ONTHERELATIVITYOFFOREIGNIZATIONANDDOMESTICATIONINTRANSLATION翻译中异化与归化的相对性

1、ON THE RELATIVITY OF FOREIGNIZATION ANDDOMESTICATION IN TRANSLATIONAbstractThis paper mainly discusses the relativity of foreignization and domestication in translation. Foreignization designates the type of translation in which a target text deliberately breaks target conventions by retaining somet

2、hing of the foreignness of the original, while domestication refers to the translation strategy in which a transparent, fluent style is adopted in order to minimize the strangeness of the foreign text for target language readers. Since translation is a kind of cultural communication, cultural shock

3、is bound to occur. Foreignizatin and domestication are two strategies to tackle cultural differences in translation. This paper attempts to analyze the translation effectiveness of some English and Chinese translation examples containing cultural elements, and comes to a conclusion that if the trans

4、lation is excessively foreignized, it will become mechanical translation. It will affect the understanding of the target language reader. On the contrary, if the translation is excessively domesticated, the cultural connotation contained in source language will be removed. Therefore, in practical tr

5、anslation, there is no absolute foreignization or no absolute domestication. They are both relative.Key words: culture; translation; foreignization; domestication; relativity1翻译中异化与归化的相对性摘要本文主要讨论翻译中异化与归化的相对性。 异化翻译力求保留源文中的 “异质” 、“洋味”，而归化翻译翻译最大限度地使用目标语文化可以接受的表达，从本质上使译文本土化， 注重读者的反应。 翻译是一种文化交流活动， 翻译中可以感

6、受到文化差异普遍存在。异化和归化就是用于处理文化差异因素的两种翻译策略。 本论文通过分析一些含有文化因素的英汉翻译例子的翻译效果， 来说明过度的异化会导致死译， 将会影响译文读者的理解； 相反，翻译中过度归化将抹杀源文的文化的内涵。 因此在实际翻译实践中没有绝对的异化也没有绝对的归化。两者是相对的。关键词： 文化；翻译；异化；归化；相对性2ContentsIntroduction 1Culture and Translation 1 2.1. The Translatability of Culture 12.2. The Untranslatability of Culture 1Domes

7、tication and Foreignization 2 The Origin of Domestication and Foreignization 2The Definition and Meaning of Domestication and Foreignization 2The School of Domestication and Foreignization 3The Trend of Development of Domestication and Foreignization4The Relativity of Domestication and Foreignizatio

8、n 5 4.1 The Relativity of Domestication 54.2 The Relativity of Foreignization 6Conclusion 8Notes 9Bibliography 103On the Relativity of Foreignization and Domestication in Translation1. IntroductionThe debate over whether translation should be source-or target-oriented has been heated in Chinese tran

9、slation circle over decades. The foreignized translation is source language oriented, while the domesticated translation is target language oriented. Venuti advocates foreignizing translation in the western world, while Nida is the most famous advocate of domesticating translation. The terms “foreig

10、nization”and “domestication” may be new to the Chinese, but the concepts they carry have been at least for a century at the heart of most translation controversies. Lu xun(鲁迅 ) once said that before translating, the translator has to make a decision: either to adapt the original text or to retain as

11、 much as possible the foreign flavor of the original text. Many Chinese scholars in the translation circle advocate domesticated translation. When“keeping smoothness”contradicts “keeping foreignness , the” latter will be cast away. This paper attempts to illustrate the relativity of the foreignizati

12、on and domestication in translation.2. Culture and TranslationTranslation is not only an activity of lingual exchange, information transfer, but also a kind of cultural communication between different countries and nations. In translation research and practice, source language and target language ha

13、ve culturalsimilarities and differences, so cultural factors are always the first thing to be considered.2.1 The Translatability of CultureThe human beings more or less have the same experiences which produce the similarities in different cultures. All human beings have to eat, work, sleep and breed

14、. They make tools, organize their families and clans, make interior and exterior groups, and even create organizations among different countries. They have conscious similarities when they face the universe, value, religious and supernatural power. In fact, different peoples in the world have more s

