Foreignization and Domestication In the literature translation1

1、foreignization and domestication in 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 kinshi

2、p 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】文學(xué)翻譯涉及到許多復(fù)雜的文化因素,在文學(xué)翻譯中,譯者必須考慮原語與目的語之間的文化

3、距離.歸化和異化在這方面發(fā)揮了很重要的作用.但是與歸化相比,讀者更愿意接受異化. 異化不僅在文章形式上,而且在文化移植方面都有很多的優(yōu)點(diǎn).異化保留了原語語言的表達(dá)方式和文學(xué)寓意,異化傾向于原語文化,目的是為了保留原語文化.異化讀者體會到不同國家之間的文化差異,并且使他們能夠更好的理解原文及其文化.然而,在文學(xué)翻譯中過度的使用異化也會有負(fù)面影響,它可能讓讀者對譯文產(chǎn)生含糊感,覺得譯文沒有可讀性.實(shí)際上,歸化也有其自身的優(yōu)點(diǎn),它可使讀者對譯文產(chǎn)生熟悉感和認(rèn)可性.所以在文學(xué)翻譯中歸化和異化不可以完全分開.首選是異化,然后歸化可以作為補(bǔ)充,且兩者同時(shí)并存.【關(guān)鍵詞】 翻譯 異化 歸化 對比abstra

4、ctthe 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, fo

5、reignization 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 so

6、urce-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 b

7、ring 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 la

8、st 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 dist

9、ance 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 trace

10、d 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 pai

11、r 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.

12、such as 膽小如鼠( as timid as a mouse ) win-win situation(雙贏局勢)crocodile tears(鱷魚的眼淚). 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 hel

13、ps 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 cultur

14、e. a culture was just transplanted. it just moved its place. e.g.(1) 他總是事后諸葛亮.he is always zhugeliang, the master after the event.(2) nobody can predict whether another pandora box is opened when human can be cloned沒有人可以預(yù)言對人的克隆是否意味著開了一個(gè)潘多拉的盒子會給人類帶來各種各樣的災(zāi)難.(3)心較比干多一竅,病如西子勝三分she looked more sensitive

15、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. 閑靜時(shí)如嬌花照水,行動處似弱柳扶風(fēng).in re

16、pose, 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

17、 culture. it close to the target language and let the translation reads like the native language. domestication is concerned mainly with messages.e.g. 天有不測風(fēng)云,人有旦夕禍福the weather and human life are both unpredictablebirds of a feather flock together 物以類聚to kill two birds with one stone 一箭雙雕all these ex

18、amples 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 cultur

19、e was transferred from a culture to b culture. e.g. (1) 他跟老人招呼了一聲吃過了沒有,老伯 good morning, grandpa he greeted the old man.(2) 他總是事后諸葛亮 he is always wise after event(3) no, ye poor, lost soul, that ye mustnt do.不,你這迷途的羔羊啊!千萬不能這樣做.the purpose of domestication is to make the text recognizatable and famili

20、ar 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

21、. and another typical example of domestication is the story of the stone translated by david hawkes.e.g. 閑靜時(shí)如嬌花照水,行動處似弱柳扶風(fēng).their beauty were beyond description. (hawkes)2,contrast of foreignization and domesticationalthough domestication and foreignization are good strategies in literature translati

22、on. 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 th

23、e 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(潘文國 ; p178 ). and

24、 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 c

25、onnotations. 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 thes

26、e 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 metaph

27、oric 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 w

28、ho also want to keep in close contact with the real culture and the foreignness of that culture.another example is the famous novel水滸傳. 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 oth

29、ers 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 tale

30、s 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 cou

31、ntry, 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

32、by lineage. so they emphasized the honorifics. its obvious that domestication cant show the source culture well. e.g. (1) 寶玉向林黛玉說道:你聽見了沒有,難道二姐姐也跟我撒謊不成 寶玉笑道:太太不知道這緣故.寶姐姐先在家里住著,那薛大哥的事,他也不知道.林妹妹在背后羞我,打諒我撒謊呢.(第二十八回) yang: pao-yu appealed to tai-yu. you heard whats been said. would my cousin his-feng bac

33、k 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 tur

34、ned 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 c

35、ousin 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寶姐姐,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 .寶姐姐 whose mother is his mothers sister is also his girl cousin. 薛大哥is 寶姐姐s

36、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 n

37、ative 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 fa

38、mily 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. yan

39、gs 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) -況且這通身的氣派,竟不像老祖宗的外孫女,竟

40、是個(gè)嫡親的孫女,怨不得老祖宗天天口頭心頭一時(shí)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

41、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

42、 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 certai

43、n 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 literatu

44、re, 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,謀事在人,成事在天man proposes, heaven disposes (yang)man proposes, god disposes ( hawkes )巧媳婦做不出沒米的粥even the cleverest h

45、ousewife 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

46、 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 沙發(fā), coffee translated 咖啡, new zealand translated 新西蘭, mini-skirt translated 迷你裙,餃子translated jiao

47、zi. 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 thei

48、r 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 t

49、he 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. bu

50、t 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渾身起鵝皮疙瘩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 nervo

51、us. there is one piece of poetry autumn thoughts天凈沙.秋思馬致遠(yuǎn)枯藤老樹昏鴉,小橋流水人家,古道西風(fēng)瘦馬.夕陽西下,斷腸人在天涯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

52、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

53、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 l

54、inguistic 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:我屬雞,我從來

55、不吃雞,雞年是我的本命年.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

56、 luck to a person born in this year. another example:難道這是癡丫頭,又像顰兒來葬不成 因又笑到:若真也葬花,可謂東施效顰了,不但不為新奇,而是更可厭.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

57、 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 ev

58、en 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. for example, the famous english works the red shoes describes the devious and touching experiment of a young bal