On Foreignization and Domestication in Translation--from the Perspective of Cross-cultural1.txt

黯黯黯黯黯緭黯黯:黯 abstractone of the most striking features in contemporary translation studies is theorientation towards cultural transfer rather than linguistic transfer.generally speaking,there are two principal strategies to deal with culture involved in translation,namely,tl(target language)culture-oriented domestication and sl(source language)culture-oriented foreignization.because of the differences between the sl culture andthe tl culture,a translator is bound to face a choice.so it is inevitable to have theinclination of domestication or foreignization for a translation.it is safe to say that thetwo translation strategies have always dominated the central place of translation studies.in this paper,a tentative study on foreignization and domestication will be madefrom historical arguments,the advantages and limitations of them will be analyzed,thefactors that are likely to influence a translators selection of translation strategies will beinduced.in chapter one,a brief account about language,translation and culture is given.language is a component of culture and plays a very important role in culture.language and culture rely on each other.without language,culture would be impossible.on the other hand,language is influenced and shaped by culture;it reflects culture.from the perspective of intercultural communication,a translation is in fact a culturalproduct of the original work filtered by the translator.in chapter two,the paper mainly introduces these two translation strategies,theiradvocates,theoretical basis,the debates on them and their functions in culturecommunication.chapter three analyzes the factors conditioning the use of these two strategies.several factors affect the choice of these two strategies such as the purpose oftranslation,translator intention,text type and reader acceptance.chapter four mainly discusses the dialectical relationship between domesticationand foreignization.there are occasions on which demestication or foreignization shouldbe employed,and there are also occasions on which these two strategies should becombined.in the last part,it is concluded that the two strategies have their respective featuresand applicable values.overemphasis of one strategy from a static and absoluteviewpoint is one-sided and unscientific.it is suggested that dialectical views on the twotranslation strategies should be adopted in the translation process.key words:translation culture domestication foreignization contents icontentsintroduction1chapter one language,culture and translation51.1 definition of culture.51.2 relationship between translation,language and culture61.2.1 language and culture.61.2.2 translation and culture71.3 translatability and untranslatability of culture8chapter two an introduction to domestication andforeignization112.1 definition of domestication and its theoretical basis112.2.definition of foreignization and its theoretical basis.122.3 debates on domestication and foreignization in history.132.3.1 debates on domestication and foreignization in the west132.3.2 debates on domestication and foreignization in china162.4 function of domestication and foreignization.172.4.1.domestication in cultural communication.182.4.2.foreignization in cultural communication.19chapter three factors conditioning the choice ofstrategies.253.1 purpose of translation.253.2 translator intention273.3 text type.293.4 reader acceptance313.5 constraints of domestication and foreignization.353.5.1 stylistic constraints353.5.2 cultural constraints363.5.3 historical constraints.37 on foreignization and domestication in translation-from the perspective of cross-culturalcommunicationiichapter four relationship between domestication andforeignization.394.1 different views on the relationship between domestication and foreignization 394.2 occasions on which foreignization should be employed.404.3 occasions on which domestication should be employed.514.4 the combination of domestication and foreignization.54conclusion.57acknowledgements.59bibliography.61notes.65 introduction 1introductiontranslation is a complicated activity of cross-cultural communication,serving as amedium for the exchange of intellectual products.as a bridge,the primary function oftranslation is communication.the attitude and the approaches employed by thetranslator have a great influence on the efficiency of communication between the sourcetext author and the target language reader and between the source culture and the targetculture.the history of translation witnesses many heatedly-debated issues,such as whattranslation is,a science or an art or a craft?what approach should be used,source textwriter-oriented or target language reader-oriented?what method should be used,literaltranslation or free translation?what criteria should be adhered to,faithfulness,smoothness or elegance or some others?and whether a work is translatable oruntranslatable?all those arguments are reasonable,each of them revealing somecharacteristics of translation,so they are complementary to each other.over the years,translators have shown increasing interest in the problems arisingfrom cultural differences in translation.generally speaking,there are two principalstrategies to tackle them in translation,namely,domesticationandforeignization,which are defined by lawrence venuti as follows:domestication means bringing theforeign culture closer to the reader in the target culture,making the text recognizableand familiar.foreignization,on the other hand,means taking the reader over to theforeign culture,making him or her see the cultural and linguistic