UNIVERSITY OF GJAKOVA

FACULTY OF PHILOLOGY

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE DEPARTMENT

DIPLOMA PAPER

Translation issues; the case of equivalence

Mentor: Candidate:

Ma.PhD.Lendita Kryeziu Laundresa Qallakaj

Gjakovë, 2017

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Every challenging work needs self-effort as well as the guidance of elders especially of

those who are close to our heart.

There have been many people who have walked alongside me during the last four years.

They have guided me, placed opportunities in front of me and showed me the doors that

might be useful to open. I would like to thank each and every one of them.

First, I would like to express my enormous gratitude to my supervisor Prof. Lendita

Kryeziu as well as other professors of English Language and Literature department who

have been there for me by encouraging and giving me constructive critiques and advices.

A very big thank you must also go to my family, my parents and siblings for always being

there for me by supporting me morally and financially.

I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my friends Fjolla, Mimoza and Violeta. Without

their presence this journey would have seemed a lonely place.

Finally and without hesitation I would like to thank Roland to whom this thesis is

dedicated for always loving me and believing in me. I gratefully thank you.

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Table of contents

1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………..4

1.1. Hypothesis…………………………………………………………………….5

1.2. Hypothetical questions……………………………...………...........................5

1.3. Corpus of the study…………………………………………………………...5

1.4. Aim of the study……………………………………………………………....6

1.5. Methodology of work…....……………………………………..….................6

1.6. Literature review………………………………………..……..………...…...7

2. Translation as a tool of communication……………………………..…...………..7

2.1.The role of context in translation…………………….……………..…..…….9

3. Equivalence………………………………..……………………………..…...…..9

3.1. Word for word or sense for sense…………….………………………..…....11

3.2. Dealing with non-equivalence according to Baker.………….….……..…....13

3.2.1. Equivalence at word level…………………………...……………….13

3.2.2. Equivalence above word level…………...…………………………..15

3.2.3. Grammatical equivalence……………………………………………16

3.2.4. Textual equivalence……………….…………………………………16

3.2.5. Pragmatic equivalence…………………………...………………… 18

3.3. Strategies to achieve equivalence in translation…………...……..……....…18

3.3.1. Synonyms…………………………………...……………..………….18

3.3.2. Borrowings…………………………………………............................19

3.3.3. Omission or deletion…………………………………………….........19

3.3.4. Editing……………………………………………...…..………....…..20

3.3.5. Adaptation………………………………...….……………….......…..20

4. Research……………………………………………….……….………...….........21

4.1. Besa at Lekë Dukagjini‟s Code……………..…………………....……..........21

4.2. Equivalence at King Lear by William Shakespeare……......…………….….22

4.3. Idioms proverbs and their equivalent meaning………................…................24

5. Findings…………………………………………………………………….……..26

6. Conclusion.………………………………………………………… ………….....27

7. References……………………………...…………………………………………28

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1.Introduction

The process of translation is complicated and it must have existed as a communication act

ever since people started to communicate or intercommunicate. Being a difficult process,

translation has always presented problems to the people who dealt with it, to that point

that some texts have been considered as impossible to be translated which then increased

the necessity to use strategies in order to find the nearest equivalent meaning. The term

„equivalence‟ is one of the most problematic and controversial areas in the field of

translation theory, and it refers to the similarity between a word (or expression) in one

language and its translation in another.

Taking into consideration that Albanian and English belong to the Indo-European family

of languages as well as the fact that the links between them have increased during recent

years, the need for a higher level of translators is raised too. Consequently, achieving

equivalence of both form and content from English to Albanian or vise versa is an ideal

and difficult task for a translator, since a translation should convey the spirit and the

manner of the original. Although languages may differ from one another to a greater or

lesser degree, it does not mean that a translation cannot be possible, in other words, that

the translator may face the problem of not finding a translation equivalent. Equivalence in

translation as stated above refers to the similarity between a word (or expression) of a

language and its translation in another, so the corresponding word or expression in

another language. Languages tend to make only those distinctions in meaning which are

relevant to their particular environment, be it physical, historical, political, religious,

cultural, economic, legal, technological, social, or other, thus it is important to transmit

the meaning of the message rather than transmitting the words only. To perform their task

properly translators should undertake some strategies that would facilitate their way to

transmit the meaning of a certain text, expression or word.

Translation itself is a process that “deals with the converting of a message which can be

any of the language functions, be that an opinion, a wish, a feeling, an order, an

instruction, or a request, that was previously expressed in a particular language into an

equal value in another” (Germizaj, 2005:10). Thus, during the translation process,

translators have to translate words, but also the linguistic and emotional context of the

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message, allowing for the fact that a particular language may not have an exact match for

a certain action or object that exists in another language. Therefore, translators may face

various difficulties because while translating particular information a translator tries to

obtain the nearest natural equivalent, which is a relative and not an absolute equivalent of

the original message.

