Font Size: a A A

Domestication And Foreignization In Literary Translation In A Cross-Cultural Sense

Posted on:2009-06-14Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:Y JiFull Text:PDF
GTID:2155360272463012Subject:English Language and Literature
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
The communication between languages is essentially the exchange between different cultures. As a bridge between two different languages, translation plays a vital role in the cross-culture communication. However, as different cultures harbor their own cultural contents, it is sometimes difficult for translators to convey the exact meanings from one language into another. Therefore, with the increasing maturity of translation development, the research tends to be the orientation towards cultural transfer rather than linguistic transfer. The two translation strategies which are in a cross-cultural sense, namely domestication and foreignization, are becoming the current research topics among scholars.The thesis chooses Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind as the material for analysis and the four Chinese versions are by Fu Donghua, Li Meihua, Dai Kan and Li Yeguang, and Chen Liangting. These four versions are chosen because they can be regarded as representatives in the application of domestication and foreignization. Through the comparison of them, it concludes that both domestication and foreignization are products of a given culture and society. The choice of translation strategies made by translators is not by chance but binding into a certain context. Translators from different periods will give the same source text different interpretations. It is not a simple thing to conclude that one is superior to the other, or vice verse, since there exists no definite boundary between these two cultural-bound strategies. Thus, the translators should strive to strike a balance between them and make the effective combination of them, which leads to the excellent product of translation.The thesis is divided into five parts.Chapter 1 introduces the motivation, research aim and approach of the author to write the thesis.Chapter 2 is the theoretical framework, which deals with the relationship between translation and culture, thus introducing the two translation strategies-domestication and foreignization. And it also makes a brief review of the historical debate around these two strategies.Chapter 3 takes four Chinese versions of Gone With the Wind for example, making a comparison on the application of domestication and foreignization from the aspect of lexicon, syntax, text style and culture-loaded expressions.Chapter 4 focuses on the factors involving the translators'selection of strategies and the contradictory and complementary relationship between them.Chapter 5 is the conclusion part. From the above analysis, the author draws the conclusion that making the effective combination of two strategies will make an excellent translation product.
Keywords/Search Tags:Gone With the Wind, Domestication, Foreignization, Translation strategy, Comparison
PDF Full Text Request
Related items