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Foreignization and Domestication

Domestication and Foreignization in Translation from the Perspective of Functionalist Approaches 汤蓓 Tang Bei 英语笔译

汤蓓 Tang Bei, 202070080607.

Abstract

Translation is a purposeful and trans-cultural communication. And domestication and foreignization are two strategies to cope with cultural differences in translation. This thesis attempts to explain the choice of demestication and foreignization in translation by case studies from the perspective of functionalist approaches.

Key words

domestication; foreignization;functionalist approaches

摘要

翻译是一种有目的的跨文化交际，处理翻译的文化差异可以使用两种方法：归化和异化。本文从德国功能派翻译理论出发，利用该理论的主要观点，从翻译功能的角度分析译者在翻译过程中对翻译的两大策略——归化与异化的选择做出解释。

关键词

归化；异化；功能派理论

Introduction

Translation, bridging the world of different cultures together, is a cross-cultural activity to the essence as well as an important medium to promote cultural communication. However, due to the differences between materials, customs, religions, thoughts, living environments and language systems, cultural gaps, independent of man’s will, exist objectively, which cause the main difficulties in cultural communication. Only by adopting proper translation strategies can translators reduce cultural conflicts and effectively achieve cultural communication. There are arguments in translation circles on which translation strategy is the better one to remove cultural confusion and promote cultural communication. Domestication and foreignization are two points at issue. Some are for domestication, and some are for foreignization.

In 1970s, the German functionalist approaches emerged. “Functionalist” means focusing on the function or functions of texts and translations. Functionalism is a broad term for various theories that approach translation in this way. Although Skopostheory has played a major role in the development of this trend. For the functionalist, translation is a purposeful activity, Nord had mentioned that a complex action designed to achieve a particular purpose.(Nord,1997) .The top-ranking rule for any translation is thus the “Skopos rule”, that is “the end justifies the means” (Nord 1997:29). Plus Holz-Manttari’s theory of tranlational action, Reiss’s text typology, the functionalism is intended to solve the eternal dilemma of many issues in translation studies, and the strategies of domestication and foreignization are without exception.

From the perspective of functionalist approaches, the choice of translation strategies depends on the functions of the texts, the Skopos. To achieve the prospective purposes, the translator has the freedom to choose the method he needs domestication or foreignization, or both. The functionalist approaches provided a perspective of translation studies.--Tang Bei (talk) 07:24, 11 December 2020 (UTC)

Chapter1: Brief Introduction of Domestication and Foreignization

Definition of Domestication and Foreignization

Domestication and foreignization, two different yet functionally related strategies, the two terms were formally put forward by Laurence Venuti, aiming at explaining two kinds of translation strategies in The Translator’s Invisibility in 1995. Venuti claimed that he traced the root of the terms back to Friedrich Schleiermacher’s famous notion about translation. Schleiermacher, a German theologian and philosopher, said in a lecture in 1813 on the different methods of translation, which stated that “There are only two. Either the translator leaves the author in peace, as much as possible, and moves the reader towards him; or he leaves the reader in peace, as much as possible, and moves the author towards him” (Venuti 1995:37).

According to Venuti, “domestication means bringing the foreign culture closely to the reader in the target culture, making the text recognizable and familiar. Foreignization, on the other hand, means taking the reader over to the foreign culture and making him or her see the differences” (Venuti 1995:148).

Mark Schuttleworth and Moria Cowie defined domestication and foreignization in the following way: “Domesticating translation is a term used by Venuti to describe the translation strategy in which a transparent, fluent style is adopted in order to minimize the strangeness of the foreign text for TL readers”, while “Foreignizing translation is a term used by Venuti to designate the type of translation in which a TT is produced which deliberately breaks target conventions by retaining something of the foreignness of the original”. (Schaffner 1995:21)

To sum up above, the conclusion can be drawn like this: domestication refers to a reader-oriented translation which makes use of acceptable expressions in the target culture to make the target text easy to understand and suitable for the target text readers. Foreignization translation is a culture-oriented translation, which tries to retain the charm of the original text as much as possible in order to preserve the flavour of the original text.--Tang Bei (talk) 07:26, 11 December 2020 (UTC)

Supporter of Domestication and Foreignization

Eugene. A. Nida, a famous American translation theorist dedicated to the communicative function of translation, is widely considered to be the most important supporter for domestication. Nida understands the concepts of domestication and foreignization as “dynamic or functional equivalence” and “formal equivalence” or “formal correspondence”. Dynamic equivalence is a principle of translation. According to this principle, the translators translate the original text with the purpose of making the impact of target language wording on the target culture readers. (Nida&Taber, 1969:200). He argues that, “Under normal circumstances, translators always change the form of the original text ,but as long as the conversion rules change the consistency of transfer in the context of the source language to follow the rules and follow the anti-conversion target language, then the information is retained, and translation is faithful”. (Nida, 1964:118)

Nida divides equivalence into two levels : the lowest level and the highest level of equivalence. The lowest level on the translation is of important and basic requirements; while the highest level on the translation is the ideal, and is therefore difficult to achieve. If the translator is unable to achieve the lowest level of equivalence, it is not enough. He also states that: “The purpose of dynamic equivalence in the translation is to achieve natural expression and to link the receptor and relevant behavior patterns within receptor’s cultural context.” (Nida, 1964:165)

The natural expression indicates fluency is very important to this translation theory. Apparently, domestication in Nida’s works is involved in this fluency. Nida and other proponents of domestication have their own reasons: First, it is not only unrealistic, but also dangerous for translators to try to impose the linguistic and cultural norms of the source text on the target text. Language barriers and cultural barriers should be overcome in a good translation. Second, since translation is an important and necessary medium in both cross-linguistic and cross-cultural communication, the behavior patterns of the target culture should absorb some parts of the source culture in translation. Third, the language of the translated text should be natural, authentic and understandable, which is one of the requirements of translation. This requirement aims to avoid the misunderstanding caused by the target audience because of the language barriers. Domestication is considered to be the most important from the perspective of “natural expression” in Nida translations.

While Venuti, who is the famous representative of the foreignization school questioned Nida’s translation strategy, and proposed his own “resistant strategy” against the dominant fluency. He argues that “cultural differences will be contained in fluent translation strategy, which in fact is a practice of cultural imperialism” (Venuti, 1995:20). Venuti points out that foreignizing strategy of resistance is a pressure on those values to show the linguistic and cultural differences between the original and the translated text. By resisting the dominant cultural values, the role of resistant strategy in questioning, changing and destroying the native cultural norms is positive. With the destruction of the cultural norms of the target language, foreignization translation maintains foreignness and culture uniqueness.

Venuti sees domestication as a way for a strong culture to exert cultural hegemony over a weak culture. Considering the cultural inequality, domestication has more significance. Thus, “the foreignization translation in English can be a form which is based on the interests of democratic geopolitical relations. Venuti’s foreignizating strategy of resistance has a positive impact on studies about translation. He focuses translation neither only on the language level, nor only view domestication and foreignization as translation strategies

Venuti and other proponents of foreignization argue reasons as following: First of all, “cultural authenticity” which embodies the characteristics of a foreign culture is one of the basic principles of foreignization translation. Only through the destruction of cultural norms of the target language, can foreignization maintain foreignness and cultural characteristics of foreign text. The supporters for foreignization hold that the target readers want to feel exoticism of the translated text. The translators should present a new cultural identity to the readers, because that is the purpose of the reader to read translated works. Thus readers may know the real outside world through translated works. The translators should have confidence in the readers’ intelligence and imagination to appreciate cultural differences. Third, the exchange and dissemination of culture should be one of the main purposes of the translation. The introduction of authentic exotic culture promotes cultural exchanges. Only when translation can transfer the source linguistic phenomenon and cultural phenomenon, can it be seen as faithful translation. Cultural communication can improve the development and prosperity of the local culture by means of foreignization translation. The local culture can be greatly enriched by absorbing nutritious heterogeneous culture. The culture of a nation will become energetic and influential through an open and receptive attitude towards foreignness.--Tang Bei (talk) 07:28, 11 December 2020 (UTC)

My Understanding on Domestication and Foreignization

As is known that the argument about domestication and foreignization has a long period history. In these arguments, the translators always focus on one while ignores the another. In fact, domestication and foreignization have both its advantages and disadvantages. Actually, we should learn these two kinds of strategies from a neutral standpoint. From above mentioned, it can be concluded that domestication can effectively avoid the misunderstanding of the original text by cultural differences. Translation is a kind of cultural exchange, and the main task of the translator is to establish effective communication between different cultures by eliminating cultural conflicts. Such communication may be effective in the source culture, but may not be effective in the target culture. The target audience can easily interpret the translated text in terms of their familiar cultural norms. If the information in the translation is within the understanding of the target audience, this translation can better convey the message. If not, the message may be misunderstood.

While in foreignization, it can be concluded that the target readers want to experience a foreign culture. In other words, it is usually presumed that understanding foreign culture is one of the main purposes of the target readers in reading translated works. Generally speaking, foreignization is relatively smoother, simpler, clearer and more conventional, and can entertain ordinary readers and achieve a lively effect because the expression and style of such translation are familiar to the target readers. Foreignization is somewhat clumsy, unnatural and unfamiliar, and can be used to introduce foreign culture, history and philosophy, and let readers feel the exotic culture and customs. However, foreign cultural images and language features may cause information overload for readers. In a word, both domestication and foreignization have its advantages and disadvantages so it is hard to say which one is better. So we need a theoretical framework to guide us how to choose the translation strategy. --Tang Bei (talk) 07:29, 11 December 2020 (UTC)

Chapter2:Brief Introduction of Functionalist Approaches

Skopos Theory

Skopos theory was developed by Hans Vermeer in the late of 1970s. In the translation of non-literary text types such as scientific and academic papers, instructions for use, tourist guides, contracts etc, Vermeer came to realize that the contextual factors surrounding the translation cannot be ignored. These factors include the culture of the intended of the target text and of the client who has commissioned it, and, in particular, the function which the text is to perform in that culture for those readers. Later Vermeer and his followers continue to complete the theory and prove that it also can be applied to literary translation. Within the framework of Skopos theory, translation is not regarded as a process of transcoding, but as a specific form of human action. Like any other human action, translation has a purpose, and the word Skopos is used as a technical term for the purpose of a translation.

The general and primary rule of Skopos theory is the skopos rule. Vermeer assumes that as a general rule it must be the intended purpose of the text that determines translation methods and strategies. Translation is determined by its purpose. It all depends on the Skopos of translation whether to employ domesticating or foreignizing strategy. The second general rule is the coherence rule. This rule stipulates that the target text must be sufficiently coherent to allow the intended users to comprehend it, given their assumed background knowledge and situational circumstances. The third general rule is the fidelity rule. The rule concerns intertextual coherence between translation, the outcome of translational action, and source text. It stipulates only that some relationship must remain between the two once the overriding principle of the first two rules have been satisfied. Among the three rules, the skopos rule plays the most important role while the other two should subject to it. In the Skopos theory, another important term is “translation brief” which specifies what kind of translation is needed. In the ideal situation, translator can decide what strategy to use by the translation brief given by the initiator.

According to Skopos theory, a text is viewed as an “offer of information”(Reiss &Vermeer 1984: 139) made by a producer to a recipient. Translation is a secondary offer of information, imitating a primary offer of information. Translation is the production of a functionally appropriate target text based on an existing source text, and the relationship between the two texts is specified according to the Skopos of the translation. It is up to the translator to decide what role a source text is to play in the translation action. The decisive factor is the specified Skopos. As a result, the status of the source text is much lower in Skopos theory than in equivalence-based theories.--Tang Bei (talk) 07:34, 11 December 2020 (UTC)

Theory of Translational Action

The theory of translational action was developed by Holz-Manttari in1980s. The theory is based on the principles of action theory put forward by Wright and Rehbein and is designed to cover all forms of intercultural transfer. In her model, translational action is “the process of producing a message transmitter of a certain kind, designed to be employed in superordinate action systems in order to coordinate actional and communicative cooperation” or “a complex action designed to achieve a particular purpose” (Nord, 1997).The primary purpose of translational action is to enable cooperative, functionally adequate communication to take place across cultural barriers. Holz-Manttan pays special attention to the actional aspects of the translation process and she analyzes the roles of the participants (such as initiator,translator, user, message receiver) and the situational conditions (time, place, medium) in which their activities take place. In her model, the source text is viewed as a mere tool for the realization of communicative functions. It is a text to which a translation initiator, a client, has assigned the function of serving as source material for translational action. It is totally subordinate to its purpose and is afforded no intrinsic value, thus it may undergo radical modification in the interest of the targeted reader.--Tang Bei (talk) 07:36, 11 December 2020 (UTC)

Text Typology

The text typology of functionalist approaches was developed by Reiss in the book cooperating with Vermeer in 1984. The theory is based on the “origin model” of language functions proposed by the German psychologist Karl Buhler in 1934. The three functions of his theory refer to the representation of objects and phenomena, the attitude of the text producer towards such phenomena, and the appeal to the text receiver that correspond broadly to Jackobson’s Reprecentational, Expressive and Conative functions. It is on this basis that Reiss distinguishes among the informative text, the expressive text and the operative text, each calling for particular sets of skills and strategies on the part of the translator. Reiss distinguishes between two forms of text categorization, which are located on different levels of abstraction: on the one hand, text types are classified according to the dominant communicative function (basically informative, expressive or operative mentioned above); on the other hand, text genres or varieties are classified according to linguistic characteristics or conventions (like those of reference books, lectures, satires or advertisements). (Nord, 1997)--Tang Bei (talk) 07:37, 11 December 2020 (UTC)

Chapter3:The Choice of Domestication and Foreignization in Translation from the Perspective of Functionalist Approaches

From the Perspective of Skopoos Theory

The Skopos theory gets its name from the Greek word “Skopos” which means “purpose”. This approach to translation stresses the purpose of the translation, which determines the translation strategies to be adopted. A translatum i.e. the translated text is determined by its Skopos. Knowing why a text is to be translated and what its function is going to be in the target culture is important in this approach. Like the summary Nord made in 1997, Skopos theory seemed to be exactly the translational model that was needed since it was pragmatic, culture-oriented, consistent, practical, normative, comprehensive and expert. The main point of this functional approach is the following: it is not the source text as such, or its effects on the source-text recipient, or the function assigned to it by the author, that determines the translation process, as is postulated by equivalence-based translation theories, but the prospective function or Skopos of the target-text as determined by the initiator’s, i.e. client’s, needs. Consequently, the Skopos is largely constrained by the target text user and his situation and cultural background.

There are some examples showing the function of Skopos rule. Translators’ choices of translation strategies are often decided by their purposes. Both Yang Xianyi and David Hawkes translated Hongloumeng, one of the four Chinese classical masterpieces. However, the two translators adopted totally different strategies. Yang tends to employ foreignizing translation while Hawkes domesticating translation. The translation of the title of Hongloumeng shows the difference. Yang translated the title into “A Dream of Red Mansions” while Hawkes chosen another name of the masterpiece, “The Story of the Stone”. For Hawkes, the Chinese traditional, noble red color won’t raise the same imagination in the westerners. Contrarily, it will be connected with blood, violence and so on. Therefore, he avoided translating the character literally and resorted to another English word “green” that has more pleasant meaning in English language. As a result, “怡红院” was translated as “the house of green delights” and “怡红公子”as “green boy” .

Another domesticating example is the translation of “鸳鸯” , the mandarin duck which is the symbol of true love. He used “lovebird” to replaced the specific Chinese word. In order to make the translated text easier to understand, and “谋事在人，成事在天”were rendered as “Man proposes, God disposes”. The Chinese Buddhist “heaven” becomes the western Christian “God”. Hawkes’ purpose is to entertain his English readers and he adopted those easy-understood words and phrases in English culture in spite of sacrificing the original cultural connotation. Contrarily, Yang’s purpose is to introduce the luxuriant Chinese culture to the western world. That’s why so many words and phrases with culture-specification were maintained and translated literally. His expected readers are those who are willing to know Chinese culture and to absorb new expressions. Consequently he adopted a rather foreignizing method, attempting to maintain the exotic cultural factors of source text. Examples were seen as following: 1.俗语说的好：“一龙九种，种种个别。”未免人多了就有鱼龙混杂，下流人物在内。(第九回) “A dragon begets nice offspring, each one different.” And inevitably among so many boys there low types too, snakes mixed up with dragons.(Yang 202) “There are nice kinds of dragon and no two kinds are alike”. Where many are gathered together the wheat is sure to contain a certain amount of chaff; and this school was no exception in numbering some very ill-bred persons among its pupils.(Hawkes 206) 2.真是天有不测风云，人有旦夕祸福。(第十一回) “Truly, ‘Storms gather without warning in nature, and nature, and bad luck befalls men overnight’”.(Yang 291) “I know ‘the weather and human life are both unpredictable’.”(Hawkes 294) 3.俗话说得好：“杀人不过头点地。”(第十二回) Remeber the proverb “A murder can only lose his head.”(Yang 318) “You know what the proverb says: He who checks a moment’s rage, shall calm and carefree end his days.”(Hawkes 322) It is can concluded that cultural gaps between the source language and the target language is always a hard nut for a translator to crack. Every language has its own specific cultural connotation, and sometimes the contained meanings are very difficult to convey by another language in the process of translation.

The famous Chinese anesthetist, translator Zhu Guangqian pointed out: “Because of the different cultural situation and living status, words refer to the same thing sometimes can bring about different imagination and esthetics. For instance, the English words fire, sea, Roland, castle, sport, shepherd, nightingale, race will cause different psychological reaction between the English and the Chinese people. For English people, have abundant cultural factors. On the other hand, the Chinese characters and words like风，月，江，湖，梅，菊，燕，碑，笛，僧，隐逸，礼，and阴阳can evoke special association of ideas among Chinese people which may not be comprehended easily by the English people.”(Zhu Guangqian 1984:335) Consequently, the translating strategies translators choose must be determined by the Skopos of translation. Based on this Skopos, translators can select either foreignization, oriented towards the SL culture or domestication, oriented towards the TL culture, or both.--Tang Bei (talk) 07:39, 11 December 2020 (UTC)

From the Perspective of Translational Action

Translational action views translation as purpose-driven, outcome-oriented human interaction and it focuses on the process of translation as message-transmitter compounds involving intercultural transfer. Holz-Manttari says that translation is not only about translating words, sentences or texts but is in every case about guiding the intended co-operation over cultural barriers enabling functionally oriented communication. For her, translating is a form of translational, intentional and interpersonal interaction.

As a form of communicative action, translating is a form of translational interaction. Translational interaction takes place in situations that are limited in time and space. This means every situation has historical and cultural dimensions that condition the agents’ behavior, their knowledge and expectations of each other, their appraisal of the situation, and the standpoint from which they look at each other and at the world. As a result, translators, who enable communication to take place between members of different culture communities, are conditioned by these factors too. Their decision of translating strategy is without exception. In addition, translation is an intentional interaction. For translators, there is a choice to act one war or another.

In Manttari’s model inter-linguistic translation is seen as a communicative process with a series of roles and players. The roles and players are: The initiator, the person, group or institution that starts off the translation process and determines its course by defining the purpose for which the target text is needed. (Nord,1997:20 )The commissioner, is the person who asks the translator to produce a target text for a particular purpose and addressee. Sometimes he may influence the very production of the target text by demanding a particular text format or terminology.The ST producer, the person who writes the ST;the TT producer, who is the translator;the TT user, who is the person who uses the TT; the TT receiver, who is the final recipient of the TT.(Reiss, 1971:25)

These roles and players are interconnected through a complex network of mutual relation. Among these roles, the initiator and the translator are the most significant since it is the initiator who gives out the translation brief and thus determines translator's translation strategy. Sometimes the roles and players can be overlapped, one person playing the roles of several agents at the same time. For example, translator can be the initiator and TT producer at the same time if he is the person who wants to translate the source text into target culture, Yan Fu and Lin Shu are of this kind. In this situation, the translator can determine the translation strategy subjectively according to the purpose he wants to attain. They initiated the translation action themselves and had their prospective TT receivers in mind. Thus the intentions of the translators, the initiators and the aesthetical expectation of TT receivers together determined the translators to choose the strategy of domestication.

Lin Yutang, a famous Chinese writer and translator, candidate of Nobel Prize for literature, once asked his friend Yu Dafu to translate his masterpiece A Moment in Peking that had achieved a great success in the English world. He sent him a detailed explanation of the idioms and quotations from Chinese culture in detail. Unfortunately, the deal turned out to be unaccomplished. (Later,some translators translated it into Chinese. However, Lin felt unsatisfied with all these translated versions.) In this case, Lin is the source text producer and the initiator, he gave out the translation brief and largely determined the translating strategy. Lin’s other works, such as The Importance of Living, My Country and My People, are originally written in English and later translated into Chinese. Compared the English and the Chinese versions, we can find great differences, especially those concerning Chinese specific cultural phenomena. Then what led to these differences? What are the purposes of the initiator? The reasons probably lie in this: creating a work that can satisfy both English and Chinese readers.

