(Luận văn thạc sĩ) equivalence in the vietnamese translation of sherlock from netflix

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

Tạ Trí Đức

EQUIVALENCE IN THE VIETNAMESE
TRANSLATION OF SHERLOCK
FROM NETFLIX

MA THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE

HO CHI MINH CITY, 2020

Luan van


VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

Tạ Trí Đức

EQUIVALENCE IN THE VIETNAMESE
TRANSLATION OF SHERLOCK
FROM NETFLIX

Field: English Language
Code: 8.22.02.01
Instructor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phạm Hữu Đức

HO CHI MINH CITY, 2020

Luan van


DECLARATION BY AUTHOR

Except where reference has been made in the text, this thesis contains
no material previously published or written by another person.
I, Tạ Trí Đức, hereby state that this thesis is the result of my own
research and the substance of the thesis has not, wholly or in part, been
submitted for any degrees to any other universities or institutions.
Author’s Signature

Tạ Trí Đức

Approved by
SUPERVISOR

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phạm Hữu Đức
Date:……………………

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The completion of this thesis is credited to many people’s contributions
and support. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them all most
sincerely, knowing that my thanks are never adequate.
First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude and deep

appreciation to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phạm Hữu Đức, my supervisor, for his helpful
and warm encouragement as well as his insightful comments on my work from
the beginning to the end of the study.
In addition, I would like to thank all of the lecturers who gave me
interesting lessons, dedication and advice during my study at Graduate
Academy of Social Sciences.
I also offer my special thanks to my beloved friends whose support and
encouragement help me to have this thesis accomplished.
Last but not least, I must express my gratitude to my family. It is their
endless love and expectations that have motivated me to complete this thesis. I
am immensely thankful for all the assistance they have given me.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
DECLARATION BY AUTHOR

