Foreignization and Domestication in the Two Translations of Hong Lou Meng1.txtVIP

introduction 1 foreignization and domestication in the two translations of hong lou meng 2 introduction 3黯漴黯黯黯黯;黯; foreignization and domestication in the two translations of hong lou meng 4abstractas one action of human beings,translation has its particular purpose.this leads to the functionalist theory proposed by some german scholars,in which the skopos rule determines the translation strategies employed in aspecific translation in order to produce a functionally adequate target textand fully carry out the purpose of a translation.within the framework ofthe theory,equivalence,an aged yardstick of a translation,is replaced byadequacy.guided mainly by this new assessment criterion,the translatorcan turn to foreignization or domestication,which are two translationstrategies closely related with the cultural elements involved.the presentstudy will apply the skoposthorie to the cultural translation of hong loumeng within three culture systems:social culture system,linguistic culturesystem and ideational culture system to analyze how the skopostheorieexerts an influence upon the translators choice of the strategies and furtherinfluences the effect the translation.under the guidance of different skopoi,the translators of the two translated versions have produced different targettexts as a result of different strategies.the author puts forward the idea thatthough foreignization and domestication contradict each other and havetheir own emphases,they are justified on condition that they can fully carryout the skopos of the translation,like the two english versions of hong loumeng.in this thesis,the first chapter gives an introduction to the literarytranslation to which the present study is closely related.the second chaptergoes to the two specific translation strategies,foreignization anddomestication,to see their connection with literal translation and freetranslation.next chapter makes a study on the functionalist theory and thefocus is on the skopostheorie.in the fourth chapter,the thesis probes intothe translation strategies in the two english versions of hong lou mengand conducts a detailed analysis of three cultural aspects.then follows thefifth chapter to draw a conclusion.key words:culture;translation;skopostheorie;foreignization;domestication introduction 5contentsintroduction.1chapter one literary translation.41.1 the definition of literary translation.41.2 the characteristics of literary translation41.3 literal translation and free translation.61.4 the principles of literary translation7chapter two foreignization and domestication102.1 foreignization and domestication.102.2 the relations between the two pairs of translating strategies.12chapter three the functionalist theory.143.1 the background of the emergence of the theory.143.2 the functionalist theory.163.2.1 skopos.173.2.2 the coherence rule203.2.3 the fidelity rule203.2.4 loyalty.203.3 justifications for translation strategies.22chapter four case study.244.1 an introduction to the source text.244.2 an introduction to the two english versions254.3 the functionalist theory in the cultural translation of hong lou meng264.3.1 the agents involved in the translational process264.3.2 translation briefs and skopoi274.3.3 the strategies taken by the two translators294.4 skopostheorie in the translation of three cultural aspects.304.4.1 social culture system304.4.2 linguistic culture system414.4.3 ideational culture system46chapter five conclusion515.1 conclusion515.2 limitations of the thesis52acknowledgements53bibliography.54 introduction 1introductionwith the tendency of globalization,the world becomes smaller and smaller.in theworld village,the need for trans-cultural information exchange increases by leaps andbounds.translation,as a means of transferring languages as well as cultures,is playinga very significant role in todays international communication.it has already given agreat impetus to the exchange of the cultures and the development of mankind,withoutwhich,the world would be a different one.the translator,as an active role,is regardedas the intermediary between the source text and the target text.his task is to decode theoriginal semantic signs and then recode it in the language which the target receiver canunderstand.in the past,the translator would resort to two methods,i.e.translating freely andtranslating literally,especially when literary translation is concerned.the first refers tothe translation based on the sense of the original text.translators,comparativelyspeaking,have more rights in translating such as they can make some variations ifnecessary as long as the sense is fully expressed.then the second method is not thisfree.the translator must follow the source text strictly.recently,in the translation field appear two new terms,foreignization anddomestication,which consider a translation more from the cultural perspective thanfrom that of the linguistic.the former is source-culture-centered while the later istarget-culture-centered.the gaps between the source culture and the target culture have always been a hardnut for translators to crack.some scholars prefer foreignization while others would liketo turn to domestication.the dispute over these two strategies is right under way.inchina,there are two groups,one of which proposes that the tendency of translation inthe near future is towards foreignization,whereas another of which prefers theorientation of domestication.whenever a controversy appears,people like to giveaffirmation to one and negation to another absolutely,without any middle of the road.inspired by the functionalist