【正文】 s authority) and pathos (how the reader feels about the text).Afterwards, Nida prefered to use the term “functional equivalence”. “funtional equivalence” means not only the equivalence between the function of the original text in the original culture and the function of the target text in the target culture. This term contains more than the structure of texts. The Significance of Functional Equivalence TheoryFunctional Equivalence Theory has a profound influence on the translation field. From the macroscopic perspective , Functional Equivalence Theory is different from the traditional thoughts, and provides the studies on translation with new perspectives, and brings new concepts and methods into translation. At the same time, it also gives out challenges to traditional translation thoughts and gives a blow to the translation theories based on Empiricism. Functional Equivalence Theory lays a solid foundation for the modern translation theories. What we must put emphasis on is Functional Equivalence Theory promotes the development of translation study. From the microcosmic perspective, Functional Equivalence Theory solves the problem between the literal translation and free translation, and it arouses many constructive suggestion for translators. Therefore, no matter from the perspective of theory or practice, it has a significant influence on translation studies. Functional Equivalence Theory and ChineseEnglish MenuSince Functional Equivalence Theory focuses on “the closest natural equivalent” in translation process, it is both theoretical and practical for the English translation of Chinese menu. Though as we have discussed above, Chinese dishes are of many varieties and styles, so we should employ different techniques to translate them respectively in line with Functional Equivalence Theory of Nida.During the process of translating the Chinese menu into English, we should do our best to understand the dish itself first, such as its ingredients, methods of preparation and nutritious facts and so on. The key of this translation is to help readers to understand the true meaning of the dish. That is why I choose Functional Equivalence as the translation theory of my paper.Chapter 3 The Current Situation of the ChineseEnglish Menu TranslationAs the English translation of Chinese menu bees more and more important in munication between Chinese and foreign people, we should pay more attention to the current situation and future development of the CE menu translation. Introduction to Chinese Menu in English VersionWhat is Chinese menu in English version? Actually, It is a kind of text message. The Chinese Cuisinart first didn’t have its menu, and it learned that from the w。– which led to critical accusations that this was just senseforsense translation in new guise. But if response is taken in its full extension, dynamic equivalence could include not only what Aristotle (in the Rhetoric) calls logos (meaning and structure) but ethos (the reader39。 another is that Holmes classified translation into “independent discipline”. As Nida puts it, “No holistic approach to translating can exclude semiotics as a fundamental discipline in encoding and decoding sign.” (Nida, 1993)As a matter of fact, Equivalence Theory was firstly put forward by Lie E. V. Rieu, and on the basis of these thoughts, Nida came up with his own thoughts. Therefore, in the early years of 1960s, Nida put forward Formal Equivalence Theory. Afterwards, in the book The Theory and Practice of Translation, he further developed this theory. .Functional Equivalence Theory includes two parts: one is dynamic equivalence, the other is formal equivalence. The two terms are coined by Eugene Nida. They have been understood as free translation (translating the meanings of phrases or whole sentences) and literal translation (translating the meanings of individual words in their more or less exact syntactic sequence) respectively. In Nida’s opinion, the two methods for translation is really important, and they can be used in different translation situations. But his original definition of dynamic equivalence was rhetorical: the idea was that the translator should translate so that the effect of the translation on the target reader is roughly the same as the effect of the source text once was on the source reader.(1969:29,45) The Development of Functional Equivalence TheoryAround the 19th century, Yan Fu, a great translator, e up with the three principle of translation—faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance, which is known to most of us. Faithfulness means equivalence, mainly concerning the original text and the author. Expressiveness refers to the relationship between the translation and the target readers. It focus on expressing the thought of the original text through various techniques. What’s more, elegance relates to style. All in all, Yan Fu made great contributions to the development of translation of China. In the following days, a lot of translators and translation theorist showed up, such as Lu Xun, Qu Qiubai and Ji Xianlin, and so on. They also put forward a great number of translation theories related to the equivalence theory in the western world. All of them have done a lot to the development of functional equivalence theory. Functional equivalence is one of the most suitable translation theories for CE menu translation. Briefly, , Nida, Catford, Baker, Newmark and Wilss, all of these theorists have contributed to explaining the connotation of equivalence, approached equivalence from different perspectives and all have contributed much to this area of research.The development of Functional Equivalence Theory can be divided into three phases.The first is Functional Equivalence Theory on the basis of the modern linguistics. He successfully applied the research achievements of the modern linguistics into translation the