Profiles of the Chinese Pig Industry To Foreignize or To Domesticate.docx

Profiles of the Chinese Pig IndustryTo Foreignize or To DomesticateAbstract1：Domesticatingtranslationandforeignizingtranslationaretwo differenttranslationstrategies.Theformerreferstothetranslation strategyinwhichatransparent,fluentstyleisadoptedinordertominimize thestrangenessoftheforeigntextfortargetlanguagereaders,while thelatterdesignatesthetypeoftranslationinwhichatargettextdeliberately breakstargetconventionsbyretainingsomethingoftheforeignessofthe original.ButwhatisthetranslationpracticelikeinChina?Dotranslators tendtouseforeignizingmethodsordomesticatingones?Whatarethefactors thataffecttheirdecisionmaking?Thispapertriestofindanswersto thequestionsbylookingintothetranslationofEnglishmetaphorsinto Chinese. Keywords:domesticatingtranslation;foreignizingtranslation;metaphor; target languagereader 1.Introduction Domesticatingtranslationandforeignizingtranslationaretheterms coinedbyL.Venuti(1995)todescribethetwodifferenttranslationstrategies. Theformerreferstothetranslationstrategyinwhichatransparent,fluent styleisadoptedinordertominimizethestrangenessoftheforeigntext fortargetlanguagereaders,whilethelatterdesignatesthetypeoftranslation inwhichatargettextdeliberatelybreakstargetconventionsbyretaining somethingoftheforeignessoftheoriginal(Shuttleworth&Cowie,1997:59). TherootsofthetermscanbetracedbacktotheGermanphilosopherSchleiermachers argumentthatthereareonlytwodifferentmethodsoftranslation,either thetranslatorleavestheauthorinpeace,asmuchaspossible,andmoves thereadertowardshim;orheleavesthereaderinpeace,asmuchaspossible, andmovestheauthortowardshim(Venuti,1995:19-20). ThetermsforeignizationanddomesticationmaybenewtotheChinese, buttheconceptstheycarryhavebeenatleastforacenturyattheheart ofmosttranslationcontroversies.LuXun(鲁迅)oncesaidthatbefore translating,thetranslatorhastomakeadecision:eithertoadaptthe originaltextortoretainasmuchaspossibletheforeignflavourofthe originaltext(Xu,inLuo,1984:315). ButwhatisthetranslationpracticelikeinChina?RecentlyIhaveread twoarticleswhichshowcompletelyconflictingviewsonthisquestion. InhisarticleentitledChineseandWesternThinkingOnTranslation, A.LefeveremakesageneralizationbasedonhiscomparisonofChineseand Westernthinkingontranslation, WhenChinesetranslatestextsproducedbyOthersoutsideitsboundaries, ittranslatesthesetextsinordertoreplacethem,pureandsimple.The translations taketheplaceoftheoriginal.Theyfunctionastheoriginalintheculture totheextent thattheoriginaldisappearbehindthetranslations.(Bassnett&Lefevere, 1998:14) However,FungandKiuhavedrawnquitedifferentconclusionsfromtheir investigationofmetaphortranslationbetweenEnglishandChinese, OurcomparisonofthetwosetsofdatashowedthatinthecaseoftheEnglish metaphor theimageoftenthannotretained,whereaswiththeChinesemetaphors, substitutionis frequentlyused.OnereasonperhapsisthattheChineseaudience aremorefamiliarwith andreceptivetoWesternculturethantheaverageEnglishreadersisto Chineseculture.(Fung,1995) Theaboveconflictingviewsarousedmyinterestinfindingoutwhether theChinesetendtodomesticateortoforeignizewhentheytranslatea foreigntext.InwhatfollowsIshallnotcomparetranslationbyWestern andChinesetranslators,butratherlookintothetranslationofEnglish metaphorsintoChinese. 