A Critical Research into Lawrence Venuti’s Translation Theory

Li Huiying

【Abstract】Foreignizing and domesticating translation methods are frequently discussed in the translation field. The paper makes a critical analysis of foreignizing strategy put forward by Lawrence Venuti， pointing out its contributions and limitations. In addition， it is pointed out that the combination of the two strategies， an optimization of Venutis translation theory， may avoid the extreme translation.It is hoped that the analysis will give some enlightenment to translation learners.

【Key words】translation strategy； foreignizing method； critical analysis； optimization

【作者簡介】李惠英，女，講師，碩士研究生，河套學院外語系，研究方向：英漢翻譯，英語教學。

I. Introduction

Venutis translation theory has aroused interest of many translators， who criticizes the dominant domesticating translation and advocates foreignizing translation. Meanwhile， his foreignizing translation strategy challenges the prevailing fluent translation in Anglo-American culture. The critical analysis of Venutis translation theory is to give some assistance to Chinese translation studies from the cultural perspective. Actually， it is not advisable to hold bias towards foreignization or domestication. The combination of the two strategies can avoid the extreme translation， and also is an optimization of Venutis translation theory. With the increasing globalization goes on， the cultural communication between countries is enhanced. And Venutis foreignizing translation idea will play an important role in promoting cultural communication among different countries.

II. Venutis Translation Theory

The traditional canon of translation in Anglo-American culture is fluent or transparent translation—domestication. Lawrence Venuti， one of the most influential American translation theorists， delved into the questions of translation in terms of their relations to political， economic and cultural construction， and then advocated the foreignizing translation strategy in the last decade. He uses the term “invisibility” to describe the secondary position of translators in Anglo-American culture. In Venutis opinion， it is not fair for translators to be in an unfavorable situation， but they should be visible in the translating practice. He criticizes this traditional domesticating translation， seeing it as a kind of ethnocentric violence and cultural imperialism. Just under this circumstance， Venuti advocated the foreignizing translation which aims to signify the foreignness of the source text.

According to Venuti， foreignizing translation retains the linguistic and cultural differences of the source text and departs from the target cultural and linguistic norms. And this is a way to counter the hegemony of cultures of Anglo-American countries. “Foreignizing translation in English can be a form of resistance against ethnocentrism and racism， cultural narcissism and imperialism， in the interest of democratic geopolitical relations”. （Venuti， 1995： 20） As what Venuti states， advocating foreignizing translation is to develop a translation theory that resists the dominant target-language cultural values and indicates the cultural and linguistic differences of the source text. To sum up， Venuti advocates foreignizing translation in opposition to the traditional domesticating translation and uses the term “invisibility” to demystify and combat transparency.

III. Critical Analysis of Venutis Translation Theory

Venutis translation theory casts a new light on translation circle. From the point of translation art， his foreignizing translation brings about a new perspective for the choice of translation strategies. Venutis theory does make some contributions to translation studies， even though there are still some limitations in his theory.

3.1 Contributions of Venutis theory

Venutis contributions to translation studies are reflected in the following three aspects.

First， Venuti challenges the traditional domesticating translation by advocating foreignizing translation strategy. As a matter of fact， Venutis theory wants to show that the manipulation of translation in terms of faithfulness has resulted in distortion. For instance， the syntax and styles of the source text are removed to appear the same as English； cultural values are either omitted or adapted to fit the Anglo-American ways of thinking and the innovative forms are usually made to appear like the forms commonly practiced in Britain and America. Venuti criticizes some translators such as Denham and Nida， who adopt domesticating translation strategy to serve the ideology. Venutis theory aims to demystify the illusion of transparency and make the translation process more visible by showing how translators are deeply involved in the construction of the receiving culture and ideology. From this point， his theory plays a significant role in challenging the domesticating translation.

Second， the translators status is highlighted in his translation theory， opposite to marginal or secondary status in the traditional culture. Under the dominance of fluency， translators are forced to translate in fluent discourse， which further marginalizes their already neglected and low status in Anglo-American culture. As fluency is highly praised， translators seem reasonable to be invisible in their act of translation. Therefore， the translators do not enjoy a high status especially in the Anglo-American society. Venutis foreignizing translation strategy can resist domestication and fluency， and moreover， his translation idea encourages the translators to rethink their secondary and derivative status. Venuti tries to make the translators visible and highlight their status.

Third， his foreignizing translation theory exhibits the source language and culture before our eyes， even enriches the target culture sometimes. According to Venuti， the main purpose of his foreignizing translation strategy is to retain the foreignness of the source text to signify the cultural and linguistic differences. This purpose unfolds expressions and cultures of the source text before the target readers， making them realize some differences between two cultures. In this way， the characteristics of source culture and language are exhibited， and sometimes the target culture is enriched to some extent. Therefore， we can say that foreignization translation strategy can enhance the cultural communication between two countries.

3.2 Limitations of the theory

Perfect theory does not exist and every theory has its own limitation. Venutis translation theory is not an exception. The limitations of the theory are summarized from the following two aspects： the ignorance of the target reader and the readability of the target text， and the invalidity in some other texts.

IV. Conclusion

Venutis foreignizing translation theory has exerted great significance upon the translation studies around the world but at the same time has its own limitations. There is no perfect theory. Therefore， we have to study his theory critically， trying to highlight its contributions and overcome its limitations. And it is wise to hold a critical attitude towards any western theory. When we introduce a new western translation theory into China， it is necessary to analyze it comprehensively and find its enlightenment to Chinas translation studies.

References：

[1]Venuti，L.1995.The Translators Invisibility：A History of Translation.London and New York：Routledge.

[2]Venuti，L.1998.The Scandals of Translation：Towards an Ethics of Difference.London and New York：Routledge.

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