英语翻译毕业论文To-Foreignize-or-To-Domesticate.doc

ToForeignizeorToDomesticateAbstract1：Domesticatingtranslationandforeignizingtranslationaretwodifferenttranslationstrategies.Theformerreferstothetranslationstrategyinwhichatransparent,fluentstyleisadoptedinordertominimizethestrangenessoftheforeigntextfortargetlanguagereaders,whilethelatterdesignatesthetypeoftranslationinwhichatargettextdeliberatelybreakstargetconventionsbyretainingsomethingoftheforeignessoftheoriginal.ButwhatisthetranslationpracticelikeinChina?Dotranslatorstendtouseforeignizingmethodsordomesticatingones?Whatarethefactorsthataffecttheirdecisionmaking?ThispapertriestofindanswerstothequestionsbylookingintothetranslationofEnglishmetaphorsintoChinese.Keywords:domesticatingtranslation;foreignizingtranslation;metaphor;targetlanguagereader1.IntroductionDomesticatingtranslationandforeignizingtranslationarethetermscoinedbyL.Venuti(1995)todescribethetwodifferenttranslationstrategies.Theformerreferstothetranslationstrategyinwhichatransparent,fluentstyleisadoptedinordertominimizethestrangenessoftheforeigntextfortargetlanguagereaders,whilethelatterdesignatesthetypeoftranslationinwhichatargettextdeliberatelybreakstargetconventionsbyretainingsomethingoftheforeignessoftheoriginal(Shuttleworth&Cowie,1997:59).TherootsofthetermscanbetracedbacktotheGermanphilosopherSchleiermacher#39;sargumentthatthereareonlytwodifferentmethodsoftranslation,eitherthetranslatorleavestheauthorinpeace,asmuchaspossible,andmovesthereadertowardshim;orheleavesthereaderinpeace,asmuchaspossible,andmovestheauthortowardshim(Venuti,1995:19-20).ThetermsforeignizationanddomesticationmaybenewtotheChinese,buttheconceptstheycarryhavebeenatleastforacenturyattheheartofmosttranslationcontroversies.LuXun(鲁迅)oncesaidthatbeforetranslating,thetranslatorhastomakeadecision:eithertoadapttheoriginaltextortoretainasmuchaspossibletheforeignflavouroftheoriginaltext(Xu,inLuo,1984:315).ButwhatisthetranslationpracticelikeinChina?RecentlyIhavereadtwoarticleswhichshowcompletelyconflictingviewsonthisquestion.InhisarticleentitledChineseandWesternThinkingOnTranslation,A.LefeveremakesageneralizationbasedonhiscomparisonofChineseandWesternthinkingontranslation,WhenChinesetranslatestextsproducedbyOthersoutsideitsboundaries,ittranslatesthesetextsinordertoreplacethem,pureandsimple.Thetranslationstaketheplaceoftheoriginal.Theyfunctionastheoriginalintheculturetotheextentthattheoriginaldisappearbehindthetranslations.(Bassnett&Lefevere,1998:14)However,FungandKiuhavedrawnquitedifferentconclusionsfromtheirinvestigationofmetaphortranslationbetweenEnglishandChinese,OurcomparisonofthetwosetsofdatashowedthatinthecaseoftheEnglishmetaphortheimageoftenthannotretained,whereaswiththeChinesemetaphors,substitutionisfrequentlyused.OnereasonperhapsisthattheChineseaudiencearemorefamiliarwithandreceptivetoWesternculturethantheaverageEnglishreadersistoChineseculture.