A Study of Nida’s (1964) Types of Equivalence in Three English Translations of Letters 40 to 60 of Nahj-al-balagheh [In English]

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to probe into the issue of equivalency in three translations of Nahj-al-balagheh. More specifically, it is aimed to find out if there was any significant difference between dynamic and formal types of equivalence in three Persian to English translations of Nahj-al-balagheh­ by Jafari, Seyed Alireza and Mutahari and reveal whether three English translations of­ Nahj­-al- balagheh could equally convey the same message or not.­ To accomplish this purpose, Nida’s (1964) model of equivalence is used as the framework of the study. The results demonstrate that considering dynamic and formal types of equivalence, there are significant differences among three English translations. Besides, whereas Jafari’s translation is dynamic, both Seyed Alireza and Mutahari’s translations are more formal in tone. Findings can be of help to the interested readers who intend to do more on the translation of religious texts including Nahj-al-balagheh.

Keywords

• nahj-al-balagheh
• equivalency
• nida’s model
• religious texts
• formal and dynamic equivalence