1.1. Hypothesis

Being a necessary tool in translation, equivalence in English and Albanian should be

achieved based on the context rather than word-for-word translation.

1.2.Hypothetical questions

1.What is the importance of equivalence in translation?

2.Is it possible to translate in the absence of equivalence?

3.What are the strategies used by translators to solve the non-equivalence problems, how

does this issue stand in both languages, Albanian and English?

1.3. Corpus of the study

With the intention of creating a reliable study regarding equivalence in both languages

(English and Albanian) all the necessary information was taken from English and

Albanian books which convey the needed material concerning the definition of

equivalence, its use, and construction in the respective languages. The recourses about

the theoretical part were collected and adjusted from a number of English and Albanian

translation books such as: “The Theory of Translation in the Classroom”, “In Other

Words”, “Introducing Translation Studies”, “Translation”. On the other side the needed

material for the practical part of this study, for the comparison of equivalence between

English and Albanian, and changes that are likely to occur when translating in these two

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languages was taken from: “King Lear”, “Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms”,

“Mbreti Lir”, and “Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit”.

1.4.The aim of the study

It was the main purpose of the paper to draw attention to the techniques that translators

should utilize to achieve equivalence when translating in both English and Albanian

language. It has also been taken in consideration the consequences of not using them in

the process of transmitting a message from one language to the other. The analysis

enables us to determine the importance of these strategies in reaching equivalence

through contextual meaning and not by simply translating “word for word”.

1.5.Methodology of work

In order to provide a reliable study and to verify the validity of the strategies in relation to

translation and equivalence, this paper is based on the descriptive analysis and it has been

divided in two parts: theoretical and practical part. Both the theoretical and practical parts

have been analyzed and exemplified in Albanian and English language. For the sake of

providing a common definition of translation and equivalence in the respective

languages, the theoretical part has been concerned with different theories regarding the

issues by different theorists, which has further been analyzed in terms of finding the

proper techniques to overcome the problem of translating in the absence of equivalence.

Each of the techniques includes a brief explanation as well as a proper example (in both

English and Albanian). While selecting the material a special importance has been given

to the books as well as the sources that are dealt with translational difficulties and

untranslatability. Whereas the practical part has been constructed by the means of two

books: “Lekë Dukagjini‟s Code” and “King Lear” and the analysis that resulted after

examining and translating it by following the strategies that have been shown in the

sections below. After evaluating both theoretical and practical part a conclusion regarding

achieving equivalence in translation has been set in order to help the translators extract

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the message first and then choose the most appropriate means to pass it on to the target

language.

1.6. Literature review

In the field of translation several theories have been set in order to come with a common

conclusion regarding the notion of equivalence and the strategies a translator should use

to solve the non-equivalence problems. Cattford and Nida (1965: 1969) discussed in

developing the notion of equivalence by claiming that equivalence is related to translation

in terms of being the same. Hornby on the other side rejected the theory of equivalence

by considering an impossible point to reach in translation (1988). Another author (Baker

1992) has set a new theory regarding equivalence in translation, by claiming that

translators use equivalence for the sake of convenience. However, the notion of

equivalence caused heated controversies in the area of translation.

In this paper and in the related references there were observed the strategies translators

should use to solve the problem of not finding the equivalent for a phrase or a sentence.

2. Translation as a tool of communication

Albanian language, just like English, is a part of the Indo-European language family, and

besides their common features in the phonetic, semantic, and grammatical system, they

naturally differ from one another. Likewise, countries like Albania require nowadays

competent and expert translators who should be familiar with their native language as

well as with the language they translate from in order to avoid mistranslation or make the

translation ineffective and be able to render the literary text without altering its meaning

and form.

In any account of inter-lingual communication, translation is used as a generic term, and

it is considered to be one of the oldest crafts of mankind, even translators themselves who

are considered as bridges that connect different cultures and countries have enabled and

facilitated human communication by transferring different ideas and messages from the

source language into the target language. One of the greatest contributions that translation

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has given to humans is developing the unity between people in the world. Thus,

translation has a transcendent importance, because not only plays its important traditional

role as the means that allows us access to literature originally written in one of the

countless languages we cannot read, but it also represents a concrete literary presence

with the crucial capacity to ease and make more meaningful our relationships to those

with whom we may not have had a connection before (Germizaj, 2005: 70). Translation

always helps us know and see from a different angle, to attribute new value to what once

might have been unfamiliar. Therefore, it can be regarded as an age-long activity, which

is necessitated by the fact that groups belonging to different language communities have

been coming into contact with one another for social, economic, cultural and political

purposes, among others, since the dawn of the human history. Subsequently, as man

managed to establish literate civilizations and as contacts between various cultures

became inevitable people started thinking about the nature of translation activity in an

attempt to evaluate and improve the products resulting from such activity. As nations and

as individuals, we have a critical need for that kind of understanding and insight.

