A Study Of Domestication And Foreignization Applied To Metaphor Translation In Fortress Besieged

Fortress Besieged, the novel of the famous Chinese scholar Ch’ien Chung-shu, admired as it’s varied, satirically humorous and enlightening metaphor. How the translators deal these metaphors with translation strategies? Adopting domestication which defined as localizing the source language for the target language or readers for the home, taking the target readers’familiar expression to convey the original content, or foreignization which defined as accommodating the language features of outside culture, by absorbing foreign expression, requiring translator toward the author, taking the source language expression that corresponding to author to convey the original content. As scholars hold different opinions about their application, this thesis takes the English version of Fortress Besieged by Kelly and Mao as the carrier, by contrasting and analyzing Chinese-English metaphors, so as to further explain adopt foreignization as the dominant strategy and domestication as a supplementary one. Provide some evidences to domestication and foreignization in the translation of metaphor.The thesis is divided into four parts. The first part makes an introduction of background, significant and research method to this thesis. Metaphor is not only regarded as a figure of speech but also an important tool in culture communication. It is required that the translator who should have a thorough understanding of the cultural difference with profound knowledge of target language and culture. In this way, the version can make the best use of the advantages and avoid the weak ones, be faithful to the original as well as be easily accepted by the readers, promoting the common development of the two translation strategies.The second part underlines the metaphor, as well as due to different cultures, Chinese metaphor and its association thought is quite distinct from Western’s. Then expatiates metaphor translation’s standard and skills and comes to the realization that flexible in use of literal and free translation can keep the vivid expression through translating metaphors. At last, by means of introducing domestication and foreignization, points out advantages and disadvantages to both strategies, discusses a debate over domestication and foreignization at home and abroad. It is not advisable and impractical to adapt one but completely excluded the other one. However, they have respective strongpoint and shortcoming, ultimate purpose of translation cannot achieve without taking it into consideration. We should adopt the strategy of domestication with the form of the language, and take Foreignization with the culture.The third part is approached from several typical metaphor translation examples in English version of Fortress Besieged, by means of comparing five different figures of speech, including simile, metaphor, megametaphor, allusion, metonymy.The last part comes to the reiteration of the main viewpoints of the thesis. For the sake of spreading Chinese culture and promoting cultural exchanges, the translators adopt foreignization as its dominant translation method and domestication as a supplementary one.It is sincerely hoped that this thesis will enlighten translators and help them flexibly utilize translation strategies so that they may do better in translation.