DomesticationandForeignization

NaMengjiao

【Abstract】This article discusses two strategies on culture translation： one of them is domestication，the other is foreignization. It is concluded that the two strategies have their respective features and applicable values. After comparing these two strategies，we can know which strategy we should use in our translation.

【Key words】domestication； foreignization； comparison； source language； target language

【摘要】本文討論了文化翻譯的兩種方法，一種是歸化翻譯，一種是異化翻譯。兩種策略都有其獨特之處和可以運用的價值。本文在對兩者進行了比較之后，能使我們對于翻譯過程中應該用哪一種更為清楚。

【關鍵詞】歸化 異化 比較 源語 目的語

The sources of domestication and foreignization date from the 19th century in Germany. In 1813，in the speech for commemorating Wieland，Goethe spoke of two strategies of translation，one is to take the foreign author to us，and then we can consider him as one of our members； the other is that we go abroad，which place ourselves in the foreign environment. The dispute between domestication and foreignization originates in American translator Venuti. Domestication means making the text recognizable and familiar and thus bringing the foreign culture closer to the reader in the target culture，while foreignization means the opposite，taking the reader over to the foreign culture and making him or her feel the cultural and linguistic differences. Language is an aspect of culture，and so translation always has something to do with culture.

Domestication should observe main values of the TL and openly assimilate the source text conservatively in order to cater to the TL canon，publication trend and political factors. The two strategies are adopted by the translator according to the differences between the target and source cultures，the translating objects，genres，the authors intention and the target language readers. Domestication is target language culture oriented. Those who are in support of domestication advocate that translating should adapt to the target language culture and eliminate the cultural barrier between these two languages. While foreignization is source language culture oriented. It aims at enriching the target language culture and satisfies the curiosity of the readers in need of a sense of foreignness. They are put forward on the basis of the German philosopher Schleiermarchers theory. He divided translation into two categories： one is that “the translator leaves the author in peace as much as possible，and moves the reader toward him”； the other is that “the translator leaves the reader in peace as much as possible，and moves the author toward him”.

The following examples may serve to illustrate this point：

E.g. 至于才子佳人等書…

Translation 1： And the “boudoir romances”…

Translation 2： As for books of the beauty-and-talented type…

The first translation of the example is domestication while the second one foreignization. Boudoir romances would arouse the same imagination in the English readers as the beauty-and-talented would in the Chinese readers. Some political articles need to be translated by domestication，domestication can keep the originality of the article.

E.g. 展覽會的目的在于聚集和展示國內外高科技最新成果，搭建世界級高新技術產業合作與交易平臺。

The objective of the exhibitions is to show the latest achievements in the hi-tech field within and outside the country and to set up a worldwide platform for exchanges and transactions of hi-tech products.

A more serious aspect of having domestication as a dominant translation strategy is，according to Venuti，the fact that translations wield considerable power in the construction of national identities for foreign cultures. Translations can change domestic representations and create stereotypes for foreign cultures，which may have such consequences as ethnic discrimination，colonialism and geopolitical confrontations. It is thus important to consider whether the resulting representations of foreign cultures in translated texts are ethical. Some translation strategies and their effects on the image of the source culture portrayed will be the topic of the next section.

The Schleiermacher emphasizes the importance of foreignising translation. The privileged position of the receiving language or culture is denied，and the alterity of the source text needs to be preserved. Domestication and foreignization forms a contrastive pair. As a bridge for culture integration，foreignization in a sense means transplanting the norms of the original language into the target language，so as to transfer the original information as much as possible to the translated version. Through contrastive translation of Chinese names and cultural-specific expressions，the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy become self-evident. Therefore，the selection of strategy relies on the text，the situation and the authors and translators purpose. In Chinese，“因特網”（internet）、“基因”（gene）、“一石二鳥”（killing two birds with one stone）、“肥皂劇”（soap opera）、“伊甸園”（the garden of eden），英語中的“qi gong”（氣功）、“taiji quan”（太極拳）、“kong fu”（功夫）and so on. These words do not exist in Chinese，and the translator makes the readers accept these foreign words according to foreignization.

Globalization is the trend of the development of the world. People must know the culture from other countries. As a means of relaxing the conflict，foreignization can make us know foreign culture and make foreigners know our culture.

E.g. 中國的“福”字代表幸運和幸福，每逢春節，幾乎家家戶戶都要倒貼“福”字，以祈求喜慶吉利，福運到來。之所以要倒貼，是因為“倒”在中文里與“到來”諧音。

The Chinese character Fu represents happiness and good luck. During Spring Festival，almost every family posts an inverted Fu on windows or doors to invite good fortune. But why do the Chinese put Fu upside down？ It is because the Chinese word for “inverted” “dao” bears the same pronunciation as the word “arrive”.

From this example，we get to know that styles and honorifics contain abundant cultural and historical information，and at the same time，they portray a distinctive and vivid image before our eyes. It is a thorny problem to translate them，since these names are names first and meanings second. The best method to translate them is foreignization with annotation. If they are translated in pinyin only，the implied meanings will lose.

On the view of the author，the translation must be accepted by readers，and then it must be accepted by the author. Translation should have some ingredients of foreignising culture，however it cannot be new and original，or the readers cannot accept it. A translation should have some foreign features and sentiment，but it has to be control in a range. If the translation oversteps the range，it is a wrong translation. With the ever-growing frequency of national exchange，mutual understanding is in demand. The difference of languages not only lies in sound，vocabulary and sentence structure，but also more importantly in distinct cultural features. “Domestication” and “foreignization” are two major strategies applied to solve the cultural conflicts between the source language and the target language. Usually，“domestication” is favored by translators. However，with the development of cultural globalization，paying more attention to “foreignization” strategy will be helpful for the cultural communication among different nations.

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