Foreignization and Domestication In the literature translation.doc

foreignization and domesticationin the literature translationoutline:1,the definition of foreignization and domestication1.1 whats foreignization1.2 whats domestication2,contrast of foreignization and domestication2.1 comparison of the titles of literature2.2 comparison of the translation of kinship terms2.3 comparison of the translation of cultural words3,foreignization and domestication exist simultaneously3.1 the defect of overuse foreignization3.2 the merit of domestication3.3 both foreignization and domestication make text perfect4,conclusion摘 要文学翻译涉及到许多复杂的文化因素,在文学翻译中,译者必须考虑原语与目的语之间的文化距离.归化和异化在这方面发挥了很重要的作用.但是与归化相比,读者更愿意接受异化. 异化不仅在文章形式上,而且在文化移植方面都有很多的优点.异化保留了原语语言的表达方式和文学寓意,异化倾向于原语文化,目的是为了保留原语文化.异化读者体会到不同国家之间的文化差异,并且使他们能够更好的理解原文及其文化.然而,在文学翻译中过度的使用异化也会有负面影响,它可能让读者对译文产生含糊感,觉得译文没有可读性.实际上,归化也有其自身的优点,它可使读者对译文产生熟悉感和认可性.所以在文学翻译中归化和异化不可以完全分开.首选是异化,然后归化可以作为补充,且两者同时并存.【关键词】 翻译 异化 归化 对比abstractthe translation of literature involves many complicated cultural factors. and cultural distance between the source and target cultures requires some considerations in the translation of literature. the foreignization and domestication play important roles in it. but compared with domestication, foreignization is more acceptable by readers. foreignization has lots of advantages not only in the text form but also in the function of culture transplant. foreignization maintains the original linguistic expression or literary images in the source language. foreignization is oriented towards the source-language culture and its aim is to preserve source culture. foreignization makes readers know the cultural differences between different countries, and comprehend the original text and culture better. while overuse foreignization in the translation of literature has negative influence. it may bring readers the ambiguity or unreadability of the translation. in fact, domestication also has its own merits. it can make the text recognizable and familiar. so foreignization and domestication cant be separated completely in the translation of literature.the first choice is foreignization, the last resort is domestication. and both of them exist simultaneously【key words】: translation foreignization domestication contrast1,the definition of foreignization and domesticationthe translation of literature involves many complicated cultural factors. in the translation of literature, cultural distance between the source and target cultures requires some considerations. the foreignization and domestication, these two translation strategies play important roles in it. while, what are the foreignization and domestication in the west, the rudiment of domestication and foreignization can be traced far back to word-for-word translation and sense-for-sense translation put forward by gcero, horace and jerome during the period of ancient rome. domestication and foreignizatin are extension of the two concepts of literal translation and free translation. foreignization and domestication, as a pair of important binary theories, are paid more and more attention by translators.1.1 whats foreignizationdictionary of translation studies gives the definition of foreignization , to a certain extent, maintaining the foreignness of the source text and break the linguistic nom of the target language. such as 胆小如鼠( as timid as a mouse ) win-win situation(双赢局势)crocodile tears(鳄鱼的眼泪). all these examples are mostly translated by word-for-word .the structures are remained. foreignization in the translation of literature is to maintain the particular linguistic expression in native language, which helps the target reader to know cultural differences between different counties. in fact, foreignization is the process of culture transplant, as the diagram shows:a languagetranslateb languagea culturetransplanta culturea language packed with a culture was translated to b language packed with a culture. a culture was just transplanted. it just moved its place. e.g.(1) 他总是事后诸葛亮.he is always zhugeliang, the master after the event.(2) nobody can predict whether another pandora box is opened when human can be cloned没有人可以预言对人的克隆是否意味着开了一个潘多拉的盒子会给人类带来各种各样的灾难.(3)心较比干多一窍,病如西子胜三分she looked more sensitive than pikan, more delicate than his shihin these examples, we can see that both sentences remain the original culture and linguistic expression. reader can learn the source cultures. a dream of red mansions translated by yangxianyi is the typical example of foreignization.e.g. 闲静时如娇花照水,行动处似弱柳扶风.in repose, she was like a lovely flower mirrored in the water.in motion, a pliant willow swaying in the wind.1.2 whats domesticationdomestication means the opposite of the foreignization. domestication doesnt emphasis on syntactical and morphological traces of the original, and doesnt maintain the source culture. it close to the target language and let the translation reads like the native language. domestication is concerned mainly with messages.e.g. 天有不测风云,人有旦夕祸福the weather and human life are both unpredictablebirds of a feather flock together 物以类聚to kill two birds with one stone 一箭双雕all these examples are the sense-for sense translation. they didnt maintain the source culture. domestication is the process of culture , the diagram is as followa languagetranslateb languagea culturetransferb culturea language packed with a culture was translated to b language packed with b culture, the culture was transferred from a culture to b culture. e.g. (1) 他跟老人招呼了一声吃过了没有,老伯 good morning, grandpa he greeted the old man.(2) 他总是事后诸葛亮 he is always wise after event(3) no, ye poor, lost soul, that ye mustnt do.不,你这迷途的羔羊啊!