Since the English readers are not familiar with the Chinese culture, Lin described it in great details; while in its Chinese version, these details were omitted. In Lin’s translation of Chinese classics, such as Laozi and Zhuangzi’s Taoism, he also adopted the same routine and won a large number of readers. In another translated work The Six Chapters of a Floating Life《浮生六记》, he adopted both domesticating and foreignizing strategies. The examples are in the following:

余笑曰：“卿非解人，摸索在有意无意间耳，拥而狂探，田舍郎之所为也。” Beauty of caressing lies in doing naturally and half unconsciously. Only a country bumpkin will hug and caress a woman roughly. (Quoted in Meng Jiangang, 2002) 惠来以番饼二圆授余，即以赠曹。曹力却，受一圆而去。 Hueilai gave me two Mexican dollars which 1 gave to Ts’ao, but Ts’ao would not take them, only after my insistence did he receive one dollar before going away.(Quoted in Meng Jiangang, 2002)

In the two examples quoted above, Lin employed domesticating translation. The Chinese classics was translated into modern English and the cultural images were replaced, such as “田舍郎，番饼二圆”. The translation became fluent and transparent as if the translator was invisible. However, in order to introduce the profound Chinese culture, he also adopted foreignizing translation in the same text. The example is in the following:

其形削肩长颈，瘦不漏骨，眉弯目秀，顾盼神飞，惟两齿微露，似非佳相。 Of a slender figure, she had drooping shoulders and a rather long neck, slim but not to the point of being skinny. Her eyebrows were arched and in her eyes there was a look of quick intelligence and soft refinement. The only defect was that her two font teeth slightly inclined forward, which was not a mark of good woman.(Quoted in Meng Jiangang, 2002)

The lines described the appearance of a Chinese woman. However, the traditional Chinese beauty may not be beautiful in western culture; and it is difficult for the westerners to understand that “两齿微露” is a premonition of disaster. Lin made no explanation here since he believed western reader would interpret the cultural connotation according to the context. There is no doubt that he succeeds.

The secret of his success is to focus on the function of the target text. Since translation is an intercultural action, different cultures can communicate smoothly by this means. In Lin’s case, he played the roles of source text producer, initiator and translator. Initiators can be a group or an institution. In order to achieve some kind of political purpose, government sometimes initiates a series of translation action and determines the translating strategies for translators. In addition, in order to get more benefit, publisher, the initiator, sometimes will set a translation brief for translators, and asks them to act accordingly. These phenomena are common in modern society. For example, many foreign romances are translated into Chinese in recent years. Some are domesticating while others are foreignizing. The reasons behind them probably lie in the publishers’ intention to satisfy their perspective readers. Translatorial action produces a TT that is functionally communicative and functionally suitable in the target culture. It places translation in its socio-cultural context, which includes the interplay between the translator and the institution that initiated it and stresses functionality.--Tang Bei (talk) 07:39, 11 December 2020 (UTC)

From the Perspective of Text Typology

Among the advocates of functional approaches to translation is Reiss who works on text types which determine translation. Reiss’s approach considers the text rather than the word or the sentence as the translation unit and hence the level at which equivalence is to be sought. The contents of Reiss’s text typology are in the following: The first one is the “informative” text where the content is the main focus. These texts do plain communication of facts, information, knowledge, opinions etc. The logical or referential dimension of language is what is involved. The second one is the “expressive” text where the focus is on creative composition and aesthetics. Both the author (the sender) and the message are what are foregrounded. Imaginative creative literature exemplifies these texts and the third one is the “operative” text where the focus is “appellative” by which what is meant is that the text appeals to the reader to act in a certain way, persuading, dissuading, requesting, and cajoling him. The form of language is dialogic.(Reiss, 1971:25)

Correspondingly Reiss advocates specific translation methods for these text types. The target text of an informative text should be in plain prose with explication where required, the aim being to transmit the referential content of the text. The text styles concern philosophy, news reports, science and so on that aim at introducing foreign culture, history and custom. This text type focuses on the convey of specific culture. Together with the function of Skopos theory, a foreignizing translation should be advocated. The target text of an expressive text should use the “identifying” method, the translator having to look at it from the ST author’s standpoint. The text type of this kind mainly is literature that concerns various linguistic, cultural factors with the functions of cognition, expression, moralism, aesthetics and so on.

Since it connects closely to culture, the choice of translation strategy seems more complex. Generally speaking, we can make the decision according to its function and purpose. For those works rich in cultural connotation, if the purpose is to introduce the source text culture to the target one, we should take foreignizing translation, such as Yang Xianyi’s A Dream of Red Mansions. Since the classic is a representation of Chinese culture and conventional moral, we should convey these information to foreign readers and avoid misreading or misunderstanding.

On the contrary, if the translator’s intention is to entertain the readers and provide the plot of the story, he can adopt the domesticating translation as Hawkes did in his The Story of the Stone. More examples can be seen at Su Mashu and Chen Duxiu’s 《悲惨世界》, all headings of the original novel were domesticated into typical Chinese traditional parallel sentences. For example, “The Close of A Day’s March” and “Prudence Recommended to Wisdom” were translated into “第一回 迪涅城行人落魄，苦巴馆店主无情” and “第二回 感穷途华贱伤心，遇贫客渔夫设计” respectively. Both content and form of an operative text are subordinate to the extra linguistic effect that the text is designed to achieve. “The translation of an operative text has to employ the ‘adaptive’ method, trying to create the same effect on the readers, as the ST. The translation of operative texts into operative texts should be guided by the overall aim of bringing about the same reaction in the audience, although this might involve changing the content and/or stylistic features of the original.” (Nord, 1997:38)

The examples can be found in the translation of advertisement. For instance, the famous trade mark “Coca Cola” was translated into “可口可乐” and reached a totally success. “Coca” is the plant the Indians view as saint and from which people abstract cocaine. If it is translated directly into“古柯” it probably cannot raise the nice flavor of the drink in Chinese customers. Then “Coca” was domesticated into “可口” while “Cola” maintained its foreigness. Therefore, for an operative text, since communicative function is prior to everything else, we tend to employ domesticating translation.

Reiss also mentioned evaluating criteria, which vary according to text types. Thus while the translation of any content-oriented text has to aim at semantic equivalence, and a popular science piece will have to preserve the ST style, there is greater need to retain a metaphor in an expressive text than in an informative target text. Reiss thinks one could gauge the adequacy of a TT by intra-linguistic criteria like semantic, grammatical and stylistic features and extra-linguistic criteria like situation, subject field, time, place, receiver sender and implications like humor, irony, emotion and so on.

Reiss’s text typology is a useful but it is clear that texts are often not as hermetically sealed as Reiss has once believed. A biography or an editorial could have informative as well as appellative content. A personal letter could well be informative, expressive and appellative as can be an advertisement. As a result, translators should take other factors into account, such as functions, Skopos and so on and make judgement accordingly. --Tang Bei (talk) 07:39, 11 December 2020 (UTC)

Conclusion

Domestication is reader-centered and TL culture-oriented, and foreignization is author-centered and SL culture-oriented. However, which of the two translating strategies should be chosen evokes a heated and endless debate at home and abroad, since scholars of these two opposite schools can't convince each other. Many scholars regard these two strategies as oil and vinegar, and believe that they can never coexist harmoniously in translation. People who advocate foreignization believe that, as a means of cultural communication, translation should introduce foreign culture and exoticness to target reader, meanwhile taking in new expressions. On the contrary, people who prefer domestication argue that translation should help to overcome not only language barrier but also cultural conflict. For them, the task of translator is to avoid cultural conflict, and domesticating translation can help readers understand the source text better and finally reach the goal of cultural communication.

From the perspective of functionalist theory, as a communicative, intercultural action, translation is viewed as an intentional, interpersonal interaction. From the angle of Skopos of translation, together with action theory and text typology theory, funetionalist approaches provide us a perspective. Skopos rule is the principal rule determining any translation process in the purpose of the overall translational action. Plus loyalty rule put forward by Nord, functionalist approaches put translation into the framework of action theory and cross-culture communication theory. And adequacy rather than equivalence should be the criterion of judging the quality of a translation. By analyzing the purposes of different parties involved in the translation action(such as initiator, translator, and reader)，guided by translation brief given by the initiator, a translator can determine which translation strategy should be chosen. If the purpose of translation is to introduce domestic culture, history, philosophy to foreign readers, then foreignization should be employed. On the other hand, if the purpose of translation is to entertain the target reader, domestication can add more readability and get better function. Besides, text typology can help translator to figure out the function of a source text and make wiser decision about translation strategy. In one word, from the viewpoint of functionalist, domestication and foreignization have different functions in target language culture. Translator can adopt either or both of them in order to achieve the prospective functions. They are not, and should not be regarded as contradictory, but complementary, and can be employed simultaneously in translation.

In a word, translation can realized cultural communication and transplantation goal under the guidance of the functionalist approaches. --Tang Bei (talk) 12:46, 13 December 2020 (UTC)

References

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The Application of Domestication and Foreignization in Howard Goldblatt’s Translation of Mo Yan’s Works 欧蓉 Ou Rong

欧蓉 Ou Rong, 202020080629.

Abstract

For a long time, owing to the unique style, Chinese literature has attracted much attention among world literature. In the process of flowing overseas, translation has become a bridge of cross-cultural communication and a medium of transmission. Mo Yan is a well-known representative Chinese writer, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2012. And the study abroad on his works in translation has never stopped. Howard Goldblatt is a famous American translator specializing in contemporary Chinese literature, and all English versions of Mo Yan's works are from him. Through analyzing the domestication and foreignization that reflect in the translated version of Mo Yan's works by Howard Goldblatt, the thesis aims to point out merits and and demerits of this application and consider the matters that should be paid attention to when translating Chinese literary works into English. It can help strengthen the understanding and improve the fluency of the exchange between different cultures and promote Chinese literature goes ahead with the world.

Key words

domestication; foreignization; Howard Goldblatt; Mo Yan’s works

题目

葛浩文英译莫言作品中的归化和异化之应用

摘要

一直以来，中国文学的独特风格在世界文学中备受瞩目，在流向海外的过程中，翻译成为了跨文化沟通的桥梁与传播的媒介。莫言是中国著名作家，外国对其作品的翻译研究从未断过，2012年他获得诺贝尔文学奖。葛浩文是美国著名中国当代文学翻译家，莫言所有作品的英译本都来自于他。本文旨在通过分析葛浩文在翻译莫言作品过程中体现的归化和异化，从而指出其优点与缺点，从而思考中国文学作品被英译时应注意的事项，加强与提高不同文化之间交流的理解度与流畅度，帮助中国文学走出国门，面向世界。

关键词

翻译；归化；异化；葛浩文；莫言的作品

Chapter1 Introduction

From ancient to present, despite of its unique style, Chinese literature only has its own several classic works as famous among the world, such as Four Great Classical Novels---Water Margin, Journey to the West, Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Dream of the Red Chamber. Also, few literature works created in modern history have theirs own statues in the international. With the establishment of People’s Republic of China and Reform and Opening, there are a handful of modern and contemporary works that are well-known abroad(Lv Minhong, 2011:6).

Some Chinese literary works are published abroad and squeeze into bookshelves fill with English native books. The prominent Chinese writers in and out include Lu Xun, Mo Yan, Yu Hua, Lao She, Shen Congwen, Zhang Ailing and so on. Until 2012, the time that Mo Yan was awarded Nobel Prize, people’s interest in Chinese literature reached a climax(Sun Huijun,2014:86). In the process of flowing overseas, translator plays a crucial role in cultural transmission. The American sinologist Howard Goldblatt is the typical example, who made great contributions for the output of Chinese Culture(Ge Haowen,2014).

He can be called the mirror of Mo Yan in America, even the critic Updike said,the translation of contemporary Chinese novels in the United States seems to be the lonely career of Professor Howard Goldblatt(2005:37). Until now, his translation works of Mo Yan include Red Sorghum, Big Breasts and Wide Hips, Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out, The Garlic Ballads, The Republic Wine, Sandalwood Death and so on. His superb translation for Mo Yan in certain sense helps a lot for Mo’s position in world literature.

Mo Yan said: without the outstanding work of Professor Howard Goldblatt, the translator of my novels, my novels could have been translated into English and published in the United States by others, but there is absolutely no such perfect translation as today. Many friends who are proficient in both English and Chinese said to me, Professor Howard Goldblatt’s translation perfectly matches with my original work. But I prefer to believe that his translation adds great luster to my original work(2000:170).

1. Literature Review

Howard Goldblatt, who is well-known as a translator, sinologist and writer, translated many works of Chinese writers. During his 30-year translation career, he has translated more than 50 modern and contemporary Chinese literary works, making an inestimable contribution to the spread and influence of Chinese literature overseas(Jia,Yanqin,2012:62). However, as Howard mentioned in the interview, Americans don’t pay much attention to translated text. Because they are always suspicious to translation(2009:50). Although translator plays a key role in literary dissemination and communication, the work of translators has not received the attention they deserve. And the researches on translation abroad also mainly focus on translation theorists rather than translators.

Therefore, the study about Howard Goldblatt’s translation is also not paid attention intensely outside. In 2011, the journal "Chinese Literature Today" was jointly organized by the University of Oklahoma and Beijing Normal University as an important platform for Chinese literature dissemination and research overseas, in which Howard, as the special guest, was introduced in details. In this journal, Christopher Lupke(2011)introduces Howard’s career of translation and studying, assesses his style of translation and discusses his faithful translation strategies.

Also, after three years, the journal “Chinese Literature Today” invited Howard again. Stalling Jonathan(2014)gives an original interview about Howard Goldblatt. The new point is the mention of opera of Yuan dynasty, which helps a lot for Howard’s translation of the work Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out.

Although there are few response to Howard Goldblatt’s translation abroad, many scholars in domestic regard him as a hot research object. Ji Jin(2009) conducts an interview on the situation of contemporary Chinese literary works overseas, Howard Goldblatt's criteria for choosing text, Howard Goldblatt's views and evaluations of contemporary Chinese writers, and his prospects for the development of contemporary Chinese literature in the future. This kind of study aims to find the problems Chinese literary works encountering with outside and to think about the solution.

Some scholars are interested in Howard Goldblatt’s view, principles and specific strategies on translation. Zhang Yaoping(2005)collects all Chinese works translated by Howard Goldblatt and figures out his views and style of translation. Then, Wen Jun, Wang Xiaochuan and Lai Tian(2007)summarize Howard Goldblatt’s four principles on translation. From the interview to Howard, Yan Yixun(2014) gets his ideas that “Elegance” is more important than “Faithfulness” and “Expressiveness” and that “Faithfulness” cannot be neglected by “Elegance”.

Nevertheless, the most common is the research on the text of translated version by Howard Goldblatt. Shao Lu(2013), through analyzing Howard’s Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out, finds Howard’s “fidelity” and “infidelity” in translating. Shi Guoqiang(2013)points out Howard’s “Creative treason” on translation from his Big Breasts and Wide Hips. Yin Lingwei and Shen Xiangyu(2020)discuss Howard’s “fidelity” and “treason” in his translation of the work Frog. Many other works, such as Tales of Hulan River, Turbulence, Six Chapters From My Life Downunder, Red Sorghum and so on, also are studied by many scholars.

In this way, most scholars only reach a conclusion by analyzing a novel translated by Howard Goldblatt. Although the most studied is the translated texts of Mo Yan’s works, it lacks a systematic study of Howard’s translation strategies in a writer’s several works. Shao Lu(2011)has studied Howard’s translation of Mo Yan’s whole works, but her focus is translator’s decisive effect to promote the output of the original author’s works.

Therefore, the paper aims to analyze the domestication and foreignization in Howard Goldblatt's translation of Mo Yan's novels, find pivotal obstacles, and think about practical measures to promote Chinese culture to the world.

Chapter 2 Howard Goldblatt and Mo Yan

Mo Yan, one of Chinese contemporary writers, born in Gaomi of Shandong province, creates plenty of novels in which the story happened in his hometown, Red Sorghum, Big Breasts and Wide Hips contained. His novel draws on the artistic guidelines of modernist novels such as magical realism, surrealism, symbolism, and stream of consciousness. He uses metaphors, symbols, exaggerations, and irony to express the profundity of the society, history, culture and the beauty of thousands of styles of regional culture in China.(Lv Minhong,2011:102)

Notwithstanding there is another feature in Mo Yan’s works---neutral and objective portrayal to the characters from different parties. For example, in Red Sorghum, when it comes to theme of history, to reconstruct history by overturning the dualistic opposition in the creation of traditional anti-Japanese novels, he presents the vague horizon between past and present, death and life, good and evil(Shao Lu,2011:51).

Combining the living description and impersonal history sense, Mo Yan’s work receives much attention from readers over the world. However, Mo Yan’s unique writing style with dialects and local color is difficult to translate into another language. It is Howard Goldblatt who translates his novels into English that speeds up the spreading overseas.

Howard Goldblatt, although with American descent, is interested in Chinese culture very much. He once studied and taught in Taiwan for many years, which provides him much experience to absorb Chinese culture. He once said Taiwan is his another home. When he came back to America, he was matriculated by San Francisco State University to study Chinese language literature. After several years, he went to Indiana University of Pennsylvania for further study under the guidance of the Professor Liu Wuji who is a well-known expert in Chinese literature(Lv Minhong,2011:29).

What drive Howard to choose Mo Yan continually and frequently can probably be several causes following. Firstly, Howard himself is interested in Chinese culture, which can be seen from his long-term study in China and his further study with the help of the Professor Liu Wuji. Here Mo Yan is a convinced writer representing Chinese literature(Lv Minhong,2011:29).

Secondly, Mo Yan’s work meets the taste of Americans. After his translated work Red Sorghum was published in America, the volume pressed and sale is impressive. Howard explained that American readers prefer two or three kinds of novels---those more about sex and politics or the detective novels(2009:46). Obviously, the former two elements can be shown in Mo Yan’s work.

Finally, there is a great relationship established between Howard Goldblatt and Mo Yan. They would communicate with each other frequently. Each Mo Yan’s new book, Howard said, he would read it and admit the value of Mo’s works(2009:54). Just occasionally, Mo Yan once praised Howard’s rigorous spirit in translation and expressed his gratification to the cooperation(2000:170).

So much connection with China and accumulation of Chinese culture fosters his profound knowledge about Chinese literature. From 1970s Howard began to translate Chinese literary works. Among the works he had translated, the number of Mo Yan’s works is the most. And the version translated by Howard is the most accepted.

Chapter 3 Embodiment of Demestication and Foreignization

Domestication and foreignization are frequently used in the process of translation. The two terms were first brought forward by Venuti, an Italian. According to Venuti, domestication is to "bring the original author into the target language culture", while foreignization is to "accept the language and cultural differences of the foreign language text and bring the reader into the foreign context"(2004:20).

It implies that domestication requires the translator to get closer to the readers of the target language. The translator must speak like the native author. If the original author wants to have a direct dialogue with the reader, the translation must become an authentic native language. On the contrary, foreignization accepts the language characteristics of foreign cultures in translation and absorbs foreign language expressions. It requires translators to move closer to the original author, adopt the source language expression corresponding to the author's use to convey the content of the original text, that is, the source language culture is the destination(Venuti,2004:25).

In Howard Goldblatt’s translated works of Mo Yan’s, the application of domestication and foreignization are ubiquitous.

1. Domestication

To convey the information more fluently and naturally, providing convenience to readers to understand, Howard applies domestication a lot in his translated works. Annotation, addition, omission and substitution, which are methods of domestication, can be seen in the Howard Goldblatt’s translated works.

1.1. Annotation

In Mo Yan’s work, there are many unique elements that exist in Chinese culture. To avoid obstacles for foreign readers, Howard makes some explanations based on the original meaning. There are several examples following:

E.g: Original text: 她回头对上官吕氏说：“上官家的，你跟我进来。”(Mo Yan,2012:10)

Translated text: She stopped, turned and said to Shangguan Lv:“Lady Shangguan, come with me.”(Howard Goldblatt,2011:17)

In China, especially in the northern regions, when addressing a person’s wife, the word “的” is usually added to the man’s last name. “上官家的” refers to Shangguan Fulu’s wife. It is a kind of dialect, showing the local color of Gaomi town. Here Howard uses “lady” to explain “的”, for the former is commonly used in English expression to greet a married woman. American readers could keep pace with the plots without culture gap, avoiding the obstacle for understanding.

There are some special expressions only in Chinese local culture, which are even able to be understood by the local. Howard also adds some annotations following:

E.g: Original text: 八竿子拨拉不着的个表姨。(Mo Yan,2012:328)

Translated text: You’re such a distant aunt.(Howard Goldblatt,2011:363)

“八竿子拨拉不着” is equivalent to the meaning of “Eight poles can’t be struck”, describing the relationship between the two being alienated or unrelated. The original description of the person killed by the little lion is a whole number when counted on the table. Howard adopts the strategy of domestication, only expressing the distance between the two, without literally translating "Baganzi".

The translator is responsible for the original work and also for the target readers, paying attention to reader’s acceptance and to the fluency of the translation. Therefore, Howard puts the content and form of the translation within the knowledge range of the target language readers, helping them to better understand the translation with their own cultural concepts.

1.2. Addition

It is known that addition can be used as a method of domestication to explain the concealed information.

E.g: Original text:---信马由缰式的---(Wen Jun,2007:79)

Translated text: Prepared to go with the flow---that was how he lived his life---he followed the man inside.(Wen Jun,2007:79)

Xu Yuanchong believes that the four-character idiom of Chinese is an advantage that the West does not have, and only China has. Peole cannot find a perfect expression in another language. There is not an absolutely identical expression matches the meaning of certain an idiom. The idiom of Chinese The idiom “信马由缰”means to wander aimlessly on a horse. Howard Goldblatt not only translated the literal meaning of the idiom, but also explained the meaning of the idiom in specific situations based on the meaning in the text(Xu Yuanchong,1993:87).

