CULTURAL-SPECIFICITY AND EQUIVALENCE IN LITERARYTRANSLATION: A COMPARATIVE REVIEW OF THEORETICALAPPROACHES
Keywords:
Literary Translation, Cultural Specificity, Equivalence, Culture-Specific Items (CSIs), Domestication, Foreignization, Translation Studies.Abstract
Literary translation is not merely a linguistic transfer but a complex process of cross-cultural mediation. One of the most persistent challenges in this domain is achieving equivalence while preserving the cultural specificity of the source text. This paper presents a comprehensive comparative review of foundational theoretical approaches to cultural equivalence in literary translation. By analyzing the paradigms established by Eugene Nida (Dynamic vs. Formal Equivalence), Peter Newmark (Semantic vs. Communicative Translation), Lawrence Venuti (Domestication vs. Foreignization), Mona Baker (Pragmatic Equivalence), and Javier Franco Aixelá (Strategies for Culture-Specific Items), this study delineates how different theoretical models address the untranslatability of cultural nuances.