I

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

II

ABSTRACT

V

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION

1

1.1 RATIONALE

1

1.2 AIM(S) OF THE STUDY

2

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

2

1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

3

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

3

1.6 RESEARCH METHODS

3

1.7 STRUCTURE OF THE STUDY

4

CHAPTER 2. LIRTERATURE REVIEW

5

2.1 SHERLOCK FROM NETFLIX

5

2.2 SUBTITLE TRANSLATION

6

2.2.1 Subtitle and subtitle translation

7

2.2.2 Subtitle constraints

10

2.3 EQUIVALENCE IN TRANSLATION

12

2.3.1 Different approaches to translation equivalence

13

2.3.2 Descriptive Translation Studies

16

2.3.3 Translation universals

17

2.3.4 Categories of Translation Universals

20

2.4 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

26

2.5 CHAPTER SUMMARY

28

CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY

30

3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN

30

3.2 SAMPLING AND METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION

30

3.3 ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY

31

3.4 CHAPTER SUMMARY

33

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CHAPTER 4. TRANSLATION UNIVERSALS AND TRANSLATION LAWS IN
SHERLOCK

34

4.1 TRANSLATION UNIVERSALS IN SHERLOCK

34

4.1.1 Explicitation

34

4.1.2 Simplification

39

4.1.3 Normalization

45

4.1.4 Omission of repetition

50

4.1.5 Exaggeration of Target Language Features

52

4.2 TRANSLATION LAWS IN SHERLOCK

53

4.2.1 Law of growing standardization

53

4.2.2 Laws of interference

59

4.3 CHAPTER SUMMARY

62

CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION

64

5.1 RECAPITULATION

64

5.2 CONCLUDING REMARKS

65

5.3 IMPLICATIONS FOR ENGLISH TRANSLATION TEACHING AND LEARNING

66

5.4 LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES

68

REFERENCES

70

APPENDIX: SAMPLES OF ENGLISH TRANSCRIPT AND VIETNAMESE SUBTITLE
OF SHERLOCK FROM NETFLIX

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ABSTRACT

This study evaluated the equivalence in the Vietnamese translation of
Sherlock on Netflix. Most previous studies used the formal equivalence
approach, which focused mainly on the form and content relationship between
source text and target text. This study uses dynamic equivalence approach,
which describes functional relationship in translation. Dynamic equivalence is
considered to be a more suitable approach for evaluating equivalence in film
subtitle translation because of the specific characteristics of subtitle translating.
Subtitle translators must ensure that the translated text can be read within the
exact duration of the scene as well as ensure that the audience still has time to
watch the images while preserving the meaning and effect. Descriptive
translation study of translation universals and laws is used as a theoretical
framework applied to evaluate the dynamic equivalence in subtitle translation.
The Vietnamese subtitles of Sherlock on Netflix were analyzed on the basis of a
theoretical framework derived from Baker's hypotheses on translation universals
and Toury’s translation laws.
Research has shown that there are translation universals and laws in
Vietnamese subtitles, through which functional relationship between the original
and Vietnamese subtitles of Sherlock on Netflix are found. Most of the
translation universals is used to shorten or minimize the subtitles in order to
meet the constraints of subtitle translation. The parts that are omitted are mostly
repetitive words or can be understood through images on film. This shortening
hardly affects the content that the audience needs. On the other hand, some

translation universals and laws are used to normalize grammar as well as explain
cultural features that can be confusing to the audience. However, this research
also pointed out some of the audience’s experiences are sometimes lost due to
circumstances such as repetition or lack of grammar is intended by the
filmmaker to create humor or represent the character.
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CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale
When more and more people watch movies not only to relax, but also to
study foreign languages and cultures, subtitles translation has become a major
problem. Translation was considered language macro skill. Netflix is an
American leading streaming service that allows members to watch a wide
variety of television shows, movies, documentaries, etc. Netflix has over
hundred million international subscribers, making it one of the world's largest
entertainment services. The subtitles programs of Netflix are translated into
many languages in the world including Vietnamese. Netflix-translated subtitles
can be seen to have a major impact on the public and have played a large part in
transmitting foreign languages and cultures to Vietnamese. Sherlock is a British
television series based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes detective
stories. Sherlock has been praised for the quality of its writing, acting, and
direction. Recent film subtitling research studies in European countries have
concentrated primarily on content aspects, from a European viewpoint and as a
representation of “a multi-talented challenge” (Gottlieb 2004). Scholars in the
field of translation studies have founded the theoretical branches of AudioVisual Translation, the most important of which are Chaume (2004), DiazCintas (2004), Gambier (2009) and Gottlieb (2001). Their respective studies
have formed the theoretical structure for subtitle translation and integrated

successful translation strategies.
There have also been a few studies on translation and equivalence in the
translation of subtitles in Vietnam such as the study by Nguyễn Thị Thu Hà on
subtitles for translating some selected films from the website kst.net.vn, the
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research by Lê Thị Nhung about the equivalence in translating English subtitles
of some documentary films. However, there are no research studies on
translation and dynamic equivalence based on descriptive translation study in
the translated subtitles by Netflix, an American service, as well as a famous TV
series like Sherlock. Therefore, I chose to do a thesis on “EQUIVALENCE IN
THE VIETNAMESE TRANSLATION OF SHERLOCK FROM NETFLIX”
1.2 Aim(s) of the Study
The thesis goal is to examine the dynamic equivalence in the Vietnamese
subtitles of Sherlock series on Netflix. To achieve the goal of this thesis, three
main targets need to be implemented include finding out the existence of
translation universals and laws in translating subtitles of Sherlock on Netflix,
investigating the behavior of translation universals in Vietnamese subtitles,
evaluating the relationship between English and Vietnamese subtitles of
Sherlock based on the descriptive translation study theory.
1.3 Research Questions
This thesis is implemented to answer the following questions:
- What are the translation universals and laws used in translating subtitles of
Sherlock on Netflix?
- What are the behaviors of translation universals in Vietnamese subtitles of
Sherlock on Netflix?
- What is the relationship between English and Vietnamese subtitles of

Sherlock on Netflix?