15、imilarities than differences. It is these cultural similarities in different nations that make people from different cultural backgrounds understand each other, and makes translation possible. Actually, these similarities are also the basis of domestication in translation. Eastern culture and wester

16、n culture have many amazingly similar expressions. Many English proverbs is very much like some Chinese proverbs, such as“to be on the thin ice”(如履薄冰 ), “misfortunes never come alone”(祸不单行 ), “a fall into the pit, a gain in your wit ”(吃一堑，长一智 ).2.2The Untranslatability of CultureBesides the common s

17、imilarities shared by different nations, they have their owndistinctive factors in culture. Infact,“ frequently where there is culturalfocus, there is a4translation problem, due to the cultural ,gap?or ,distance?between the source and target languages”1 Due to different cultural traditions, differen

18、t nations have their own sign systems, and characteristics of morphology, syntax and grammar, which often causes a result that the culture can not be translated. For example, the Chinese“客上天然居，居然天上客 ”can not be translated into English with the same content and the same form. The basis of equivalent

19、transfer between different cultures disappears, but at the same time, this situation makes foreignizing translation possible.Domesticating translation (or domestication) and foreignizing translation (or foreignization) are two different translation strategies to deal with the cultural factors in tra

20、nslation practice. The concrete introduction of them comes in the following parts.3 .Domestication and Foreignization3.1 The Origin of Domestication and Foreignization“Domesticating translation”and “foreignizing translation ”are two terms coined by L. Venuti based on his investigation of western tra

21、nslation history and theories. The roots of the two terms can be traced back to the German philosopher Friedrich Schleiermacher?s argument that there are only two different methods of translation, either” the translatorleaves the author in peace, as much as possible, and moves the reader towards him

22、; or he2leaves the reader in peace, as much as possible, and moves the author towards ”him.3.2 The Definition and Meaning of Domestication and ForeignizationIn western translation history, domesticating translation came into being in Britain in the seventeenth century. Schuttleworth and Cowie give a

23、 definition to domesticating translation (or domestication) in Dictionary of Translation Studies:“A term used by Venuti(1995) to describe the translation strategy in which atransparent, fluent style is adopted in order to minimize the strangeness of the foreign text3for TL reader.”Theoretically, dom

24、esticating translation takes language as a tool of communication. In translation practice, it will make a translated text as readable as possible in the TL, without any traces of the source text linguistics or unfamiliar expressions, making it fluent and, as Venuti puts it, transparent.In the early

25、stage of the nineteenth century, foreignizing translation rose in Germany. Schuttleworth and Cowie also give a definition to foreignizing translation (or foreignization):“A term used by Venuti(1995) to designate the type of translation in which a TT is produced which deliberately breaks target conve

26、ntions by retaining something of the foreignness of the original 4”Foreignization actually isn?t a translation, but a kind of transplantation. It aims to keep the peculiarity of SL?s culture and itself. It tries to constantly remind the reader that the text5is not in the original by for example allo

27、wing some words and expression to stay in the SL, changing the syntax or in other ways making the reader feel that the text is foreign. Through a foreignized translation text, the TL reader gets to know an exotic atmosphere, a new culture and the characteristics of a foreign language, which can enri

28、ch the expressions of their own language and even wipe away the weak points of their culture.In modern times, translation theorists have different opinions and arguments, but most of them can be classified into two schools, viz. the school of domestication and the school of foreignization.3.3 The Sc

29、hool of Domestication and ForeignizationThe famous representative of the school ofdomestication is Eugene Nida. Headvocates the communicative function of translation, and he emphasizes the TL reader?sreaction. “ It has sometimes been said that the overriding purpose of any translation shouldbe to ac

30、hieve ,equivalent effect?, i.e. to produce the same effect (or one as close as possible)on the readership of the translation as was obtained on the readership of the original. (Thisis also called the ,equivalent response? principle. Nida calls it ,dynamic equivalence?). 5He even suggests that the ch

