Pinpointing the Choice: Meaning and the Search for Equivalents in a Translated Text
Theoretical Explorations in Translation Studies - Readings Empowered by Systemic Functional Linguistics - Bo Wang
M.A.K. Halliday † [+]
University of Sydney (Emeritus)
M.A.K. Halliday, who died in April 2018, was born in Yorkshire in 1925. He was trained in Chinese for war service with the British army; studied in China, taught Chinese in Britain for a number of years, then moved into linguistics, becoming in 1965 Professor of General Linguistics at University College London. In 1975 he was appointed Foundation Professor of Linguistics at the University of Sydney, where he remained until his retirement.
Description
Halliday provides further discussion on translation equivalence and translation shift. Emphasizing the notion of choice in meaning-making, Halliday delineates the notion of “pinpointing the choice” and interprets translation as the exercise of choice. While making choices, a translator will give priority to these forms of equivalence, and accept the resulting shift elsewhere.