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1.4 Scope of the Study
This thesis focuses on equivalence of original English transcript and
Vietnamese subtitle version of Sherlock on Netflix. Samples were taken from 9
episodes throughout 3 seasons of the series. The research only focuses on
dynamic equivalence, which is evaluated based on translation universal and law
analysis of descriptive translation study. Therefore only the most outstanding
representative samples were selected for dynamic equivalence analysis.
1.5 Significance of the Study
Theoretical significance: This thesis gives an overview of subtitle
translation. This thesis also strengthened the theory of descriptive translation
study and the theory of dynamic equivalence.
Practical significance: This thesis supports subtitle translators by giving the
translation universals and laws used for subtitle translation as well as providing
the behavior of translation universals, which draw the relationship, equivalent,
in translating movie subtitles. This thesis also aims to arouse the interest of
English translation students with subtitle translation in particular and translation
study in general.
1.6 Research Methods
Qualitative methods were applied to implement this thesis. The data
obtained were evaluated on the basis of a theoretical framework derived from
Baker's hypotheses on translation universals and Toury’s translation laws.
Subtitle translation equivalence assessment would be explored by using dynamic
equivalence framework combining with descriptive translation study in subtiles.

One-by-one translation universals and laws will be discussed by looking at their
behaviors in nine episodes of Sherlock. Only the most striking instances of each
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translation universals or laws will be investigated because the scope of this
thesis does not allow a detailed examination of every single occurrence.
1.7 Structure of the Study
The thesis consists of five chapters:
Chapter 1 is the Introduction which describes the reasons for the choice of
the topic, the aims, the scope, method, significance, and organization of the
study.
Chapter 2 provides the literature review of subtitle translation, equivalence
in translation and descriptive translation study.
Chapter 3 gives the translation universals used in translating Sherlock on
Netflix.
Chapter 4 gives the translation laws used in translating Sherlock on Netflix.
Chapter 5 is the Conclusion and suggestion for further study.

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CHAPTER 2. LIRTERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Sherlock from Netflix
Netflix, an American streaming application with over hundred million

international subscribers, becoming one of the world's largest entertainment
services. Sherlock, a modern adaptation of the classic Sherlock Holmes stories
written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is a 90-minute, incredibly fast-paced
television show created and written by Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss and
occasional guest writers. Sherlock Holmes is a brilliant consulting detective who
excels in solving crimes by deducing clues from apparently insignificant
matters. His brilliant intellect, however, is countered by his poor social skills.
The stories are narrated by his friend, Dr. John Watson, a general practitioner
who was injured when he was an army doctor. Sherlock has been praised for the
quality of its writing, acting, and direction. It has been nominated for numerous
awards including Emmys, BAFTAs and a Golden Globe, winning several
awards across a variety of categories. Sherlock has been sold to 180 territories.
On Netflix, Sherlock is translated into many languages in the world including
Vietnamese. Out of all the odd habits of Sherlock, deductions are likely to give
the most trouble to a subtitle translator. They are littered with marked words.
The sentences are remarkably long, and they are delivered at an impressive pace.
Since the word count in these deductions is extremely high, the subtitles will
most likely be forced to omit details. Most likely, important information that
drives the story forward will be retained in the subtitles, while non-essential
information will be the first to be removed. Sherlock's companion, John Watson,
on the other hand, seems to be a simpler man than Sherlock. He is humble and
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thoughtful, and he aims to change people’s lives by healing the sick as a general
practitioner.
The “opposites attract” language certainly refers to these two men because,
despite their obvious disagreements, Sherlock and John are best friends. John

Watson, unlike Sherlock, can be seen as a “normal man”. His personality will
probably hardly influence his language, and so the subtitler would have no extra
trouble to contend with. However, John is the storyteller, and so the viewer is
simply John Watson. It will be fascinating to see if John's position in the
narrative will lead to subtitling issues. Therefore, this thesis selects the famous
series Sherlock on the world’s largest service platform Netflix as one of the
most typical examples in subtitling translation to evaluate the equivalence in
subtitle translation.
2.2 Subtitle translation
Subtitling is a form of literary translation that deviates significantly from
other types of translation. In order to achieve a satisfactory result, more attention
must be paid to the subtitle than just the source text. The visual images and
sound effects of the original product, together with the space and time
constraints that are inextricably linked to subtitling, are just a few issues that a
subtitled translator must keep in mind. According to Henrik Gottlieb, a subtitle
translator needs to have a variety of skills in order to produce a decent
translation: “Apart from being an excellent translator of foreign-language lines,
a good subtitler needs the musical ears of an interpreter, the no-nonsense
judgment of a news editor, and a designer's sense of esthetics. In addition, as
most subtitlers do the electronic time-cueing themselves, the subtitler must also
have the steady hand of a surgeon and the timing of a percussionist” (Gottlieb
2004). This idea certainly sets high standards for every subtitle translator.
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2.2.1 Subtitle and subtitle translation
The Oxford English Dictionary defines “subtitles” as “a subtitles that
appear across the lower part of a cinema screen, or in the frame of a television

