ON THE STRATEGIES FOR.txt

on the strategies forcultural image translation inhong lou mengathesissubmitted tothe college of english languageon the otherhand,we can retreat tactically to domestication in too demanding cases so as not tooutsmart ourselves. abstractiii貵顣黯黯棬岿塢飺黯 contentsivcontentsacknowledgementsiabstractiicontents.ivintroduction.11 cultural image.31.1 definition.31.2 various forms of cultural images.31.3 the traits of cultural images.51.3.1 being a unity of image and meaning.51.3.2 of nationality and conventionality71.3.3 with cultural connotations relatively fixed.81.3.4 of significant aesthetic value.81.4 the discrepancy of cultural images91.4.1 cultural image gap91.4.2 partly overlapping101.4.3 conflicting.111.5 cultural images in hong lou meng.121.5.1 the name of the novel131.5.2 the names of buildings.131.5.3 the nicknames of the members of begonia club.131.5.4 titles of chapters131.5.5 similes and metaphors131.5.6 religious terms.141.5.7 proverbs14 contentsv1.5.8 idioms141.5.9 allusions142 foreignization vs.domestication:the basic translationstrategies153 foreignization vs.domestication:ysand hs mainstrategies194 the duality of the strategies of foreignization anddomestication in translating cultural images in honglou meng.274.1 from the perspective of the subjectivity of the translator.274.2 from the perspective of optimal relevance.305 foreignization:has an advantage over domestication.335.1 from the perspective of language functions and text types.335.2 from the perspective of post-colonialism345.2.1 post-colonialism:translation as a means of cultural colonization andhegemony.345.2.2 foreignization in chinese-english translation helps resist culturalhegemony.365.3 from the perspective of cultural communication365.3.1 translation means cultural communication365.3.2 foreignization achieves cultural fidelity and promotes culturalcommunication375.4 from the perspective of aesthetics405.4.1 foreignization achieves implicitness in the tl415.4.2 foreignization produces poetic effect in the tl435.4.3 foreignization makes the tl more expressive.465.4.4 foreignization adds freshness and foreignness to translated works.48 contentsvi5.5 from the perspective of readers subjective initiative in reading.49conclusion:the general principle:adoptingforeignization as the main strategy and domesticationas the supplementary53bibliography.55 introduction1introductionhong lou meng is among the greatest classical works of china and of theworld.as an encyclopedic work,it boasts of rich and enormous life and culturalcontents,extraordinary depth of thoughts,highly skilled and consummate writingskills,and unique artistic and aesthetic values.accordingly,it has called greatattention from translators at home and abroad and has now been possessed of morethan 60 translation versions of 23 different languages,among which only englishversions count up to 9(li shao-nian 1995).however,it has always been a greatchallenge to translate it perfectly just because of what it boasts of,especially theenormous cultural elements,and also because of the wide gaps between languagesand cultures.among all others,cultural images,a special kind of cultural elements,may be the most difficult task to deal with.cultural imageis a relatively new coinage in literary translation studies,which first appeared in 1990s and was formally studied by xie tian-zhen in hisbook translatology published in 1999.as a special kind of cultural elements,cultural images refer to the symbols containing wisdom and historical culture of anation and possessed of rich unique and set cultural connotative meanings.culturalimages may originate from either ancient totems and legends or literature and art.they find expression in various forms such as plants,animals,mountains,rivers,numbers,colors,metaphors,idioms and allusions,e.g.(pine),(lotus),(chinese dragon),(zhuge liang),(dong shi)and(pin;xi shi)inchinese culture;olive,tulip,nightingale,lion,solomon(inas wise as solomon),the gordian knot in western culture;yoshino cherry and the fuji mountain injapanese culture. introduction2due to gaps between cultures,the same cultural image is usually possessed ofdifferent connotative meanings in different cultures or,on other occasions,twocultural images of different cultures happen to have the same connotations.thisphenomenon is calledthe discrepancy of cultural images.specifically,thisphenomenon falls into three categories,namely,cultural image gap,partlyoverlapping in connotations,and widely divergent in connotations.the discrepancy of cultural images adds so much difficulty and trouble to thetranslation of cultural images that translators approach cultural images in quitedifferent ways.this is not untrue even with yang hsien-yiauspicious;loyal)(noble,dignified and majestic e.g.ancient chinese emperorsclothes are 1 cultural image5yellow)english culture:red(angry;blood)green(very jealous;young or/and inexperienced)blue(sullen;noble;obscene;mean)images in similes,metaphors,idioms,proverbs,allusions.e.g.chinese:(hu jia hu wei:bully people by flaunting ones powerfulconnections)(blind imitation with ludicrous effect),(three cobblers with their wits combined equalzhuge liang,the master mind.)english:solomoninas wise as solomonromein