千万不能这样做.the purpose of domestication is to make the text recognizatable and familiar and thus brings the foreign culture close to the reader in the target culture. so in the literature translation, translators often make some semantic extension and abridging lengthy writings,to satisfy the readersdemand. ducis use domestication in the translation of hamlet to fit the french taste. and another typical example of domestication is the story of the stone translated by david hawkes.e.g. 闲静时如娇花照水,行动处似弱柳扶风.their beauty were beyond description. (hawkes)2,contrast of foreignization and domesticationalthough domestication and foreignization are good strategies in literature translation. with the rapid development of cultural communication, the readers horizon is being greatly widened. readers are more interested in the different elements of foreign cultures. foreignization is faithful to the original text and the source cultural spirits. while domestication doesnt emphsis on the equlence with the original text. so foreignization is more acceptable than domestication. luxun , a great writer ,was the advocator of foreignizing translation in china. he tried to maintain the foreigners of foreign works, in order to introduce news thoughts and ideas into china(潘文国 ; p178 ). and in west, venuti is the representative of foreignization. foreignization do have more advantage. here we make some comparisons between foreignization and domestication.2.1 comparison of the titles of literatureas a mode of cultural transmission, the titles of literature also have abundant cultural connotations. therefore, the translation of titles of literatures are not only a matter of word rendering, but also a matter of culture rendering . if the titles are with somewhat color of foreignal culture. it can attract more target readers. they are more curious about the foreign culture. all these can be reached only through foreignization.for the title of hong lou meng, hawkes translated it into the story of the stone. he just considerated the acceptability of ordinary european readers. he just tried to create an image that conforms to western cultural values. because stone has deep metaphoric meaning in western literature. while mryang translated the title into a dream of red mansions through foreignization. this title is faithful to the source text, and retains the foreignness of chinese culture. and it will attract the readers who show a real interest in the oriental culture and who also want to keep in close contact with the real culture and the foreignness of that culture.another example is the famous novel水浒传. pearl s.buck translated it all men are brothers. although its very easy to understand, its not proper. because not all the people in liangshan marsh, considered others as brothers. its far from the source text. sidney shapiros outlaws of the marsh is better. and there are more good instances, which succeed in using the translation method of foreignization such as herbert.a.giless. strange tales from a chinese studio is not better than yangxianyis selected tales from liaozhai. arthus waleys analects of confucius is better than thomas clearys essential of confucius.2.2 comparison of the translation of kinship termsin the translation of kinship terms, yangxianyi mainly uses the method of foreignization, aiming to introduce chinese culture to the western country, while david hawkes mainly adopts the method of domestication with the focus on the target readers and omits the honorifics as many as possible. chinese feudal society is a patriarchal society, which means the rule that center on kindred and gives a judgment about the near and distant relative by lineage. so they emphasized the honorifics. its obvious that domestication cant show the source culture well. e.g. (1) 宝玉向林黛玉说道:你听见了没有,难道二姐姐也跟我撒谎不成 宝玉笑道:太太不知道这缘故.宝姐姐先在家里住着,那薛大哥的事,他也不知道.林妹妹在背后羞我,打谅我撒谎呢.(第二十八回) yang: pao-yu appealed to tai-yu. you heard whats been said. would my cousin his-feng back me up if i were lying you dont know the reason, madam. pao-yu grinned. even when cousin pao-chai lived with her family she didnt know her brothers doingsbut just now cousin tai-yu, sitting at the back, drew a finger across her cheek to shame me because she thought i was fibbing. hawkes: bao-yu turned to dai-yu. did you hear what feng said he asked her. i hope youre not going to say that she was lying. bao-yu only laughed. you dont know the reason, mother. bao-chai didnt know a half of what cousin xue got up to, even when she was living with her mother outside; what you dont realize is that cousin lin was all the time sitting behind her making signs to show that she didnt believe me. in this example, there are four appellations including宝姐姐,薛大哥二姐姐,林妹妹. 二姐姐is wang hsi-feng who is pao-yus cousin and sister-in-law .宝姐姐 whose mother is his mothers sister is also his girl cousin. 薛大哥is 宝姐姐s brother, therefore, he is pao-yus boy cousin. as for 林妹妹, she is his aunts daughter. all these addressing terms can be translated into cousin because the word cousin can designate the children of aunts and uncles with no distinction between male and female, old and young, near and distant. english native speakers usually use cousin + first name to call the sons or daughters of their uncles and their aunts. contrarily, the word cousin can indicate all the children of maternal side and paternal side including 姑表哥,堂哥,舅表哥 and so on in chinese. in chinese patriarchal clan system, the complicated family tree in large extended family leads to the complex addressing terms. while not in western countries.so theyre translated by hawks respectively into bao-chai, cousin-xue, cousin lin, feng. however, in yangs translation, they are cousin pao-chai, her brother,cousin dai-yu, my cousin hsi-feng. yangs translation is better because he takes the habitual usage of the target language into consideration. the translation by hawks may lead to the misunderstanding of the readers. they are likely to think that the first name of pao-chai and tai-yu is xue and lin respectively.