1.3. Omission

There are some elements in original text that are difficult to understand for foreign readers. Therefore, Howard makes some omissions when translating.

E.g:Original text: 谢谢审判长的提醒，我马上进入实质性辩护。近几年来，农民的负担越来越重。我父亲所在村庄，种一亩蒜薹，要交纳农业税九元八角。要向乡政府交纳提留税二十元，要向村委会交纳提留三十元，要交纳县城建设税五元（按人头计算），卖蒜薹时，还要交纳市场管理税、计量器检查税、交通管理税、环境保护税，还有种种名目的罚款！(Cao Shunying,2015:127)

Translated text: Thank you for reminding me, Your Honor. I’ll get right to the point. In recent years the peasants have been called upon to shoulder ever heavier burdens: fees, taxes, fines, and inflated prices for just about everything they need.(Cao Shunying,2015:127)

Compared with the original work, some details of Chinese legal policies are obviously omitted here, because foreign readers basically do not understand Chinese legal policies, which are too difficult and boring to understand. If the translator makes too many descriptions of these details, foreign readers will lose interest in this work. It is also an embodiment of domestication. By the way, in the end of The Garlic Ballads, Howard makes a great change that he deletes some problematic plot and turns the imperfect ending into a satisfying ending. This action, certainly proved, is correct(Yan Yixun,2014:197).

1.4. Substitution

Sometimes, the meaning of words or expression is not equal to the literal meaning. Perhaps, it is the contrary or unrelated meaning, which requires translators make a closing reading and recognize the real meaning the original author want to express. This time, translators should find a more accurate native expression to substitute the original expression. There is an typical example following:

E.g: Original text: 余占鳌在火辣辣的痛楚中，忽然感到一阵酥酥麻麻的快乐，这快乐冲到喉咙，启动牙齿，化作一连串胡言乱语：“亲娘亲娘亲娘……亲娘……亲娘……”(Mo Yan,2007:158)

Translated text: Stung by the pain, he experienced a sense of numbing ecstasy, and when it reached his throat it activated his teeth moving and emerged as a stream of gibberish:“Mistress Mistress Mistress...”(Howard Goldblatt,1994:165)

The Chinese “亲娘” and “亲妈” are not only called as the biological mother, but also often people’s blurting when sighing. For example, if people are shocked by something, they will say: “哦，我的妈呀！” Here, the author uses the word “亲娘” five times to express the confusion and excitement in Yu Zhanao's heart.

Grandmother scolded Yu Zhanao as a punishment for him breaking into her room, but Yu Zhanao admired her grandmother, so he regarded her grandma's behavior as a flirtation, so he was happy. If the translator literally translates “亲娘” as “mother”, this will not only make readers feel very confused about the relationship and plot, but also the original flirting feeling will be indifferent. Howard Goldblatt uses the strategy of domestication to replace it with “mistress”. It not only eliminates the differences between language and culture, but also makes translation more fluent, natural and smooth.

2. Foreignization

To close the distance with the original text and try at most to transmit the authentic culture of original text, translators apply foreignization as a translation method. This kind of method usually does not change the style and order of the characters in original text, keeping the exotic tinge of original culture in the target language. Transliteration and literal translation, as the methods of foreignization, are the most frequently used by Howard Goldblatt.

2.1. Transliteration

In most cases, transliteration is the best translation method for names without special meaning. When translating a name, transliteration is a very important way. The translator can translate the name according to its pinyin without changing the Chinese order. Howard Goldblatt uses a lot of transliteration when there is no special meaning in the translation of Red Sorghum. For example, “戴凤莲” was translated as “Dai Fenglian”, “豆官” was “Douguan”, and “单庭秀” was “Shan Tingxiu”. “王文义” means “Wang Wenyi”(Howard Goldblatt,1994).

It can be seen from the above that Howard extremely respects the original author in the translation of such names. He not only uses pinyin completely, but also follows the order of Chinese names, that is, the surname is first and the first name is last, respecting and obeying Chinese traditional cultural customs.

However, when translating some characters’ nicknames and names with special meanings, transliteration is not applicable. The translator needs to find out the specific implicit meaning, and then choose the most suitable translation, such as “刘罗汉”, which is translated into “Arhat Liu”. Because 刘罗汉 was a loyal, firm and honest helper. He passed away in order to protect the property of his host. His spirit is consistent with the meaning of “Araht”, so Howard’s translation of it is very symbolic(Howard Goldblatt,1994).

There is another transliteration that appears with some annotations, which can enlarge reader’s insight and make the plot more logically:

E.g: Original text: 直到春暖花开的清明节。(Mo Yan,2012:110)

Translated text: Qingming, the day of ancestral worship in the warmth of spring, when flowers were in full bloom. (Howard Goldblatt,2011:140)

“清明节” is a traditional Chinese festival. It is a festival to worship ancestors. The traditional activity is tomb sweeping. Using transliteration and short explanations, readers can have a basic understanding of this object, and can remind readers of its uniqueness.

2.2. Literal Translation

In the translation of some idioms and culturally loaded words, Howard Goldblatt also adopts the literal translation method to maintain the characteristics of the source language, so that people of different nationalities can share some common points in cognition.

E.g: Original text: 母亲咬着牙齿说：“姓沙的，你癞蛤蟆想吃天鹅肉，做梦去吧！”(Mo Yan,2012:85)

Translated text: Mother clenched her teeth. “You there, Sha”, She said, “Like the toad who want to feast on a swan, you can just dream on!”(Howard Goldblatt,2011:113)

In this sentence, “癞蛤蟆想吃天鹅肉” is a common Chinese idiom, which means that without self-knowledge, one wants to obtain something impossible. For American readers, they may not be able to fully understand the relationship between Toad and Swan in Chinese. But in this way, they can understand what the author wants to express based on their own experience and context.

In this way, Howard has neither changed the lively image of the original text nor has it lost the connotative meaning of the original text. He once said:If I can find appropriate slangy or regional or slightly archaic or unusual words that carry that sense, I’ll certainly use them. If I can’t I won’t.(2014:8)

Chapter4 Enlightenment for Translation

Howard Goldbaltt puts faithfulness to the original text in the first place, reproduces the original content and ideas and retains the original writing style and language characteristics. It reflects the translator’s ethics of being faithful to the original text; secondly. To consider the target language reader's reading ability and translation the translator adopts domestication strategies to overcome language and cultural barriers, appropriately reduces the cultural information of the original text, and provides a naturally familiar target language for readers of the target language(Chen Jiayu,2019:20).

In order to promote cultural exchanges and realize cross-cultural communication, translators adopt foreignization strategies to preserve the cultural and national characteristics of the original text as much as possible. This not only allows target language readers to understand foreign cultures and customs, but also promotes cultural exchanges and dissemination and makes outstanding contributions to promoting Chinese literature to overseas.

The purpose of Howard Goldbaltt’s translation is to complete a translation that is readable for Americans and highly accepted by the market. And about Howard’s translation of domestication and foreignization, there are many some arguments. Most scholars confirm to that Howard Goldblatt’s translation is applied domestication more frequently, while foreignization is minor(Yin Ting,2014:150).

However, in studying the translated text Big Breasts and Wide Hips, Shi Guoqiang(2013:80) thinks that foreignization is the main methods of Howard’s translation, domestication minor. He comes up with several aspects that Howard use foreignization in his translation, such as some idoims, special nouns and two-part allegorical saying and so on. Despite of the arguments, Howard’s excellent translation cannot be denied, which help a lot for the going abroad of Chinese literature.

Analyzing the Howard’s translated works of Mo Yan’s, although his translation is the best version of Mo Yan’s novels until now, as for the output of Chinese litertature even Chinese culture, we still can get some enlightenment.

Firstly, when translating Chinese literature into other languages, the translator himself is important. Usually, the translators who translate Chinese into another language are our Chinese. They translate their mother language into another language, in a sense, not as well-master as the people of target language. It causes a problem that the readers of target language cannot read and understand the translated version naturally and easily by Chinese translators. And the Chinese translators, most of them, are living in China, lack of the context of target language(Hu Anjiang,2010:11).

Also, the Chinese translators who specialize in two languages and cultures are rare. What is more, the foreign translators familiar with Chinese culture is less. Therefore, according to Xu Jianping and Zhang Rongxi, the most effective way for Chinese-English translation is the cooperation of the original author and foreign translator of target language(2002:38). Howard Goldblatt and MoYan is the best example. And Howard himself also expresses the similar view(2014:201).

Secondly, the translation strategy is also crucial. Chinese literature is the “weak literature”(Yin Lingwei,2020:109), so Xu Jianping thinks that foreignization should not be widely used in Chinese-English translation, because foreign readers’ understanding of China and its language and culture is far less than Chinese readers' understanding of foreign language and culture(2002:38).

However, from the 1870s to the 1970s, for a hundred years, Chinese literary translation was roughly based on domestication; during the two decades of reform and opening up, inspired by Western translation theories, the Chinese translation community rethought foreignization and domestication, and the two methods have gradually become balanced in China. Therefore, Sun Zhili believes that the translation of Chinese literature in the 21st century will be dominated by foreignization(2002:40).

Actually, it is not suitable to regard domestication and foreignization by dichotomy. Combining the two ways, the starting point should be to bring Chinese literary translations closer to Western readers through the domestication translation method, so as to enter the mainstream Western culture. Let Western readers first understand our cultural routines and ways of thinking, and then talk about further transformation and influence on the West Follow-up issues such as literary creation mode(Hu Anjiang,2010: 15).

Finally, the responsibility of publishers and editors is also heavy. When Chinese literature goes out, the most in short supply of talents are intermediary talents, that is, intermediary agencies that can understand Chinese contemporary literary works, and at the same time understand the international market, and have a good background of cooperation with international publishing institutions...(Li Yun,2007)

There is “the third readers” in the world. They usually don't pay much attention to the content when reading, because they are more in love with the readability or text style of the work. Also, they do not compare the translations with the original works, but only compare these translations with original English works or those literary translations translated from other languages into English. Paying more attention to such “fair readers” who pursue pure literary feeling and pure aesthetic experience will be an important guarantee for literary translations to gain the literary market, commercial profits and even the status of translated literary classics(Medougall,2007:23)

Chapter5 Conclusion

For any responsible translator, every choice made in the translation process is not random or blind, but has a clear consciousness and clear goals, and they strive to resolve various contradictions encountered in translation to achieve the value of translation(Liu Yunhong, 2014). Through analyzing the application of domestication and foreignization Howard Goldblatt’s translation of Mo Yan’s works, some enlightenment can be concluded. The translators, the translation strategies and the publisher and editor can be taken as the crucial aspects.

Citing the words of Nida, for a truly successful translation, bilingual proficiency in culture is more important than in language, because words have meaning only in the culture in which they function(1993:83). This shows that in the process of translation, translators should not stick to a single domestication or foreignization translation strategy. They should comprehensively consider various factors such as language, culture, and readers’ comprehension, and adopt appropriate strategies to arrive at a degree of integration and adaptation for the highest translation.

The needs of the target language culture have changed with the development of society and the changes of the times, and the target language readers' acceptance and understanding of Chinese culture have also increased with the increase of China's international influence. Many things that tended to be domesticated in the past are now or in the future using foreignized translations that are completely acceptable to the target language readers, and even look forward to them. Translating Chinese literary works with increasingly alienated strategies, allowing the world to read Chinese stories and understand Chinese culture is the only way for Chinese culture to “go out”.

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--Ou Rong (talk) 07:06, 21 December 2020 (UTC)Ou Rong

Domestication and Foreignization in the Course of Translation Under the Direction of Skopos Theory 谭星越 Tan Xingyue

谭星越 Tan Xingyue,202020080642.

Abstract

Domestication and foreignization were put forward by Lawrence Venuti, a famous translation theorist in America in his book The Translator’s Invisibility: A History of Translation in 1995. Domesticating translation places emphasis on the target culture, which makes the original text more understanable by the target-language readers, while foreignizing translation aims to produce the foreignness and cultural characteristics in the source text as much as possible. Skopos theory was proposed by Reiss and Vermeer in the 1970s, which holds that the purpose of translation determines the translation strategy. This thesis takes Skopos Theory as the basis of theoretical research and analyzes the application and practice of domestication and foreignization in the course of translation.

Key Words

Skopos Theory, domestication, foreignization

题目

目的论视角下归化和异化在翻译过程中的应用

摘要

归化和异化这对翻译术语是由美国著名翻译理论学家劳伦斯韦努蒂（Lawrence Venuti）于1995年在《译者的隐身》中提出来的。归化翻译是一种倾向于译入语文化的翻译方法，使原文文本更加容易被目的语读者所接受。异化翻译则旨在尽可能地传递原文文本的异质性和文化特色。翻译目的论由赖斯和弗米尔于20世纪70年代提出，该理论认为翻译目的决定翻译策略。本文将以目的论作为理论研究的依据，分析归化和异化在翻译过程中的应用和实践。

关键词

目的论，归化，异化

Introduction

In the context of economic globalization, cultural exchanges are becoming increasingly frequent among countries. Translation, turning an original or “source” text into a text in another language, is an effective way of cultural communication. As a bridge of communication between cultures, translation plays an implacable role in the interaction. Since translation requires constant language choice according to different context of culture, different translation theories have been proposed. Traditional translation theories focused on the equivalence of meaning and form of language, and literal translation and free translation were the main approaches. In the 1990s, there was a “cultural turn” in translation. The study of translation was no longer limited to the linguistic level, which has greatly widened the theoretical scope of translation. Lawrence Venuti, an American translation theorist, proposed two translation strategies: Domestication and Foreignization. In contemporary translation studies, Skopos Theory proposed by Vermeer as the landmark of functional approaches to translation is relatively accepted by the public. Vermeer (1987:26) held that translation is a kind of transformation behavior based on the original text and translation behavior is an intentional and purposeful behavior in a specific context. The thesis is comprised of five sections. The first part presents an introduction of this thesis. The second part discusses the origination and formulation of Skopos Theory and three rules of Skopos Theory, including skopos rule, coherence rule and fidelity rule. The third part gives a brief interpretation of the two translation methods: domestication and foreignization. The fourth part analyzes the application and practice of the two methods in the course of translation under the direction of Skopos Theory. The last part draws a conclusion for this thesis.

Chapter 1 Skopos Theory

According to Gentlzer(1993:18), before the 1960s, translation was regarded as a kind of code-switching, reorganization and meaning equivalence of two languages. Under these circumstances, translation was accounted as a branch of linguistics. For a long time, linguists devoted themselves to studying the translation methods, principles and standards in the linguistic range of research, without concerning the factors of external language, such as the author and reader, or the speaker and hearer. With going deep into the research work, a new theory has been proposed based on the premise that linguistics is only a tool of translation study but not the object. Proposers considered translation as a kind of communicative activity between human beings. In this case, pragmatic level should be given priority to translation study, and background knowledge such as the conventions, norms and habits of different cultures should not be ignored. This chapter will focus on the introduction to this new theory of translation study—Skopos Theory.

1.1 Origination and formulation of Skopos Theory

The formulation and development of Skopos Theory has undergone four stages. The representative of the first stage was Katharina Reiss, who was one of the founders of Functional Approaches to translation. The early theories of Katharina Reiss were based on the concept of equivalence. Reiss(1984:21) advocated that the equivalence between translation had to shift its focus from word and sentence level to textual level and that translators should take translation strategies, language functions, discourse types and text genres into account in the process of translation. Based on the three characteristics of linguistic functions, Reiss divided texts into three types: informative type, expressive type and operative type. These three different types of texts respectively served the communication between content, the communication between artistically organized content and the communication between content with a persuasive character, as a result, translation strategies for different text types were proposed. But in later studies, she realized that equivalence between translation was an impossible-to-be-realized. Therefore, Reiss revised her theory of Text Typology, and the analysis of text types was no longer the main reference of translation strategies. She held that the translator should give priority to the functional characteristics of the target text rather than the principle of equivalence, and in the whole process of translation, the communicative functions that the target language was expected to achieve should be of great significance in the cultural environment of the target language. Thus, it can be seen that Reiss’s theory laid the foundation for the formulation of Skopos Theory of translation.

In the second stage, Vermeer (1987:27) broke through the limitations of equivalence theory and took textual purpose as the primary criterion for the translation process. He developed functional skopos theory and made outstanding contributions to functionalist translation theory. He tried to build a bridge between practice and theory, considering that translation was a transformation of language, and also a kind of human behavior. As we all know, any action has its goal or purpose and leads to a result, a new situation or event. This was why Vermeer named his theory as “Skopos Theory”, which was proposed in the 1970s in German. “Skopos” was a word in Greek, which meant “aim”, “purpose”, “intention” or “function”. Generally, "Skopos" referred to the communicative purpose of the translation. According to Vermeer’s Theory, the text’s purpose must remain a high priority, which will directly affect all aspects of the translation process. According to Vermeer, there were three purposes of translation: the translator's purpose, the purpose of dissemination of the translation, and the specific purpose of the special translation strategy. It was the initiator of the translation act that determined the purpose of the translation. But the translator did not passively accept everything. He can also act as the initiator, directly participating in determining the purpose of the translation (Zhang Jinlan, 2004:35). Moreover, Skopos Theory claims that the intended purpose of the translation determins the methods and strategies of translation and that three rules of translation should be observed: skopos rule, coherence rule and fidelity rule.

Translation Action based on the communication theory and action theory was elaborated by Justa Holtz Manttari in the third stage of the development of Skopos Theory, which has expanded the scope of functional translation theory. She regarded translation as a person-to-person, purpose-driven and result-oriented interaction activity. Manttari conducted a detailed analysis of the participants and behavior in the translation processes, mainly including the initiator / client, the commissioner, the ST producer, the TT producer, the TT user and the TT receiver. (Manttarri,1984: 398)Translation was the transfer of complex information including texts, pictures, sounds and languages among different cultures. The purpose of translation action was to overcome cultural and language barriers, so as to achieve cultural communication. She insisted that adaptations, compilations, edits and information inquiries were of essentiality in the process of translation activities, and she even included editing, consulting, and other activities related to foreign cultures into the translation action. The translator produced "message transmitter" that met the specific needs of the recipient's cultural background according to the client's requirements. As long as the target text can be produced to meet the client's needs, the task of translation was complete. In other words, the translation need not be equivalent to the original, which contrived the theory of Translation Action to be an extreme functional theory.

In the fourth stage, Christian Nord (2001：12)proposed two kinds of translation strategies, in response to the fact that Manttari completely ignored the original text: (1)Documentary translation: it referred to record the information contained in the original text in the communication of target language; it emphasized the direct production of the original text regardless of the context of the target.(2) Instrumental translation: it referred to the translation that achieved different functions for the certain purposes in the target language culture. Nord's contribution to translation studies was many-sided, and she proposed the theory of Function plus Loyalty. Function referred to the factors that made the translation work in a predetermined way in the target language environment, while loyalty referred to the interpersonal relationship among the translator, the original author, the recipient of the translation, and the initiator of the translation. In Nord’s view, loyalty was a kind of concept that translators should be loyal to both the original text and the target of the translation, and that was different from the concept of fidelity and faithfulness which only focused on the relationship between the original and the translation.

It can be seen from the above that the landmark theories of the German functionalist approach were: Katharina Reiss’ Text Typology, Hans Josef Vermeer’ Skopos Theory, Justa Holtz Manttari’ Theory of Translation Action and Nord's Function plus Loyalty.

1.2 Three rules of the Skopos Theory

The Skopos Theory proposed by Vermeer is the most important theory of functional approaches to translation. There are three ways to understand this word "skopos": the purpose of the translator; the communicative purpose of the text; the purpose to be achieved by using a special translation strategies. Usually, "skopos" referred to the communicative purpose of the text. (Zhang Jinlan, 2004:36). First, under an ideal situation, the initiator of the translation will give details of the elements in the process of translation, such as the recipient of the translation, the environment in which the translation was used, and the functions that the translation should achieve. According to Skopos Theory, the primary rule followed by all translators was the “skopos rule”: The translation purpose determined the translation methods and strategies. Second, coherence rule pointed that the translation must meet the criteria of intra-textual coherence and that translated text must be sufficiently coherent to allow the intended addressees to comprehend it, given that their assumed background knowledge and situation circumstances. Third, fidelity rule meant that the translated text should bear some relationship with the corresponding source text and there should be intra-textual coherence between the original text and the translation. Intra-textual coherence was similar to what was commonly referred to as fidelity to the original, and the degree and form of fidelity were determined by the purpose of the translation and the translator's understanding of the original.

Chapter 2 Domestication and Foreignization

As we all know, translation has shifted its emphasis from language conversion to cultural transformation. Translation is no longer only regarded as the transformation of language symbols, but a mode of cultural transformation. Since translation is closely related to culture, a problem naturally arises: how to deal with the cultural factors in the text, especially in the text with great cultural differences between the source language and the target language. It is on the issue of how to deal with cultural differences in translation in which there exist disagreements in the field of translation. Generally speaking, it can be divided into two opposite opinions, namely, domestication and foreignization.

2.1 Domestication

Domestication is an important term in cultural criticism, cultural translation theory and cultural exchange. Due to the differences in geographical environment and social history, the differences between eastern and western cultures exist objectively. In other words, not all people in the west can understand the cultural symbols of the east. When dealing with various oriental materials, the oriental scholars in the west can only make some transformation based on some methods such as domestication or foreignization.

