“Translation is a complex process because aside from transmitting

the meaning, the translator needs also to ensure that the experience
is not lost in translation.” (Barredo, 2021)
We are running out of time
 We are running out of time.

Tayo ay tumatakbo palabas ng oras.

 We are running out of time

Tumatakbot tayo palabas ng oras.

Tayo ay nauubusan ng oras. OR

Nauubusan na tayo ng oras
 Eugene Nida’s
Dynamic Equivalence Theory

Reporter: Ms. Justine Faith C. Arceño

 Who is Eugene Nida?

🞆 Born: November 11, 1914 in Oklahoma City, USA.

🞆 Died: August 25, 2011 in Brussels, Belgium
🞆 Profession: Linguist
🞆 Specialized on: Bible Translation

Image Source:
🞆 Some of his works include: Linguistic Interludes (Revised 1947), The Bible
http://www.internationalbulletin.org/issues/201
2-01/2012-01-038-stine.html Translator (1949), Morphology: The Descriptive Analysis of Words (2nd ed.
1949), and Message and Mission (1960)
🞆 Nida’s methods can be seen in translations such as the Good News Bible, the
French Français Courant, the German Die Gute Nachricht, and the Spanish
Versión Popular, translations with which he had some direct involvement. But
most contemporary translations such as the NRSV or NIV also show his
influence.
What is Dynamic Equivalence?

🞆 According to Eugene Nida, dynamic equivalence, the term as he originally coined, is the "quality
of a translation in which the message of the original text has been so transported into the
receptor language that the response of the receptor is essentially like that of the original
receptors." The desire is that the reader of both languages would understand the meanings of the
text in a similar fashion.
🞆 The most important thing in translating is the message received by the audience. Messages that
are significant in both form and content need not only to be understood but also to be appreciated.
And only when the translator could state the original features, he can achieve “dynamic
equivalence”, which stressed the importance of transferring meaning, not grammatical form.
John 3:16-17

Good News Translation

For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may
16

not die but have eternal life.

Juan 3: 16-17

Hiligaynon

16Kay ginahigugma gid sang Dios ang mga tawo sa kalibutan, amo gani nga ginhatag niya ang iya bugtong
nga Anak, agod nga ang bisan sin-o nga magtuo sa iya indi mawala kundi hatagan sang kabuhi nga wala
sing katapusan.
🞆 Nida’s theory is revolutionary because it shifts the focus of translation from form of the message to the
response of the receptor. The concept triggered the focus shift from the form of the message (Formal
Equivalence) to the response of the receptor (Dynamic Equivalence).
🞆 For Nida, what is important is the intelligibility of the translated text to the target language. The
intelligibility or the immediate meaning of the text should not only be gauged on how effectively the words
are understood or how sentences are grammatically constructed, but more importantly, in terms of the total
impact of the message on the receivers or readers (Nida 1969: 22).
Formal Equivalence vs. Dynamic Equivalence

🞆 Focuses on the message itself both form and 🞆 Sense-for-sense translation.

content.
🞆 Not so concerned with matching the receptor
🞆 Word-for-word translation language message with the source language
message.
🞆 The receptor language should match as close as
possible the different elements in the source 🞆 Aims at complete naturalness of expression.
language.
🞆 Relates the receptor to modes of behaviour
🞆 Literal translation relevant within the context of his own culture.

🞆 Example: 🞆 Example:
“Heap coals of fire on his head” To make someone ashamed of his behavior
(Romans 12:20)
🞆 Consequently, the translator can alter idioms, slangs, vernaculars, colloquialism and
onomatopoeic expressions in the source language to make it relatable and relevant to the target
language. In this regard, the translator needs to consider the culture of the target language. It also
requires the translator to pay attention to contemporary expressions because lexical expressions
change as time passes (Venuti 2000: 137-138).
Psalm 23:1

Formal equivalence: “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.”

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Dynamic equivalence: “The LORD is my shepherd; I have everything I need.”

Good News Translation (GNT)
“Translation is that which transforms everything so that
nothing changes.”

– Günter Grass
References:

https://www.ccjk.com/translation-theories-eugene-nida-and-dynamic-equivalence/

https://www.gotquestions.org/dynamic-equivalence.html

https://www.slideshare.net/paps117/eugene-nida-presentation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_and_formal_equivalence#cite_note-1