31、oice of words should be adjustable to aim at different kinds ofreaders when the Bible istranslated. That is to say that the“ overriding purpose” is tthe TL readers receive and understand the information of the source language, yet thisprocess is not bound to make them comprehend and accept the cultu

32、re pattern of the sourcelanguage. He often takes “ togrow likemushroom” and the Chinese “雨后春笋 ” asexamples to show that the two kinds of informationare equivalent. Therefore, he thinksthat it is unnecessary to make each other try hard to comprehend and accept the differencesof each other?s cultural

33、connotation, and it is allright to use the native proverbs andexpressions to instead of it.Contemporary translation theorist Lawrence Venuti has led somewhat a revolution inthe field of translation in the Anglo-American world. He advocates foreignizing translation,and he is the representative of the

34、 school of foreignizingtranslation. Both Venuti andSchleiermacher are partial to the foreignizing translation.Venuti takes a foreignized translation as resistance to a domesticated translation,becausethis method can keep the peculiarity of SL?s culture and itself. It takes the TLreaders to another k

35、ind of culture and taste the peculiarity. It is a method to boycott thecultural colonialism of the powerful culture. Since Venuti thinks the domesticatingtranslation which advocates by Nida as an unequal translation method, he advocatesforeignizing translation. He thinks:“Fluency translation strateg

36、y willcover cultural differences, which, in fact is apractice of cultural imperialism. Therefore, translation should adopt resistant strategies toreflect the language cultural difference coded in the source and target text and to resistimperialistic domestication. Foreignization translation mayresis

37、t the powerful cultures6such as Anglo American culture exerting cultural hegemony over weaker cultures such as Chinese culture it may also resist the ethnocentrism, cultural narcissistic experience andimperialism. It can conduct ethno-deviant pressure on the target language values and send6the reade

38、r abroad”.The famous British translation theorist Peter Newmark should also belong to the school of foreignization. In his famous theory of semantic translation and communicative translation, he emphasizes semantic translation, which means the translation text should be faithful to the original one,

39、 both in form and in content. The differences of foreignization and domestication in translation are showed in the following chart:7ForeignizationDomesticationas pool as a church mouseThere is no smoke without fire.Put a fifth wheel to the coach.Kill two birds with one stone穷得像教堂里的耗子穷得像叫花子 /一贫如洗无火不生

40、烟无风不起浪给四轮马车安第五个轮子画蛇添足一石二鸟一箭双雕不入虎穴 , 焉得虎子三个臭皮匠 ,赛个诸葛亮鱼米之乡Howcan you catchtiger cubsNothingventured, nothingwithout entering the tiger?s lair?had.Threecobblers withtheirwitsTwo heads are better thancombined equal Zhuge Liangtheone.mastermind.A land of fish and riceA landflowing milk andhoney.3.4 The T

41、rend of Development of Domestication and ForeignizationThe original aim of translation is to help the understanding and communication between different languages and cultures. One unsaid aim of translation is to save time and money, because people don?t need to study a foreign language, which costs

42、a lot of time and money before he can read a foreign text to get the information. And we should know that there are so many languages and so much famous works in those different languages for us to read but time is limited. In information age, time is money. Since a domesticated translation is often

43、 easier to understand than a foreignized one, the translators usually use the domesticating method to familiarize the foreign text to decrease the difficulty posed by the source text or to supply additional background information to make the understanding easier. For a long time, in an information a

44、ge, domesticating translation is dominant.7However, nowadays, economic globalization promotes the fusion of different cultures. Information superhighway multiplies the information exchange. The whole world becomes a small “ village ” . Peoplefrom different parts of the world know about each other be

45、tter now than any time in the history. People no longer boycott the strange cultures, but hope to find brand-new cultural factors, so as to enrich their own culture. By and by when people?s information reaches a certain degree, people will want a foreignized translation. In fact, things begin to cha

46、nge with foreignized speech becoming more and more acceptable. Venuti has led a revolution of foreignizing translation in Anglo-American world. The Chinese famous translator Su zhili(孙致礼 ) once pointed out that “the foreignization will be dominant in Chinese translation in the twenty-first century”.