Despite the existence of the highly sophisticated modern means of international

communication that have reduced the distances between individuals, translation is still an

indispensable means, not only of communication among nations, but also for facilitating

access to science and knowledge worldwide.

Translation is the ability to express the sense of words from one language to the other

(Waite, 2012: 778), and as cultures are getting closer together, translating a message from

one language to another, whether it be infused with meaning and emotion, or whether it

be technical, legal or commercial, is a formidable challenge faced by translators every

day. Translation is therefore a tool of communication that enables transferring discourse

from one language into another maintaining all its meanings and intentions and you have

only adequately transferred the speech from one language to the other when you transfer

the meanings and intentions as well.

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2.1 The role of context in translation

When translating, one is able to “see” and understand other‟s ideas, and a translation is

comprehended properly only when the meaning of the source text produces the same

meaning in another language. Context is really important especially when it comes to

communication because it impacts the meaning of a phrase or sentence. For example, the

word “sweet” that is used to refer to a person who looks good or has a good personality,

it is used to refer to the taste of a certain food (sugar) as well. Thus, context are the “parts

that come immediately before and after a word or passage and make its meaning clear”,

and the translator has to be aware of the following and previous phrase or sentence in

order to avoid ambiguity or mistranslation (Waite C, 2012: 150). Thereby, when

translating it is of a higher importance to take in consideration the contextual meaning by

conveying this way the beauty of translation by not simply repeating “word for word”.

Context in translation is relative due to the neologisms that enter on the vocabulary of a

language. Hence, reaching equivalence in translation should be done by means of the

contextual meaning rather than the “word for word” translation, since a translator should

follow the context and carry the meaning effectively.

3.Equivalence

The notion „equivalence‟ is a major terminological ambiguity in the field of translation,

and approaches related to it differ radically: some theorists define translation in terms of

equivalence relations (Catford 1965; Nida and Taber 1969); on the other hand Snell and

Hornby (1988) have rejected the theoretical notion of equivalence, claiming that it is not

relevant and considered it as an impossible point for the translators to reach.

Yet, there are other theorists that set a middle course: Baker uses the term of equivalence

„for the sake of convenience- because in most of the cases translators are used to it rather

than because it has any theoretical status‟ (M. Baker, 1992: 30). To put it differently,

equivalence is a necessary condition for translation and a useful category to describe

translations, it is a useful “device” in the process of translation and translators utilize it

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for the sake of convenience, considering that whenever there is no equivalent word in the

target language for a particular form in the source text, they manage to translate and not

only “transfer” the words by either omitting or adding words to a particular type of

translation.

As English is regarded an international language, and the partnership between Albania

and Great Britain (as well as the USA) have increased recently, be it in the field of

science, economy, culture or politics, researches have been done in the field of translation

as well. Thereby, Albanian language has the same approach related to equivalence or

„barasvlera‟ since it tends to avoid the “word-for-word” translation and it uses the

contextual translation instead. By using different strategies such as: omitting the words

that are unnecessary or cause confusion when translating, or adding a new word in order

for the sentence to have a particular meaning, translators manage to communicate the

overall meaning of a word or expression. For example, the term equivalence is used in

mathematics, at the same time the term „equality’ may be used in common sense in

everyday language. In the theory of translation the term of equivalence is used in its

general meaning because it is hard to find absolutely identical words and notions in

different languages. Different languages have a different phonetic, grammar, syntax and

vocabulary structure, which is the reason why we can speak only about certain degree of

equivalence when we make translation. Accordingly, the term equivalence is used to refer

to the meaning of similarity or approximation and it shows the level of likeness between

the source and the target text. This likeness may be achieved on different levels.

Translation is a form of communication and therefore it is so important to establish

equivalence between the source text and the target text. Nida claims that “translating

must aim primarily at reproducing the message, but to reproduce the message one must

make a good grammatical and lexical adjustment in order to reach a meaningful

equivalent” (Nida, 1992: 12-13). It is evident that equivalence is one of basic concepts of

translation, which cannot be neglected.

A literal translation is a useless translation allowing for the fact that translators tend to

understand the meaning behind the words, and equivalence is a powerful tool in service

of that goal. Equivalence can be achieved only when one has a deep and a comprehensive

understanding of the process, because there are two sets of language when translating: the

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source language, from which we are translating from, and the target language, from

which we are translating into. The idea that all languages are the same and all a mediator

does is substitute some words from one language in another and then do some grammar

clean up does not stand, because “what one language regards as an important distinction

in meaning another language may not perceive as relevant”, (Baker, 1992: 40). This leads

to the usage of unnecessary words since there is often no “one to one” translation from

the target language to the source text.