theory and the heated discussion about the two strategies,the writer would like to make a study on cross-culture translation and tries to prove thatin literary translation,both foreignization and domestication have their advantages andlimitations respectively.according to the functionalist theory,both translating strategiesare justified if they are based on different translation briefs and achieve their skopoi.focusing mainly on the translation of literature,the thesis makes a detailed foreignization and domestication in the two translations of hong lou meng 2analysis on the translation strategies in the two english versions of hong lou meng inthe consideration that the novel involves abundant cultural phenomena of chinesefeudal society.this is just the very aspect to which the thesis pays attention.the twoversions are a dream of red mansions by yang xianyi and his wife gladys yang andthe story of the stone by david hawkes and his son-in-law john minford.the twotranslated works have many differences caused by different translating strategies,underthe guidance of which,the culture-loaded elements are dealt with in quite varying ways.yang xianyi and gladys yang endeavor to transfer the chinese culture to the foreignreaders,for he thinks the excellent chinese culture is one part of the valuable heritage ofall human beings,the same as the other wonderful cultures in the world.what peopleshould do is learn from each other and only by this can mankind be developed andcontinued.the british translator david hawkes has a different idea about the translation.he thinks highly of this chinese novel,for he gains much pleasure in reading the book.therefore he intends to bring the pleasure to his countrymen and let them know theexistence of such a great book.based on their different purposes,they resort to differenttranslating strategiesforeignization and domesticationin their translationrespectively.as a whole,both versions reach their pre-set skopoi and are finished inagreement with their translation briefs.thus,foreignization and domestication in theversions are quite justified.the thesis owns a lot to the ideas of some translators as well as theorists.theauthor will give a brief introduction to several in the following part.yan fu proposesfaithfulness,expressivenessandelegance.these threeprinciples have a great influence on the chinese translation field.lu xun insists that a good translation should at first try to maintain the originalflavor and style.then comes the expressiveness of the translated version.he advocatesrather to be faithful(in thought)than smooth(in language).liu zhongde gives his principles after absorbing yan fus quintessence.hediscardseleganceand alters it intoclosenessconcerning the style.in his opinion,translators should strive to make the translated text as close to the original style aspossible.eugene nida first gives the concept ofdynamic equivalencewhich refers to theclosest natural equivalent.later he modifies it intofunctional equivalencewhichrequires that after reading the translated version,the target text receivers should achievethe same effect as the original readers do about the original text.hans j.vermeer establishes the translation theory skopostheorie,which is later introduction 3the core of the functionalist theory.skopos is a greek word forpurpose.skopostheorie,as its name suggests,refers to the theory that applies the notion ofskopos to translation.he also deprives the source text of its importance and considers itonly asoffer of information.christiane nord perfects the functionalist theory by proposing another ruleloyalty plus function.by doing so,she eliminates two limitations in the theory.one isabout the culture-specificity of translational models;the other is the relationshipbetween the translator and the source-text producer.the above scholars and their theories represent the developing tendency of thetranslation study,which inclines to culture rather than language,especially in theliterary translation,on which the present thesis place its focus. foreignization and domestication in the two translations of hong lou meng 4chapter one literary translation1.1 the definition of literary translationtranslation is an action of transferring one language code into another so that therecan be a communication and exchange between two different languages and culturesinvolved.it usually includes at least two basic processes:comprehension of the sourcetext(decoding the source message)and formulation of the target text(encoding thetarget message).sl decoding m encodingtl(fig.1)translation can be divided into several kinds according to the styles of the sourcetext and the functions of the translating activities.this paper will mainly discuss literarytranslation.as its name suggests,its source text is literature such as novels,proses andpoems,so the translation must bear the characteristics of literature.if literature is theart of language,then literary translation is the re-creation of this art of the language(liu zhongde 1995:115).if literature is the art of depicting typical characters or imageson the basis of reality,expressing the writers mind or inner feelings,achieving aestheticentertainments,literary translation isto produce the original images in anotherlanguage so that the readers of the translation may be inspired,moved or aestheticallyentertained as one reads the original(mao dun 1937:378).the readers of a literarytranslation may hope to meet foreignness while reading.just like traveling in a foreignland,one is ready and eager to see differences from his country or culture,so thetranslation must transfer the exoticism expressed by some unusual expressions