difference.1(venuti,1995:19-20)the controversy between domestication and foreignization is something frequentlyconcerned in recent translation studies in the west and in china.relevant discussionscan be found in essays on this topic in translation journals and some collections oftranslation studies in publication.with the development of translation studies,the focusof research has shifted from language transformation to cross-cultural communication.at present,more and more people regard translation as an activity of communicationbetween different languages and cultures.when target language readers and sourcelanguage readers have different cultural backgrounds,the problem of dealing withcultural elements will emerge saliently.foreignization issource-language-writer-oriented or source-text-oriented,while domestication istarget-language-reader-oriented or target-text-oriented.as a matter of fact,translation isa means of bridging different cultures,so the target language reader need taste the exoticflavors of other cultures.at the same time,however,the very purpose of translation is to on foreignization and domestication in translation-from the perspective of cross-culturalcommunication2help the target language reader to understand the source text in an attempt to bridge thegap between different cultures.the two strategies of translation are actually mutuallycomplementary to each other,if they are appropriately employed according to specificpurposes of translation.this thesis aims at making a tentative study of the two translation strategies,domestication and foreignization,from the following four aspects:a brief survey ofthem,the historical debates on them,the factors influencing the choice of them and therelationship between them.the purpose of this thesis is to provide a deeper and fullerunderstanding of domestication and foregnization.with this aim in mind,this thesis isdivided into four chapters:in chapter one,a brief account of language,translation and culture is given.language is a component of culture and plays a very important role in culture.language and culture rely on each other.without language,culture would be impossible.on the other hand,language is influenced and shaped by culture;it reflects culture.from the perspective of intercultural communication,a translation is in fact a culturalproduct of the original work filtered by the translator.a conclusion is drawn thattranslation and culture are closely linked.translation can both enrich culture and beinfluenced by culture.likewise,culture has influenced on translation and it may bothpromote and influence or even restrict translation activities.so language,translation andculture may interact on each other forever.chapter two is a brief survey of the history of domestication and foreignization.itprovides a detailed account of some fundamental issues in the study of domesticationand foreignization,including their definitions,theoretical basis and their functions inculture communication.this chapter also presents that the debates on domestication andforeignization have permeated the history of translation both in the west and in china.chapter three focuses on the factors conditioning the choice of the translationstrategies.generally speaking,there are many factors at work,among which the mostimportant four are the purpose of translation,writer intention,text type and readeracceptance.understanding these factors can help a translator to choose an appropriatetranslation strategy.first,a translator should try to avoid biases and remain objective.second,he should consider the above four factors before he decides whether to adaptthe original text or to retain as much as possible the foreign flavor of the original text.chapter four mainly discusses the dialectical relationship between domesticationand foreignization.there are occasions on which demestication or foreignization shouldbe employed,and there are also occasions on which these two strategies should be introduction 3combined.in the last part,it is concluded that the two strategies have their respective featuresand applicable values.in respect to communication,both domestication andforeignization are acceptable to some extent.what really matters is to what extent thetwo strategies should be employed.overemphasis of one strategy from a static andabsolute viewpoint is one-sided and unscientific.it is suggested that dialectical views onthe two translation strategies should be adopted in the translation process in accordancewith different purposes of translation,different readerships,intentions of differentwriters,and different source texts. on foreignization and domestication in translation-from the perspective of cross-culturalcommunication4 chapter one language,culture and translation 5chapter one language,culture and translation1.1 definition of culturetranslationprobably as the ultimate purpose of foreign language acquisition,copes with language.language is correlated with culture.translation,therefore,has todo with culture.however,the termculturemay bring up more problems than it cansolve.there is really very little agreement on the concept of it.various definitions havebeen suggested by scholars and experts from different points of view.according toencyclopedia britannic,there are about 160 definitions of culture.whats more,newdefinitions are still being brought up and added up to it.the definitions suggested rangefrom all-encompassing ones such asit is everythingto narrower ones such asit isopera,art and ballet.some scholars investigate culture from several different fields.tothem,the scope of culture is different.generally,culture has been interpreted in twosenses,a