Nida’s Dynamic Equivalence Theory on Poetry Translation

曹振霞

【Abstract】Based on Nidas dynamic equivalence theory， the paper analyzes the poem translation “Shall I Compare Thee to an April Day？– A Psalm of Love” by Lizhen. The paper mainly discusses the strategies used in the translation， namely， lexical approach， syntactic approach and imagery approach， which helps to reveal how the dynamic equivalence theory is applied to the translation of the poem. In conclusion， Lizhens translation of the poem is natural and expressive when it meets the core principles of the dynamic equivalence theory.

【Key words】Nidas dynamic equivalence theory； poem translation； translation strategies

1. Introduction

The poem “You Are the April Day of This World—Ode to Love”（《你是人間四月天》） is one of the greatest classics of Linhuiyin， who is a famous modern poet and the first female architect in China. The poem has been loved and appreciated since publication and it is translated into different English versions by different translators or poets. Poetry translation is often regarded as a comparatively difficult and demanding form of literary translation due to the subtlety and delicacy in the language of poetry and the differences between the source language and the target language. Thus， translators are required to fathom the connotation of the original works to transmit the aesthetic appreciation in both meanings and forms， and then make the readers feel as if they have relived the same experience. Based on Nidas dynamic equivalence theory， the poem “Shall I Compare Thee to an April Day？– A Psalm of Love” （《你是人間四月天》）by Linhuiyin and its English translation by Lizhen will be analyzed as a case study to appreciate the poem and its English translation as well as to do some research on the translation strategies reflected in the rendering.

2. Theoretical background

Nidas dynamic equivalence is based on what Nida calls ‘the principle of equivalent effect， where ‘the relationship between receptor and message should be substantially the same as that which existed between the original receptors and the message. The message has to be tailored to the receptors linguistic needs and cultural expectation and ‘aims at complete naturalness of expression. ‘Naturalness is a key requirement for Nida. Indeed， he defines the goal of dynamic equivalence as seeking ‘the closest natural equivalent to the source-language message . This receptor–oriented approach considers adaptations of grammar， of lexicon and of cultural references to be essential in order to achieve naturalness；the target language（TL） should not show interference from the source language（SL）， and the ‘foreignness of the ST setting is minimized. For Nida， the success of the translation depends above all on achieving equivalent response. It is one of the ‘four basic requirements of a translation， which are：endprint

（1） Making sense；

（2） Conveying the spirit and manner of the original；

（3） Having a natural and easy form of expression；

（4） Producing a similar response.

3. Stylistic analysis

Lizhens translation of the poem is thought to be natural， expressive and easy to understand by the target language readers. This part of the paper will analyze the strategies used in the translation so as to make clear how the dynamic equivalence theory is applied to the translation of the poem.

3.1 Lexical approach

Generally speaking， diction， which means the choice and use of words， is the essence of a poem. Different diction for the same theme may result in different styles. “你是四月天里的云煙” is translated as “Thee are the thin mist rising in the April dawn”. The author uses “thin mist” instead of “cloud” for “云煙”. “Cloud” is defined as “a grey or white mass made of very small drops of water， that floats in the sky.” For instance， the sun went behind a cloud （Oxford 365）. While “Mist” is defined as “a cloud of very small drops of water in the air just above the ground， that make it difficult to see”（Oxford1286）. E.g. The hills were shrouded in mist. According to the definitions in the dictionary， cloud may be easily associated with rain；mist is often related to thin vapor in the air above the ground， bluring things around. Obviously， considering it is on the April day， mists appear more often than clouds of rain. Therefore， mist matches better the meaning of “云煙”in the original text than “cloud”. This simple and accurate word “thin mist” matches the original text in style and manner. It is the closest natural equivalence to the source language message.