2.WhatisMetaphor? TheRandomHouseUnabridgedDictionary(secondaddition)definesmetaphor asafigureofspeechinwhichatermorphraseisappliedtosomething towhichitisnotliterallyapplicableinordertosuggestaresemblance. WhileaccordingtoBBCEnglishDictionary,metaphorisawayofdescribing somethingbysayingthatitissomethingelsewhichhasthequalitiesthat youaretryingtodescribe. PeterNewmarkdefinesmetaphorasanyfigurativeexpression:thetransferred senseofaphysicalword;thepersonificationofanabstraction;theapplication ofawordorcollocationtowhatitdoesnotliterallydenote,i.e.,to describeonethingintermsofanother.Metaphorsmaybesingle -viz.one-word-orextended(acollocation,anidiom,asentence, aproverb,anallegory,acompleteimaginativetext(1988b:104). Snell-HornbyrejectsNewmarksconceptoftheone-wordmetaphorinfavour ofWeinrichsdefinitionthatmetaphoristext(1988:56).Shebelieves thatametaphorisacomplexof(atleast)threedimensions(object,image andsense),reflectingthetensionbetweenresemblanceand disparity(1988:56-57). Thispaperwillfollowtheideathatmetaphoristextwhichincludes anidiom,asentence,aproverbandanallegory. 3.Whathasbeensaidaboutthetranslationofmetaphor? Incontrasttothevoluminousliteratureonmetaphorinthefieldofliterary criticismandrhetoric,thetranslationofmetaphorhasbeenlargelyneglected bytranslationtheorists(Fung,1995).InhisarticleCanmetaphorbe translatable?,whichisregardedasaninitialdiscussionofthesubject, Dagutsays, Whatdeterminesthetranslatabilityofasourcelanguagemetaphorisnot itsboldnessororiginality,butrathertheextenttowhichthecultural experienceandsemantic associationsonwhichitdrawsaresharedbyspeakersoftheparticular targetlanguage (1976). Snell-Hornbytakesmetaphortranslationinthelightoftheintegrated approach.Shesaysthat Thesenseofthemetaphorisfrequentlyculture-specific,.Whether ametaphoris translatable(i.e.whetheraliteraltranslationcouldrecreateidentical dimensions),how difficultitistotranslate,howitcanbetranslatedandwhetheritshould betranslatedatall cannotbedecidedbyasetofabstractrules,butmustdependonthestructure andfunctionof theparticularmetaphorwithinthetextconcerned.(1988:56-9) vandenBroeckconceivesthetreatmentofmetaphorsasafunctionalrelevancy tothecommunicativesituation(1981).MaryFungalsoconsiderstranslating metaphorasacommunicativeeventwhichisbothinterlingualandintercultural (1995). Differentfromthesemantic,culturalandfunctionalperspectivesmentioned above,Newmarkholdsamorepragmaticapproach.Drawingonhispractical experience,heproposesseveralproceduresfortranslatingmetaphor:(1) Reproducingthesameimageinthetargetlanguage;(2) ReplacingtheSLimagewithanotherestablishedTLimage;(3)Replacing themetaphorbysimile;(4)Retainingthemetaphorandaddingthesense; (5)Convertingthemetaphortosense;(6)Omittingthemetaphorifitis redundant. Discussionsofthesubject,especiallythosewritteninChinese,arealso pragmaticratherthantheoretical.InE-CTranslationCoursebook(1980 )whichisthemostwidelyusedtranslationtextbookinChina,ZhangPeiji (张培基)andhisco-compilerssummarizedthreepopularmethodsfortranslating metaphors:(1)Literaltranslation(similartoNewmarksfirstprocedure); (2)ReplacingtheSLimagewithastandardTLimage(similartoNewmarks secondprocedure);(3)Convertingthemetaphortosense(SameasNewmarks fifthprocedure). BasedonthemethodssuggestedbyZhangandhiscolleagues,GuoZhuzhang (郭著章)proposesfiveinAPracticalCoursebookinTranslationBetween EnglishandChinese(1996,revisededition):(1)Literaltranslationplus explanation;(2)Literaltranslationplusmeaning;(3)Adaptingthemetaphor; (4)UsingChinesecoupletstorendertheEnglishmetaphor;(5)Replacing theSLimagewithaTLimage.4.HowAreMetaphorsTranslated? Theabovemethods,envisagedasguidelinesforthetranslationstudents aswellasthepracticaltranslators,arequiteexhaustiveofrendering themetaphor.Whichofthemethodsoftranslationareactuallydomesticating andwhichonesforeignizing?InthefollowingsectionIwillcitesome examplesofmetaphortranslationfromtwotranslationtextbooks,twodictionaries andtwoarticlesasthesourcefortheanalysis. 