Domestication And Foreignization: A Unity Of Opposites

This dissertation discusses the dialectical relation between domestication and foreignization.The dialectical relation between domestication and foreignization is often mixed up with that between literal translation and free translation. Traditionally, the discussion of these strategies is source text and source culture centered. The evaluation of the target text is based solely on the degree of its faithfulness to the source text. With the "cultural turn" in Translation Studies since the 1970s, proper and increasing attention has been paid to the subjectivity of translation, and the interaction between translation and culture. This dissertation is one of the efforts to study their relationship from another angle, i.e. the subjectivity of the translator and the target culture.The dissertation is divided into five parts.The Introduction briefly introduces the notions of domestication and foreignization and defines the scope of the dissertation.Chapter One is a review of the previous literature on the origin and the evolution of domestication and foreignization. Literal translation, -free translation, domestication and foreignization are discussed in terms of their similarities and dissimilarities. "Faithfulness" or "fidelity", equivalence, translation as creation are discussed to find out their relationship with domestication and foreignization. We find that both domestication and foreignization are effective means to realize faithfulness, equivalence and creative treason.Chapter Two investigates domestication and foreignization from the perspective of the subjectivity of the translator. The subjectivity of,the translator manifests itself in the process of translation as subjective initiative that features the conscious cultural awareness, humanistic characters, cultural and aesthetic creativity. Therefore, domestication and foreignization are the outcomes of the translator's initiatives.Chapter Three further investigates the relationship between language, culture, domestication and foreignization. Language and culture are discussed to find their relationship in a number of complex ways. And because of the differences between languages and cultures, translators are sometimes obliged to resort to the strategy of domestication to fulfill the communicative function of translation. The social function of translation andthe broadening of the reader's expectation serve as factors that influence the translator in his/her choice of foreignization.Chapter Four is a dialectical study of domestication and foreignization. From the perspective of hybrid texts, the dialectical relationship of domestication and foreignization can be studied with an adequate consideration of the historical and cultural context of the target culture. In the process of translation, foreign elements are introduced into the target language and culture through modification. Hybrid texts have multiple functions, mainly to form new genres and to convey the ideological -and cultural- information of the source language. Therefore, a discussion of hybrid texts will enhance our understanding of the nature of translation.The last chapter is the conclusion. Domestication and Foreignization are appropriate translation strategies in certain cultural situations for achieving certain purposes of the translator. They are the manifestation of the translator's subjectivity. The dialectical relationship between the two strategies reflects contact and conflict between the two languages and cultures in question. Therefore, the discussion serves to better our understanding of translation as cross-cultural communication and enhance our understanding of the nature of translation.