Lawrence Venuti, a famous American translator, was the first person to introduce the term “domestication” in his book The Translator's Invisibility: A History of Translation. He proposed that domestication was an approach that the translator "leaves the reader in peace, as much as possible, and moves the author towards him" and that domesticating translation should abide by the current mainstream values of the target language and culture, and that openly adopted conservative assimilation methods to the translation of the original text, and that catered to local canon, publishing trend and political needs. (Venuti, 2001:19)

Schuttleworth and Cowie in their book Dictionary of Translation Studies defined “domestication” as “a term used to describe the translation strategy in which a transparent, fluent style is adopted in order to minimize the strangeness of the foreign text for TL readers...it is identified with a policy common in dominant cultures which are aggressively monolingual, unreceptive to the foreign, and which he describes as being accustomed to fluent translations that invisibly inscribe foreign text with [target language] values and provide readers with narcissistic experience of recognizing their own culture in a cultural other”.(Schuttleworth & Cowie, 2004:59)

Douglass Robinson, a Canadian translator who discussed domestication and foreignization from the perspective of postcolonial theory, defined domestication as a term used by translators who were strident advocates of foreignizing translation to describe the worst translation. This kind of translation adopts the way of domesticating the original text into the target culture and language values. Traditionally, this concept is often referred to “free translation”. (Robinson, 1997:114)

Domesticating translation that emerged in the 17th century when the translation activities mainly focused on the introduction of religious classics, classical literary works and the dissemination of Enlightenment thoughts, has been playing a dominant role in British for a long time. There were lots of scholars who firmly advocated the domesticating translation. For example, one of the representatives Eugene Nida has put forward the famous dynamic equivalence and the theory of reader’s response. He proposed that translation should achieve dynamic equivalence, not only in the form of expression, but also in accordance with the norms of the target language. He believed that the cultural category of the target readers should be taken into consideration in terms of expression, choice of words and sentences, and writing style, which should conform to the reading habits and reading psychology of the target readers (Nida, 2003:159). Meanwhile, in the United States, domesticating translation occupied the dominant position in the field of translation in a very long period. At that time, the critics in the United States strongly criticized those poems that tried to faithfully convey the exotic flavor of the original text, and publishers also strongly rejected this kind of foreignizing translation, which made it hard to get the chance of publication. They thought that only domesticating translation is the authentic translation, and in this way the translation can be read as if it is created in the target language. The translators completely vanish in the kind of fluent, domesticating translation that has erased every trace of exoticism.

In some sense, domestication aims to transform the cultural identity of “the other” into that of “I”, so that the thoughts, values and behaviors of “the other” conform to “my” standards. As a result, cultural standardization eliminates and replaces cultural differences, leading to the emergence of cultural supremacy or ethnocentrism which refer to the tendency of all countries and nationalities to regard their own way of life, beliefs, values and codes of conduct as superior to others. Homi Bhabha ever claimed that with the global expansionism of the strong culture of Europe and America, non-western countries have been placed in a narrow narrative of progress and development and their civilization described as decadent and autocratic (An Feng, 2004: 15). Under this circumstance, Vetinu proposed the foreignizing translation in order to achieve the deconstruction of ethnocentrism.

2.2 Foreignization

Based on a thorough study of the history of translation in the West from the 17th century to the present, Venuti (2001:23) found that the adoption of domesticating translation strategies was the dominant practice in the history of western translation. Such a translation tradition implies the fact that translators take the western ideology as a standard and foreign texts are shaped by the values of western nationalism and imperialism. Venuti has challenged this kind of translation tradition and firmly advocated foreignizing translation.

Venuti studied translation from the perspective of society and culture. His theory was directly derived from the German tradition of emphasizing foreignization, the influence of French thinker Derrida and the school of cultural studies. In the mid-18th century, German translators and writers have put other languages in the same position as German, and the respect for foreign languages has become a guiding principle in the course of translation, from which people learn to adjust themselves to the heterogeneous elements in foreign texts. In the 19th and 20th century, attention to the foreignness of the original text has become an undercurrent in the study of German translation theory. During this period, the theorists were cautious and avoided the words of "literal translation" and "free translation". They no longer focus on the unit of translation, but turn to the issue of the interpretation of cross-cultural text. For example, German scholar Schleiermacher ever stated:

"An inner necessity, in which a peculiar calling of our people [the Germans] express itself clearly enough, has driven us to translating en masse; we cannot go back and we must go on. Just as our soil itself has no doubt become richer and richer fertile and our climate milder and more pleasant only after much transplantations of foreign flora, just so we sense that our language, because we exercise it less owing to our Nordic sluggishness, can thrive in all its freshness and completely develop its own power only through the most many-sided contacts with what is foreign."(Schleiermacher, 2004:62)

The German tradition of emphasizing “foreignness” (especially Schleiermacher's argument) provided the theorical basis and direction for Venuti's thoughts, then Derrida's "Deconstruction" philosophy provided a “strategy” for Venuti's translation theory. Derrida challenged all the traditional translation theories and practices with the concept of “difference” in his writing activity and deconstruction strategy. “Difference” is the source of uncertainty and difference. And the meaning of text is always be influenced by the temporization and spacing of the difference; therefore, meaning cannot be completely determined and the absolute translation of original text is always impossible (Graham, 1986:146). Deconstructive translation theory deconstructs the authority of the original text, and puts the translation on an equal and complementary position with the original, thus giving the translator more autonomy. Meanwhile, deconstructive translation theory emphasizes “difference”, and aims to achieve a deeper and more accurate understanding of the differences between languages through translation.

On the basis of previous scholars' theories, combined with American modernist translation theory, Venuti developed the connotation of foreignizing translation at least from the following aspects(Zhang Jinghua，2009:68): (1) The "heterogeneity" of modernist foreignization comes not only from foreign languages and cultures, but also from those excluded and marginalized discourses in local discourses. (2) The modernist text in foreignizing translation develops the idea of "translation autonomy" and enriches the connotation of foreignization translation in ethical sense, which also conforms to the Frankfurt School's thought of "artistic autonomy" in the translation of literature.(3) The foreignization of modernism advocates the promotion of the renewal of the target-language system with the help of marginal languages such as new words and ancient words. (4) In the discourse strategy, foreignizing translation endows translators with more freedom, highlights the subjectivity of the translator, and no longer relies solely on the literal translation.

Chapter 3 Translation Method under the Direction of Skopos Theory

Translation is not only a process of language conversion, but also a behavior of cross-cultural communication. Translation is the bridge of cultural integration. The negation and exclusion of foreign cultures are incompatible with the role of translation as a cultural bridge; however, the overall acceptance of foreign language will also lead the original language to lose its "social identity".(Xie Yao,2017:360) stated that the translation work inevitably bears its cultural imprint, and domestication and foreignization are main ways to lessen the conflict between source language culture and target language culture. Foreignization does a good job in keeping the culture and images of the source language, while domestication means removing all strangeness and foreignness of the source text and making the translation clearly readable.

3.1 Target reader-oriented approach — domestication

If translators aim to produce equivalent translation, especially pragmatic equivalent translation to achieve communicative effect with fully understanding the semantic meaning and pragmatic meaning, or considering the acceptance and response of readers, the domesticating translation should be given priority. Therefore, one of the responsibilities of translators is to avoid cultural conflicts, which can lead to various forms of misunderstanding. When transplanting a text into another culture, the translator should carefully weigh the connotation of ideology in the culture. Therefore, we should try our best to transform the source language culture into the target language culture. At the same time, the translator is also a disseminator. In cross-cultural communication, he/she should eliminate barriers and deliver the meaning of the source culture to the readers of the target culture. Then, I will analyze the practice of domesticating translation combined with some examples.

“煮茶非漫浪,要须其人与茶品相得。故其法每传于高流隐逸、有烟霞泉石磊磈于胸次间者。 The art of tea brewing is not for roman' s sake. The moral state of the brewer should match well with the quality of the tea. That explains why the techniques of tea brewing are usually handed down only to eremitic wisdoms with lofty characters and peaceful mind." (Jiang & Jiang，2009:36)

“The art of tea brewing is not for roman' s sake”, the sentence pattern of this translation is obviously derived from “art for art's sake”, which reminds people of the aesthetic movement that appeared in the late 19th century in the field of British Art and Literature. “Art for art’s sake”, a slogan translated from the French “l’art pour l’art”, which was coined in the early 19th century by the French philosopher Victor Cousin. It expressed the belief held by many writers and artists, especially those associated with Aestheticism, that art need no justification, and that it served no political, didactic, or other purposes. This form of expression has already been in the public's eye in the long term. Therefore, the translator resorted to the domesticating method according to the cultural standards and traditions of the target language so that the information can be easily understood and accepted by the receptors.

Then, I take the translation of “角楼”, an ancient architecture in China, as another example. The word “角楼” has a long history, which first appeared in the book History of the Three Kingdoms · Wei Shu. It was built on the corner rampart. Because the horizon from the “角楼” is very wide and the enemy's situation can be observed clearly. Therefore, “角楼” was used as an important facility of the defense project in ancient times. At present, there are four “角楼” in the Palace Museum in Beijing. The most common translation of “角楼” is “turret”. The word "turret" originates from the Latin word "turris", which means a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle and is used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall. It can be seen that the meaning of the word is very similar to that of the “角楼”. Here, the translator adopts the domesticating strategy to try to find the equivalent words of the image “角楼” in the western culture. Much more examples could be mentioned. For instance, “肉夹馍” is a famous snack in Xi’an and has been listed as a cultural heritage, which is one of the delicacies for foreign tourists to taste in Xi'an. The official translation of “肉夹馍” in Xi'an is “Rougamo”. However, the more well-known or widely spread translations are "Chinese hamburger" and "Chinese sandwich", because foreign tourists think that “肉夹馍”is a popular Chinese "meat burger" or "meat sandwich", and the translation here adopts the domestication strategy.

3.2 The purpose of source culture dissemination—foreignization

For the sake of spreading the source language culture, translator should adopt foreignization so as to promulgate the culture of the original language to the target readers to the largest degree, stimulate the readers to learn the unknown source culture, help to overcome the obstacles in cross-cultural communication, and finally facilitate cultural integration. Then, I will analyze the practice of foreignizing translation combined with some examples.

“凡采茶,在二月、三月、四月之间。 The second, third, fourth months of the lunar year are a proper time for almost all sorts of tea to get harvested." (Jiang & Jiang, 2009:48)

During the Tang Dynasty, there was no strict time requirements for tea plucking. In the Classics of Tea, Lu Yu said that the optimum time for tea plucking was between February and April in the lunar calendar, that is to say, it is between March and May according to the current solar calendar. In this sentence, the translator supplemented the cultural element “the lunar year” for accurate time expression. The lunar calendar was established in ancient China based on the operating cycle of the moon, which has been used for thousands of years, guiding the Chinese nation's spring planting, autumn harvest, daily life, containing the wisdom of harmonious coexistence between the Chinese people and nature, and inheriting the continuous national life culture. With the western learning introducing into China, the solar calendar has gradually become a common social calendar, and the lunar calendar is to a large extent an expression of life customs and the inheritance of folk customs. The translator used communicative translation strategies to explain the precise season of tea-picking to the target readers. From the perspective of cultural communication and the expectations of the target readers, the translator tried his best to make the target readers appreciate the exotic and unique cultural information of the source text in the process of compensating for cultural defaults. For publicity translation, the original text can be regarded as a collection of languages, and also a mirror of national history and culture. It can be said that any text is always loaded with certain cultural information to show its unique national cultural temperament. In order to achieve cultural exchange, translators convey the cultural information in the original text accurately and faithfully. This is a good example of foreignizing translation.

Then, I take the translation of “谋事在人，成事在天”, an ancient proverb in The Dream of Red Mansions, as another example. David Hawkes translated it into “Man proposes, God disposes”. He quoted Western proverbs to express the central idea of the original sentence. However, his translation of “天” into “god” was based on his western mode of thinking. Hawkes' translation ignored the differences of religious and cultural information and failed to convey the cultural elements of the original text. However, Yang Xianyi translated this proverb into “Man proposes, Heaven disposes”. Besides, “阿弥陀佛” appeared many times in the novel. Hawkes translated into “my Lord” or “my God” while Yang Xianyi translated into “Amida Buddha”, which showed the character's Buddhist belief. We can clearly see that Yang Xianyi employed the foreignizing translation. In the course of translation, foreignization is more favorable to show the cultural differences to the readers, and enable them to understand the Chinese religious and other cultural backgrounds more accurately.

Conclusion

Based on Skopos Theory, combined with the prop criteria of skopos rule, this thesis studies the domestication and foreignization in the course of translation. It should be said that the two strategies, domestication and foreignization, are not opposite or even contradictory, but complementary in translation. Cultural transplantation would be successfully achieved with a variety of methods and models. With Skopos theory applied to make a comprehensive analysis of various factors involved in translation, we can conclude that translators can adopt the principles and methods of both domestication and foreignization. (Guo Jianzhong,1998:5)As for to what extent source culture must be preserved in the translation, how to preserve it, and to what extent source culture must be adjusted to adapt to the target culture, we have to make a choice based on our correct understanding of the nature and the purpose of translation and the demands of target readers. Therefore, it is important for translators to have a deep cultural awareness in the process of translation, and to be sensitive to the similarities and differences between the two cultures. In addition, once one kind of translation method has been employed in a particular text during the process of translation, the translator better keep this basic tendency as far as possible.

References

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Study of domestication and foreignization in cross cultural translation 周罗平 Zhou Luoping

周罗平 Zhou Luoping,202020080670.

Abstract

Language is the carrier of culture and the medium of communication between cultures. Language and culture are closely connected. Nowadays, cultural exchanges are becoming increasingly frequent; hence, it’s particularly important to use translation to convey information between different cultures. Translation is a process not only about transforming one language into another, but also about noticing the history and cultural tradition behind languages. Therefore, in cross-cultural translation, translators should master two strategies to deal with culture: domestication and foreignization. This article will introduce domestication and foreignization and explore how to use them in cross-cultural translation.

Key words

Domestication Foreignization Cross-cultural Translation

题目

跨文化翻译中归化和异化研究

摘要

语言是文化的载体，是文化间传播和交流的媒介。语言和文化之间密不可分。在文化交流日益频繁的今天，用翻译去传递不同文化之间的信息就显得格外重要。翻译不仅仅是将一种语言转化为另一种语言，更要关注不同语言背后所承载的历史背景和文化传统，故在跨文化翻译中，译者应掌握处理文化的两种翻译方法：归化和异化。本文将系统地介绍归化和异化这两种翻译策略，并探究在跨文化翻译中如何选择使用这两种翻译策略。

关键词

归化 异化 跨文化翻译

Introduction

Influenced by different geographical environment, historical development and other factors, different nations and countries form their unique culture. Translation plays an important role in cross-cultural communication. The translator as the main body of translation activities should convey the culture of one language in another language. In this process, the translator is faced with how and to what extent to show the cultural connotation of source language; therefore, the translator is bound to face the choice between domestication and foreignization.

Domestication, oriented by the target language culture, aims to eliminate the strangeness brought about by the source text, but it also reduces the opportunities for the target readers to contact with foreign cultures. While foreignization, oriented by the source language culture, aims to retain the unique style and cultural characteristics of the source language, but it will increase the reading difficulty. The best way is to combine domestication with foreignization. Therefore, the translator should fully consider the type of the text and the readers of the target language and then choose the translation strategies and methods reasonably.

This paper will be divided into five parts. The first part is the introduction of this paper. The second part is the introduction of domestication and foreignization, as well as a brief introduction of the representatives of domestication and foreignization. The third part is an analysis of the factors that influence the choice of domestication and foreignization. The fourth part introduces the translation methods under domestication and foreignization. The fifth part is the conclusion.

Chapter 1 Domestication and Foreignization

The terms domestication and foreignization were first put forward by Lawrence Venuti in his work The Translator’s Invisibility. These two concepts are defined by Venuti based on Schleiermacher’s distinction between two different translation orientations. Schleiermacher clearly pointed out that there can be only two ways of translating. Either by keeping the author as still as possible, so as to lead the reader to the author; the other is to keep the reader as still as possible, thereby guiding the author to approach the reader. Venuti, on the basis of Schleiermacher’s distinction, called the former foreignization and the latter domestication (Jiang 2016，146-147).

1.1 Introduction of Domestication

According to Venuti, domestication is actually an ethnocentric practice, bringing foreign texts into the cultural values of the target language and thus bringing the author back home. Therefore, in the process of translation, the translator follows the target language culture and adopts conservative methods to assimilate the original text so as to meet the needs of the target language readers (Venuti 2009, 20).

In this sense, the biggest advantage of the domestication is that it makes the translated works more easily accepted by the target language readers and that readers can better understand the connotation of the source text. In addition, domestication well reflects the coexistence of different cultures in the process of communication, and shows that translators seek common ground when facing culture differences and conflicts. Of course, every coin has two sides. Domestication translation also has its shortcomings. When translators adopt domestication, they tend to assimilate part of the original content with different language style or unique national culture, which makes the translation lose the characteristics of the original text, thus affecting the communication and spread of different cultures and hinders readers’ understanding of foreign culture (He 2019, 70).

Eugene Nida is the representative figure advocating domestication. Nida’s functional equivalence theory or dynamic equivalence theory shows that he is a supporter of domesticating translation. His dynamic equivalence theory shows that he pursues the most natural equivalence translation. He once said that “dynamic equivalence is therefore to be defined in terms of the degree to which the receptors of the message in the receptor language respond to it in substantially the same manner as the receptors in the source language” (Nida & Taber 2004, 24).

In other words, dynamic equivalence means that the reader’s response to the translation is consistent with that of the original. Nida’s dynamic equivalence theory fully considers the reader’s language culture and the reader’s ability to appreciate the translation. Therefore, in the course of translating, the translator should take the completely natural and smooth language expression as the goal. In order to make the translation natural and smooth, the translator must make some adjustments to the original text. Some heterogeneous cultures which are not accepted by readers should be eliminated as much as possible. Nida’s dynamic equivalence theory takes the reader into full consideration. It aims to eliminate the readers’ strangeness to the original content and let readers better understand the thought and meaning of the original text, which precisely reflects the characteristics of domesticating translation.

1.2 Introduction of Foreignization

Foreignization is an ethnodeviant practice, keeping language and cultural differences of the original texts as far as possible and thus sending the reader abroad. In other words, in order to show the cultural characteristics of the source work, translators use foreignising translation to retain the characteristics of the source text and try to keep the writing techniques used by the author of the source language. Hence, for the readers of the target language, the translation is exotic and unfamiliar (Venuti 2009, 20).

Same to the domestication, foreignization also has its advantages and disadvantages. Foreignization, by transplanting the culture of the source language into the culture of the target language, enriches the culture of the target language to a great extent. For example, the Chinese phrase “武装到牙齿” is translated into “armed to the teeth”, which greatly spreads Chinese culture and enriches English and Chinese language culture. Of course, foreignization also has its limitations. Some cultural differences and language differences are difficult to overcome. If foreignization is adopted blindly in the process of translation, there will produce some translations that readers cannot understand and accept, and translation will also lose its function of cultural communication (He 2019, 71).

Schleiermacher and Venuti are strong supporters of foreignization. Schleiermacher’s preferred strategy is to accommodate the reader to the author. He claims that translations need not be same as the original author writes in the source language. The translation doesn’t conform to the general expression habits of the target language. He believes that a translator who knows the target language can help target readers who are not proficient in the foreign language but have a strong understanding of the original text. To achieve this goal, the translator must adopt the foreignization translation, emphasize the value of heterogeneous culture, and ensure the faithfulness to the original text by subordinating the words in the target text to the source language. In this way, the translation can be faithful to the meaning of the original text and can introduce heterogeneous cultures and concepts to readers of target language (Jiang 2016, 147).

In his book The Translator’s Invisibility, Venuti expresses his understanding and support for foreignization translation in detail. He believes that foreignization translation is a kind of translation strategy that preserves and highlights the heterogeneity of the original text in the translation. Firstly, he believes that foreignization is reflected in the selection of translation materials. He mainly aims at the classic translation of literature and culture of the target language instead of scientific translation. In the process of foreignising translation, the translator chooses a foreign text which is different from the mainstream culture of the target language, which can change the cultural composition of the target language (Venuti 2009, 42).

Secondly, foreignization translation is reflected in the language used by the translator. This means that in the process of translation, the closer the language style of the translation is to the language style of the original, the more heterogeneous the readers will feel. Moreover, Venuti advocates that in the process of translation, the translator should use words that are not commonly used and non-standard. Translators should mix slang, neologism or archaic words to achieve heterogeneous effects. In this way, the foreignization style of translation highlights the heterogeneity of foreign texts and challenges and resists the mainstream culture of the target language (Venuti 2009, 35).

Thirdly, foreignization translation is embodied in cultural alienation. By highlighting the cultural differences caused by language differences, foreignization translation promotes the development of cultural diversity, helps to resist the hegemony of European and American culture, and helps to promote the development of culture and language of weak and small nations (Venuti 2009, 21).