4.1Examples Examplesarecitedfrom:(1)E-CTranslationCoursebook(1980)byZhang Peiji(张培基)etal.,(2)APracticalCoursebookinTranslationBetween EnglishandChinese(1996,revisededition)byGuoZhuzhang(郭著章)et al.,(3)TheEnglish-ChineseDictionary(1993,Unabridged)byLuGusun(陆谷孙，chief editor),(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). Example1 ButIhatedSakamoto,andIhadafeelinghedsurelyleadusbothtoour ancestors. 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.hedsurelyleadustoseeourancestors.) Example2 HitlerwasarmedtotheteethwhenhelaunchedtheSecondWorldWar,but inafewyears,he wascompletelydefeated. 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.) Example3 Hewalkedattheheadofthefuneralprocession,andeverynowandthen wipedawayhis crocodiletearswithabighandkerchief. 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.) Example4 Amongtheblindtheone-eyedmanisking. 山中没老虎，猴子称霸王。(Guo&Li,1996:183) (Mybacktranslation:Themonkeyreignsinthemountainswhenthereis notigerthere.) Example5 Talk/Speakofthedevil(andhewillappear). 说到曹操，曹操就到。(Lu,1993:463) (Mybacktranslation:TalkofCaocao,andhewillappear.) Example6 Peterdoesannoyme,comingaroundhereallthetime.Oh,talkofthedevil! Thatsprobably himatthedoornow. 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.) Example7 Oneboyisaboy,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,two monkscarrywater together,threemonkshavenowatertodrink.) Example8 Everyfamilyissaidtohaveatleastoneskeletoninthecupboard. 据说家家户户至少也有一桩家丑。(Feng,1981) (Mybacktranslation:Everyfamilyissaidto.familyscandal.) Example9 Askeletoninthecupboard/closet 衣柜里的骷髅,见不得人的事儿(He,1994) (Mybacktranslation:askeletoninthecloset,somethingnotfittobe seen) Example10 TocarrycoalstoNewcastle 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,makinganunnecessary move) Example11 TheteenagersdontinviteBobtotheirpartiesbecauseheisawetblanket. 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.) Example12 Shewasbornwithasilverspooninhermouth;shethinksshecandowhat shelikes. 她生长在富贵之家，认为凡事都可以随心所欲。(Zhang,1980:163) (Mybacktranslation:Shewasborninawealthyfamily.) Example13 Hewhokeepscompanywtihthewolfwilllearntohowl 近朱者赤，近墨者黑。(Guo,1996:183) (Mybacktranslation:Hewhotouchesvermillionwillbereddened,andhe whodealswith inkwillbeblackened.) Example14 Greatmenarenotalwayswise. 人有失手日，马有失蹄时。(Guo,1996:182-3) (Mybacktranslation:Menwillmakemistakes,horsesallstumble.) 4.2Analysis Theanalysisisbasedonthefollowingfivecommontranslationmethods: (1)Literaltranslation(retainingthesameimageinthetargetlanguage); (2)ReplacingtheSLimagewithastandardTLimage;(3)Literaltranslation plussenseandexplanation;(4)Convertingthemetaphortomeaning;(5) UsingChinesecoupletstoreplacetheEnglishmetaphor. Metaphorsinexamples1,2,3and6aretranslatedliterally.Theaimof literaltranslationistoretainthenationalorlocalcolour,theoriginal imagesaswellastheforeignexpressionssoastoenrichthetargetlanguage .