Nida’s Functional Equivalence Theory and Its Application in Oliver Twist

韩晓双

Abstract：This thesis is based on the English text of Oliver Twist， Chinese translation version of Oliver Twist by Rong Rude and the Nidas theory of functional equivalence. This thesis consists of two chapters. The first chapter presents a concise introduction to Nidas functional equivalence. The second chapter is the main part， selectively analyzing the application of functional equivalence in Oliver Twist and translation skills which verifies the explanatory power of this theory.

Key words：Nida; Dickens; Oliver Twist; functional equivalence

1. An Overview of Nidas Functional Equivalence

Principles of Nidas Functional Equivalence Theory.

1.1 Lexical Level

Lexical equivalence is the fundamental equivalence of Nidas theory. All the passages begin with the word equivalence. Therefore word is the smallest unit of lexical equivalence.

1.2 Syntactic Level

First， English writing pays more attention to the form of one sentence. Second， in English， the open structure is often at the end of one sentence Third， English writers often express the result of one thing before reasons. But in Chinese writing， it is all expressed in a contrary way.

1.3 Text Level

1.3.1 Passage level

The premise of a qualified translation work is the exact comprehension of the context. In English writing， authors pay more heed to subject of the work： whether the passage is written in first person， second person or third person. However， in Chinese， authors lay emphasis on the main idea of the passage， in other words， they will put paragraphs which express the same idea together.

1.3.2 Scene Level

The incisive and distinct understanding of the source language comprised of situation and competence is a decisive step in translating. Because every novel is created in a given circumstance.

1.3.3 Culture Level

Language is the reflection of the culture. For this reason， a truly successful translation is the compound of two different cultures. If the translator neglects the conveyance of socio-culture background， he cannot make the translated text faithful to the original one.

1.4 Stylistic Level

In the literary translation， translators should pay heed to the following three points： （1） Word-for-word translation is inadvisable; （2） One translation style is not acceptable to all genres; （3） Readers of the translated text should be put in the first place.

2. Application of Functional Equivalence Theory

In Oliver Twist.

1. Functional Equivalence on Lexical Level

One of the linguistic beauties of Chinese language is the creating and using of four-character words and duplicating words With the proper use of it， it makes the article short but robust and powerful.

Example：

原文：The master was a fat， healthy man; but he turned very pale. He gazed in stupefied astonishment on small rebel for some seconds. （Chapter Two P12）

译文：大师傅是个健壮的胖子，可是他竟顿时“面色煞白”，“呆若木鸡”。他向这个造反的小家伙“凝视半晌”。

In the short translation，“面色煞白”，“呆若木鸡”and“凝视半晌”are used to show the astonishment of the master.

2. Functional Equivalence on Syntactic Level

2.1 Amplification

In English writing， people will omit something that is considered not as essential as other components in order to make the whole English sentence succinct and compact. But in the following foggy cannot be used to describe the night， and its subject should be the fog.

Example：

This night was dark and foggy. （Chapter Sixteen P105）

2.2 Application of Rhetoric

2.2.1 Simile

The function of using simile is to enrich and color the passage giving the readers a lifelike picture. It is an explicit expression which can be recognized by the word “like” or “as”.

Example：

And his young limbs had wasted away， like those of an old man.（Chapter Seventeen P117）

2.2.2 Irony

Irony makes the simple language bright and colorful. The readers could get deeper impressions on “gloomy” laws. Sleeping is supposed to be the natural and common part of everyday life. But under this circumstance， “law let the paupers go to sleep” is a kind of manifestation which is used to be considered as a praise for the current law that is considerate and generous.

Example：

What a novel illustration of the tender laws of England！ They let the paupers go to sleep. （Chapter Two P10）

3. Functional Equivalence on Text Level

Example：

“This here boy， sir， wot the parish wants to “prentis ，” said Mr. Gamfield.

“Ay， my man，” said the gentleman in the white waistcoat， with a condescending smile.

The use of “my ，sir” is very colloquial and it can be translated into “老兄”， “老弟” or “朋友”. The translator takes the social background into account. In the dialogue， two speakers have differences in identity. The gentleman belongs to the high society. The gentleman cannot address the person from the low society as “老兄”. Therefore ， “朋友”better fits the situation.

4. Functional Equivalence on Stylistic Level

It was true to the writing style of Oliver Twist： they praised kindness and selflessness and they belittled evil and greed. And the syntax of the whole novel was very lengthy and complex including historical and cultural factors which， if not explained clearly， would trigger off misinterpretation.

3. Conclusion

With the method of combining real life examples and theory， the principles of how to use functional equivalence is distinctly and clearly explained. In order to get a qualified and satisfied work， the translators should take lexical， syntactic， text and stylistic equivalence into account. And they should also comply with the following steps. First， translators should study the authors lifetime and his other works which present authors experiences and mental activities in the same period so that they can capture the spiritual essence and writing style of the original one. Second， only by fully understanding the needs of target readers and their cultural attainment， can translators provide readers with the most satisfying translation version. If one literary work is not acceptable to the readers， it is worthless.