the english proverb:all roads lead to romethe gordian knotpandoras boxjudass kissa sword of damocles1.3 the traits of cultural images1.3.1 being a unity of image and meaningcultural images are not images only,but the unity of images and meanings.meanings can be divided into two categories:denotation and connotation(peternewmark 2001:16-17).whilst the former refers to the most specific or directmeanings of a symbol or word in contrast to its figurative or associated meanings,the latter means the set of associative implications constituting the general sense of asymbol or word in addition to its literal sense.in terms of cultural images,the latter 1 cultural image6includes cultural meanings.rich cultural meanings are blended into an image andform a unity of both.as to the roles of the two aspects,they should be of equalimportance,and we can by no means say one is less or more importance than theother:the image is the vehicle,which carries the meaning,while the connotation iswhat the image is intended to mean.on the one hand,the meaning will lose the baseon which it is based without the image;on the other hand,however,the image itselfhas no practical significance if it is not intended to carry certain connotativemeaning.this is illustrated in the following figure:fig.1 cultural image:the unity of image and meaningscultural images bring great convenience for writers,providing rich meaningwith only an image,and making the language quite terse,vivid and expressive.letus take an idiom from hong lou meng for example:in this excerpt,andin the proverb above are two cultural images,respectively referring tocamelandhorseand meaning animals of huge shapeand small shape.with the denotative meaning that a starved camel would still be farbigger than a horse,the proverb pragmatically means that the jia family is extremelyrich,and would be still richer than a poor one even if it were becoming less rich.short as it is,the idiom is quite expressive,adding much vividness and liveliness togranny lius language,and the effect is far better than to say directly what shecultural imageconnotationmeaningimagedenotationcultural meaningpragmatic meaning 1 cultural image7means.in addition,this idiom falls into the informal and colloquial style,welldepicting the character and identity of granny liu.1.3.2 of nationality and conventionalityas a kind of cultural symbols of a people and nation,cultural images areestablished through convention.every people has its own living environment,history,culture,customs and traditions,and they usually behave in accordance withtheir own unique social conventions.cultural images,once they were created,wereconstantly used by people within the same community and were gradually givencertain meaning(s)through convention.therefore,cultural images are of nationalityand conventionality.let us take long and dragon for example.long is a very important culturalimage in chinese culture,though it is nonexistent and imaginary.thehistoryoflong can be dated back to chinese pre-historical culture,where it was closelyconnected with the god pangu,the goddess nuwa,three huang and five di.and asthe legend goes,the emperor yan was born by nudeng,who had had intimaterelationship with shen long.the image of long in the legend is quite mysterious:agodlike creature with scales,capable of appearing and disappearing,becoming thinand huge,and turning short and long as it like,flying into the sky at the springequinox and diving into the sea at the autumnal equinox.accordingly,long is thesymbol of the chinese people and the chinese emperor,with the connotations ofmajesty,might,power,and dignity.it finds expression in many chinese phrases suchas(zhenlongtianzi;emperors),(wang zi cheng long;lookingforward to ones son becoming somebody in the future),(longgong;theimperial court),longpao;emperorsclothes).dragon,the counterpart oflong in the western culture,however,has a quite different image:a huge lizard withscales,wings and a long tail,able to vomit fire.and the connotative meanings of 1 cultural image8evil,viciousness and horror are widely divergent from those of long in chineseculture.(hu wen-zhong 1995)1.3.3 with cultural connotations relatively fixedas creations in a particular system of social conventions,cultural images aredeep rooted in the corresponding culture,the cultural connotations of culturalimages are relatively fixed and not apt to change.moreover,due to theircompactness and expressiveness,cultural images are frequently employed as setexpressions without change in cultural connotation,though pragmatic meaningsmight differ from context to context.1.3.4 of significant aesthetic valuethe using of cultural images can make the language compact,expressive andimpressive,which we have already seen from the analysis above.apart from that,we can find that,by means of cultural images,what the user means are implicatedand suggested rather than stated directly,and hence the implicit effect is produced.in additional,through images,by producing tokens of smell(rose),taste(chocolate),touch(water),sight(all images)and sound(nightingale)that the language consistsof,cultural images connects the extra-linguistic reality with the world of mind,providing the readers a special kind of aesthetic appreciation.therefore,in literaryworks,cultural images are of significant aesthetic value:under the prerequisite ofexpressing what they are intended to mean,making the language more terse andvivid,producing a poetic,i.e.implicit effect,and entertaining readers with anaesthetic delight through images.more details about this aspect will be given in part5. 