orlanguage usages.because literary translation is the translation of a literature in anotherculture and literature is usually the essence of a nation and can reflect its cultureextensively,literary translation has a close connection with culture.1.2 the characteristics of literary translation(1)cross-culture communication chapter one literary translation 5it has for centuries been taken for granted that translation is merely atransformation between two languages.it is this assumption that causes the age-olddebate on the literal verse free translation and causes people to regard equivalence as thecore of translation.however,with translation studies going on profoundly,scholarshave begun to free their minds from the traditional ideas.at present,the dominant trendis the orientation towards the translation of culture rather than the translation oflanguage.when it comes to literary translation,this characteristic is more remarkable.culture seems to be a term too complicated and extensive to give a precisedefinition.it is so abstract that it can only be felt but not be explained in words clearly.but there are still definitions about it made by some well-known scholars.nida definesit asthe totality of beliefs and practices in a society(nida 1993:105).theoften-quoted definition about culture was given by e.b.tylor in 1871,culture is thecomplex whole which includes knowledge,belief,art,moral,law,customs,othercapabilities,habits acquired by man as a member of a society(hall 1973:21).peternewmark defines culture asthe way of life and its manifestations that are peculiar to acommunity that uses a particular language as its means of expression(newmark1988:94).american ethnologist ward h.goodenough gives an even broader concept:as i see it,a societys culture consists of whatever it is one has to know orbelieve in order to operate in a manner acceptable to its members,and do soin any role that they accept for any one of themselves.culture,being whatpeople have to learn as distinct from their biological heritage,must consistsof the end product of learning:knowledge,in a most general,if relative,sense of the term.by this definition,we should note that culture is not amaterial phenomenon;it does not consist of things,people,behavior,oremotions.it is rather an organization of these things.it is the forms of thingsthat people have in mind,their models for perceiving,relating,andotherwise interpreting them.as such,the things people say and do,theirsocial arrangements and events are products or by-products of their cultureas they apply it to the task of perceiving and dealing with theircircumstances.to one who knows culture,these things and events are alsosigns signifying the cultural forms or models of which they are materialrepresentations()(1964:36).culture is not something we have but something which is always with us.we livein it and share it with the people around us.in germany,in the recently developed,culturally contrastive discipline called cross-cultural communication,heinz g?hring foreignization and domestication in the two translations of hong lou meng 6has adapted goodenoughs definition as follows:culture is everything one needs to know,master and feel in order to judgewhere peoples behavior conforms to or deviates from what is expected fromthem in their social roles,and in order to make ones own behavior conformto the expectations of the society concernedunless one is prepared to takethe consequences of deviant behavior(1977:10,my translation).since literature,the essence of life,comes from peoples daily life in an arts form,it reflects life from almost every angle.based on the various definitions of culture,wesee clearly that culture exists everywhere in a literary work.naturally,the translation ofliterature can also be regarded as the translation of culture.(2)aesthetic entertainmentbased on real life,literature is mainly known as imaginative or creative writing,especially those having artistic value.it includes not only many stylistic features such asrhythm,prosody,syntax,metaphors and symbols but also characters,ideas,expressiveness and atmosphere.from a linguistic point of view,literary language hasbeen defined as eitherdeviantfrom the norms of everyday communication or thecreative use of the potential of the language system against which ordinary language userepresents a reduction(cf.coseriu 1971).whatever the position we stand,literarylanguage is clearly thought to have connotative,expressive or aesthetic meaning of itsown,which is the reason why literature in all countries or literature in the history is soattractive and can give its readers aesthetic enjoyment,so should be literary translation,which enables a wonderful work to be read and appreciated by the readers in anotherculture.since a literary text can produce a particular aesthetic or poetic effect on itsreaders,we can also assume that literary translation is a way to spread this aestheticentertainment far and wide.1.3 literal translation and free translationsince translation came into being,the translating strategies have been in discussionwithout a stop.now we will focus on different strategies ever emerged in history.superficially speaking,literal translation usually means a word-for-wordtranslation,almost without changing the dictions and the order of the original sentences.strictly speaking,it strives to keep the translated text as close to the original one aspossible.while free translation is not so rigid,the translator can make some necessary chapter one literary translation 7alterations in order to keep the target text understandable and meaningful to the targetreaders.for example,the soldiers were armed to the teeth.literal t