Obviously there is no “one to one” translation in any language. Nevertheless, all the

languages have the same degree of fixity. As Sapir claims “one language may be more

complex or difficult than the other another, but there is no meaning whatever in the

statement that makes that one language more grammatical or form bound than the other”

(1985: 8-9). This means that although there might be difficulties in finding a neutral

meaning, yet this can be possible since every language has it level of fixing it, and

producing a comprehensive translation.

3.1.Word for word or sense for sense

As was previously mentioned, translation is a general term that is used to refer to the act

of transmitting a certain message from the source to the target language, therefore

translators use several methods in the service of that goal, and “word for word”

translation or literal translation is one among them. Word for word translation is the

rendering of text from one language to another one word at a time with or without

conveying the sense of the original text. In the field of translation studies, literal

translation is often associated with scientific, technical, technological or legal texts.

According to Newmark the source text of a language consists of words because that is all

that is in there, on the page, yet he claims that only the words that influence the meaning

should be taken in consideration (1988: 210). A word for word translation can be used in

some languages and not others depending on the sentence structure:

E.g.:

Alb: Eja pas meje, ti je sherbetori im, Eng: Come after me, you servant mine.

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Bearing in mind that this is a machine translation, and the role of a translator is to

transmit the meaning of a given message, the example above displays the necessity of

pre-editing and post-editing, having done that the translator obtains the nearest equivalent

meaning. Thus the above sentence should be translated as:

From: To:

Come after me, you are my servant. Follow me, you are my servant.

Sometimes it works as a technique but sometimes it does not, and the fact that one

sentence can be translated literally across languages does not mean that all sentences can

be translated that way, because their structures are completely different.

By denoting the precise meaning of the original text, a literal translation does not

represent the style, beauty, or poetry of the text.

In contrast with the “word for word” translation, “sense for sense” translation works by

conveying the meaning of the text, and when using this technique a special importance is

given to the translation of the content from the reader‟s viewpoint. Until and unless the

reader understands what is being actually tried to convey. When the reader does not

understand what the writer has actually written, all effort to get the work done perfectly

becomes useless. More than just translation, it is more important to convey the sense of

the text and it should always be kept in mind that the actual meaning of the original text

is something that should never be played with. And even if it is done, the meaning and

the flow of the sentences should be framed in such a way that the structure of the

sentence should always be maintained in an artistic way as well. What is more important

in this regard is that the actual meaning of the original article should never get deviated

and even if there is any addition or deletion to the modified matter. It should be done in

strict accordance with the subject.

E.g.:

Eng.: Since fortune is your love, I shall not be your wife.

Alb.: Pasi qe ju me doni per pasuri, s’dua t’ju marr per burre.

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3.2.Dealing with non-equivalence according to Baker

Equivalence as a term has been changed and developed through years, but Baker‟s idea to

combine linguistic and communicative approaches in order to provide a more effective

translational process gave new vision to the problem. On her book “In Other Words”

Baker classifies equivalence into five levels:

equivalence at word level

equivalence above word level

grammatical equivalence

textual equivalence, and

pragmatic equivalence

These levels of equivalence are closely related to the translation process, including all

aspects of translation and hence putting together the linguistic and the communicative

approach.

3.2.1 Equivalence at word level

In this chapter Baker deals with the term “word” which is, according to her, “the main

unit of meaning in language”, (1992: 10). Also it discusses the way a language differs to

express a certain meaning through a word. First and foremost a translator is concerned

with conveying the overall meaning of a particular phrase or sentence. Nevertheless, one

should start decoding the smallest units of the language, which is the word, as well as the

units and the structures that carry that meaning.

According to Baker the lack of equivalence at word level refers to the cases when a target

language does not possess a direct equivalent for a particular word in the source text. The

degree of difficulty is tremendously depended on the nature of non-equivalence and

hence a translation requires different strategies, some are more straightforward, others are

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more difficult to handle. Baker also describes common problems that arise due to the lack

of equivalence at word level and the strategies to deal with them, (1992: 36), as it

follows:

Translation by a more general word (superordinate), for example in the semantic field

of PLANTS one can find trees, flowers, bushes etc.;

Translation by a more neutral/ less expressive word;

Translation by cultural substitution involves replacing a culture-specific item or

expression with a target-language item, which does not have the same propositional

meaning but is likely to have a similar impact on the target reader;

Translation using a loan word or loan words plus explanation, which is particularly

common in dealing with culture-specific items, modern concepts and buzz words.