Fourthly, foreignising translation highlights and enhances the status of the translator, which changes the phenomenon that the smooth translation makes the translator invisible in the past, thus promoting translation research to gradually move to the academic center. Venuti elaborates that smooth translation has long occupied the mainstream position in the history of western translation, and the fluency of translation has become the standard to judge whether a translation is good or not. Venuti challenges and questions this phenomenon. The smooth translation covers up the translator’s intervention and interpretation of the original text, and covers up the language and cultural differences of the original work (Venuti 2009, 17).

Therefore, he puts forward the concept of resistant translation to expound his translation thoughts. Resistant translation refers to a translation strategy that preserves some heterogeneity in literary translation. The object of resistance is the prevailing translation thought in British and American culture, that is, fluent translation is acceptable translation. Venuti challenges the dominant position of British and American culture and introduces the idea of weak culture by advocating resistant translation (Jiang 2016, 169).

Translation is not only a process of seeking similarities between languages and cultures, but also a process of facing the differences between languages and cultures. Translators cannot completely and thoroughly eliminate these differences. Therefore, a good translation must be the blending and collision of different cultures, from which the readers can better understand and perceive cultural diversity (Jiang 2016, 170).

1.3 Literal translation, free translation, domestication, and foreignization

There are a lot of discussions on the translation strategies of domestication and foreignization, and literal translation and free translation. Many people think that domestication is equal to free translation, while foreignization is equal to literal translation. I don’t think so. In this section, I will make a comparison and distinction between the two groups of translation concepts.

Literal translation refers to the translation that maintains the content and style of the original text while following the norms of the target language. Literal translation starts with word to word translation (Shuttleworth & Moira 2005, 129). However, due to the need to be consistent with the grammar of the target language, the final target text may also present the equivalence of phrase to phrase or clause to clause. Free translation, as opposed to literal translation, refers to the translation that reads naturally, rather than the type of translation that completely retains the wording of the source text. Free translation is usually oriented to the target language (Shuttleworth & Moira 2005, 84).

As mentioned before, domesticating translation covers up the differences between different cultures and weakens the strangeness of the original. The translation produced by domestication is very fluent and natural so that readers are able to read and understand the translation according to their own language expressions. Foreignising translation requires the translation to show the heterogeneity of the original text and convey the foreign cultural characteristics of the original text as far as possible so that the reader will feel a strange feeling when reading the translated text and sometimes they will have some misunderstanding or questions that are caused by exotic culture.

Literal translation and free translation emphasize whether the translation is consistent with the original text in terms of language form and style. Domestication and foreignization not only emphasizes the language level, but also pays attention to whether the values and cultural traditions conform to the expression habits of the target language. Additionally, it is worth mentioning that literal translation and free translation are static opposites. Whether the translation is faithful to the original is mainly seen from the linguistic unit. Domestication and foreignization is a pair of dynamic opposites. With the frequency of cultural exchanges and the passage of time, the original foreignization will become domestication. Therefore, we cannot easily equate literal translation with foreignization, nor can we equate free translation with domestication (Lu 2018, 57).

Chapter 2 Factors influencing the choice of domestication and foreignization

In cross-cultural translation, translators are always faced with the choice of domestication and foreignization. Then, how does the translator make a choice? This chapter will explore some factors that influence the choice of translation strategies of domestication and foreignization, and then discuss when to domesticate and when to foreignize the text.

2.1 The type of the text

Different text has its own function. When dealing with different kinds of texts, translators should choose different translation strategies to translate text and to better show the function of the text. Newmark, a famous translator, divides text into three types according to its content and style: expressive function, informational function, and vocative function.

Expressive text mainly has literary value or shows the author’s unique writing style, including some serious literary works, such as some serious imaginative literature, authoritative statements and some literary works like personal letters, autobiography, and essay. Expressive text emphasizes the expressive function of language. This kind of the text takes the authority of the original author into consideration and pays less attention to readers’ responses (Newmark 2001, 39).

Compared with other types of texts, expressive texts use artistic and beautiful language with the purpose of creating artistic images, so that readers can be inspired and moved by the language in the process of reading. The characteristics of expressive texts require translators to translate not only meaning, but also the emotion in the process of translation, so as to reproduce the artistic characteristics of the original text to the greatest extent and make readers feel the artistic charm of the source text when reading the translated text. Therefore, the linguistic features and purposes of expressive texts require translators to use foreignization as much as possible to reflect the exotic flavor of the source language and reproduce the artistic features of the source text (Wang 2008, 138).

Informative text is mainly to convey the original information to readers truthfully and smoothly, mainly including technical reports, articles in newspapers or periodical, general teaching materials, product descriptions and other text whose content is more important than form. This kind of text is created without author’s personal emotion and its main function is to lead readers to know and understand information (Newmark 2001, 40).

These characteristics require translators to focus on the content of the text and uses simple or clear expression as far as possible to convey the content so that readers can fully accept the meaning; therefore, it’s better to use domestication as much as possible to reproduce the content of the original text instead of sticking to the language styles.

Vocative text is mainly to call readers to take action, to think, and to make reaction, including notice, instruction, and advertisement. This type of text emphasizes the infective function of the language and it takes readers as center. Vocative text emphasizes the readability of the text and the acceptability of the reader. It is necessary to put the readers of the target language in the first place and take their culture and receptivity into consideration, so that they can clearly get the information (Newmark 2001, 41).

Therefore, when translating such texts, translators should grasp the cultural differences between different languages and put the cultural habits of target readers in the first place. Only in this way can readers truly think, feel, and act. Additionally, in the course of translation, translators should give full play to the linguistic advantages of the target language and should not be limited to the expression of the original text, so as to achieve the same effect as the original language as far as possible (Wang 2008, 139).

According to Newmark, the division of text is not absolute, and most texts have all three functions at the same time with one or two of them dominate (Newmark 2001, 42).

Hence, in the actual translation, domestication and foreignization should be combined. They are not always antithetical; on the contrary, they complement each other. When choosing foreignising translation strategy, translators should pay attention to the smoothness and understandability of the target text. When choosing the domestication translation strategy, translators should also pay attention not to lose the flavor and style of the original text. During translating, to a certain extent, translators have freedom so they should give full play to the advantages of the two translation strategies. Translators can adopt domesticating translation to familiarize language expression and use foreignising translation to keep cultural elements (He 2019, 71).

2.2 Readers of the target language

The translator choosing which translation strategy is not only influenced by the type of text, but also by the target readers. Reader is an important factor influencing the choice of domestication and foreignization so translator should take readers’ age, gender and educational level into consideration in the course of translation.

The translation under the domestication strategy is smooth and natural and it’s easier to be accepted by readers. Therefore, if the target readers of the translated text are young children or readers with low education level, the translator can use the domestication strategy more when translating, so that the readers can understand and accept the information of the translated text (Zhang & Wang 2007, 147).

However, the translation under the foreignization strategy aims at revealing the heterogeneity of the source culture, spreading foreign culture, and preserving the unique expression and original flavor of the original text. Such a translation may be awkward and difficult to understand. If the readers of the target text are highly educated, highly receptive, or have a certain understanding and cognition of the culture of the source language, the translator can use the foreignization strategy to show the style of the source text, so that the readers can better understand the foreign culture and broaden their horizon (Zhang & Wang 2007, 147).

Generally speaking, most works have a specific audience for reading. Different groups of readers have their own characteristics and different levels of comprehension; therefore, translators should take the factor of readers into consideration to choose domestication strategy or foreignization strategy in the actual translation.

Chapter 3 The application of translation methods in domestication and foreignization

In cross-cultural translation, translating culturally-loaded expressions is difficult. Choosing appropriate ways to translate culturally-loaded expressions will not only keep the original favor, but also make readers of target language better understand, so in this part I will introduce some methods to translate culturally-loaded expressions under the domestication and foreignization strategy.

3.1 Introduction of culturally-loaded expressions

Culturally-loaded words refer to words with certain cultural background or profound cultural implication, including proverbs, allusions, special characters’ names and current idioms and idioms that have been deposited in a certain historical stage (Fang 2011, 297).

As culturally-loaded words have their own uniqueness, the following principles should be followed in the translation of culture-loaded words. According to Wang Zhenqi, first, the key implied meaning of the expression in the source text should be converted into non-implied meaning in translation. Second, the representation of the lexical meaning of the source language should be given priority to the representation of the form. Third, the context of the source words should be taken into full consideration in the choice of translation (Wang 2014, 97).

Then, in the translation of such words, the translator takes cultural exchange as the purpose, evaluates the readers’ cultural reception and perceptivity, and adopts flexible and appropriate translation methods, so as to ensure that the translated text not only retains the cultural information and cultural color of the original text, but also has readability. There are different ways of translating culturally-loaded words because of their different forms and cultural meanings.

3.2 Translation methods under the domestication strategy

Under the domestication translation strategy, there are three main methods to translate culturally-loaded expressions, namely: free translation, cultural substitution, and simplification.

Free translation is a common way in translating culturally-loaded words. Free translation is to translate the cultural information in the source text as much as possible. If the translator only conveys literal meanings of the words that are rich in cultural information, sometimes they will confuse and even misunderstand readers. In order to better convey the meaning of the original text, the translator adopts free translation method to translate the real connotation of culturally-loaded words for filling the gap in the readers’ culture and letting readers understand the text more naturally and smoothly (Wang 2014, 98).

For example, some color words in Chinese have lots of different symbolic meanings. The color purple in Chinese culture represents the spirit of saints and emperors, which is maybe unfamiliar to readers of other cultures. Hence, when translating the term “紫禁城”，in order to eliminate misunderstanding, the translator tends to adopt free translation to translate it as “the forbidden city”. When translating “紫气” in the phrase “紫气东来”, the translator translate it into “propitious omen”, which shows its cultural meaning (Wang 2014, 98).

In cross-cultural translation, the translator may face such difficulty that there is no corresponding word in the target language equaling to the culturally-loaded word in source language. In this case, cultural substitution is a good choice. Cultural substitution, put forward by Beekman and Callow, is a method of dealing with things that exist in the source language but do not exist in the target language. It is defined as using things in target language to replace the things in source language culture that is unknown to readers of target language. In order to maintain the functional meanings, both things have the same function. There are three points to note. Firstly, do not replace history with didactic words; secondly, choose the one that suits best and not just the one with the most obvious function; thirdly, avoid functional conflicts between source language and target language (Fang 2011,104).

For example, in order to let readers of target language better feel and understand the love of Romeo and Juliet, we will use cultural substitution methods and translate it into the love between Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, which eliminates the unfamiliarity of the cultural image in source language and is the representation of domestication. Using the cultural images in the target culture, the translator enables the target readers to understand the foreign culture on the basis of their own culture, thus strengthening the understanding between different cultures.

Simplication is also a good way to deal with culturally-loaded expressions translation. According to Wang, simplified translation is to translate the core meaning of culture-loaded words in the source language into a simple and clear target language. In cross-cultural translation, the translator may encounter such a situation when the long-winded concept of the original text can be simply expressed in the target language, such as using idiom, and such a translation is more acceptable to the target language readers. Therefore, it is very effective to use simplified translation which not only preserves the core concept of the original text, but also makes the translation acceptable (Wang 2014, 98).

Free translation, cultural substitution and simplication are all translation methods to eliminate the strangeness caused by culturally-loaded words in the source language text and avoid readers’ confusion or misunderstanding. These domesticated text translation methods facilitate readers’ reading, better ensure that readers correctly understand the content of the source language text and experience the emotion of the source language text.

3.3 Translation methods under the foreignization strategy

Under the foreignization translation strategy, there are five main methods to translate culturally-loaded words, namely: literal translation, literal translation plus annotation, transliteration, transliteration plus annotation, and cultural borrowing.

Literal translation is loyal to the meaning and structure of the source text, directly translating the source language into the target language. With the increasingly frequent cultural exchanges, some loaded words and expressions have gradually become familiar to people (Fang 2011, 104).

For example, the proverb “All roads lead to Rome” is directly translated as “条条大路通罗马” . “A near friend is better than a far-dwelling kinsman” is translated as “远亲不如近邻”. These culturally-loaded expressions are directly translated into the target language and Chinese readers can clearly understand the meanings (Fang 2011, 104).

However, when literal translation can’t fully convey the original cultural information and readers have difficulty perceiving the meaning, the translator can add some annotation to explain the meaning of the culturally-loaded words on the basis of the literal translation. Annotations can be used to supplement background information, cultural traditions and other information for readers to understand (Wang 2014, 98).

For example, the translator translates “工人文化宫” as “the Worker’s Cultural Palace Park” and add annotation in the sentence “Some went to the Worker’s Cultural Palace Park, a recreation center built for the proletariat during the heyday of communism”. By adding the supplementary information, readers will know the meaning of this sentence clearly. Hence, for one thing, the translation preserves the original culture and promotes the communication between different cultures as well; for another, the readers of target language can better understand the cultural connotation and broaden their knowledge (Fang 2011, 104).

Transliteration is a good and common way to translate culturally-loaded expressions. It uses letter symbols to represent letter symbols in another language system. When there is a big difference between the source language and the target language and there is a semantic gap, it is impossible to translate the semantic meaning. In this case, transliteration is the main translation method. The objects of transliteration are the names of people, places and newly generated terms (Fang 2011, 105).

For instance, a city of America “Mount Pleasant” is translated as “芒特普莱森特” in Chinese. The Chinese Taoist thought “阴”and “阳” are translated as “Yin” and “Yang.” Through transliteration, readers of the target language can not only gain some understanding of the cultural knowledge of the source language, but also introduce new cultural concepts into the culture of the target language (Wang 2014, 97 ).

Transliteration plus annotation is also often used in the translation of specific cultural words. The translator can add some annotation that can be in-text annotation or extra-text annotation to explain the meaning of the culturally-loaded words on the basis of the transliteration, so as to achieve the purpose of cultural information transmission (Fang 2011, 105).

For example, the sentence “诸如此类，其实只是一种社交上的客套，和‘顿首’‘百拜’同是仪式的虚伪” is translated as “All these are, in fact, nothing but civilities of social life, as hypocritical as the polite formula dunshou (Kowtow) or Baibai (a hundred greetings) used after the signature in old-fashioned Chinese lettering writing” by Zhang Peiji. The annotation gives a clear explanation of the connotation of culturally-loaded words (Fang 2011, 105).

Cultural borrowing refers to some words in the source language, which can only be transferred into the target language word by word according to the literal meaning because no appropriate corresponding language can be found in the target language. The borrowed words may be unchanged or slightly altered, but their meaning must be clear and unmistakable in the target language text (Fang 2011, 304).

For example, “as timid as a rabbit” can be translated as “胆小如兔”in Chinese. By cultural borrowing, this translation preserves the emotional image and cultural connotation of source language and the readers of target language can figure out the meaning of this expression. Therefore, when using cultural borrowing, the translator should not only keep the cultural image in source text but also let the reader of target language understand the image with exotic connotation.

On the basis of preserving the culture and keeping the flavor of the original text, these five translation methods try their best to make readers understand the culture of the source language so as to make readers perceive the beauty of foreign culture and to introduce new expressions into target language.

Conclusion

Translation is an activity of communication between different languages and cultures. Different nations and countries have different ways of language expression because of their different cultures. In cross-cultural translation, translators should not only take on the responsibility of transmitting the source language culture and promoting the communication between different cultures, but also take the responsibility of making the target readers understand the connotation of the text, so as to make the translation readable and acceptable. This requires the translator to master the two translation strategies of domestication and foreignization and grasp the balance between them.

Domestication is helpful for the target language readers to understand the original text and avoid the obstacles caused by cultural differences; however, the translation approach to the readers’ language and culture will inevitably lose language features and cultural customs of the original text.

Foreignization translation retains the expression habits and cultural characteristics of the source language, but it is easy to increase the understanding difficulty of the target language readers, and may even cause misreading of the target language readers. With the frequent cultural exchanges, to some degree, people around the world are relatively familiar with each other’s cultural customs; therefore, on the premise that the target readers have no misunderstanding of the original text, the foreignization translation strategy can be appropriately adopted, which can enrich the target language culture and broaden the horizon of the target readers.

Hence, in cross-cultural translation, translators had to deal with the problems of domestication and foreignization. Translators should consider some factors that influence the choice and choose appropriate translation methods to make domestication and foreignization complement each other, and retain the original flavor of the original text while ensuring the understanding of the target readers.

References

• Fang Mengzhi方梦之.(2011)中国译学大辞典[A Dictionary of Translation Studies in China]. 上海外语教育出版社Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
• Jiang Tong蒋童.(2016).韦努蒂翻译理论的谱系学研究[Genealogical study on Lawrence Venuti’s translation theory].商务印书馆The Commercial Press.
• Lu Xiaojun 陆晓君. (2018) 归化和异化与直译和意译的比较[A Comparison between domestication and foreignization and literal translation and free translation]. 齐齐哈尔师范高等专科学校学报[Journal of Qiqihar Junior Teachers’ College](05) 55-57.
• He Limin何丽敏.(2019). 浅析翻译中归化和异化策略的选择 [An analysis of the choice of domestication and foreignization in Translation].辽宁经济 Liaoning Economy (10):70-71.
• Newmark, P. (2011) A Textbook of Translation. Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
• Nida, E.A. & Taber C.R. (2004) The Theory and Practice of Translation. Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
• Shuttleworth, M. & Moira, C. (2005) Dictionary of Translation Studies.谭载喜译Translated by Tan Zaixi. Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.
• Venuti, L. (2009) The Translator’s Invisibility. 张景华译Translated by Zhang Jinghua. 外语教育与研究出版社Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.
• Wang Chan王婵.(2008). 纽马克翻译理论在不同文本类型中的体现[The Embodiment of Newmark’s translation in different text types].湖北师范学院学报（哲学社会科学版）Journal of Hubei Normal University(Philosophy and Social Science) (02) 138-140.
• Wang Zhenqi王溱琪.(2014).文化负载词翻译方法浅议[A brief discussion on culturally-loaded word translation method ].长江大学学报(社科版)Journal of Yangtze University (Social Science) (01) 97-98.
• Zhang Siyong &Wang Huimin张思永,王慧敏. (2007). 归化还是异化——谈影响翻译策略选择的若干因素 [Domestication or foreignization-an analysis of factors influencing the choice of translation strategy].广西社会科学 Guangxi Social Science (10):145-148.

--Zhou Luoping (talk) 09:08, 21 December 2020 (UTC)

The Application of Domestication and Foreignization in the Translation of Chinese Xiehouyu 龚钰冕 Gong Yumian

龚钰冕 Gong Yumian,202020080601.

Abstract

Chinese Xiehouyu is a unique part of Chinese folk culture, and people are familiar with it. The translation of Chinese Xiehouyu is a kind of cross-cultural communication, which spreads the Chinese national language and culture to the English world. The depth study of the connotation and translation strageties of Chinese Xiehouyu has played a significant role in promoting and improving the Chinese-English translation and cross-cultural communication between Chinese and English. Based on the theory of domestication and foreignization, this chapter attempts to analyze the types and components of Chinese Xiehouyu, and to explore their translation strategies.

摘要

汉语歇后语是中国民俗文化特有的一部分，人们耳熟能详。汉英歇后语翻译是一种将中华民族语言文化传播到英语世界的跨文化交流活动，深入学习研究汉语歇后语的内涵和翻译方法，对汉英语言的互译和跨文化交际都起到了很好的促进和提高作用。本文试图用归化和异化理论出发，分析汉语歇后语的类型及其构成，探讨汉语歇后语的翻译策略。

Key words

Chinese Xiehouyu; domestication and foreignization; translation strategy

关键词

汉语歇后语；归化和异化；翻译策略

Introduction

Chinese Xiehouyu is a unique language form in Chinese idioms, which is full of cultural connotation and has a special structural form. It is vivid and humorous, rich in philosophy and enlightenment, so it is widely spread and loved by the Chinese people. Chinese Xiehouyu is not only widely used in spoken language of all social strata, but also can be seen everywhere in classical and modern literary works and articles. However, as a unique language form in Chinese, it is difficult to find the corresponding expression in other languages. Therefore, it has become a difficulty in the translation of Chinese idioms, which is undoubtedly a great challenge to translators.

The strategies of domestication and foreignization play an important role in translation. Besides, the correct application of domestication and foreignization in translating Chinese Xiehouyu will appropriately and vividly introduce China's history and culture to foreign people to promote cultural exchanges. Therefore, this paper attempts to analyze the types and components of Chinese Xiehouyu, analyze the connotations of domestication and foreignization, and explore the translation strageties of Chinese Xiehouyu with many examples.

Chapter 1 The Definition of Chinese Xiehouyu

1.1. The Origin of Chinese Xiehouyu

Chinese Xiehouyu is also called "Qiaopihua", "Qiaoyu", "Jiehouyu", "Xinueyu"(witticism),"Suojiaoyu"(abbreviation),"Yingzhuyu"(quotation) and so on. When it comes to Xiehouyu, Chinese people are familiar with it, because it is a form of expression that Chinese people have learned since childhood. When studying the origin of Chinese Xiehouyu, some linguists and linguistic works also mentioned other related names. For example, Chen Wangdao (1932) included Xiehouyu in the section of "Cutting and Shortening Words" in his The Main Ideas of The Rhetoric.

Guo Shaoyu (1925) pointed out that Xiehouyu originated from "shefu" (a form similar to guessing riddles) in his book A Study of Proverbs; and names, such as "Miyu"(riddle) and "Yanyu"(proverb), were listed in other books. By comparison, most of them reveal some similarities and differences. Let's briefly review the origin of the name "Xiehouyu".