program, video recording, etc., and typically provide a translation of a dialog or
a version of it for the benefit of the deaf or the hard of hearing”. Thus, the
spoken dialog is changed into a written text that must be read from the screen
instead of being heard by the audience. This is what Henrik Gottlieb calls
“diagonal translation” because the subtitle deals with “diagonal” translation
from spoken to written, rather than “horizontal” translation from written to
written or spoken to spoken (Ying-Ting 2006). Gottlieb expands this notion by
explaining that subtitling uses a set of channels other than the translation of a
written text.
An example of a monosemiotic text is a book without pictures or drawings.
The only channel used in this book is a written channel. No other channels, such
as visuals or sounds, are present and the translator is therefore able to translate
100% of the source text. The translation of this book is an example of an
isosemotic translation because there is no channel switching; the written source
text is translated into the written target text. Therefore, this form of translation
can be included in what Gottlieb calls “horizontal translation” (Ying-Ting
2006). Films and other forms of multimedia can be found in polysemiotic texts.
These texts use a variety of channels, such as visuals and audio, to convey the
story to the audience. Subtitles created in film and television translation fall
within the category of diasemiotic translation. The spoken dialog is transferred
to the written text in the form of subtitles.
Films and other forms of multimedia contain four channels that play a key
role in their translation:

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1. The verbal audio channel, including dialogue, background voices, and