(Fung,1995)TheaboveconflictingviewsarousedmyinterestinfindingoutwhethertheChinesetendtodomesticateortoforeignizewhentheytranslateaforeigntext.InwhatfollowsIshallnotcomparetranslationbyWesternandChinesetranslators,butratherlookintothetranslationofEnglishmetaphorsintoChinese.2.WhatisMetaphor?TheRandomHouseUnabridgedDictionary(secondaddition)definesmetaphorasafigureofspeechinwhichatermorphraseisappliedtosomethingtowhichitisnotliterallyapplicableinordertosuggestaresemblance.WhileaccordingtoBBCEnglishDictionary,metaphorisawayofdescribingsomethingbysayingthatitissomethingelsewhichhasthequalitiesthatyouaretryingtodescribe.PeterNewmarkdefinesmetaphorasanyfigurativeexpression:thetransferredsenseofaphysicalword;thepersonificationofanabstraction;theapplicationofawordorcollocationtowhatitdoesnotliterallydenote,i.e.,todescribeonethingintermsofanother.Metaphorsmaybe#39;single#39;-viz.one-word-or#39;extended#39;(acollocation,anidiom,asentence,aproverb,anallegory,acompleteimaginativetext(1988b:104).Snell-HornbyrejectsNewmark#39;sconceptoftheone-wordmetaphorinfavourofWeinrich#39;sdefinitionthatmetaphoristext(1988:56).Shebelievesthatametaphorisacomplexof(atleast)threedimensions(object,imageandsense),reflectingthetensionbetweenresemblanceanddisparity(1988:56-57).Thispaperwillfollowtheideathatmetaphoristextwhichincludesanidiom,asentence,aproverbandanallegory.3.Whathasbeensaidaboutthetranslationofmetaphor?Incontrasttothevoluminousliteratureonmetaphorinthefieldofliterarycriticismandrhetoric,thetranslationofmetaphorhasbeenlargelyneglectedbytranslationtheorists(Fung,1995).InhisarticleCanmetaphorbetranslatable?,whichisregardedasaninitialdiscussionofthesubject,Dagutsays,Whatdeterminesthetranslatabilityofasourcelanguagemetaphorisnotits#39;boldness#39;or#39;originality#39;,butrathertheextenttowhichtheculturalexperienceandsemanticassociationsonwhichitdrawsaresharedbyspeakersoftheparticulartargetlanguage(1976).Snell-Hornbytakesmetaphortranslationinthelightoftheintegratedapproach.ShesaysthatThesenseofthemetaphorisfrequentlyculture-specific,.Whetherametaphoris#39;translatable#39;(i.e.whetheraliteraltranslationcouldrecreateidenticaldimensions),howdifficultitistotranslate,howitcanbetranslatedandwhetheritshouldbetranslatedatallcannotbedecidedbyasetofabstractrules,butmustdependonthestructureandfunctionoftheparticularmetaphorwithinthetextconcerned.(1988:56-9)vandenBroeckconceivesthetreatmentofmetaphorsasafunctionalrelevancytothecommunicativesituation(1981).MaryFungalsoconsiderstranslatingmetaphorasacommunicativeeventwhichisbothinterlingualandintercultural(1995).Differentfromthesemantic,culturalandfunctionalperspectivesmentionedabove,Newmarkholdsamorepragmaticapproach.Drawingonhispracticalexperience,heproposesseveralproceduresfortranslatingmetaphor:(1)Reproducingthesameimageinthetargetlanguage;(2)ReplacingtheSLimagewithanotherestablishedTLimage;(3)Replacingthemetaphorbysimile;(4)Retainingthemetaphorandaddingthesense;(5)Convertingthemetaphortosense;(6)Omittingthemetaphorifitisredundant.Discussionsofthesubject,especiallythosewritteninChinese,arealsopragmaticratherthantheoretical.InE-CTranslationCoursebook(1980)whichisthemostwidelyusedtranslationtextbookinChina,ZhangPeiji(张培基)andhisco-compilerssummarizedthreepopularmethodsfortranslatingmetaphors:(1)Literaltranslation(similartoNewmark