The word "xiehou" was first found in the biography of Zheng fan in Tang Dynasty, and it is mentioned in the book that "the style of Zheng Wu Xiehou" (a kind of poem with the style of "xiehou"). The word "Xiehouyu" has appeared for a long time, but what the ancients said just refers to the ppoetry or a word game about Xiehouyu. The Xiehouyu, which we are talking about today, was called "Qiaoyu", "Fangyu" and "Shiyu" by the ancients and were more commonly known as "Yaoyan". （Miregu Aimaiti 2014, 5）

At the beginning of the 20th century, Bai Qiming took Xiehouyu as a kind of folk literature and art after the publication of his article "Xiehouyu Which Should Be Included in The Collection of Songs ". He pointed out that Xiehouyu, also known as "argot", was called " wind typeface " in Tang Dynasty and "Kaner" or "Kanzi" in custom. However, he did not explain why he called it "Xiehouyu" in his article.

In the 1930s, Chen Wangdao pointed out in his book " The Main Ideas of The Rhetoric" that Xiehouyu has two meanings: one is "Xiehouyu" used by the ancients, also known as "cutting and shortening words of Xiehou"; the other is "Xiehouyu" that people use today, also referred as “Pijieyu”, that is, the Xiehouyu composed of interpretation.

In the 1950s, Mao Dun pointed out that in order to distinguish it from the "original or formal xiehouyu", a different name should be given to the Xiehouyu that people use today, but he did not specify what name to use instead. In the 1980s, from the perspective of academic research, Wen Duanzheng thought that the academic name should reflect the essential characteristics of the things it referred to. He agreed with Mao Dun's opinion, and concluded that Xiehouyu did not express the meaning of "xiehou" in Chinese through a large number of examples. Therefore, he suggested that the Xiehouyu should be renamed as "quotations" according to the relationship between the former and latter parts of the Xiehouyu.

However, most scholars believe that the name "Xiehouyu" has been accepted by people and it is difficult to change it. Therefore, they advocate that the name "Xiehouyu" should still be used without any change. （Miregu Aimaiti 2014, 6）

1.2 The Structure of Chinese Xiehouyu

Chinese Xiehouyu can be literally translated into "rest ending sayings" or "post-pause expressions". According to its structure, it is also translated as "example-explanation-sayings". In 1986, Professor Luo Shenghao, a linguistic professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, translated "Chinese Xiehouyu" into "enigmatic folk similes" in his book A Dictionary of Chinese Xiehouyu.

According to professor Luo, "Similes" refers to the Chinese Xiehouyu which is generally composed of vehicle and tenor. The vehicle are figurative metaphors. The tenor is the explanation of the vehicle to show its essential significance. For example, “粪坑里的石头——又臭又硬” (The stone in the cesspit —— smelly and hard.). "Folk" indicates that the Xiehouyu originates from the folk and is used more frequently in daily spoken language. "Enigmatic" indicates that this kind of expression has the nature and characteristics of riddles which also have two parts: the tenor and the vehicle. Therefore, "enigmatic Folk Similes" basically reflects the special structure and essential characteristics of Chinese Xiehouyu. (Qi Dehui 2011, 110)

1.3 The Definition of Chinese Xiehouyu

Xiehouyu has very distinct characteristics, and its external structure is composed of two parts. The former part is the image and descriptive language, which tells a thing, a modality, an object, a scene and so on, while the latter part is a summary and abstract language, which is the explanation of the former part. The combination of the former part and the latter part produces a sense of wit and humor to express meaning. Therefore, the fixed phrase is called Xiehouyu. (Bao Huinan & Bao Ang 2000, 64)

In the dictionary, the explanation of Xiehouyu is that a sentence composed of two parts: the former part is like the riddle, the latter part is like the answer of the riddle, and the original meaning is from the latter part. For example, “泥菩萨过江——自身难保”(like a clay idol fording a river, hardly able to save oneself (let alone anyone else)). Therefore, Xiehouyu is a kind of idiom with relatively fixed structure and oral characteristics, which is composed of two parts with the relationship of citation and annotation. （Miregu Aimaiti 2014, 5）

An Unabridged, Comprehensive Dictionarydefines Xiehouyu as follows: Xiehouyu is a kind of idiom, which is humorous and vivid sentences that are familiar to the masses. When used, the latter part can be omitted, and the former part can show the meaning, such as "丢了西瓜捡芝麻" (lose the watermelon and pick up the sesame) can mean "因小失大" (keep the tail from wagging the dog); the former and latter part can also be juxtaposed, such as "芝麻开花—节节高" (A sesame stalk puts forth blossoms notch by notch, higher and higher – rising steadily). (Liu Na 2016, 18)

The definition points out the nature and components of Xiehouyu. In the branches of linguistics, Xiehouyu belongs to the National Cultural Connotation (NCC), which is composed of the former part and the latter part. The former part often explains and describes a kind of life phenomenon, and the latter part makes comments and analysis on this phenomenon. （Miregu Aimaiti 2014, 6）

In the section of language and characters in the Chinese Encyclopedia, Xiehouyu refers to the humorous utterance formed by deliberately missing one word or half sentence of a commonly used word when speaking. There are usually two kind of Xiehouyu. The first one is the original meaning of Xiehouyu, referred to the omission of the last word of an idiom, which is also called "abbreviation". （Miregu Aimaiti 2014, 6）

The second one is allegorical saying that has expanded its meaning. The two-part allegorical sayings in Beijing are called "Qiaopihua (witticism)", which means that the last half of a sentence can be omitted. For example, "竹篮打水（Ladling water with a wicker backet）" omits the latter part "一场空（all is empty）". Sometimes homonyms are used. Such as "外甥打灯笼一一照旧（舅）(Things seemed to be the same as before)". In this sentence, “旧” and “舅” are homophones in China. (Yang Peigen & Li Yanlin 2006，93)

In short, Xiehouyu is a special language form created by the Chinese people in their daily life. It is a short, funny and vivid sentence and composed of two parts: the former part plays the role of introduction, like a riddle, and the latter part plays the role of supplement, like the answer of the riddle, which is very natural and appropriate. In a certain language environment, one usually says the former part and omit the latter part, the other can understand and guess its original meaning, so this language form is called Xiehouyu.（Miregu Aimaiti 2014, 7）

1.4 The Importance of Chinese Xiehouyu Translation

Xiehouyu is a kind of Chinese idioms, which reflects people's daily life and experience, and is a concise summary and warning of people's experience in life. It has rich ideological connotation and unique cultural characteristics. There are similar forms of Chinese Xiehouyu in English, but so far, there is no official definition corresponding to Chinese Xiehouyu. How to reproduce the language style of Xiehouyu and convey its rich cultural connotation is a subject worthy of discussion and research. At the same time, the translation of Xiehouyu helps the world to understand China and Chinese culture, which is conducive to the wide spread of Chinese culture. (Xu Yanan & Zeng Xianmo 2020, 249)

From the perspective of linguistics, the most difference is that Chinese is a parataxis language while English hypotaxis. Chinese belongs to the Chinese-Tibet language, while English belongs to the Indo-European language. In Chinese, the arranging of clauses one after the other without connectives showing the relation between them, for example, 下雨了(the rain fell)；河水泛滥(the river flooded)；房子被冲走了(the house washed away). In English, the dependent or subordinate construction or relationship of clauses with connectives, for example, I shall despair if you don’t come. (Lian Shuneng 1993，48-49)

Therefore, interlingual conversion occurs in the process of translation, which it is of great value in translation. In the process of translating Chinese Xiehouyu into English, it is necessary to faithfully reproduce the meaning of the source language by integrating language, cognition, culture, communication and other factors. The form and meaning of Chinese idioms are not completely coincident, which is fully reflected in the literal meaning and implied meaning of Xiehouyu. For foreigners, understanding Xiehouyu can strengthen their mastery of Chinese and deepen their understanding of Chinese culture and civilization. (Liu Na 2016, 18)

Chapter 2 Types of Chinese Xiehouyu

According to the connection between the two parts of the Chinese Xiehouyu, it can be roughly divided into two types: metaphorical Xiehouyu and paronomasia Xiehouyu. (Qi Dehui 2011,110)

2.1 Metaphorical Xiehouyu

There are numerous examples of metaphorical Xiehouyu. The former part implies a metaphorical meaning and the latter part original meaning. Their internal connections are very clear and logical.

For example, （1）那个宝玉是个丈八的灯台——照见人家，照不见自己的，只知嫌人家脏。这是他的房子，由着你们糟蹋。 (As for Baoyu, he is like a ten-foot lamp-stand that sheds light on others but none on it-self. He complains that other people are dirty, yet leaves you to turn his own rooms topsy-turvy.)

It can be seen that in the first example, the vehicle is literally translated, while the tenor is translated with interpretation, explaining the former part. Literal translation with interpretation not only retains the figurative image of the original language, but also effectively conveys its cultural connotation, which is clear to the target readers.(Qi Dehui 2011,110)

2.2 Paronomasia Xiehouyu

The paronomasia Xiehouyu has a great proportion in Chinese Xiehouyu. The latter part of the paronomasia Xiehouyu is a pun, which has both the surface meaning of the vehicle and other deep meaning. In other words, the literal meaning is to explain the former part, but its deep meaning expresses a completely different meaning from the whole context. (Jin Huikang 2004, 132)

For example, (2)一根筷子吃藕——挑眼(Eating lily root with only one chopstick——picking it up by the holes.) In the second example, “pick holes” means to find one’s faults, while the meaning of its vehicle is to pick the whole in lotus root slices with a chopstick.(Ling Li 2004, 452)

(3)三九天的萝卜——冻了心（动了心）(A mid-winter turnip（in the third period of nine days after the winter solstice）—— the heart is frozen（affected in heart).) In the third example, the surface meaning of “the heart is frozen” is that the turnip in a mind winter is completely frozen from the root, and the root is a symbol of heart. Moreover, “冻了心”and“动了心”in Chinese are homophones, which becomes a pun.(Qi Dehui 2011,111)

Chapter 3 Domestication and Foreignization

3.1 Definition Of Domestication and Foreignization

The terms of domestication and foreignization were first put forward by German philosopher Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher. He proposed his famous notion of the translation which “leaves the reader in peace, as much as possible, and moves the author towards him” (Venuti 1995,19-20). Later, this term was introduced into the field of translation by Lawrence Venuti, an American translation theorist. He referred to the first method proposed by Schleiermacher as "domestication", and the second method as "foreignization". In a word, domestication is s term used by Venuti (1995) to describe the translation strategy in which a transparent, fluent style is adopted in order to minimize the strangeness of the foreign text for TL readers. （Mark Shuttleworth & Moira Cowie 2004, 43-44）

Then, foreignization is a term used by Venuti (1995) to designate the type of translation in which a TT is produced which deliberately breaks target conventions by retaining something of the foreignness of the original. (Mark Shuttleworth & Moira Cowie, 2004, 59)Eugene A. Nida, the advocate of the theory, put forward in his linguistic theory of functional equivalence that "cultural equivalence can be achieved by excluding linguistic differences."

Qian Zhongshu, a famous writer and translator in China, once put forward the theory of "sublimation" in The Translation of Lin Shu, which means that the translation should not only accord with the language expression custom of the target language, but also keep the style of the original work. Substantially, the theory of sublimation requires translators to comprehend the meaning of the original work and to consider the factors of semantic relation, style, cultural differences and information transfer effect etc., and then translators should translate selectively.

On the contrary, "foreignization" requires the translators to approach the author and express the meaning of the original text with the expressions commonly used by people. During the period of the New Culture Movement in China, Lu Xun, the advocator of the theory, once put forward the translation method of "domestication", which brought a western style to the works. (Liu Xiaocen 2017, 99)

In conclusion, domestication is to localize the source language, take the target language and the target readers as the destination, and adopt the expression methods that are familiar to the target language readers to convey the content of the original text. Domestication requires the translators to approach the target language readers, and the translators must speak like the author. If the original author wants to have a direct dialogue with the readers, the translated text must become a native language. Domesticating translation helps readers understand the translation better and enhance the readability and appreciation of the translation. (Nie Xiaohua 2002, 3)

On the contrary, Foreignization means that the translator should try his best not to disturb the author and let the readers approach the author. In translation, it is to accommodate the language characteristics of foreign culture, absorb foreign language expression, and require the translator to approach the author and adopt the source language expression corresponding to the author to convey the content of the original text, that is, to take the target culture as the destination. The purpose of using foreignization strategy is to consider the differences of national culture, preserve and reflect the characteristics of foreign nationality and language style, and to retain the exotic sentiment for the target readers. (Nie Xiaohua 2002, 3)

3.2 Dialectical Analysis of Domestication and Foreignization

Domestication and foreignization have a great difference which is the former requires that the text is close to the reader, while the latter requires that the text is close to the author. Some scholars believe that domestication and foreignization, no matter which one is adopted, must be applied in the whole translation text, and cannot be confused. However, in the actual practice of translation, we can't really do that. Translation requires us to faithfully reproduce the thoughts and styles of the author of the original text, which are full of strong foreign style, so it is necessary to adopt the method of foreignization. (Xu Yanan & Zeng Xianmo, 2020, 249)

Domestication and foreignization have a great difference which is the former requires that the text is close to the reader, while the latter requires that the text is close to the author. Some scholars believe that domestication and foreignization, no matter which one is adopted, must be applied in the whole translation text, and cannot be confused. However, in the actual practice of translation, we can't really do that. (Xu Yanan & Zeng Xianmo 2020, 249)--Deng Jinxia (talk) 06:48, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

However, at the same time, the translation should also take into account the readers' understanding and the fluency of the original text, so it is necessary to adopt the method domestication. It is not advisable to choose one strategy and completely exclude the other. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages, so it cannot achieve the ultimate goal of translation with only one of them. (Xiao Luan & Feng Xuehua, 2011，65)

Translation requires us to faithfully reproduce the thoughts and styles of the author of the original text, which are full of strong foreign style, so it is necessary to adopt the method of foreignization. However, at the same time, the translation should also consider the readers' understanding and the fluency of the original text, so it is also necessary to adopt the strategy of domestication. It is not advisable to choose one strategy and completely exclude the other. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages, so it cannot achieve the ultimate goal of translation with only one of them. (Xiao Luan & Feng Xuehua 2011，65)--Deng Jinxia (talk) 06:48, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

In translation, we are always faced with the choice of foreignization and domestication, so that the translation can find a middle point between being close to the reader and being close to the author, but the "middle point" is not fixed. Sometimes the translated text is closer to the author and sometimes closer to the reader. However, no matter which side it is close to, it should follow a principle: when being close to the author, the translation should not be too far away from the reader; when being close to the reader, it should not be too far away from the author. (Xiao Luan & Feng Xuehua, 2011，66)

In translation, we are always faced with the choice of foreignization and domestication, so that the translation can find a middle point between being close to the reader and being close to the author, but the "middle point" is not fixed. Sometimes the translated text is closer to the author and sometimes closer to the reader. However, no matter which side it is close to, it should follow a principle: when being close to the author, the translation should not be too far away from the reader; when being close to the reader, it should not be too far away from the author. (Xiao Luan & Feng Xuehua 2011，66)--Deng Jinxia (talk) 06:48, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

In other words, foreignization should not hinder the smoothness and understandability of the translated text, and domestication does not lose the style of the original text. At the same time, we should adhere to the domestication strategy for the language form, while foreignization for cultural factors in the original text. In this way, the translated text can combine the advantages of the two strategies and avoid their disadvantages, so that they can achieve common development. Therefore, during the actual translation process, domestication and foreignization should complement each other and the more appropriate translated text can be produced. (Liu Xiaocen，2017，99)

In other words, foreignization should not hinder the smoothness and understandability of the translated text, and domestication does not lose the style of the original text. At the same time, we should adhere to the domestication strategy for the language form, while foreignization for cultural factors in the original text. In this way, the translated text can combine the advantages of the two strategies and avoid their disadvantages, so that they can have common development. Therefore, during the practical translation process, domestication and foreignization should complement each other so that appropriate translated texts can be produced. (Liu Xiaocen 2017，99)--Deng Jinxia (talk) 06:48, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

Chapter 4 The Application of Domestication and Foreignization in the Translation of Chinese Xiehouyu

There are always contradictions and disputes between foreignization and domestication in the translation of Chinese xiehouyu. There is a great deal of debate in the field of translation about whether to use foreignization to take the culture of source language as the destination and retain the characteristics of the foreign text, or to use domestication to take the culture of target language as the destination and conform to the characteristics of the target language.（Qi Dehui,2011,110）

There are always contradictions and disputes between foreignization and domestication in the translation of Chinese Xiehouyu. There is a great deal of debate in the field of translation about whether to use foreignization to take the culture of the source language as the destination and retain the characteristics of the foreign text, or to use domestication to take the culture of the target language as the destination and conform to the characteristics of the target language. (Qi Dehui 2011,110)--Deng Jinxia (talk) 08:14, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

For example, “ 三 个 臭 皮 匠 —— 顶一 个 诸 葛 亮 ”. Some translate it into “Two heads are better than one.” Others translate it into “Three cobblers with their wits combined together equal Zhuge Liang， the master mind.” The first translation is obviously to adopt a domesticated strategy, which conforms to the English expression. It is easy for native English speakers to understand and accept, and it is easy to read. However, the disadvantage is that one (head) in the sentence is not exactly referred as Zhuge Liang in the Chinese Xiehouyu. In Chinese culture, Zhuge Liang was an intelligent man, while one (head) was just an ordinary person. （Qi Dehui,2011,111）

For example, “ 三 个 臭 皮 匠 —— 顶一 个 诸 葛 亮 ”. Some translate it into “Two heads are better than one.” Others translate it into “Three cobblers with their wits combined together equal Zhuge Liang， the master mind.” The first translation obviously adopts a domesticating translation strategy, which conforms to the English expression. It is easy for native English speakers to understand and accept, and it is easy to read. However, the disadvantage is that one (head) in the sentence is not exactly referred as Zhuge Liang in the Chinese Xiehouyu. In Chinese culture, Zhuge Liang was an intelligent man, while one (head) was just an ordinary person. （Qi Dehui 2011,111）--Deng Jinxia (talk) 08:14, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

The second translation version adopts foreignization, which retains the characteristics of Chinese, so that readers from English-speaking countries can understand the connotation of Chinese culture from the translation and promote cultural exchanges. But how do readers in English speaking countries feel when they read such articles? how can cultural exchanges be promoted if it is difficult for readers to understand and lose interest in reading? And when readers see the translation, they can't understand that it is an idiom in Chinese which is humorous, catchy and well-known, and the meaning of the Chinese source language is lost. （Qi Dehui,2011,111）

The second translation version adopts foreignization strategy, which retains the characteristics of Chinese, so that readers from English-speaking countries can understand the connotation of Chinese culture from the translation and promote cultural exchanges. But how do readers in English speaking countries feel when they read such articles? How can cultural exchanges be promoted if it is difficult for readers to understand and lose interest in reading? And when readers see the translation, they can't understand that it is an idiom in Chinese which is humorous, catchy and well-known, and the meaning of the source language is lost. （Qi Dehui,2011,111）--Deng Jinxia (talk) 08:14, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

For example, （4）那胡正卿心头 “十五个吊桶打水——七上八下” Hu Chengching was very much upset by this and his heart was beating like fifteen buckets being hurriedly lowered into a well for water——eight going down while seven coming up. （5）他这一阵，心头如同十五个吊桶打水——七上八下，老是宁静不下来。His mind was in turmoil these days and he was quite unable to think straight.

The fourth example uses foreignization to retain the two images of "fifteen buckets" and "seven up and eight down"; the fifth example uses domestication, abandons the image of the original text, and directly translates it into a more native phrase "in turmoil". Should foreignization or domestication be adopted in the translation of Chinese Xiehouyu? When do translators use foreignization and when do they use domestication? It depends on the purpose of translation, the characteristics of the translated works and the readers the works are facing with. "If the purpose is to convey culture and let English readers understand and learn Chinese culture, foreignization should be adopted" (Huan Yahui, 2004, 118).

For example, （4）那胡正卿心头 “十五个吊桶打水——七上八下” Hu Chengching was very much upset by this and his heart was beating like fifteen buckets being hurriedly lowered into a well for water——eight going down while seven coming up. （5）他这一阵，心头如同十五个吊桶打水——七上八下，老是宁静不下来。His mind was in turmoil these days and he was quite unable to think straight.

The fourth example uses foreignization to retain the two images of "fifteen buckets" and "seven up and eight down"; the fifth example uses domestication, abandons the image of the original text, and directly translates it into a more native phrase "in turmoil". Should foreignization or domestication be adopted in the translation of Chinese Xiehouyu? When do translators use foreignization and when do they use domestication? It depends on the purpose of translation, the characteristics of the translated works and the readers the works are facing with. "If the purpose is to convey culture and let English readers understand and learn Chinese culture, foreignization should be adopted" (Huan Yahui 2004, 118). --Deng Jinxia (talk) 08:14, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

For example, the Chinese English Dictionary of Xiehouyu compiled by Guo Zhuzhang and Luo Shenghao, and 100 Xiehouyu translated by Jia Cen are designed to let English readers understand and learn Chinese culture, so they mostly adopt the strategy of foreignization. Foreignization can also be used if the features and images of the source language are retained in translation, which will not affect the communication of information and conform to the language usage of the target language (Huan Yahui, 2004, 119).