Following the loan word with an explanation is very useful when the word in question is

repeated several times in the text;

Translation by paraphrase using a related word, which is used when the concept

expressed by the source item is lexicalized in the target language but in a different form,

and when the frequency with which a certain form is used in the source text is

significantly higher than would be natural in the target language;

E.g.: the phrase “beautiful terraced gardens” may become “beautiful gardens created in a

terrace”,

Translation by paraphrase using unrelated words. This is done if the concept

expressed by the source item is not lexicalized at all in the target language, the paraphrase

strategy can still be used in some contexts:

Translation by omission is adopted when the meaning conveyed by a particular item

or expression is not vital enough to the development of the text to justify distracting the

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reader with lengthy explanations, translators can and often do simply omit translating the

word or expression in question;

Translation by illustration is a useful option if the word, which lacks an equivalent in

the target language, refers to a physical entity, which can be illustrated, particularly if

there are restrictions on space and if the text has to remain short, concise and to the point.

3.2.2. Equivalence above word level

Words are not strong alone therefore they should be combined in order to convey

meaning. Thus, in the second chapter of her book, Baker moves further by analyzing

what happens when words start to combine with other words. Collocations, idioms and

fixed expressions are the main topics of her chapter.

As far as collocations are regarded Baker claims that they present problems in translation

due to their largely and arbitrary nature, since language can not handle the large number

of words which can be used together in free variation.

As it is known idioms are frozen expressions and they allow no variation in form under

normal circumstances, and unless the translator is making a joke or a play on words

Baker states that he/she cannot do the following with an idiom:

1) Change the word order;

2) Delete a word from it;

3) Add a word to it;

4) Replace a word with another;

5) Change its grammatical structure.

When translating fixed expressions, translators should be careful since the expression

might have the similar counterpart in the target language, but its context of use may be

different. Accordingly, by using the right phraseology on the target language would

enhance the readability and the meaning of these expressions.

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3.2.3. Grammatical equivalence

Apart from words and the way they are combined, the grammatical factor has also been

taken into consideration whenever one faces the lack of equivalence when translating.

Different languages use different grammatical structures, which results in changes of the

message during the process of translation. This can occur especially when the target

language has a grammatical category, which the source language lacks. If a certain part of

the text is omitted due to the lack of its equivalent in the source text, one would have to

add information concerning the certain object, person or activity mentioned in the text.

Below are presented some of the major grammatical categories which cause difficulties to

the translators due to the lack or differences in the grammatical structures of the source

and target language:

1. Number

2. Gender

3. Person

4. Tense and Aspect

5. Voice

3.2.4. Textual equivalence

According to Baker a translator investigates and compares expressions of the categories

mentioned above and the meaning that is related to these structures in the source and the

target language, (1992: 180-202). Thus, this chapter deals with the connectivity that helps

to differentiate text from non-text, precisely thematic and information structure. Baker

presents a general overview on the “Hallidayan” approach in order to keep up with the

information flow. She puts her emphasis on the word order patterns, which according to

her, fulfills a number of functions in all languages. In syntax they indicate the roles of

subject, object, etc.; semantically they indicate roles, or better say professions, for

example actor, doctor; communicatively they indicate the flow of information, etc. To

sum it up, a translator cannot always follow the thematic organization of the original.

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What matters at the end of the day, is that a translator should maintain a coherent

translation as if it was a text on its own.

The last section of this chapter, which deals with translation difficulties and strategies at

the textual level or cohesion as the second feature of the text arrangement, is based on the

book of Halliday and Hasan “Cohesion in English” (1967). They have identified five

main cohesive devices in English:

1. Reference

2. Substitution

3. Ellipsis

4. Conjunction

5. Lexical cohesion

Reference refers to two linguistic elements that are related in what they refer to:

Jane visited the USA. She often goes there.

Substitution occurs when a linguistic element is not repeated but is replaced by a

substitution item.

Emily loves cakes. She eats one every week.

Ellipsis is the omission of one of the identical linguistic elements.

Arthur had an ice cream and Ben too.

Conjunction is related to cases when a semantic relation is explicitly marked.

Tom went to the store, because he wanted a new t-shirt.

Lexical cohesion refers to collocations or the cases when two elements share the

same lexical field.

Henry’s bought himself a new Jaguar. He practically sleeps in the car.

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3.2.5. Pragmatic equivalence

The final chapter is concerned with the connection of sentences and paragraphs together

by identifying the textual features. Baker claims that this is a very complex and

fascinating area of the language study and refer to pragmatics as the study of language in

use (1992: 217-228).