sometimes lyrics.
2. A non-verbal audio channel, including music, natural sound and sound
effects.
3. The verbal visual channel, including the superimposed titles and the
written sign on the screen.
4. Visual non-verbal channel: image composition and flow .
In a non-translated television program or film, the verbal audio channel
takes the most prominent position. The audience follows the course of the
narrative by listening to the characters on the screen in a spoken dialog. When
subtitles are added to the program, the priority of this channel is shifted to the
priority of the verbal visual channel. However, unlike dubbing where the source
language is completely replaced by the target language, the subtitling leaves the
complete verbal audio channel exactly as it does in the non-translated version of
the program. The only difference is that the verbal auditory channel loses its
primary position on the verbal visual channel. However, since the source text is
still present in the translated version, the translator must be aware that the
audience may have knowledge of the source language.
Today, in the 21st century, the exposure of people in the world to English
is so high that people understand English more or less. It is therefore important
that the translator should try to remain as close as possible to the original text in
terms of how the text is constructed. If grammatical and linguistic structures
deviate too much from the original text, the audience may be distracted from the
narrative. These inconsistencies remind the audience “that they read a
translation, and feel that something is missing or wrong, and thus lose
confidence in the subtitles” (Sanchez 2004). If the audience notices
inconsistencies that are too striking, the translator will not only be criticized for
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his or her work, but the emphasis will also be drawn on the subtitles rather than
on the film or the program itself.
As we have seen, Gottlieb argues that subtitling is a diagonal translation by
shifting channels from the oral to the written channel. However, Ying-Ting
Chuang argues that this notion of diasemiotic translation does not entirely cover
the field of subtitles of translation. She explains that other features of the
multimedia are capable of conveying information that can be of paramount
importance in the creation of subtitles.
Thus, Ying-Ting argues that a subtitle translator should not only pay
attention to spoken dialogue but also consider other modes when creating
subtitles. For this form of translation, the term “intersemiotic translation” is used
by Roman Jakobson. This term is defined as “an interpretation of verbal signs by
means of non-verbal sign systems” (Munday 2008). Indeed, this definition
applies to subtitling, because all modes of subtitling translation are
interconnected in order to create a single form of multimedia, be it film,
television series or documentary. Ying-Ting presents “five semiotic modes most
frequently represented in film text: spoken mode, written mode, mode of music,
mode of sound effects and mode of moving images” (Ying-Ting 2006).
In other words, the subtitles of the translator should take into account, in
addition to the dialog: the written text on the screen, the film score and
accompanying sound effects, and the actual visual images on the screen showing
the actions of the actors. Ying-Ting concludes that the information obtained
from all of these modes can replace the information presented in the dialogue.
“[...] the translator does not have to render everything in the dialogs into
subtitles, but he can choose to ignore the meanings represented in other semiotic
modes. Thus, there are not one-to-one relationships in the translation subtitles,
but many-to-many” (Ying-Ting 2006). The fact that other modes are capable of
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transferring information to the translator may reduce the number and length of
the subtitles shown on the screen. This could be seen as a positive development,
because subtitles are essentially a tool for informing a foreign audience about
what is being said on the screen. Subtitles do, however, contain most
information, so that exclusion should not be taken lightly. I agree that any
semiotic modes that Ying-Ting puts forward should be taken into account when
creating subtitles. However, in many situations, other modes will not be able to
provide the same amount of information and therefore subtitle omissions will
not be possible. For example, if other modes are not present or if the information
they carry is not sufficiently conclusive. It is of the utmost importance that the
audience understands how the story is developing. Therefore, the translator
should not make changes and only use this method if he or she is absolutely
certain that the audience will be able to follow the narrative.
2.2.2 Subtitle constraints
Audio-visual translation differs from other forms of translation in that it is
subject to a number of constraints. These constraints force the translator to make
certain translation decisions that might not have been taken if these constraints
were not linked to the translation of the subtitles. Paola Guardini sets out a list of
three different categories of constraints that affect the translation of audiovisual
products. These include technical constraints, textual limitations and linguistic
constraints.
Technical limitations are concerned with the “time and space of
presentation imposed by the original work” (Guardini 1998). In subtitling, the
limits on the number of characters per subtitle line with a maximum of two lines
per six to seven seconds belong to this category. The amount of time that two
subtitles can be displayed on the screen varies depending on the speed of speech
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and the way the visuals are edited, but six to seven seconds is the average
duration.
The second group of constraints is what Guardini refers to as a textual
constraint. These limitations exist because of “the presence of the visual and
verbal elements of the original, the spatial constraints that imply the reduction of
the original and the change in the medium” (Guardini 1998). This category of
constraints is linked to technical constraints, as time and space constraints may
require the translator to reduce the text dramatically. If, in a short period of time,
a speaker in a film or television program uses a large number of words, the
translator is obliged to reduce the number of words in his or her translation in
order to comply with the technical constraints. Also, in accordance with YingTing theory, visuals played a vital part in storytelling, so that the translator
needs to pay close attention to avoid any inconsistencies between image and
audio. Frederic Chaume supports this notion by saying that “audio-visual
translation differs from other types of translation in that the non-existence of an
image linked to verbal text in these other types allows for the free translation of
an existing sentence, or a play with words, or a joke, for example, without
causing errors of coherence in the semiotic construction of the target text”
(Chaume 19). Images restrict the freedom of the translator because the presence
of images requires the audio to remain as close to the source text as possible. In
the end, this may lead to a loss of stylistic features in the target text. Wordplay
or other forms of humor may be lost in the translation subtitles if the visuals
reduce the translation options of the translator.
Linguistic constraints are the final category of constraints found in
audiovisual translation. Guardini divides this category into two subcategories,
namely the “intra-linguistic” category, which deals with “the differences in
syntax and grammar between the two languages” and the “extra-linguistic”

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category explained as “the problems relating to the surrounding reality”
(Guardini 1998). Intra-linguistic constraints deal with grammatical and syntactic
issues of which there is no equivalent in the target language. In such cases, the
translators must devise other grammatical constructions in order to perform a
satisfactory translation. Extra-Linguistic constraints are related to the source and
target culture. All types of text are influenced by the culture in which the author
resides. The audience with the same cultural background will not be consciously
aware of these cultural influences. However, these features will be noted by a
foreign audience who are not familiar with the customs of the source culture. In
order to avoid a confused audience, the translator needs to provide missing
information. As Denton (2007) elaborates: “Again, this may prove to be a
challenge if the technical constraints of space and time are also taken into
account. Information on the cultural background needs to be added, but
information also needs to be removed, as the dialog is often too long to fit into
the dual subtitles”.
2.3 Equivalence in translation
Equivalence is the relationship between the source text (ST) and the target
text (TT) that allows the TT to be considered as a ST translation. Equivalence is
considered to be a key concept in translation. Some theorists define translation
in terms of equivalence relations (Catford, 1976; Nida and Taber, 1969; Toury,
1995; Koller, 1990) while others reject the theoretical notion of equivalence,
claiming that it is either irrelevant or harmful (Gentzler, 2001) to translation
studies. Other theorists take the middle course. One of them is Baker (1993)
who uses the notion of equivalence “or the sake of convenience—because most
of the translators are used to it rather than because it has any theoretical status”.

