Linguistic Theories of Translation and It’s Importance
Dr. S. Vijaya Rajeswari
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Translation, Tamil University, Thanjavur.
drvijitranslation@tamiluniversity.ac.in
Submitted on: 11.12.2025
Accepted on: 25.12.2025
Abstract: Linguistic theories of translation tries to examine how the grammatical structure of the language, vocabulary, and meaning can shape the translation process. Though the translation process also includes cultural, ideological, and creative extents, linguistic theories provide the important and essential tools and concepts for understanding how languages are functioning at a structural level. These theories inspect how translators navigate between different linguistic systems and how structural differences impacts on translation strategies.
This paper will explore some linguistic approaches—from early structuralist models to modern functional and cognitive theories —and shows how each framework describes language phenomena with examples that show their application in real translation practice.
Key Words: Translation studies, Linguistic theories of translation, Formal Equivalence, Language structure, Dynamic Equivalence.