Domestication And Foreignization In Cross-cultural Translation

Cross-cultural translation compares and bridges different cultures for the purpose of cultural exchange and diffusion. However, due to its unique background, every culture has its own characteristics closely related to its history, geography, religion and customs, which need to be conveyed to and understood by the readers of target cultures through the help of cultural translation ------ a mission almost impossible for E-C translators, for differences abound in Chinese and English cultures.The differences result in debate over what translation techniques shall be preferred. Literary translation and free translation were once at the center of the debate, mostly about language questions. Now the debate between domestication and foreignization has taken place and risen to the level of culture.Domestication and foreignization have their particular emphasis, the former on readers'demand and the latter on cultural communication. Forignization plays a very important role in introducing western culture into China. However, as shown in this paper, foreignization, along with the possible incoherence it might bring, needs to work with domestication to tell the western culture in a more localized way even at the loss of some exotic tastes.Metaphor is more a way of thinking than a figure of speech. When an English metaphor is being translated into Chinese and if its tenor can't find a perfect Chinese counterpart with all the conceptual, connotative and affective meanings, the better way is to keep the most meanings instead of the tenor. This is a balance that foreignization needs for the maximized effect of cultural communication without surrendering to cultural hegemony.After analyzing the translation of metaphor and conducting 3 surveys, the thesis comes to the conclusion that foreignization needs domestication to maximize the effect of cultural translation.