(2) -况且这通身的气派,竟不像老祖宗的外孙女,竟是个嫡亲的孙女,怨不得老祖宗天天口头心头一时不忘-yang:her whole air is so distinguished! she doesnt take after her father, son-in-law of our old ancestress, but looks more like a chia. no wonder our old ancestress couldnt put you out of her mind and was for ever talking or thinking about youhawkes:and everything about her is so distingue! she doesnt take after your side of the family, grannie. shes more like jia.yangxianyi translated it to old ancestress. it can not only express that wangxi-feng want to show her great respect to grandmother jia deliberately, but also emphasize the powerful prestige of grandmother jia in the family. while hawks translated 老祖宗 into grannie. it cant let readers know the original meaning. yangyixians translation is more close to the original text. 2.3 comparison of the translation of cultural wordsthe cultural word that carries the meaning of a cultural trait particular to a certain socio-cultural community, that is, whose referent is a unique thing or conception, and therefore that has no corresponding equivalent in other communities, when it is used in cross-cultural communication, is called word of cultural unique or culture word( 周志培; p491). in the translation of literature, only through foreignization can the target culture reader know the unique and can particular culture be embodied the cultural difference between original text and target. for instance,谋事在人,成事在天man proposes, heaven disposes (yang)man proposes, god disposes ( hawkes )巧媳妇做不出没米的粥even the cleverest housewife cant cook a meal without rice (yang)even the cleverest housewife cant make bread without flour (hawkes )in the two examples, we can compared translation of 天and粥.in china people worship天(heaven).because buddhism has been deeply noted in chinese ideology and they have rice as the main cereal foods. while in the western countries most people are christians and they believe in god, and because of the different geographical conditional, they have bread. other examples, such as sofa translated 沙发, coffee translated 咖啡, new zealand translated 新西兰, mini-skirt translated 迷你裙,饺子translated jiaozi. all these used foreignization to show the unique and particular culture successfullyin one word, to avoid the loss and distortion of cultural features and also to enrich our language, translators should use the foreignization in the translation of literature as possible as they can, and try their best to transplant foreign cultures into our language and at the same time to introduce our culture to outside world in an acceptable way.3,foreignization and domestication exist simultaneously3.1 the defect of overuse foreignizationforeignization has lots of advantages. its an effective way for the enrichment of the target language and culture, but there is no such thing as absolute foreignization. there is no version, which is completely foreignization from the beginning to end of a text. foreignization aims to close to the source language. it maintains the original language expression. but in this sense foreignization is limited. for instance, chinese readers have accepted 上帝 or 黑色星期五, but they may not accept the expression浑身起鹅皮疙瘩which is be gooseflesh all over in english. and its likely that chinese people will never say 胃里有蝴蝶 (have butterflies in ones stomach),when they feel nervous. there is one piece of poetry autumn thoughts天净沙.秋思马致远枯藤老树昏鸦,小桥流水人家,古道西风瘦马.夕阳西下,断肠人在天涯tr.schlepps version ( foreignization)dry vine, old tree, crows at dusk,low bridge, stream running, cottages,ancient road, west wind, lean nag,the sun westeringand one with breaking heart at the skys edgetr.ding zuxin&burton raffles version ( domestication)withered vines hanging on old branches,returning crows croaking at dusk.a few houses hidden past a narrow bridge,and below the bridge quiet creek running.down a worn path, in the west wind,a lean horse comes plodding.the sun dips down in the west,and the lovesick traveler is still at the end of the world.compared with the domestication version, foreignization version is very close to the content and form of source text, but the space of images for readers is very small. and it let readers feel boring. overuse foreignization will become imitate the linguistic structure of the original language so as to create a foreignized chinese.besides, foreignization is concerned with cultural connotation foreignization is also limited to the receptivity of the target readership which of course is restricted by the recipient environment. for example:我属鸡,我从来不吃鸡,鸡年是我的本命年.i was born in the year of the rooster. i never eat chicken. the year of the rooster will bring me good luck or bad luckafter reading this translation, the target reader may be somewhat confused, because he doesnt understand whats the year of the rooster and why it will bring good or bad luck to a person born in this year. another example:难道这是痴丫头,又像颦儿来葬不成 因又笑到:若真也葬花,可谓东施效颦了,不但不为新奇,而是更可厌.can this be another absurd maid come to bury flower like taiyu he wondered in some amusement. if so, shes tung shih imitating his shih, which isnt original but rather tiresome.the target reader also cant understand well this translation. because the readers dont know his shih is a famous beauty in the ancient kingdom of yueh. tung shih was an ugly girl who tried to imitate her ways .just only using foreignization, the target readers may be arise ambiguity or unreadability of the translation even caused by cultural default.3.2 the merit of domesticationwhen foreignization cant express the original text and original cultural connotation well. domestication is a good choice. in fact, domestication also has its own merit. domestication translation is concerned mainly with message. its reader-based. it has a great communicative function of the translation. its easy for the target reader to comprehend and accept the translated version