A text must have coherence and cohesion in order to convey the meaning and if it does

not have one of these items that particular text leads to mistranslation and unnecessary

information as well. Accordingly the knowledge of a language system is not sufficient

but it is essential if one opts to understand what is going on in any kind of verbal

communication. Finally, pragmatic equivalence expresses the translator‟s intention to be

understood by the reader, since a text comes to „make sense‟ to a readership.

3.3.Strategies to achieve equivalence in translation

3.3.1Synonyms

Almost every translator searches for synonyms when making a translation in order to

pass the message.

Synonyms are referred to as “the word or phrase that means the same as another word or

phrase in the same language”, (Waite, 2012: 739), and their usage in translation occurs

due to the need of translators to translate the “untranslatable” as well as when they need

to avoid repetition.

E.g.:

Alb: E bukur Pretty, attractive, beautiful

Eng: Beautiful E bukur, e hijshme, tërheqëse

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3.3.2.Borrowings

Another important strategy in the way to achieve equivalence through contextual

meaning is by using borrowings. English is one of the languages that absorbs the most

borrowings, (this is how it maintained to be an “international language”. Similarly

Albanian borrows words in a massive way, and “the large number of borrowings that

have entered Albanian language came as a results of the governmental and non-

governmental organizations and by the system change, as well as due to the impossibility

to analyze and control those foreign words, most of them unnecessary, due to their

furious coming in within a short period of time, but also by the lack of readiness, some of

these words are acceptable whereas some other are unnecessary and need to be refused to

be used in Albanian” (Nuhiu, 2008: 3). Yet, due to globalization, Albanian language

tends to use borrowed words although the adequate word is relevant in the respective

language, among others below are some of the words that Albanian language has

borrowed from other languages despite the fact that a particular word for a certain object,

action or thing exists in Albanian as well:

E.g.:

Special i veçantë

Kauzë shkak

Destinacion vend i caktuar

Aktivitet veprimtari

Avantazh përparësi

Bravo të lumtë

3.3.3. Omission or deletion

This strategy is useful when translating, even though it may sound rather drastic and it is

done whenever a particular expression or word is not vital enough (or it is unnecessary)

to the development of the text and tends to distract the reader by providing lengthy

explanations, (Baker, 1992: 40). Idioms may sometimes be omitted entirely due to the

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lack of match in the target language and when there is no possibility to paraphrase them.

Thus, for the sake of having an equivalent translation, translators should “eat” some of

the unnecessary words or expressions.

E.g.:

Alb. Ajo vajza e bukur, e gjatë, sykaltër është shumë e mençur.

Eng. That pretty girl is very clever.

3.3.4.Editing

This strategy involves the correction of mistakes in the source text such as: grammar,

spelling and punctuation, re-building the structure of a text by simplifying it and leaving

no room for ambiguities. This process is separated in two activities by pre or post editing

a certain translation, and it is used to improve the vocabulary and sentence structure in

order to provide a readable text to the readership.

E. g.:

Eng. Whom I have ever honored as my king loved as my father.

Alb. Të cilin unë e kam nderuar si mbreti im i dashur si babai im.

Based on the text above that has been taken from “King Lear” (Watts, 2004:37), which

was later translated in Albanian by means of machine translation, editing should be done

by either omitting or adapting the words. After having done that, the sentence above

results with a better level of comprehension by the reader‟s viewpoint.

Edited:. Të cilin gjithmnoë kam respektuar si mbret dhe dashur si baba.

3.3.5.Adaptation

In order to achieve a more familiar and understandable text, professional translators use

adaptation, which is also known as the cultural substitution or cultural equivalent.

Adaptation is a cultural element that replaces the original text with one that is better

suited to the culture of the target language.

For instance the word “milord” that has been translated from English into Albanian could

have been substituted by the word “imzot” by providing this way a more comprehensive

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text for the Albanian readers. Also the word “zonja ime” could have been used instead of

“miledi”, (Luarasi. 2011:36), by maintaining its originality and the expression would still

have had sense.

Since adaptation is more concerned with the cultural aspect of translation, below is the

example of its use within a phrase:

Eng. Cold as ice.

Alb. E ftohtë si akull. or E ftohtë si borë.

4.Research

By providing several examples from the books that have been analyzed, below there are

presented some of the methods in achieving equivalence between English and Albanian

language. This part focuses on analyzing the problem and the strategies that the translator

deals with in order to provide an equivalent meaning in both respective languages.

4.1. Besa at Leke Dukagjini‟s Code

The Albanian language (Shqipja) is the oldest language in Europe and it is at the root of

the tree of all Euro-Indian languages. Being an Albanian word that refers to honor

(promise, faith, trust) and other words that are related to the given word, besa is the

fundamental part of the “Kanun”, which is a very old protocol for the Albanian society.

