L’acte traductif : de la correspondance à l’équivalence

Abstract

The act of translation: from correspondence to equivalence

Beyond the correspondences, the equivalences are central in the translation operation, they refer to a similar thought by designating the same object, this is an act of creativity. Correspondences are subject to repetition, being a fact of language. Translation concerns texts, its space, it is the speech where the words and sentences are enriched by the mental and emotional contribution of the readers. We then switch from lexical correspondence to mental representation which is part of a deverbalizing process, not translating a linguistic system, but imagining situations that the mind provides far from the original utterances, and taking into consideration the unsaid, the implicit, the signified. Translating is not then a reproduction of a text, but a production of a new text with a different form, considering the form of material, therefore not reproducible. This is why it is necessary to release the values, determine the effects of meaning and then look for correspondences, even equivalences between the two languages allowing the same effects to be created. The equivalences are the product of the creativity of the person working on the text, because beyond the word, the words produce the meaning that they bring to the surface, expressing the object and not the vehicle that designates it. It is a question of taking up the thoughts, even the emotions of an author, this form of otherness, this way of standing out from oneself and going towards this author.