#39;sfirstprocedure);(2)ReplacingtheSLimagewithastandardTLimage(similartoNewmark#39;ssecondprocedure);(3)Convertingthemetaphortosense(SameasNewmark#39;sfifthprocedure).BasedonthemethodssuggestedbyZhangandhiscolleagues,GuoZhuzhang(郭著章)proposesfiveinAPracticalCoursebookinTranslationBetweenEnglishandChinese(19964.HowAreMetaphorsTranslated? Theabovemethods,envisagedasguidelinesforthetranslationstudentsaswellasthepracticaltranslators,arequiteexhaustiveofrenderingthemetaphor.Whichofthemethodsoftranslationareactuallydomesticatingandwhichonesforeignizing?InthefollowingsectionIwillcitesomeexamplesofmetaphortranslationfromtwotranslationtextbooks,twodictionariesandtwoarticlesasthesourcefortheanalysis.4.1ExamplesExamplesarecitedfrom:(1)E-CTranslationCoursebook(1980)byZhangPeiji(张培基)etal.,(2)APracticalCoursebookinTranslationBetweenEnglishandChinese(1996,revisededition)byGuoZhuzhang(郭著章)etal.,(3)TheEnglish-ChineseDictionary(1993,Unabridged)byLuGusun(陆谷孙，chiefeditor),(4)LongmanEnglish-ChineseDictionaryofEnglishIdioms(1995)byLiYinhua(李荫华)etal.(revisersoftranslation),(5)Freetranslation,literaltranslationandword-for-wordtranslation(1981)byFengShize(冯世则),and(6)Pragmaticsandtranslation(1994)byHeZiran(何自然).Example1ButIhatedSakamoto,andIhadafeelinghe#39;dsurelyleadusbothtoourancestors.但是我恨阪本，并预感到他肯定会领着咱们去见祖先。(Zhang，1980:12)。(Mybacktranslation:ButI.he#39;dsurelyleadustoseeourancestors.)Example2HitlerwasarmedtotheteethwhenhelaunchedtheSecondWorldWar,butinafewyears,hewascompletelydefeated.希特勒在发动第二次世界大战时是武装到牙齿的，可是不到几年，就被彻底击败了。(Zhang，1980:13)(Backtranslation:Hitlerwasarmedtotheteeth.)Example3Hewalkedattheheadofthefuneralprocession,andeverynowandthenwipedawayhiscrocodiletearswithabighandkerchief.他走在送葬队伍的前头，还不时用一条大手绢抹去他那鳄鱼的眼泪。(Feng,1981)(Backtranslation:Hewalked.hiscrocodiletears.)Example4Amongtheblindtheone-eyedmanisking.山中没老虎，猴子称霸王。(Guo&Li,1996:183)(Mybacktranslation:Themonkeyreignsinthemountainswhenthereisnotigerthere.)Example5Talk/Speakofthedevil(andhewillappear).说到曹操，曹操就到。(Lu,1993:463)(Mybacktranslation:TalkofCaocao,andhewillappear.)Example6Peterdoesannoyme,comingaroundhereallthetime.Oh,talkofthedevil!That#39;sprobablyhimatthedoornow.彼得真令我讨厌，老是到这儿来。哦，说鬼鬼到！在门口的可能就是他。(Li,1995:118)(Mybacktranslation:.Oh,speakofthedevil,andhewillappear.)Example7Oneboyisaboy,twoboyshalfaboy,threeboysnoboy.一个和尚挑水吃，两个和尚抬水吃，三个和尚没水吃。(Zhang,162)(Mybacktranslation:OneBuddhistmonkcarrieswaterforhimself,twomonkscarrywatertogether,threemonkshavenowatertodrink.)Example8Everyfamilyissaidtohaveatleastoneskeletoninthecupboard.据说家家户户至少也有一桩家丑。(Feng,1981)(Mybacktranslation:Everyfamilyissaidto.familyscandal.)Example9Askeletoninthecupboard/closet衣柜里的骷髅,见不得人的事儿(He,1994)(Mybacktranslation:askeletoninthecloset,somethingnotfittobeseen)Example10TocarrycoalstoNewcastle运煤到纽卡索，多此一举。注：纽卡索是英国的一个产煤中心地，运煤到此是多余的事。(Zhang,1980:163-4)(Mybacktranslation:TocarrycoalstoNewcastle,makinganunnecessarymove)Example11Theteenagersdon#39;tinviteBobtotheirpartiesbecauseheisawetblanket.青少年们不邀请鲍勃参加他们的聚会因为他是一个令人扫兴的人。(Zhang,1980:162)(Mybacktranslation:The.becauseheisadisappointment.)Example12Shewasbornwithasilverspooninhermouth;shethinksshecandowhatshelikes.