For example, the C-E Dictionary of Xiehouyu compiled by Guo Zhuzhang and Luo Shenghao, and 100 Xiehouyu translated by Jia Cen are designed to let English readers understand and learn Chinese culture, so they mostly adopt the strategy of foreignization. Foreignization can also be used if the features and images of the source language are retained in translation, which will not affect the communication of information and conform to the language usage of the target language (Huan Yahui 2004, 119).--Deng Jinxia (talk) 08:14, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

For example, （6）咱们俩的事，一条绳上拴着两只蚂蚱——谁也跑不了！We're like two grasshoppers tied to one cord，neither can get away! （7）去设埋伏我们都没有信心，想必他一定在昨天晚上就早溜了，今天去也是瞎子点灯——白费蜡。We had no confidence in today's ambush because we were sure he had escaped last night. It seemed as useless as a blind man lighting a candle.

In the process of translation, the translator retains the unique language form of the original text, which not only will not affect the communication of information, but also can promote the exchange of culture and thought, giving the target readers a similar aesthetic enjoyment. Because those vivid metaphors in the original text are the products of human common thinking and they can be understood and accepted by readers in other countries. (Zhou Ningqi, 2008，152)

In the process of translation, the translators retain the unique language form of the original text, which not only will not affect the communication of information, but also can promote the exchange of culture and thought, giving the target readers a similar aesthetic enjoyment. Because those vivid metaphors in the original text are the products of common human thinking and they can be understood and accepted by readers in other countries. (Zhou Ningqi 2008, 152)--Deng Jinxia (talk) 08:14, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

However, if a literary work is translated and the readers of the translated text are only for the sake of appreciating the work or even for entertainment, domestication should be adopted. (Zhou Ningqi, 2008，152)

However, if a literary work is translated and the readers of the translated text are only for the sake of appreciating the work or even for entertainment, domestication should be adopted. (Zhou Ningqi 2008，152)--Deng Jinxia (talk) 08:14, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

For example: （8）你别狗咬吕洞宾——不识好人心。我是好心好意劝你，倒粘到我身上来了。Don't snarp and snarl at me when I’m trying to do my best for you. I give you my advice with the best will in the world and you turn round and lay the blame on me.

This example refers to a character in Chinese mythology. If it is translated literally for the purpose of preserving the cultural information of the original text, it is necessary not only to annotate who Lu Dongbin is, but also to explain to foreign readers the allusion that Lu Dongbin is willing to do good deeds. (Yang Hongwei & Li Yadan,2004,84)

This example refers to a character in Chinese mythology. If it is translated literally for the purpose of preserving the cultural information of the original text, it is necessary not only to annotate who Lu Dongbin is, but also to explain to foreign readers the allusion that Lu Dongbin is willing to do good deeds. (Yang Hongwei & Li Yadan 2004,84)--Deng Jinxia (talk) 08:14, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

In fact, the origin of the Chinese Xiehouyu is not important here. It is better to discard its cultural background knowledge and translate it directly into "don't snarp and snarl at me", which ensures the effective transmission of key information and makes the translation concise and fluent. Although the cultural reference of "狗咬吕洞宾" is not reflected in the translation of this saying, the translator uses the verbs "snarp" and "snarl" to vividly depict the dog biting and barking, which, to some extent, reproduces the vivid and figurative rhetorical effect achieved by the use of Xiehouyu in the original text. (Yang Hongwei & Li Yadan,2004,84)

In fact, the origin of the Chinese Xiehouyu is not important here. It is better to discard its cultural background knowledge and translate it directly into "don't snarp and snarl at me", which ensures the effective transmission of key information and makes the translation concise and fluent. Although the cultural reference of "狗咬吕洞宾" is not reflected in the translation of this saying, the translator uses the verbs "snarp" and "snarl" to vividly depict the dog biting and barking, which, to some extent, reproduces the vivid and the figurative rhetorical effect achieved by the use of Xiehouyu in the original text. (Yang Hongwei & Li Yadan 2004,84)--Deng Jinxia (talk) 08:14, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

（9）我们有些同志喜欢写文章但是没有什么内容，真是“懒婆娘的裹脚——又长又臭”。 Some comrades love to write long articles，but such articles are exactly like the foot-bandages of a slut（the cloth used for women’s foot in ancient China），Long and smelly（implies the articles are long and dull）.

（9）我们有些同志喜欢写文章但是没有什么内容，真是“懒婆娘的裹脚——又长又臭”。 Some comrades love to write long articles，but such articles are exactly like the foot-bandages of a slut（the cloth used for women’s foot in ancient China），It's long and smelly（implies the articles are long and dull）.--Deng Jinxia (talk) 08:14, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

A translation is full of long, boring words and obscure annotations that can be daunting to the reader. It can be better to translate the sentence into “these articles are dull and overelaborate”. Through a lot of translation practice, the translation strategies of foreignization and domestication in the translation of Chinese Xiehouyu can be summarized as follows. (Qi Dehui, 2011, 111)

A translation is full of long, boring words and obscure annotations that can be daunting to the reader. It can be better to translate the sentence into “these articles are dull and overelaborate”. Through a lot of translation practice, the translation strategies of foreignization and domestication in the translation of Chinese Xiehouyu can be summarized as follows. (Qi Dehui 2011, 111)--Deng Jinxia (talk) 08:14, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

4.1.1 Literal Translation

Most Xiehouyu use vivid metaphors, whose metaphorical meaning is referred as general things or common sense. When the metaphorical relationship is clear, literal translation is generally adopted as long as it does not affect the understanding of the target language readers, that is to say, literal translation is adopted without too much extension and explanation, so as to retain both the content and the form of the source language. It is not only faithful to the original text, but also vivid and easy for the target language readers to read and appreciate. (Qi Dehui, 2011, 111)

Most Xiehouyu use vivid metaphors, whose metaphorical meaning is referred to general things or common sense. When the metaphorical relationship is clear, literal translation is generally adopted as long as it does not affect the understanding of the original text, that is to say, literal translation is adopted without too much extension and explanation, so as to retain both the content and the form of the source language. It is not only faithful to the original text, but also vivid and easy for the target language readers to read and appreciate. (Qi Dehui 2011, 111)--Deng Jinxia (talk) 08:20, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

For example, （10）瘫子掉在井里——捞起也是坐。（Even if a paralytic falls into a well，he can be no worse off than before.）(Yang Xianyi & Dai Naidie,1986) （11）竹篮打水——一场空。（Drawing water from a bamboo basket——all in vain. ） （12）哑巴梦见妈——说不出来的苦。（Like a dumb man dreaming of his mother，he could not express his despair! ）

For example, （10）瘫子掉在井里——捞起也是坐。（If a paralytic falls into a well，he can be no worse off than before.）(Yang Xianyi & Dai Naidie,1986) （11）竹篮打水——一场空。（Drawing water from a bamboo basket——all in vain. ） （12）哑巴梦见妈——说不出来的苦。（Like a dumb man dreaming of his mother，he could not express his despair! ）--Deng Jinxia (talk) 08:20, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

The above three cases are translated by Yang Xianyi. The translator adopts literal translation to keep the original style of the source language and strive to meet the expectations of the target language readers for heterogeneity. (Qi Dehui, 2011, 112)

The above three cases are translated by Yang Xianyi. The translator adopts literal translation to keep the original style of the source language and strive to meet the expectations of the target language readers for heterogeneity. (Qi Dehui 2011, 112)--Deng Jinxia (talk) 08:20, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

4.1.2 Literal Translation with Notes

In Chinese, idioms with a dog are generally derogatory, such as "狼心狗肺、狗腿子、狗仗人势、狗头军师", and so on. However, in English, the words and sentences about dog are often positive, such as "every dog has its day." Western readers may not understand the differences between the two languages and cultures. Therefore, in the translation with foreignization, literal translation with notes should be adopted to fully express the original meaning and metaphorical meaning of Chinese Xiehouyu. For example, "狗戴帽子——装人" is a taunt. It can be translated as " A dog is wearing a cap —— pretending to be a human being （an insult）." In this way, the English reader would not be misunderstood. (Zhou Ningqi, 2008，153)

In addition, some Xiehouyu with allusions are often literally translated with notes, so as not to make English readers feel puzzled.

In Chinese, idioms about dog are generally derogatory, such as "狼心狗肺"、"狗腿子"、"狗仗人势"、"狗头军师", and so on. However, in English, the words and sentences about dog are often positive, such as "every dog has its day." Western readers may not understand the differences between the two languages and cultures. Therefore, in the translation with foreignization, literal translation with notes should be adopted to fully express the original meaning and metaphorical meaning of the Chinese Xiehouyu. For example, "狗戴帽子——装人" is a taunt. It can be translated as " A dog is wearing a cap —— pretending to be a human being （an insult）." In this way, the English reader would not misunderstand its meaning. (Zhou Ningqi, 2008，153)--Deng Jinxia (talk) 08:45, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

In addition, some Xiehouyu with allusions are often literally translated with notes, so as not to make English readers feel puzzled.

For example, （13）周瑜打黄盖——一个愿打，一个愿挨。 Box on the ear was skillfully given by a Chou Yu and gladly taken by a Huang Kai.（A fourteenth century novel based on events which took place in the third century A.D. Chou Yu of the Kingdom Wu had Huang Kai，another of Wu general，cruelly beaten，and then sent him to the enemy camp in order to deceive the enemy.）

For example, （13）周瑜打黄盖——一个愿打，一个愿挨。 Box on the ear was skillfully given by Chou Yu and gladly taken by Huang Kai.（A fourteenth century novel based on events which took place in the third century A.D. Chou Yu of the Kingdom Wu had Huang Kai，another of Wu general，cruelly beaten，and then sent him to the enemy camp in order to deceive the enemy.）--Deng Jinxia (talk) 08:45, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

4.2.1 Free Translation

Free translation mainly refers to grasping the content and metaphorical meaning in translation, combining with the context, and flexibly conveying the meaning. (Guo Jianzhong, 1996, 13)

For example, （14）我这个人你也知道。说话向来是袖筒里入槌——直出直入。(You know me——I speak frankly and to the point.)

（15）他必审问我，我给他个“徐庶入曹营”——一言不发。(He sure to ask questions but I'll hold my tongue to begin with.)

（16）穷棒子闹翻身，是八仙过海，各显神通。(When we pass from the old society to the new one，each of us shows his true worth.)

（17）我们校队近年来可是“孔夫子搬家——净是（输）书。”(Our school team has kept losing in the recent years.)

Free translation mainly refers to grasping the content and metaphorical meaning when transalating by combining with the context, which flexibly conveys the meaning. (Guo Jianzhong, 1996, 13)

For example, （14）我这个人你也知道。说话向来是袖筒里入槌——直出直入。(You know me——I speak frankly to the point.)

（15）他必审问我，我给他个“徐庶入曹营”——一言不发。(He is sure to ask questions but I'll hold my tongue.)

（16）穷棒子闹翻身，是八仙过海，各显神通。(When we pass from the old society to the new one，each of us shows his true worth.)

（17）我们校队近年来可是“孔夫子搬家——净是（输）书。”(Our school team has kept losing in the recent years.)--Deng Jinxia (talk) 08:56, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

4.2.2 Combination of literal and free translation

While literal translation is adopted to retain the metaphorical image of the original text, free translation is also used, sometimes with some appropriate supplement, so that the translation can convey the meaning of the original text more clearly. Chinese Xiehouyu often carries a deep historical and cultural implication. It is very difficult to transfer the loaded cultural information in Chinese Xiehouyu into English. (Gao Yun & Yu Jie, 2004, 126)

While the literal translation is adopted to retain the metaphorical image of the original text, free translation is also used, sometimes with some appropriate supplement, so that the translation can convey the meaning of the original text more clearly. The Chinese Xiehouyu often carries a deep historical and cultural implication. It is very difficult to transfer the loaded cultural information in Chinese Xiehouyu into English. (Gao Yun & Yu Jie 2004, 126)

Some Xiehouyu with strong national cultural features lie in the image and style, and the translation should be based on the premise of being faithful to the meaning expressed in the original text. Literal translation should be followed by free translation to show its metaphorical meaning ". The combination of literal translation and free translation is undoubtedly one of the effective means of cultural compensation, which not only keeps the metaphorical image of the source language, but also maintains the integrity of the cultural content. (Qi Dehui, 2011, 112)

Some Xiehouyu has strong national cultural features in the image and style, and the translation should be based on the premise of being faithful to the meaning expressed in the original text. Literal translation should be followed by a free translation to show its metaphorical meaning. The combination of literal translation and free translation is undoubtedly one of the effective means of cultural compensation, which not only keeps the metaphorical image of the source language, but also maintains the integrity of the cultural content. (Qi Dehui 2011, 112) --Deng Jinxia (talk) 09:12, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

For example, （18）我说二三百两银子，你就说二三十两，戴着斗笠亲嘴——差着一帽子。 (When I say two or three hundred taels，you say twenty or thirty! It's like kissing in straw helmets——the lips are far apart!) （19）兔子的尾巴——长不了（Guo Jiangzhong, 1996, 12）(The tail of a rabbit can't be long——won't last long.)

For example, （18）我说二三百两银子，你就说二三十两，戴着斗笠亲嘴——差着一帽子。 (When I say two or three hundred taels，you say twenty or thirty! It's like kissing with straw helmets——the lips are far apart!) （19）兔子的尾巴——长不了(The tail of a rabbit can't be long—— something won't last long.) （Guo Jiangzhong, 1996, 12）--Deng Jinxia (talk) 09:12, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

4.2.3 Equivalent Translation

Some English idioms and some Chinese Xiehouyu use the same or similar metaphors to express the same or similar metaphorical meanings, in this case, may as well borrow English synonym idioms to translate them. That is to change the original image of the vehicle in translation and translate it with a metaphor familiar to English readers. That is to say, the target text and the original text adopt different vehicles to create the same image, convey the same spirit and achieve the same effect. (Qi Dehui, 2011, 112)

Some English idioms and some Chinese Xiehouyu use the same or similar metaphors to express the same or similar metaphorical meanings. In this case, borrowing English synonym idioms to translate them is proper as well. That is to change the original image of the vehicle in translation and translate it with a metaphor familiar to English readers. That is to say, the target text and the original text adopt different vehicles to create the same image, convey the same spirit and achieve the same effect. (Qi Dehui 2011, 112)--Deng Jinxia (talk) 09:18, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

For example, （20）冰冻三尺——非一日之寒。 (Rome was not built in a day.) （21）肉包子打狗——一去不回头。（A dog given a bone that doesn't come back for more.） （22）脱裤子放屁——多此一举。(To carry coals to Newcastle.)

When using English idioms to translate Chinese Xiehouyu, we should pay attention to the rhetorical features. If the rhetorical feature of two languages is different, we cannot apply it. For example, "老王卖瓜——自卖自夸" must be translated into “No man cries stinky Fish”, because the former has a positive meaning, while the latter does not. （Ling Li,2004,59）

When using English idioms to translate Chinese Xiehouyu, we should pay attention to the rhetorical features. If the rhetorical features of two languages are different, we cannot apply it. For example, "老王卖瓜——自卖自夸" must be translated into “No man cries stinky Fish”, for the former has a positive meaning, while the latter does not. （Ling Li 2004,59）--Deng Jinxia (talk) 09:18, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

4.2.4 Omission

Omission refers to the deletion of certain words from the original text, not to delete the original text, but to leave out the words that are self-evident in the translation, or to leave out words that are too cumbersome or not suitable for English expression. This method is especially suitable for the translation of some Chinese Xiehouyu. (Zhou Ningqi, 2008，152)

Omission refers to the deletion of certain words from the original text. It is not to delete the original text, but to leave out the words that are self-evident in the translation, or to leave out words that are too cumbersome or not suitable for English expression. This strategy is especially suitable for the translation of some Chinese Xiehouyu. (Zhou Ningqi, 2008，152)

For example, （23）癞蛤蟆想吃天鹅肉——痴心妄想。 (You are like a toad trying to swallow a swan.) （24）赔了夫人又折兵——双重损失。 (You’ve lost the campaign and your wife into the bargain.)

The metaphorical meanings of the above two examples are quite obvious. The target language readers can infer the figurative meaning directly from the image of the vehicle or from the context of Chinese Xiehouyu, so only the metaphorical part can be translated.(Yang & Dai,1986)

The metaphorical meanings of the above two examples are quite obvious. The target language readers can infer the figurative meaning directly from the image of the vehicle or from the context of Chinese Xiehouyu, so only the metaphorical part can be translated.(Yang & Dai 1986)--Deng Jinxia (talk) 09:24, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

To sum up, in the translation of Chinese Xiehouyu, attention should be paid to the similarity of form and spirit, so that the surface and deep meanings can be expressed accurately, clearly and vividly. Therefore, we should flexibly adopt the methods of straightness and explanation (free translation and annotation) to truly show the stylistic and pragmatic characteristics of Chinese Xiehouyu. Moreover, the translation of Chinese Xiehouyu must take into account its unique language form and distinct cultural background, and try to translate its metaphorical meaning of as accurately and appropriately as possible, which is the key to the good translation of Xiehouyu. (Liu Na, 2016,19)

To sum up, in the translation of Chinese Xiehouyu, attention should be paid to the similarity of form and spirit, so that the surface and deep meanings can be expressed accurately, clearly and vividly. Therefore, we should flexibly adopt the strategies of free translation andliteral translation to truly show the stylistic and pragmatic characteristics of the Chinese Xiehouyu. Moreover, the translation of the Chinese Xiehouyu must take into account its unique language form and distinct cultural background, and try to translate its metaphorical meaning as accurately and appropriately as possible, which is the key to translating Xiehouyu well. (Liu Na 2016,19) --Deng Jinxia (talk) 09:24, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

Conclusion

In the cultural perspective translation is a communicating process, in which the choosing of translation strategies is of vitality. In the communication of western and Chinese culture, we should absorb the quintessence and abolish what is old and establish in its place the new order of things. When we learn from the languages and cultures of different nationalities, we should also be openminded and inclusive.

In the cultural perspective translation is a communicating process, in which the choosing of translation strategies is of vitality. In the communication of western and Chinese culture, we should absorb the quintessence and abolish what is old and establish in its place the new order of things. When we learn about the languages and cultures of different nationalities, we should also be open-minded and inclusive. --Deng Jinxia (talk) 09:44, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

In the translation field, literary translation has always occupied an important position, and the research on literary translation is the most active and developed at all times and in all countries. The translation of Chinese Xiehouyu can lay a theoretical foundation for better learning other languages. The translation of Chinese Xiehouyu is not only the conversion between two languages, but also the interlingual activity of cultural exchange between the two nations. Starting from the two languages, we should not only learn our own language, but also have a deep and profound understanding of our own culture. Thus, we can be easier to translate Chinese Xiehouyu into English by narrowing cultural gap and eliminate the obstacles of language.

In the translation field, literary translation has always occupied an important position, and the research on literary translation is active at all times and in all countries. The translation of the Chinese Xiehouyu can lay a theoretical foundation for better learning other languages. The translation of Chinese Xiehouyu is not only the conversion between two languages, but also the interlingual activity of cultural exchange between the two nations. We should not only learn our own language, but also have a deep and profound understanding of our own culture. Thus, we can narrow the cultural gap and eliminate the obstacles of language by translating Chinese Xiehouyu into English.--Deng Jinxia (talk) 09:44, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

The translation of Xiehouyu is flexible，which needs surmount double barriers to language and culture and adopt different translation methods according to different situations. In order to convey Chinese culture and let English readers understand and learn Chinese culture, foreignization should be adopted. Moreover, those which is vivid and easy to understand should retain their original content and form, and foreignization can also be adopted for literal translation.

The translation of Xiehouyu is flexible, which needs surmount double barriers of language and culture and adopt different translation strategies according to different situations. In order to convey Chinese culture and let English readers understand and learn Chinese culture, foreignization should be adopted. Moreover, those which is vivid and easy to understand should retain their original content and form.--Deng Jinxia (talk) 09:44, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

However, domestication should be adopted when translating literary works. For example, due to the cultural and linguistic differences, some Xiehouyu can be translated with the strategy of domestication, which is easier to be accepted by the target language readers; for metaphorical Xiehouyu and paronomasia Xiehouyu with strong national characteristics, literal and free translation can be used with the strategy of foreignization.

However, domestication should be adopted when translating literary works. For example, due to the cultural and linguistic differences, some Xiehouyu can be translated with the strategy of domestication, which is easier to be accepted by the target language readers; for metaphorical Xiehouyu and paronomasia Xiehouyu with strong national characteristics, literal and free translation can be used with the strategy of foreignization.

However, domestication should be adopted when translating literary works. For example, due to the cultural and linguistic differences, some Xiehouyu can be translated with the strategy of domestication, which is easier to be accepted by the target language readers; For metaphorical Xiehouyu and paronomasia Xiehouyu with strong national characteristics, literal translation and free translation can be used.--Deng Jinxia (talk) 09:44, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

In a word, as far as the structure of the target language are concerned, the phrases and sentences are all in line with the translation standards. Chinese Xiehouyu not only carries the wisdom of Chinese predecessors, but also reflects the profound culture, history and thinking mode of the Chinese nation from different perspective. In the process of translation, the translator should try to keep the style of the original work, focus on the target language readers, and translate the Chinese Xiehouyu appropriately to avoid wrong translation, overtranslation or undertranslation.

