Superordinate:jump

Specific words: leap, vault, spring, bounce,

dive, clear, plunge


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Interpersonal perspective

There are differences in physical or

interpersonal perspective when persons orthings are in relation to one another or to a

place:

e.g. come go

arr ive depart

take br ing

the Romanian equivalentsforgive


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Differences in expressive meaning

A TL word has the same propositional

meaning as the SL word, but it has adifferent expressive meaning

When the TL word is neutral, the translator

may add amodifier or an adverb to make

up for the expressive meaning of the SLword

e.g. batter to beat savagely / ruthlessly


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Differences in form

There is no equivalent in the TL for a particular formin the ST:

e.g. employer/ emp loyeetrainer/ trainee

payer/ payee

conceivableretr ievable

undeniable

dr inkable


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Affixes

Affixes which contribute to evoked meaning

(e.g. by creating buzz words such aswashateria, groceter ia) and those which

convey expressive meaning (journalese,

trans lat ion ese, legalese) are more difficult

to translate by a paraphrase (Baker 1992:24).


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Frequency and purpose of using

specific forms

There is an equivalent in the TL, but there

are differences in its frequency or in thepurpose for which it is used :

e.g. the use ofing to bind clauses


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Loan words in the ST

Used for their prestige value

It is not always possible to find a loanwordin the TL with the same meaning

(e.g. di lettante). If there is an equivalent, it

may miss the stylistic effect.

False friends: words with the same form intwo or more languages but with a different

meaning

types of nonequivalence

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