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2.3.1 Different approaches to translation equivalence
The theorists gradually adopted the theory of equivalence and introduced
different approaches to translation equivalence.
- Function-based approach: Functional equivalence highlights the impact of
the message on the target language and on the source language reader. Šarčević
(Sarčević 1989) describes the legal functional equivalent as a term in the target
legal system that designates a principle or institution, the function of which is
the same as that of the source legal system. Weston (1991) explains the
importance of functional equivalence in legal translation by implying that the
approach of using a functional equivalent can be considered the optimal form of
translation.
Nida and Taber (1974) proposed two different types of equivalence:
 Formal equivalence: this type of equivalence can be accomplished if
the source language and target language match the form and content
of the message as closely as possible. They also add that there is not
always such a perfect fit between the two languages and recommend
that formal equivalence should be used wherever possible. Formal
equivalence attempts to translate word-by-word.
 Dynamic

equivalence:

unlike

formal

equivalence,

dynamic

equivalence puts more emphasis on equivalent effects. In other
words, this is a kind of equivalence in which translators try to
express meaning in a way that has the same impact on the target
audience as it does on the source language.
- Form-based approach: Form-based or structure-based equivalence is
defined as a more or less direct transmission of source text structures to the
corresponding structures in the target language. It is a process in which the

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interpreter follows the surface form of the source text as much as possible when
constructing the target text.
Baker (1993) introduced four levels of from-based equivalence:
 Equivalence at word level: baker defines the term “word” and states
that one word can have different meanings in different languages,
and she also relates meaning of words with morpheme. Baker
introduces problems at word level and above word level before
proposing some strategies to deal with them
 Grammatical equivalence: grammatical rules may differ across the
language. This can cause some difficulty in finding direct
correspondence in the TL

 Textual equivalence refers to the equivalence of information and
cohesion between the ST and the TT. Whether the cohesive relation
between TT and ST should be maintained is based on three key
factors: the target audience, the purpose of the translation and the
type of test.
 Pragmatic equivalence refers to the implication of the target text. The
translator’s job is to recognize the implied meaning of the source text
and then reproduce it in such a way that the readers of the target text
can understand it clearly without any misunderstandings.
- Meaning-based approach: meaning-based equivalence is defined as a
relationship in terms of meaning in the messages of source language and target
language.
Koller (1990) considered five types of meaning-based equivalence:
 Denotative equivalence: the source language and target language
words have the same denotations.

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 Connotative equivalence: also referred to as stylistic equivalence,
offers additional values in addition to denotative values and relates to
lexical choices between close synonyms.
 Text-normative equivalence: the source language and the target
language are used in the same or identical way in their respective
languages.
 Pragmatic equivalence: is the equivalence in which the source
language and the target language words have the same impact on the
reader.

 Formal equivalence: produces and analogy of form in the translation
by either exploiting formal possibilities of target language, or
creating new forms in target language.
As mentioned above, with high standards and constraints, subtitle
translation has very specific characteristics compared to other translations.
Equivalence approach is an important part of evaluating translation equivalence.
Therefore, this thesis chooses dynamic equivalence translation approach and
uses the criteria of translation universals, laws in descriptive translation study to
evaluate the translation equivalence of Sherlock series subtitles. The theoretical
framework of translation equivalence in descriptive translation study has been
addressed by many translation theorists.
There is really a new perspective of equivalence in the descriptive theory of
translation, this is when (Toury 1995) describes equivalence as “equivalence as
it is used here is not one target-source relationship at all, established on the basis
of a particular type of invariant. Rather, it is a Functional-relational concept;
namely, that set of relationships which will have been found to distinguish
appropriate from inappropriate modes of translation performance for the culture
in question”. As a result, Descriptive analysis or research does not focus on
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whether the target-text section is “equivalent” to the source-text segment, but
rather on the discovery of translational patterns, and the descriptive translation
study tries to examine the choices made by the translator under any translational
factors, such as laws, universals or other factors that affect those choices.
One should not only concentrate on evaluating the semantic or even
cultural aspects of each translational section individually and make a decision as
to whether or not it is acceptable. Rather, the descriptive translation study