47、4. The Relativity of Domestication and ForeignizationAll experienced translators know that if you want to keep the foreignness of the original, the translated text will be bound to lack smoothness, and if the translated text is needed to be smooth and idiomatic, the cultural peculiarity in the sourc

48、e text will be removed. How to make a choice? In fact, neither domestication nor foreignization is a complete strategy. They are concepts to bear in mind. They are relative.4.1 The Relativity of DomesticationTo use the domestication strategy, is to use the closest natural equivalent of the SL to dea

49、l with the original text. In fact, domestication is a way of translation, a kind of result of translation. Domestication in translation is one of the goals pursued by every translator because it can make the target text idiomatic and easy to accept by the TL reader. However, domestication in transla

50、tion is relative. It can not go beyond the usual limits to be disapproved by most people, namely, domestication in translation cannot go to extremes. If it is used excessively, it will remove the peculiarities of style, art, and culture in the original text. The spirit of the original text cannot be

51、 reflected in the TL text. As a result,TL reader cannot get to know the external world through the translation. The real value of the translated text will be affected. Besides, the TL reader feel unnatural and awkward, he may be misled. Fu Donghua(傅东华 ) once domesticated all the names of characters

52、in Gone With The Windwhen he translated this American novel into Chinese. As a result, the foreignness of their names in this novel is totally covered, and all the characters seemly have their Chinese names. At that time, Fu?s excessive domestication method is disapproved and criticized by many peop

53、le. Guo Moruo( 郭沫若 ) once translated one line of an English poem “Spring, the sweet spring, is the year?s pleasant king”into Chinese “春，甘美之春，一年之中的尧舜 ”. When we Chinese readers read this translation, we feel awkward, because we know that “尧舜 ”belongs to Chinese ancient culture and a westerner is very

54、 likely to be ignorant of it, not to mention knowing the greatness of the two legendary sage kings in ancient China.8Another example is like this: “We?re like kids in a candy shop”, said Dr. John A. Baross, a microbiologist at the University of Washington in Seattle who collects and studies the heat

55、-loving microbes known as hyperthermophiles.(New York Times)“我们好像进了大观园， ”西雅图的华盛顿大学一位微生物学家白罗斯博士说。白博士收集并研究名为 hyperthermophiles(爱好高温 )的微生物 .8“Be like kids in a candy shop”is an American idiom. It means “to be overwhelmed by what one sees”. Liu Guangwei(刘光炜 ) translated it into “好像进了大观园 ”. It seems that

56、 this American microbiologist Dr. John A. Baross has read the Chinese ancient classicThe Dream of the Red Chamber, and he even knows Granny Liu (刘姥姥 ), Grand View Garden （大观园） .Since he was speaking to American natives, the Chinese reader of Liu ?s translation will also have a misconception that the

57、 average American may know Grand View Garden ( 大观园 ) in The Dream of the Red Chamber. If we change “我们好像进了大 观 园 ” into “我 们 像孩 子 看 见 了琳 琅满 目 的 糖 果 一 样， 眼 花 缭 乱 ”, themisunderstanding mentioned above will not come into being.In fact, many venerable seniors in translation think that foreignization is

58、needed to perfect domestication, especially in literature translation. It aims to satisfy the TL reader?s aesthetic expectation. In some occasion, we can properly adopt some new and unique words and ways of expression in the original text to arouse the interest of the TL reader. The Chinese famous w

59、riter and translation expert Lin Yutang(林语堂 ) created many Chinese and English works. Some of his English works are selected as university textbooks, and some of them are regarded as essential books for high-ranking government officials to know about China. When he introduced Chinese classical books

60、 in his English works, he used a small quantity of foreignized text in order to arouse the western reader ?s curiosity and reading interest. He translated “马褂 ”, “燕窝汤 ”, “玉碎香埋 ”, “落花流水 ”, “树欲静而风不息，子欲养而亲不在 ”into “makua”, “bird?s nest soup”, “like broken jade and buried incense”,“like dropping petals