3.2 Syntactic approach

Fulei once pointed out that when doing translation， one should keep the original syntactic structure to the greatest degree（ 1979） .Style cannot be attained except for keeping the original syntactic features. However， poetry is a special type of literature genre. Sometimes， in the translation of poems， the original syntactic has to be changed in order to attain a good effect. The original title “你是人間四月天” is translated into “Shall I compare thee to an April day？” by Lizhen instead of “You Are the April of This World” as some other translators do. The latter translation keeps the original syntactic pattern but the former has changed the pattern to an interrogative sentence. This translation immediately reminds people of Shakespeares most famous poem “Shall I compare thee to a summers day？” Lizhens translation is thought to be proper for the following reasons： firstly， as for linguistic features， both the titles of the two poems are metaphors. Shakespeare compares his lover to a summers day while Linhuiyin assimilates her beloved with an April day. Secondly， as far as the theme concerned， both the two poems are about love. Shakespeare shows his love to a woman， whose charm and beauty will not fade just as the sun on a summers day. Meanwhile， Linhuiyin spares no effort to show her affection for her son， who is the incarnation of a beautiful April day. Last but most importantly， “Shall I compare thee to a summers day” is one of Shakespeares most famous and popular poem in the world， which enjoys a high reputation in the poetic world and is familiar to the people in the English world. The title “shall I compare thee to an April day” is an adaptation to the target language culture， though the original sentence structure is changed. It meets the target languages cultural expectations with their familiar cultural elements. This kind of translation is receptor-oriented approach， which is the main feature of dynamic equivalence.endprint

3.3 Imagery approach

Imagery is the use of words or pictures to describe ideas or actions in poems， books， films etc （Longman1254）. It is foundational to poetry. It draws readers into a sensory or new experience or reveal our own experience in a new expectation. In the original poem， “水光浮動著你夢期待中白蓮。” is translated as “…. In the white lily opening joyfully in the shimmering lake！” Here， white lily is chosen to replace “white lotus”. In Chinese culture， lotus has been loved by scholars and poets for thousands of years， for it is a representation of good things， such as purity， nobility， beauty， love， etc. Whats more， lotus has been the holy flower in Buddhism. It is even seen as the embodiment of the Buddha. The image of lotus has deeply rooted in Chinese culture and at the same time bring great influence on it. Linhuiyin compares her son to a lotus blooming in the shimmering lake to show her deepest love and appreciation for her son. Just as lotus occupies an important position in Chinese culture， lily has an major place in English culture. It appears in many myths and fairy tales in western cultures. Lily， especially white lilies， represents purity and nobility in literature. In this way， Lily has the same image and symbolic meaning as lotus does in Chinese culture. However， the targert language readers may not be familiar with or accept the image that lotus has created in Chinese culture， especially when it has something to do with religion. If the original text is translated into “lotus”， it may arouse confusion or ambiguity. In order to keep this from happening， the translator uses “white lily” to achieve the same effect as “lotus” creates， which avoids the cultural interference from the source language. This kind of translation well demonstrates Nidas concept in dynamic equivalence theory that “the TT language should not show interference from the SL， the ‘the foreignness of the SL setting is minimized.”

4. Conclusion

Just as Nida said， “the best translation does not sound like a translation”， Lizhens translation has attained this effect. His translation of the poem has achieved naturalness and smoothness through the choice of diction， the change of the syntactic structure， figurative approach， cultural adaptation and so on， which produce a similar response as between the original receptors and the message. Its not hard to see that a translation that meets the core principles of the dynamic equivalence theory will be a good translation， whether it is the Bible translation or a poem translation. This study is hoped to help analyze and appreciate the poem in the perspective of dynamic equivalence theory so that the readers will perceive the beauty of the poem both in its original and translated language.

References：

[1]Jeremy Munday.2010.Introduction Translation Studies.Shanghai：Foreign Language Education Press.

[2]Edwin Gentzler.2004.Contemporary Translation Theories.Shanghai：Foreign Language Education Press.

[3]傅雷.傅雷談翻譯[M].當代世界出版社，2005.endprint