The problem of functional equivalence in translation between Arabic and Chinese "The Life of Muhammad by the writer Muhammad Hussein Heikal as an example" - Contrastive study – 阿汉语言翻译中的功能对等问题 “以穆罕默德的生平 - （埃）海卡尔著为例” – 对比分析研究-

Abstract

This study analyzes the Chinese translation of The Life of Muhammad by Dr. Muhammad Husayn Haykal through the lens of Eugene Nida’s Functional Equivalence Theory and Katharina Reiss and Juliane House’s Translation Quality Assessment Model. The research explores how effectively equivalence is achieved between the Arabic source text and the Chinese target text, examining linguistic, cultural, and contextual factors influencing translation quality and communicative intent.

The study is structured into five chapters. The first outlines the theoretical background, reviewing major translation theories and emphasizing the role of functional equivalence as the study’s main framework. The second introduces the text under study, highlighting its historical and religious significance as a work that intertwines literature, faith, and Arab culture. The third presents the theoretical foundation, detailing Nida’s and House’s models and their applicability to literary and religious translation.

The fourth chapter offers a comprehensive analysis at four levels:

Lexical — examining culture-loaded words (ecological, material, social, religious, linguistic).

Syntactic — analyzing serial verb constructions and attribute order.

Textual/discourse — exploring contextual and cultural coherence.

Stylistic — evaluating how literary and spiritual effects are maintained.

The conclusion stresses the need to balance faithfulness and adaptation, ensuring both semantic precision and cultural resonance. It underscores the role of translators as cultural mediators bridging civilizations and calls for integrating theoretical insight with practice to improve cross-cultural translation quality.