Domestication And Foreignization In Literary Translation-A Functional Approach

Foreignization and domestication are two basic approaches in translation,especially in modern Chinese-English language translation in which source languageand target language belong to different language systems as well as to differentcultural communities. In translation whether to adopt a foreignizing approach ora domesticating one has become the focus of argument between the supporters of eachgroup. In this thesis the writer will discuss the choice of foreignization anddomestication in a functionalist view, that is, whether a foreignizing approach ora domesticating one should be applied in translation depends on the function thattranslation plays. Hence it is not that foreignization or domestication should bealways adopted in a translation as the best way but different approaches shouldadopted according to different functions the translation may take. Generallyspeaking, in translation practice, there is no foreignization without some degreeof domestication, by the same token, there is no domestication without some degreeof foreignization. However, since the main function or skopos of literarytranslation is to transfer aesthetic value and recreate the artistic conception ofthe original text for the target readers, the author believes that literarytranslation should adopt domestication as its main strategy and foreignization ascomplementary strategy.