ABSTRACT
Equ ivalence Equivalence is a central concept in translation theory , but it is also a controversial one. Approaches to the question of equivalence can differ radically: some theorists define transla tion in terms of equivalence relations (Catford 1965; Nida and Taber 1969; Toury 1 980a; Pym 1992a, 1995; Koller 1995) while others reject the theoretical notion of equivalence, claiming it is either irrelevant (Snell-Hornby 1988) or damaging (Gentzler 1993) to transla tion studies. Yet other theorists steer a middle course: Baker uses the notion of equivalence 'for the sake of convenience - because most translators are used to it rather than because it has any theoretical status' ( 1992: 5-6). Thus equivalence is variously regarded as a necess ary condition for translation, an obstacle to progress in translation studies , or a useful category for describing translations.