1 cultural image91.4 the discrepancy of cultural imagesjust because of the nationality and conventionality of cultural images,the samecultural image is usually possessed of different connotative meanings in differentcultures,or,sometimes,two cultural images of different cultures happen to have thesame connotations.such a phenomenon can be calledthe discrepancy of culturalimages(xie tian-zhen 1999:184).in terms of degree of discrepancy of the connotative meanings of culturalimages,the discrepancy of cultural images falls into three categories:cultural imagegap,partly overlapping and widely divergent.1.4.1 cultural image gapowing to differences in religion,history,and political and economic systemsbetween cultures,cultural images in one culture may be right in the vacuum marginsof another culture.in other words,there are cases in which some cultural images inone culture can by no means find their counterparts in another culture.e.g.chinese:(jiaozi;dumplings)(niangao;chinese new-year cake)(qipao)(tangzhuang)(pailou;chinese gateway)(beijing opera)(terra-cotta soldiers and horses)(zhuge liang)(xi shi)(yin and yang),etc.english:hippie 1 cultural image10christheavencupidcoffeegodcowboystripperjazz,etc.in another no less common case,cultural images in one culture are not culturalimages.e.g.chinese:(pine and cypress)(bamboo)(moon)/()(lotus flower)(crane)(kylin;chinese unicorn)(turtle;tortoise)english:olive branch(peace)goat(victim;satyr/lecher)elephant(awkward;clumsy)number 13(jin hui-kang 2003)among the two groups of cultural images,while the former are cultural imagesin chinese but not in english culture,the latter are in english but not in chineseculture.1.4.2 partly overlappingthis category refers to the case in which the same cultural image is capable ofpartly different connotations in different cultures.e.g. 1 cultural image11chinese culture western culturechicken tender tender;timidox patient;hard-working;patientdiligent;strongred angry;bloody;happy;angry;bloodyauspicious;loyaltiger king ofanimals:powerful;fierce;cruelbrave;fierce,cruelpeacock beautiful;proud proudwolf ungrateful;cruel;cruel;foxy;ambitious deceitful;crafty/fox cunning;seductive;cunningevil;suspiciousrose love love;beautiful1.4.3 conflictingthis refers to it that the same cultural image is capable of completely differentor widely divergent connotations in different cultures.such examples are manifold,e.g.chinese culture western culturephoenix queen of all birds:immortal bird:eternal;noble;immortal;rich;honorable and splendiddragon the chinese people evil;cruel;fierce;and emperor:powerful;vicioushonorable;dignifiedeagle cruel;dangerous;intrepid the symbol of usaand its postal service 1 cultural image12bat auspicious;blessing evil;ugly;cruelowl ill fortune wisdom;intelligencedog henchman;lackey;mean;mans best friend:loyal;vicious;bad lovable;luckythere also exists another case,in which two different cultural images areavailable for the same pragmatic meaning,but perhaps with different culturalmeanings,e.g.chinese culture western culturethin(monkey)shadowmiserly(iron cock)old screwtimid(mouse)chicken;hare,rabbit;pigeonstrong(ox;cow)horsepoor(beggar)church mousemuch,manythreesevenunluckyfourthirteennoble(yellow)bluehappy(red)greenwise(zhuge liang)solomonking of animals(tiger)lion1.5 cultural images in hong lou menga great number of cultural images lie in hong lou meng.they find expressionin various forms.now some examples are presented as follows: 1 cultural image131.5.1 the name of the novel1.5.2 the names of buildings1.5.3 the nicknames of the members of begonia club1.5.4 titles of chapterschapter 5:chapter 36chapter 37chapter 871.5.5 similes and metaphors紺(chapter3)罿硣(chapter 3) 1 cultural image14(chapter 46)!(chapter 21)1.5.6 religious terms飬(chapter 1)(chapter 7)1.5.7 proverbs(chapter13)(chapter 24)(chapter73)(chapter 67)1.5.8 idiomschapter 30)轣(chapter 69)1.5.9 allusions(chapter 40)(chapter 37) 2 foreignization vs.domestication:the basic translation strategies152 foreignization vs.domestication:the basictranslation strategiesas is illustrated above,cultural images are widely used in hong lou meng andof great value in literary works.on the other hands,however,owing to the specialtraits of cultural images,especially discrepancy,great complexity is involved whenit comes to the problem of how to deal with cultural images in hong lou meng intranslation.early in 1813,the famous german translator schleiermacher pointed out in aspeech on different methods of translation that translators should try either to makethe readers approach the author without interrupting him or to make the authorapproach the readers without interrupting them.(schleiermacher,a.199242)venuti summarizes the two strategies asforeignizationanddomestication(1995:20).more detailedly,the former refers to deviating from the mainstreams of nativevalues while keeping in the tl the exoticism of