Applications Of Functional Equivalence Theory In Literary Translation

Different from traditional translation theory, the Functional Equivalence Theory proposed by Nida focuses its attention on readers’response. By reproducing the source text with appropriate and accurate equivalence in the target language, readers could have a way to experience similar feelings like readers in the source language. If the translation fails to reflect the meaning and form in the source language, instead of adhering to the original form, the translator could make an adjustment in both form and structure in a bid to reach the identity between source text and translation. The purpose of literary translation is to accommodate readers’reading preference and aesthetic perception so that readers can appreciate the translated language just as readers of the original language do. We can find that the functional equivalence theory and literary translation agree with each other in attaching importance to readers’ response. The guidance of functional equivalence theory in literature translation is fully manifested in the case of the E-C translation of "The Man from Mars.""The Man from Mars" is a short story written by the Canadian writer Margaret Atwood. The guidance of Functional Equivalence Theory in its E-C translation can be seen in three ways:First, meaning is superior to form in Functional Equivalence Theory. Polysemy and semantic ambiguity are two pervasive phenomena across this story, their accurate meaning could only be carried out in conjunction with specific context. Second, the translator should take readers’acceptance of the translation into consideration when switching between two linguistic systems. Idioms are employed to adapt to readers’reading habits. Last, translators are released from the bondage of original form and structure and endowed with more freedom on the basis of their fidelity to the original text. By resorting to the strategy of naturalization in handling the vocabulary, long sentences and various figures of speech in this short story, the significance of the functional equivalence theory is demonstrated in the English literature translation.