broad sense and a narrow one.in its broad sense,culture is the attributes ofman.in this sense,whatever distinguishes man from the rest part of the world is culture.culture in its broad sense is also calledlarge c cultureoracademic culture.culturein its narrow sense is also calledsmall c cultureoranthropological culture.the firstdefinition of culture was offered by the british scholar edward burnett tylor.accordingto him,culture isthat complex whole which includes knowledge,belief,art,morals,law,customs and other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of asociety.large c cultureoracademic cultureincludes every aspect of social life,which reflects social civilization such as literature,art,music,architect,philosophy,scientific achievement,and so on;whilesmall c cultureoranthropological cultureemphasizes the customs,habits and behavioral patterns of a population and theunderlying value systems,world views and national traits which govern them.it alsoemphasizes the social institutions and organizations a people has established.when andwhere to say what to whom is different from language to language.but no matter whatthe two kinds of culture focus on,basically,the idea of culture arises from theobservation that what human beings do and what are brought up in one group and whatthey refrain from doing.it is,in part,a consequence of as opposed to another.in this paper,culture is denoted in a broad sense,in order that the influences ofcultural factors in translation can be studied thoroughly.that is,culture is the totality ofbeliefs and practices of a society,including the material,social and spiritual culture. on foreignization and domestication in translation-from the perspective of cross-culturalcommunication61.2 relationship between translation,language and culture1.2.1 language and culturelanguage isa system of sounds,words,patterns,etc.used by humans tocommunicate thoughts and feelings.(oxford advanced learners english-chinesedictionary,1997)language is a part of culture.the chinese language is part ofchinese culture and english part of english culture.language is also the carrier andcontainer of culture.human knowledge and experience are described and stored inlanguage.customs,habit and behavioral patterns can be described and analyzed inlanguage.social institutions,value systems,beliefs,world views can be described,analyzed and evaluated in language.even the visual arts like painting,sculpture,anddancing and the auditory arts such as music and singing can be described and evaluatedin language.as a mirror of culture,language is strongly influenced and shaped byculture.language also exerts its influence on culture.for example,the chineselanguage has many minute terms to distinguish fraternal relatives from maternal onesdue to the fact that china is traditionally a patriarchal society.the chinese used to thinkthat the family line could only be carried on by a son instead of a daughter and that allthe maternal relatives were regarded asthe outsides.for this reason,different wordsare used in the chinese language to refer to each relation.there are words to address awifes mother or father,a wifes sister or brother,a husbands sister or brother,amothers sister or brother,and so on.this concept of distinguishing relatives is unheardof in western countries;therefore,the english language lacks the corresponding terms.for example,in chinese,the implications of the words衱and衱are different,while in english,these words are both termed asaunt,which confuses the chinesetranslator when he wants to translate the wordauntinto chinese.language and its cultural influence are exemplified in the theoretical formulationsof the sapir-whorf hypothesis,which in essence states that language is a guide tosocial reality.this hypothesis implies that language is not simply a means ofreporting experience but,more important,it is a way of defining experience.writing in1929,sapir argued in a classic passage that:human beings do not live in the objective world alone,nor alone in theworld of social activity as ordinarily understood,but are very much at the mercyof the particular language which has become the medium of expression for their chapter one language,culture and translation 7society.it is quite an illusion to imagine that one adjusts to reality essentiallywithout the use of language and that language is merely an incidental means ofsolving specific problems of communication or reflection.the fact of the matteris that thereal worldis to a large extent unconsciously built upon the languagehabits of the group.no two languages are ever sufficiently similar to beconsidered as representing the same social reality.the worlds in which differentsocieties live are distinct worlds,not merely the same world with different labelsattached.we see and hear and otherwise experience very largely as we dobecause the language habits of our community predispose certain choices ofinterpretation.2(sapir,19581929:69)although,complete acceptance of the sapir-whorf hypothesis may becontroversial,its application to culture and language is clear:language is a reflection ofculture,and culture is a reflection of language.culture influences language by way ofsymbols and rules as well as our perceptions of the universe.equally important is thefact that meaning shifts from culture to culture.1.2.2 translation and culturethe aim of translation is to provide semantic equivalence between the source andthe target languages.therefore,translation activity involves at least two languages.sotranslation is closely related to culture.that is,translation and culture share aninterdependent relationship.according to peter newmark3(newmar