A Quantitative Study Of Strategies In Translation Of Idioms With Images In Hong Loumeng

Domesticating translation and foreignizing translation are two different translation strategies adopted in literary translation. The former 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, while the latter designates the type of translation in which a target text is produced with target conventions broken by retaining shades of foreignness of the original. Scholars at home and abroad have studied the two strategies from different perspectives. Idioms are expressions with strong cultural connotations, especially those with distinct images. Previous researches on idiom translation concentrated on translation methods from various angles, such as pragmatics, semiotics, and functional equivalence. However, quantitative study on idiom translation has not yet been reported, and there is no such study as connecting the translation strategies with images of idioms. The present study is designed to make a quantitative study combined with qualitative analysis to investigate translation strategies of idioms with images.In light of previous researchers' work, different methods of translating idioms with images are graded to represent different degrees of domestication and foreignization. Then, on the basis of the grades, the study first examines the differences in the adoption of the strategies to the idioms with images between two English versions of the Chinese great classic Hong Loumeng (Yang's and Hawkes'), and then investigates the relationship between them. A Mann-Whitney U-test is performed to compare the grades of translation strategies recorded among the randomly selected 166 samples in the two versions. The results show that there is no statistically significant difference between the two versions. Furthermore, the study examines the relationship between the two versions by means of correlation analyses, which reveals that the two translations correlate to each other, although the correlation is not high. Finally, in order to have a clear view on the adoption of every grade in the two versions, the frequency of each grade in Yang's translation and Hawkes' version are indicated and compared.Findings show that: 1) there is much similarity in choices of translation principles and guidelines between these two translators, and 2) domestication is found dominant in both translation versions, which suggests that acceptability and readability of the translation text is taken into great consideration in translation practice. Difference in choice of translation strategies shows different cultural attitudes of the two translators, and choice of certain strategy or strategies discloses methodological flexibility and contingency of the translator although any choice is subject to various factors presented during translation. The author's grading of domestication-foreignization in present study may shed light on research of the translation strategies. The grades can be good means to reflect translation principles, ideas and cultural attitudes of the translator.