她生长在富贵之家，认为凡事都可以随心所欲。(Zhang,1980:163)(Mybacktranslation:Shewasborninawealthyfamily.)Example13Hewhokeepscompanywtihthewolfwilllearntohowl近朱者赤，近墨者黑。(Guo,1996:183)(Mybacktranslation:Hewhotouchesvermillionwillbereddened,andhewhodealswithinkwillbeblackened.)Example14Greatmenarenotalwayswise.人有失手日，马有失蹄时。(Guo,1996:182-3)(Mybacktranslation:Menwillmakemistakes,horsesallstumble.)4.2AnalysisTheanalysisisbasedonthefollowingfivecommontranslationmethods:(1)Literaltranslation(retainingthesameimageinthetargetlanguage);(2)ReplacingtheSLimagewithastandardTLimage;(3)Literaltranslationplussenseandexplanation;(4)Convertingthemetaphortomeaning;(5)UsingChinesecoupletstoreplacetheEnglishmetaphor.Metaphorsinexamples1,2,3and6aretranslatedliterally.Theaimofliteraltranslationistoretainthenationalorlocalcolour,theoriginalimagesaswellastheforeignexpressionssoastoenrichthetargetlanguage.(Zhang,1980:161).Tohisancestors(Example1)去见祖先,isaeuphemismfortodie.ThisexpressionisvividandeasyfortheordinaryChinesereadertounderstand.Armedtotheteeth(Example2)武装到牙齿soundsabitexaggeratingbutveryimpressive.Theimageofapersonarmedtotheteethissopicturesquethatitishardforthetargetlanguagereadertoforget.ThisliteraltranslationhasbeenwidelyacceptedsinceNewChinawasestablished.AmorecommonprocedurefortranslatingmetaphorsistoreplacetheSLimagewithanotherestablishedTLimage,ifoneexiststhatisequallyfrequentwithintheregister(Newmark,1988:109).Theproverbsinexamples4,5,and7,arealladaptedintoChineseversions,replacingtheSLimageswithTLimageswhicharefamiliartotheChinesereader.TheseChineseimagesarewidelydifferentfrombutsimilarinsensetotheoriginalones.Perhapsitisallrighttorendertheproverbinexample4amongtheblindtheone-eyedmaniskingliterallyinto盲人之中单眼汉为王,becausethemeaningaswellastheimageisclear.ButtheproverbOneboyisaboy,twoboyshalfaboy,threeboysnoboyisaconceptratherthananimage,ifitistranslatedliterally,itwouldbewordyandmaynotbeabletoimpresstheChinesereaderasstronglyastheconvertedversion.TherehasbeensomeargumentsaboutthetranslationofthemetaphoricalsayingTalkingofthedevil,andhewillappear.Some(Zhang,1980;Lu,1993)believethatitisacceptabletoconvertitinto说到曹操，曹操就到becausethisfigurativeexpressionisknowntoall,whileothers(Guo,1996;Li,1995)thinkthatCaocaoisanationalfigureintheChinesehistorywhorepresentscertainfeaturesoftheChineseculture.Iftheoriginaltextisaboutwesterncultureandwesternpeople,itwouldbeinappropriatetobringCaoCaointothescene.PerhapsthatiswhyLiandhiscolleaguesdecidedtotranslateitliterallyinto说鬼鬼到(Example6).Thetranslationmethodappliedtometaphorsinexamples8,11and12isfreetranslation(theusualChineseterm)orinNewmark#39;swords,convertingthemetaphortosense.TotheChinesereader,theimageofaskeletoninthecupboard,maymeanugly,horribleandfrightening;awetblanketismerelyablanketwhichissoakedwithwater,andasilverspoonisjustaspoondifferentfromachinaspoon.Theymaynotbeabletounderstandthereferentialmeaningstheseimagescarryinthemetaphors.Mostprobablyforthisreasonthemetaphorsareallconvertedtosense,tomoregeneralexpressions,familyscandal(家丑),adisappointment(令人扫兴的人)andawealthyfamily(富贵之家)whichareabstra