focuses on the techniques and methods that have created translation, which is at
the heart of the translation process. In other words, if a text is published or
pretended to be a translation of another text, it is recognized as ST equivalent.
Thus, as (Gentzler, 2001) explains, “translation equivalence becomes a fact, an
empirical matter, to be analyzed rather than assessed against the ST for a
presumed or ideal correctness, and translated texts exist as “replacements” of
specific ST in the receiving culture” The idea is, therefore, to define them, trying
to recognize possible standard patterns that rule translation decisions. The goal
is not to judge the TT as correct or incorrect, accepted or not accepted. In other
words, equivalence exists wherever it is translated, it is the products of the
translation process, from which the world view of translation and equivalence of
researchers changes and varies, as they will try to elucidate the processes that
generated the equivalence and participated in the process.
2.3.2 Descriptive Translation Studies
Gideon Toury (1995) argues that descriptive studies provide the means to
define the regular language features found in the translated texts. The descriptive
element is therefore a vital component of empirical research. The primary
components of the descriptive studies are the prediction of the data that is likely
to be found during research and the description and explanation of the data
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found. Descriptive research is trying to answer the following question of
whether the information collected confirms the researcher's expectations. If not,
why did the outcome differ from the assumptions? By investigating the
credibility of the theory, the data will be found to either match or challenge the
theory tested. If the data received are not consistent with the predicted theory,
the assumptions should be revised in order to match the accumulated data. Mona

Baker summarizes Toury’s argument by saying that “its agenda consists
primarily of investigating what translation is “under any defined set of
circumstances ... and how it is realized” (Baker 1993). Baker points out that it is
important to investigate why certain patterns can be seen in translation. This
research should be carried out by closely monitoring the universal features of
translations. If particular deviations from the source text are found throughout a
large body of texts, it is highly likely that translation universals can be found.
Another important feature of Descriptive Translation Studies is that its
research methods must be designed in such a way that they can be duplicated by
future scholars. ‘One of its main objectives is to make the findings of individual
studies intersubjective and to make the studies themselves “repeatable, either for
the same or for another corpus”’(Baker 1993). By conducting research in a
similar manner, the data found will be more reliable because the research
method has already been validated by previous research. Careful selection of a
well-defined corpus will also help to achieve the best possible results.
Descriptive studies therefore rely heavily on empirical research.
2.3.3 Translation universals
The concept of translation universal was first proposed in 1995 by Gideon
Toury, an Israeli scholar and translator. In his work Descriptive Translation
Studies and Beyond, Toury (1995) sets out his ideas on this translation
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phenomenon, claiming that “the cumulative findings of descriptive studies
should make it possible to formulate a series of coherent laws that would
establish an inherent relationship between all the variables found to be relevant
to translation”. In other words, by conducting empirical research, descriptive
studies should provide evidence that confirms the presence of certain regularities

that exist in all translated texts. There are two important aspects to these
translation regularities.
First, these regularities contain syntactic, linguistic or lexical behaviors that
deviate from the source text. Second, these translation variations need to occur
on a regular basis. Toury referred to these phenomena as “translation laws”. Not
all scholars, however, agree with this terminology. The majority prefer the term
“translation universal” because they consider these translation features to be
universally present in all translations. These translation laws or translation
universals have become the starting point for a lot of academic research in the
field of translation studies. Scholars still speculate whether translation universals
actually exist and, if so, what categories can be identified.
The fact that Translation Studies has developed into an empiric science can
be traced back to an American scholar named James Holmes (Toury 1995).
According to Toury, until 1987, Holmes’ theories were largely unknown to a
wide audience. He believed that Holmes' work was the cornerstone of
Translation Studies and that his ideas should therefore be known to the wider
public. Toury finally made his theories known to an international audience.
Baker (1993) uses the following quotation from Holmes to illustrate his views
on Translation Studies: “Many of the weaknesses and naiveties of contemporary
translation theories are the result of the fact that the theories were largely
deductively developed, without the use of actual translated texts, or, at best, of a
very limited corpus introduced for illustration rather than for verification”.
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