The document discusses the features and limitations of communicative and semantic translation, highlighting the focus on contextual meaning, reader acceptance, and the balance between accuracy and comprehensibility. It outlines issues of overtranslation and undertranslation, explaining how each can lead to non-equivalence in translated works. Ultimately, both approaches deviate from the ideal of a faithful and expressive translation.

1. COMMUNICATIVE
TRANSLATION

2. FEATURES
O It attempts to render the exact contextual meaning of
the original in such a way that both content and
language are readily acceptable and comprehensive to
the readership.
O Reader-centred.
O Related to speech.
O Easy reading, smoother, more natural.
O Contents more accessible to the reader.
O Equivalence effect.
O It tends to UNDERTRANSLATE.

3. SEMANTIC
TRANSLATION

4. FEATURES
O It attempts to render, as closely as the semantic and
syntactic structures of TL allows, the exact contextual
meaning of the original.
O Is accurate, but may not communicate properly.
O It emphasizes the ‘’loyalty’’ to the original text.
O It is personal and individual.
O It is normally inferior to its original, as there is both
cognitive and pragmatic loss.
O It tends to OVERTRANSLATE.

5. LIMITS ON
TRANSLATION

6. OVERTRANSLATION
- It tends to add more words than in the original.
- It uses more information that is not in the original
text or uses words in a broader way which could
lead to a misunderstanding between the source
language and the target language.
- Sometimes we overtranslate because of LACK OF
EQUIVALENCE.

7. UNDERTRANSLATION
- It tends to use less words than in the original text.
- It is briefer and simpler.
- Overestimates the knowledge reserve of the target
language readers and neglects the comprehensibility
of the translated works, which could lead to a lack
of necessary information that the source language
attempts to convey.

8. To conclude, both overtranslation and under-
translation are deviation from the ideal, faithful
and expressive translation.
And there is one common thing between
overtranslation and undertranslation that both of
the two translations produce non-equivalence in
translated works.