(Zhang,1980:161).Tohisancestors(Example1)去见祖先,isa euphemismfortodie.Thisexpressionisvividandeasyfortheordinary Chinesereadertounderstand.Armedtotheteeth(Example2)武装到牙齿 soundsabitexaggeratingbutveryimpressive.Theimageofapersonarmed totheteethissopicturesquethatitishardforthetargetlanguage readertoforget.Thisliteraltranslationhasbeenwidelyacceptedsince NewChinawasestablished. AmorecommonprocedurefortranslatingmetaphorsistoreplacetheSL imagewithanotherestablishedTLimage,ifoneexiststhatisequally frequentwithintheregister(Newmark,1988:109).Theproverbsinexamples 4,5,and7,arealladaptedintoChineseversions,replacingtheSLimages withTLimageswhicharefamiliartotheChinesereader.TheseChinese imagesarewidelydifferentfrombutsimilarinsensetotheoriginalones .Perhapsitisallrighttorendertheproverbinexample4amongthe blindtheone-eyedmaniskingliterallyinto盲人之中单眼汉为王,because themeaningaswellastheimageisclear.ButtheproverbOneboyis aboy,twoboyshalfaboy,threeboysnoboyisaconceptratherthan animage,ifitistranslatedliterally,itwouldbewordyandmaynot beabletoimpresstheChinesereaderasstronglyastheconvertedversion. Therehasbeensomeargumentsaboutthetranslationofthemetaphorical sayingTalkingofthedevil,andhewillappear.Some(Zhang,1980;Lu, 1993)believethatitisacceptabletoconvertitinto说到曹操，曹操就到 becausethisfigurativeexpressionisknowntoall,whileothers(Guo, 1996;Li,1995)thinkthatCaocaoisanationalfigureintheChinesehistory whorepresentscertainfeaturesoftheChineseculture.Iftheoriginal textisaboutwesterncultureandwesternpeople,itwouldbeinappropriate tobringCaoCaointothescene.PerhapsthatiswhyLiandhiscolleagues decidedtotranslateitliterallyinto说鬼鬼到(Example6). Thetranslationmethodappliedtometaphorsinexamples8,11and12is freetranslation(theusualChineseterm)orinNewmarkswords,converting themetaphortosense.TotheChinesereader,theimageofaskeleton inthecupboard,maymeanugly,horribleandfrightening;awetblanket ismerelyablanketwhichissoakedwithwater,andasilverspoonis justaspoondifferentfromachinaspoon.Theymaynotbeabletounderstand thereferentialmeaningstheseimagescarryinthemetaphors.Mostprobably forthisreasonthemetaphorsareallconvertedtosense,tomoregeneral expressions,familyscandal(家丑),adisappointment(令人扫兴的人) andawealthyfamily(富贵之家)whichareabstractconceptsratherthan concreteimages.SnellHornbyisrightinsayingthatasanabstractconcept, metaphormightbeuniversal;initsconcreterealizationhowever,being closelylinkedwithsensuousperceptionandculture-boundvaluejudgments, itisundoubtedlycomplicatedbylanguage-specificidiosyncrasies(1988: 62-3). ThemetaphorinExample9isthesameasthatinExample8,butistreated differently.Actually,therehasbeensomeargumentsaboutthetranslation ofthismetaphoricalphrase.Inanarticlewrittenin1981,FengShize saysthatiftheEnglishidiomskeletoninthecupboardistranslated literallyinto衣柜里的骷髅,theChinesereadermightnotunderstand whatitmeans,sohesuggestedtorenderittosense.Inanotherarticle writtenlaterinthesameyear,XuShigu(徐世谷)doesnotsubscribeto Fengsopinion.Hearguesthatifthefirsttranslatorofthemetaphor thecrocodilestearsthoughtinthesamewayasFeng,theChinesereader wouldnothavebeenabletounderstandtheimage,neithercouldtheexpression beabletogetintotheChinesevocabulary.Xuproposedtranslatingit literallyplusmeaningorexplanation.Butittookalongtimeforpeople toaccepttheskeletonimage:.IntheEnglish-ChineseDictionary(unabridged) ,thestandarddictionaryofthiskindinChina,thetranslationofthe metaphorisnearlythesameasFengs.Itwasnotuntil1992hadthethe skeletonimagebeendirectlybroughtintotheChineseculture,although withabriefinterpretationtorevealitsimpliedmeaning(seeExample 9). ThetranslationofTocarrycoalstoNewcastleindicatesanothercommon problem.Zhangandhiscolleaguestranslatethismetaphorliterallyinto 运煤到纽卡?quot;andthenaddthereferentialmeaning多此一举(making anunnecessarymove).Stilltheyassumethatitcannotbeunderstoodcompletely becauset