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in two different languages cannot be absolutely identical in terms of
grammar, lexis or meaning. Equivalence in translation is a major
terminological ambiguity. The concept of equivalence, as a
philosophical construct, is sometimes vague, misleading and, more often
than not, subject to various interpretations. Van den Broeck (1978,
pp32-33) holds that "the properties of a strict equivalence
relationship (symmetry, transitivity, reflectivity) do not apply to the
translation relationship". Snell-Hornby dubs equivalence as merely
fictitious and illusory. Structuralists and post-structuralists, as we
shall see later, disavowedly reject equivalence and the concept of
translation altogether.
This made Neubert look to equivalence as the 'missing link' between
translation as a process and translation as a product. While van den
Broeck insists that the precise definition of equivalence in
mathematics and exact sciences is a serious obstacle to its use in
Translation Studies, Neubert stresses the need for a theory of
equivalence relations. Translation cannot be precisely equated with,
or even compared to, mathematics for while mathematics deals with
figures and equations of quantitative properties translation operates
through lexical structures of semantically and stylistically
qualitative attributes.
In a stimulating article on "Text-bound Translation" (see
'Translation Theory and its Implementation in the Teaching of
Translating and Interpreting', (ed) W Wilss and G Thome, 1984, pp61-
17