From Domestication To Foreignization In The Translation Of Culture-specific Words

This thesis, which consists of four parts:the task description, the task process, the case study and the conclusion, is a case study based on the retranslating of the chapter1of Six Chapters of a Floating Life written by Shen Fu, a Chinese writer in the Qing Dynasty. In the first two parts, the author makes an introduction to the text for retranslating, the significance and requirement of this translation practice, how the practice is completed and etc. Among the four parts, the case study is the most important one, in which the present author makes a comparative study of Lin Yutang’s translation version and the author’s own translation practice with the focus on the translation of culture-specific words.The translation strategies discussed in this thesis are the domesticating strategy and the foreignizing one.Domestication is the translation strategy in which a fluent style is produced to make target language readers easy to read, while in foreignization the translator tries to retain the flavor of the source text, which gives target language readers a feeling of foreignness. Six Chapters of a Floating Life is the autobiography of Shen Fu. With the economy of words and a vivid description of the writer’s personal feelings, this book touches the hearts of countless Chinese readers. In1935, Lin Yutang, the well-known writer and translator, translated it into English and adopted domestication as his translation strategy in the translation of this story. This thesis demonstrates that Lin Yutang mainly employs the strategy of domestication in the translation of Six Chapters of a Floating Life for the reason that in the1930s, the western readers know little about the Chinese culture and this strategy will make the translation more readable in western countries. This thesis points out that translators should be encouraged to use the strategy of foreignization more frequently in today’s Chinese-English translation at the time when western readers are more familiar with the Chinese culture. In the21st century, western readers’knowledge about China is increasing and at the same time, a more thorough introduction to the Chinese culture in the all-round way is desired. Only through the application of foreignization in Chinese-English translation can give western readers an original taste of the Chinese culture and fulfill the readers’curiosity about the real China. This thesis explores the issue of the translator’s choice of translation strategies in today’s Chinese-English translation.