Interlingual translation has never been an easy task. Much ink has flown on discussing the term
equivalence in translation. It has sometimes been said that the overriding purpose of any
translation should be to achieve equivalent effect,i.e. to produce the same effect on the
readership of the translation as was obtained on the readership of the original. Will (1982)
acknowledges the concept of translation equivalence(TE) as the “essential issue not only in
translation theory, over the last 2000 years, but also in modern translation studies” (p.134). He
even emphasizes that “there is hardly any other concept in translation theory which has
produced as many contradictory statements and has set off as many attempts at an adequate,
comprehensive definition as the concept of TE” (p.134).
