A Study On The Translation Of Culture-specific Items In Vanity Fair

This paper explores the translation strategies used by Yang Bi in her translation of Vanity Fairand it focuses on the translation techniques and the factors determining the employment of hertranslation strategies. Two reasons that I choose it as an issue are as follows: First, I find that allthe researchers’ viewpoints are based on a few examples rather than the whole book. Second,some researchers agree that Yang Bi mainly employs domestication in translating CSI (culturespecific items), which seems doubtful.Based on Functionalism, the research comes to the following conclusions:1.There are181CSI in the whole book, in which the main translation strategy isforeignization. Thus, Yang Bi mainly employs foreignization in the translation of CSI.2.Yang Bi uses7techniques in the employment of foreignization and domestication whichare literal translation, literal translation+extratextual gloss, literal translation+intratextual gloss,non-cultural translation, substitution, deletion, autonomous creation. The translator takes a fullconsideration to the function in the target language and adopts different techniques.3.The employment of translation strategies is mainly influenced by7factors, which aredegree of linguistic prescriptivism, expectations of potential readers, nature and aims of initiator,previous translations, transparency of CSI, knowledge structure of the translator, recurrence andimportance of CSI. The factors are interacted and determine the translator’s purpose whichmakes the translator adopt different strategies in the translation..The research significance lies in: First, it can enrich the study of Yang Bi’s translationbecause it is based on the whole book for the first time. Second, the analysis of the differenttechniques and the factors determining Yang Bi’ translation strategies can be taken as a usefulreference in the translation of CSI in literature. Third, as a cross-cultural communication activity,the proper translation of CSI is important in cross-cultural communication.