The Albanian word besa is translated in English as “faith”, “trust” or “oath of peace”, but

its real or equivalent meaning is “to keep the promise” or “the given word”. The word

was first presented in the “Kanun of Lekë Dukagjini” – a unity of customary codes and

traditions made by this 15th century chieftain that, over many generations before and

since, was inherited and transmitted verbally. In the “Kanun”, besa is described as the

highest authority that is closely related to the notion of honor (word of honor), so

essential to personal and familiar standing as to be virtually a cult; it lies so near to the

heart of Albanians as to be referred to in documents as an example of “Albanianism”.

The “man of besa”, (njeri i fjales) connotes a man of respect and honor, someone to

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whom you can trust your life and family. His opposite is besëçartur (the man who breaks

besa) – with a sense not merely of unreliability, but even of craziness and banishment

from the community. A man unable to save his besa is worth nothing.

According to “Leke Dukagjini‟s Code” what is promised must be done, besides this there

are also other rules related to the word besa, such as:

“Besa e shqiptarit nuk shitet pazarit” (besa cannot be sold or bought in a bazaar), so in

equivalent terms this means that besa cannot be relocated or taken away, is neither for

sale nor on sale.

“Shiptari kur jep fjalen therr djalin” (an Albanian can sacrifice his own son for besa), if

the above statement is translated as: An Albanian cuts his own son for besa, then it would

be a word for word translation without transferring the meaning or the core of the

sentence, which is related to the level of sacrifice Albanians would undergo in order to

protect their besa or given word.

“Besa e shqiptarit si purteka e arit” (the Albanians‟ besa is worth more than gold), this

means that to Albanians besa is “the golden rule”.

As it can be seen from the examples above, using equivalence can enhance the level of

understanding between two languages, especially when it comes to the cultural aspect of

translation when one has to transmit the meaning of a certain text.

4.2. Equivalence at King Lear by William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare‟s life, poems and plays have been studied and interpreted all over

the world, his works continue to be performed and translated in Albanian as well. “King

Lear is widely regarded as Shakespeare‟s most intense, profound and powerful tragedy”

(Watts 2004:9), which has been translated in Albanian as well, bellow there are examples

of the source and the target text:

Albany, Cornwall Dear sir, forbear!

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Kent Kill thy physician, and the fee bestow

Upon the foul disease. Revoke thy gift,

Or, whilst I can vent clamour from my throat,

I‟ll tell thee thou dost evil.

Taking into consideration the cultural aspect and after having processed the text by

following the methods in reaching an equivalent text the in Albanian language, the above

text has resulted with a translation as it follows:

Albani dhe Kornuolli Zot I shtrenjtë,mos!

Kent Po; vraje mjekun, dhe shpërblimin e tij

Përdore te shërosh lëngaten tënde.

Tërhiq vendimin; ndryshe do t‟bërtas

Gjersa të mekem: bëre keq, o mbret!

As it has been mentioned earlier, obtaining an equivalent meaning is relative and not an

absolute equivalence, likewise the translation above leaves room for improvements, by

either substituting some of the words by using synonyms (physician-mjek, doktor,

shkenctar, fizikant, etc.), but since the cultural aspect needs to be taken into consideration

when translating texts of this nature, the message of the translation it is successfully

passed to the reader.

Below there is a list of some of the words that could have been used differently be it,

synonyms, or adapted words:

Dear i dashur, nderuar equivalent to zot

Sir zotëri equivalent to imzot

Forbear duro, prit equivalent to mos

Evil i poshtër, i ligë equivalent to keq

4.3. Idioms, proverbs and their equivalent meaning

As Baker claims, the “first difficulty that a translator faces when translating idioms and

fixed expressions is the ability to recognize them”, (1992: 63), since they represent a

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special part of a particular culture and hence they should be passed to the readership as

such by not deviating its meaning.

There is no doubt that the world of translation gives translators the chance to get familiar

to new languages and cultures, and even though they come across through many similar

linguistic features, catching the meaning through non-linguistic features is the most

problematic translation to deal with.

Idioms and proverbs make a language difficult to understand because people do not know

the culture and the history behind the expression, and sometimes changing a single word

can produce a comic effect to the native, and the “word for word” translation never

makes sense. Idioms are popular expressions that explain something by using examples

and figures of speech, and their beauty stands in their limitation allowing for the fact that

they represent a particular culture and this is why it is hard to export them into another

context. Proverbs on the other side are traditional and conversational expressions with

general meaning; to put it differently proverbs are short sayings starting with a general

truth or piece of advice (Waite, 2012:579).

The first difficulty that a translator comes across when translating these expressions is

that they may have no equivalent in the target language, because the way a language

chooses to express or not various meanings cannot be predicted and only occasionally

matches the way another language chooses to express the same meaning. When

translating idioms and fixed expressions a translator should be careful in not substituting

the words but try to find a synonym for it instead, since that would lead to mistranslation

and cause ambiguity to the readership.

