A Review of Western Theory of Translational Equivalence

In the contemporary translation theories, the theory of equivalence has had a great influence upon the field of translation and the teaching of translation. Since 1980's the equivalence theory has been widely analyzed and discussed. Nida (1998) suggests that the purpose of equivalence is to combine language with culture, which has aroused the debate in translation circles. This article is intended, from the diachronical perspective, to review the descriptions of and the reflections on equivalence theory that are held by some western linguists and translation theorists.