Translating idioms from English to Albanian include cases when:

-Both languages have the same lexical meaning, composition, stylistic value and

grammatical structure:

E.g.:

Break the ice – Thyej akullin

A drop in the ocean – Një pikë uji në oqean

Play with fire – Luaj me zjarrin

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- Translating idioms with a partial equivalence, which transmits the entire meaning units:

E.g.:

A wolf in sheep‟s clothing – Ujk me lëkure qengji

Cudgel one‟s brain – Vras mendjen

One swallow does not make a summer – Me një lule s‟qel pranvera

Eat one‟s words – Ha fjalët e tjetrit, etc.

- Translating idioms by using verb phrases:

E.g.

Take part – Marr pjesë

Take measures – Marr masa

Below are presented some examples of idioms and proverbs that produce a comic

translation and their equivalent meaning after using the strategies abovementioned:

1) Alb. Ujku qimen e ndërron, por zakonin se harron.

Eng. Wolf hair changes the habit of forgetting.

Accordingly the expression needs some editing including pre and post editing, omission

and adaptation. Clearly the sentence translated in the target language does not have an

equivalent meaning to the source one since it is translated word for word, by providing

this way a confusing message to the reader. Thus, the mediator should consider the

cultural aspect of translation by only transmitting the core meaning of the expression:

a) A wolf in sheep’s clothing or b) A leopard does not change its spots

2) Dardha, bjen (pikë) nën dardhë. The pear falls underneath the pear tree.

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Again we encounter the “word for word” translation, which obviously does not pass any

clear message to the reader, therefore it is necessary to put in function the translational

techniques, and after having done that the translation results with a catchable and

understandable expression:

An apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Translating idioms is a challenge to translators because it is difficult to find the neutral

cultural equivalent that represents the same meaning in both the source and the target

language. The comprehension and experience of the translator is the key factor to

translate these phrases, this way we obtain the nearest equivalent meaning. Some

linguistic translators complain that translating idioms and proverbs is a difficult task, but

in fact that is a machine translation issue.

5.Findings

After having analyzed the books mentioned above and after having taken into

consideration the way idioms and proverbs are translated, it turns out that the nearest

equivalent meaning of a text, word, or expression can be reached through the methods

presented in the previous sections. It has also been pointed out that the degree of

closeness to the source text depends on the purpose of translation, text type and target

language norm, it is up to the translator to decide which translation method to use as far

as the translation purpose and message of the original text are preserved. If the purpose of

the translator is to present the beauty of translation without sacrificing the meaning the

translation is possible and a good one.

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6. Conclusion

From the outcome of this study it is possible to conclude that “sense for sense” or

contextual meaning is regarded as the best approach to achieve equivalence in translation,

and the strategies presented in the sections above resulted successful. Obviously there is

no “one to one” equivalence between the source and the target language. The importance

of equivalence in translation lies on the fact that it gives the translator the possibility to

replicate the same situation as in the original but by using different words instead. Since

their task is not only to produce internationalisms (neologisms), translators should also

try to find the closest natural equivalents for the signs of the closest words. This is very

important if the result of the translation of a message from the source language is to have

the nearest equivalent in the target. Synonyms, borrowed words, omission, adaptation as

well as the methods that Baker recommended, have proven to be successful when it

comes to dealing with the non-equivalence issues in both Albanian and English language.

Finally, although theoretically a text, which is embedded in its culture, can be both,

possible and impossible to be translated in other languages, practically every translation

is possible. It is true that dealing with translation is a great challenge, but by using the

right techniques and translation methods every problem can be solved.

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7. References

Baker, M. (1992), In Other Words, Routledge.

Duff, A. (1989), Translation, Oxford University Press.

Gërmizaj, Sh. (2005), Translation Theory in the Classroom, BAF.

Munday, J. (2011), Introducing Translation Studies, Routledge.

Luarasi, S. (2011), Mbreti Lir, Onufri.

Meqi, Xh. (2002), Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit në variantin e Mirditës, Geer.

Nida, E. and Taber, Ch. (2003), The Theory and Practice of Translation, Brill.

Nuhiu, V. (2008), Albanian Language and English Loanwords Today.

Newmark, P. (1988), A textbook of Translation, Prentice Hall.

Sapir, E. 1(985), Language Culture and Personality, University of California Press.

Tolja, S. (2012), The Albanian Besa – The Golden Rule.

Waite, M. (2012), Paperback Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press.

Watts, C. (2004), King Lear, Wordsworth Classics.

White, G. (1998), Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms, Cambridge University

Press.

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