In a word, as far as the structure of the target language are concerned, the phrases and sentences are all in line with the translation standards. Chinese Xiehouyu not only carries the wisdom of Chinese predecessors, but also reflects the profound culture, history and thinking mode of the Chinese nation from a different perspective. In the process of translation, the translator should try to keep the style of the original work, focus on the target language readers, and translate the Chinese Xiehouyu appropriately to avoid wrong translation, overtranslation or undertranslation.--Deng Jinxia (talk) 09:44, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

Therefore, the translation of Chinese Xiehouyu must take into account its unique language form and distinct cultural background, and try to translate its metaphorical meaning as accurately and appropriately as possible, which is the key to the good translation of Chinese Xiehouyu.

Therefore, the translation of the Chinese Xiehouyu must take into account its unique language form and distinct cultural background, and try to translate its metaphorical meaning as accurately and appropriately as possible, which is the key to the good translation of Chinese Xiehouyu.(与上文重复）--Deng Jinxia (talk) 09:44, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

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A Brief Analysis of Domestication and Foreignization in the Translation of Chinese Idioms Zou Xinyu 邹鑫雨 202070080633, MTI英语笔译

邹鑫雨 Zou Xinyu, No.202070080633.

Abstract

The translation of Chinese idioms has something to do with cultural differences of English and Chinese. To appositely adjust cultural differences between English and Chinese, a large number of translators use two translation strategies: domestication and foreignization, when translating Chinese idioms.

Domestication and foreignization are two kinds of translation strategies which are culture-oriented. This paper will make an introduction of domestication and foreignization in the first part, and then will introduce the definition and cultural connotations of Chinese idioms. Then, it will discuss the application of these two translation strategies to Chinese idioms by taking some examples so that the author of this paper can make a brief analysis of the relativity of these two translation strategies, domestication and foreignization, and learn how to select proper translation strategies to translate Chinese idioms.

The study of the translation of Chinese idioms is conducive to the development of language, which will promote international exchanges and cooperation as well as the innovation of translation methods, thus deepening the organic integration of two translation strategies of domestication and foreignization in the translation of idioms and promoting the research and development of translation.

Key Words

Domestication; Foreignization; Chinese Idioms; Translation

题目

浅析汉语习语翻译的归化异化

摘要

汉语习语的翻译涉及到英汉文化差异。为了适当地调和英汉文化之间的差异，许多译者采用了归化和异化的翻译策略。

归化和异化是两种以文化为导向的翻译策略，本文第一部分先介绍归化异化两种策略，紧接着在第二部分从含义、文化内涵方面对汉语习语进行了介绍，然后通过举例来探讨这两种翻译策略在汉语习语翻译中的运用，从而分析出这两种翻译策略的相关性以及如何选取合适的翻译策略来翻译汉语习语。

对汉语习语翻译的研究有利于语言的发展，促进国际间的交流与合作，推进翻译方法的革新，加深归化异化两种翻译策略在习语翻译中的有机融合，推动翻译的研究与发展。

关键词

归化；异化；汉语习语；翻译

Chapter1 Domestication and Foreignization

Domestication and foreignization are two different translation strategies, they are commonly used in the translation of Chinese idioms. In this chapter, the author will introduce the definition of domestication and foreignization, and then will present the debates on these two translation strategies.

The Definition of Domestication and Foreignization

Domestication is a term used by Lawrence Venuti, American translation theorist, to describe the translation strategy in which a transparent, fluent style is adopted to minimize the strangeness of the foreign text for readers of target language (Venuti 1995, 19-20). Venuti believes domestication originated from Friedrich Schleiermacher's famous notion of the translation which "leaves the reader in peace, as much as possible, and moves the author towards him" (Schleiermacher 1838/1963, 47; 1838/1977, 74).

From Venuti's perspective, domestication has negative connotations as it's regarded as a policy common in dominant cultures which are "aggressively monolingual, unreceptive to the foreign", and which he describes as being "accustomed to fluent translation that invisibly inscribe foreign texts with values of target language and provide readers with the narcissistic experience of recognizing their own culture in a culture order" (Venuti 1995, 15).

According to Venuti, domestication is the predominant translation strategy in Anglo-American culture, and he argues that this is consistent with the unbalanced relation between Anglo-American culture and other cultures. He further points out that domestication has widely served domestic affairs, therefore it's necessary to adopt other translation strategies to challenge the domination of domestication (Venuti 1995, 15).

Foreignization is a term used by Lawrence Venuti to describe the translation strategy in which a target text is produced which deliberately breaks target conventions by retaining something of the foreignness of the origin text (Venuti 1995, 19-20). Venuti asserts foreignization is derived from the translation type, stated by Schleiermacher, in which "the translator leaves the author in peace, as much as possible, and moves the reader towards him" (Schleiermacher 1838/1963, 47; 1838/1977, 74).

As far as Venuti is concerned, he describes foreignization as an "ethnodeviant pressure" (Venuti 1995, 20), and thus considers it can "register the linguistic and cultural difference of the foreign text, sending the reader abroad" (Venuti 1995, 20). In specific terms foreignization means not only the freedom from the absolute restriction of target language and texts, but the selection of an non-fluent, opaque style in some appropriate situations and the deliberate accumulation of "Realia" of source language or "Archaisms" of target language, which would provide readers of target language with an "alien reading experience" (Venuti 1995, 20).

The Debates on Domestication and Foreignization

There has been a long-standing debate about how to deal with cultural differences in translation. There are many scholars, such as John Dryden, Alexander Tytler, Denham, Lefevere, Frere, who approved of domestication. Domestication has been in the dominant position for a long time. To begin with, translation theorists like Cicero, Saint Jeromi and Quintilian raised some ideas about word-for-word translation and sense-for-sense translation. Considered from the theories they put forward, they favored free translation (Schulte & Biguenet ‚1992, 13).

As is well-known, Eugene A. Nida proposed the concept of functional equivalence. From his perspectives, translation is communication, in which what really matters is what people get when they listen, speak and read the translated text. Translation shouldn't be judged by the comparison of the corresponding lexical meanings, grammatical categories and rhetorical devices, but by the extent to which the recipient correctly understands and appreciates the translated text. The purpose of Nida's functional equivalence theory is that the expression of the translated text should be completely natural, so that the readers can better understand the original text through domestication translation, thus avoiding cultural conflicts, eliminating the gap, and finally achieving the purpose of cultural exchange (Nida ‚1993, 118).

The supporters of domestication hold the view that the translator should take readers into consideration, and if the content of the translation is not within the reader's understanding, the effect of translation and communication will not be achieved, and secondly the translator should try to avoid cultural conflicts, and in the process of translation, the translator should constantly get closer to the target reader, so that the target reader can read the translation with the same effect as the reader of the original text. Thirdly, each language has its own cultural connotation, so if there is a cultural gap between the two languages, foreignization will not only result in a non-fluent translation, but also in the reader's unacceptability of the translation. Last but not least, it cannot be realized to find the completely equivalent word in another language, so to avoid producing opaque translations, it's no doubt that domestication is a better choice (Chan 2004, 171).

Foreignization started later than domestication, and gained much popularity in the 20th century. Many scholars' translations embody this translation strategy, including many of Ezra Pound's translations and Nabokov's famous literal translation of Pushkin's Eugene Onegin (Mark Shuttleworth & Moira Cowie 2004, 59).

Lawrence Venuti firstly defined foreignization and was a representative of foreignization. Venuti described foreignization in his book The Translator's Invisibility as "a form of resistance, which is against ethnocentrism, racism, cultural narcissism and imperialism, in the interests of democratic geopolitical relations" (Venuti 1995, 20). He proposed a translation theory and practice that opposes translation fluency and aims not to eliminate linguistic and cultural differences in translation, but to express such linguistic and cultural differences in translation. This is also one of the basic ideas of deconstructionist translation thought. It's said by Venuti that "the aim of opposing domestication and advocating foreignization is to develop a translation theory and practice that resists the predominance of cultural values of the target language, thus expressing the linguistic and cultural differences of foreign texts" (Venuti 1995, 20). Foreignization is premised on the belief that cultures differ from each other and that communication is complicated by cultural differences between and within linguistic communities. Foreignization is to recognize and tolerate the differences and to express the cultural differences in the target language.

People who favor of foreignization hold the following reasons. Firstly, the translator should make every effort to be faithful to the original work in the translation, and the content of the original work should be reproduced to the maximum extent. If the translator fails to reach this, then the translation will be considered as faithful. Secondly, adding the expression of source language into target language will enrich the target language. Thirdly, the purpose of readers' reading translations is to learn about foreign cultures, which foreignization can help to realize. Foreignization attempts to keep the characteristics of the source language (孙致礼 2002, 40-44). The debate between domestication and foreignization has still continued until the 21st century.

Chapter2 The Definition and Cultural Connotations of Chinese Idioms

It is of great importance to have an understanding of Chinese idioms before analyzing domestication and foreignization in the translation of Chinese idioms. Chinese idioms are closely related to various Chinese cultures. Domestication and foreignization are commonly used by translators in dealing with cultural factors in translation. Therefore, in this chapter, the author will introduce the definition and cultural connotations of Chinese idioms.

The Definition of Chinese Idioms

According to Modern Chinese Dictionary, Chinese idioms are "concise and meaningful phrases or short sentences that have been in long public usage" (Dictionary Editorial Office, Institute of Linguistics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences 2002, 248).

In The New Oxford Dictionary of English, idiom is "a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words; a form of expression natural to a language, a person, or group of people" (Hanks 2001, 908).

As is defined in Webster's New World Dictionary of the American (1972), idiom means "an accepted phrase, construction, or expression contrary to the usual patterns of the language or having a meaning different from the literal".

These definitions all mention that idioms are formed in the long process that people use languages, and they cannot be understood from their literal words because they are closely related to the culture. Thus, the cultural characteristics must be taken into consideration.

The Cultural Connotations of Chinese Idioms

In this section, the author will divide the cultural connotation of Chinese idioms into four groups: geographical culture, conventional culture, historical culture and religious culture.

For Chinese idioms reflecting geographical culture, they are created in China's particular geographical environment. China has been a big country dominated by agriculture since ancient times, and the agricultural population accounts for a large proportion. Therefore, a large part of Chinese idioms is related to agriculture. They are the crystallization of the extremely rich wisdom accumulated by the working people in the productive labor for generations. For example, those who engage in agriculture will say: "靠山吃山，靠水吃水" (One has to make use of whatever resources available.), "种瓜得瓜，种豆得豆" (What goes around comes around.), "一日之计在于晨" (An hour in the morning is worth two in the evening.) (Qiu Nengsheng, Qiu Xiaoqin 2019, 52).

For Chinese idioms reflecting conventional culture, they derive from Chinese national customs in the social life. Chinese people are made of fifty-six ethnic groups, and each group has its own customs. Just in Han, there are many types of customs such as marriage customs, drinking customs, funeral customs, etc. Among these different aspects of customs, people create abundant Chinese idioms. For an instance, "红运当头" which means one has a good fortune, "开门红" which means to make a good start (Qiu Jixin 2002, 45).

For Chinese idioms reflecting historical culture, they originate from Chinese long-run national history and culture. An important element of Chinese idioms reflecting historical culture is the historical allusions and fables. They are treasures of Chinese national history and culture, with strong national colors and distinctive cultural personalities, containing rich historical and cultural information, and reflecting the characteristics of historical cultures. Many idioms of this type come from historical allusions and fables. For an instance, "万事俱备，只欠东风" comes from the Battle of the Red Cliff, "八仙过海，各显神通" reflects the content of Chinese traditional myths and legends (Zhang Ning 1999, 24).

For Chinese idioms reflecting religious culture, they mainly come from Buddhism and Taoism. Confucius and Mencius are considered as saints by Chinese people. Many Chinese idioms reflecting religious culture contain "佛" (Buddha), "庙" (temple) and "和尚" (monk or bonze). For example, "临时抱佛脚" (embrace Buddha's feet in one's hour of need) which means seeking help at the last moment, "放下屠刀，立地成佛" (drop one's cleaver and become a Buddha) which means achieving salvation as soon as one give up evil (Wang Fang 2001, 35).

Chapter3 The Application of Domestication and Foreignization in Chinese Idioms' Translation

In the translation of Chinese idioms, Foreignization and domestication are not mutually exclusive translation strategies. Instead, they can work together to help to produce better translations. In this chapter, the author will present specific examples of the application of these two translation strategies in Chinese idioms’ translation.

The Application of Domestication in Chinese Idioms Translation

我要有个[三长两短]，你给玉山捎个话！(杜鹏程《保卫延安》)

Translation: If [anything should happen] to me, let Yushan know!

The meaning of "三长两短" cannot be understood from its literal words. If the idiom is translated into "three long and two short things", the target readers will feel confused. Therefore, it's more appropriate to use domestication in the translation. Though the national feature may not be expressed in the translation, domestication makes the translation more fluent and comprehensive.

她怕[碰一鼻子灰]，话到嘴边，她又把它吞了下去。(茅盾《子夜》)

Translation: She was afraid of [being snubbed], so she swallowed the words that came to her lips.

The image of "碰一鼻子灰" is to have one's nose rubbed in the dirt, which is difficult for the target reader to understand what it means, so it's necessary to abandon the original image and to express its meaning to the target reader.

运涛好久不来信了，一家子[盼了星星盼月亮]。(梁斌《红旗谱》)

Translation: For many months no letter came from Yuntao till his whole family [worried over him day and night].

The translation gives up seeking a consistent form with the original text, instead it chooses to find a functionally similar expression to convey the emotion of the original sentence, giving the target reader the same feeling as the readers of the original text have.

等他们赶来营救时，已是[正月十五贴门神——晚了半月]啦。

Translation: But they were [too late] for a rescue.

Two-part allegorical sayings (xiehouyu) are unique to the Chinese language, and are in the unique structural form with strong national characteristics. Because of the double barriers of language form and culture, translators sometimes have to abandon the unique structural form and national characteristics of two-part allegorical sayings and adopt the translation strategy of domestication, which is to only translate its meaning, and abandon the metaphor and metonymy of it.

一剑剁去随手而倒。霎时觉来，乃[南柯一梦]，口中犹骂，操贼不止。(罗贯中《三国演义》)

Translation: Dong Cheng cried to Cao, chopping at him with his blade. Cao crumbled in the wake of the blow, as Cheng repeated the words "traitor, traitor" until he had awoken from [the empty dream].

This idiom mainly talks about that Chun Yufen had a dream of becoming a sheriff of Nanke County and living a wealthy life. However, when he woke up, he found out that it was just a dream. Later, people use "南柯一梦" to refer to a dream, or a metaphor for a happy air. The target reader who has no knowledge of the background of this idiom will have difficulty acquiring the meaning. Under this circumstance, it's a better choice to adopt domestication.

The translation strategy of domestication is to grasp the important aspect of the content and metaphor of idioms. When using domestication, the translator sometimes has to sacrifice the image and needs to combine the context to convey metaphors flexibly. One of the responsibilities of the translator is to avoid cultural conflicts leading to misunderstanding of the translation. When translating a text into another culture, the translator must carefully weigh the connotation of ideology in the culture. If the content and form expressed in the translation are within the knowledge range of the target reader's understanding of the real world, it will be easier for the reader to understand them (许建平 2004, 8).

English and Chinese idioms belong to different languages ​​and are produced under different cultural backgrounds. If the foreignization translation method is overemphasized, it will increase the reader's unfamiliarity with the translation, increase the difficulty of readers' acceptance, and hinder the mutual communication and penetration between different countries and nations. Therefore, according to the national psychology of the target language, if the foreignization cannot be expressed clearly, the domestication translation strategy can be adopted so that the reader can appreciate and grasp the meaning of the original text (Chan 2004, 104).

The Application of Foreignization in Chinese Idioms Translation

“他一家子在这，他的房子、地在这儿，他跑？[跑了和尚跑不了庙]。”(周立波《暴风骤雨》)

Translation: "Escape? But his home and property can't escape. [The monk may run away, but the temple can't run with him]".

咳，这一来，[竹篮子打水一场空了]！(梁斌《红旗谱》)

Translation: Ah! We were [drawing water in a baboo basket].

特别是她那时的“密司林佩瑶”，禀受了父亲的名士气质，曾经[架起了多少的空中楼阁]…… (茅盾《子夜》)

Translation: She herself, Miss Lin Pei-yao, endowed with her scholarly father's idealistic temperament, was especially fond of [building castles in the air]...

Because people's feelings, perceptions of objective things and social experiences have many similarities, there are a small number of idioms that are identical or similar in English and Chinese idioms. These idioms have the same or similar figurative meaning, and the same implied meaning, which means that the literal and figurative meanings of these idioms convey the same cultural information and can be translated into each other. The translation of "跑了和尚跑不了庙", "竹篮子打水一场空" and "架起了多少的空中楼阁" convey the same meaning as their Chinese meaning, and the it's not difficult for foreign readers to get the information. Therefore, foreignization which is used in these three translations not only expresses the the meaning, but preserves the national and cultural characteristics of the idioms.

匡超人听了这话，慌忙作揖，磕下头去，说道：“晚生真乃‘[有眼不识泰山]’。”(吴敬梓《儒林外史》)

Translation: When Kuang Chao-jen heard this, he made haste to bow. "Although I have eyes," he exclaimed, "I [have failed to see Mount Tai]!" (Translated by Yang Xianyi)

In this translation, the translator preserves the image and national characteristics, directly expressing the literal meaning of "有眼不识泰山". As China has developed rapidly, Mount Tai has been known by more and more foreigners as a famous scenic spot of China. Foreigners who get the knowledge of the mountain will not misunderstand the idiom. Thus, using foreignization makes the translation both understandable and vivid.

主公仰慕将军，欲求令爱为儿妇，永结[秦晋之好]。(罗贯中《三国演义》)

Translation: My master, long your admirer, seeks your treasured daughter's hand in behalf of his son to [band the two houses in marriage as the states of Qin and Jin did in ancient times].

For idioms with strong national color or allusive nature, the translator can translate them with foreignization on the basis of context, and some explanations can be added in the translation to express the original meaning more clearly. The Chinese historical idiom "秦晋之好" comes from a historical allusion. When this idiom first appeared in the novel, the translator translated the names of the two vassal states by transliteration, thus retaining the differences of cultures. In order to make readers better understand the idiom, the translator also interpreted the idioms so that the meaning hidden behind the Chinese characters was much clear. Now that the English translation of the sentence is an experiment, the result of deleting "band the two houses in marriage" can be called a faithful translation, but at most it is only the faithfulness of the language form. If the former part is deleted, it will be "as the states of Qin and Jin did in ancient times". The translation seems to convey the main meaning of the idiom, but at least in form, the extraordinary meaning of the original idiom is gone. It is a pity that "秦晋之好" lost its own meaning. On this basis we should add some annotations.

Foreignization conveys information from one culture and language to another in a way that maintains its original nature, bringing not only a new component to the target language, but also an influx of such a component that will lead to various aggregation and fission reactions within the target language, which will eventually lead to its fundamental transformation. As a result, the integration of nations and peoples are greatly facilitated. The use of heterogeneous translations of idioms is conducive to the mutual exchange and penetration of two heterogeneous cultures and languages, and promotes the integration between them. Therefore, the metaphors, images and national and local colors of the original idioms are preserved in the translation as much as possible without violating the linguistic norms of the translation and without causing false associations (Liao Qiyi 2001, 58).

The Application of the Combination of Domestication and Foreignization in Chinese Idioms Translation

(张飞) 瞠目大叱曰: “我哥哥是[金枝玉叶]，你是何等人 ……”(罗贯中《三国演义》)

Translation: The moment Zhang Fei heard this, his eyes widened and he shouted, "Our brother is a prince of the blood, [a jade leaf on a golden branch]. Who are you to …"

梁虔等曰: “夏侯驸马乃[金枝玉叶]，倘有疏虞，难逃坐视之罪。”(罗贯中《三国演义》)

Translation: Liang Qian, as well as others argued, "Imperial Son－in－Law Xiahou Mao is [part of the royal family], the slightest negligence will be punished as willful indifference to his fate".

耀骂曰: “曹都督乃[金枝玉叶]，安肯与反贼相见耶! ”(罗贯中《三国演义》)

Translation: Fei Yao taunted him:" Field Marshal Cao [belongs to the royal family]. He would not lower himself to meet a traitor".

The interpretation of "金枝玉叶" in the Chinese dictionary is: The golden jade metaphor the royal family and the noble people. It can be seen from the translation of this idiom in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms that the translator uses the combination of foreignization and domestication. If you completely use the method of foreignization, readers will think that Chinese people are the same in their thinking mode. If the method of foreignization is completely adopted, the reader will understand each word. But they do not understand the overall meaning, because there is no relationship between the two images of "金枝" and "玉叶". They may speculate on the linguistic expression of these two images, because they are suppressed by the difference in the strange world, and this kind of speculation may hinder the understanding of the whole sentence. On the other hand, the more important the difference in the language culture of the original language is, the more it should be reproduced. In order to highlight the Chinese emphasis on "Gold" and "Jade", the idiom should be completely alienated, which resulted in different translations of the three sentences of this idiom.

蒙曰: “兵有利钝，战无必胜。如猝然遇敌，步骑相促，人尚不暇及水，何能入船乎?”权曰: “[人无远虑，必有近忧]。子明之见深远。”(《论语》)

Translation: Lu Meng responded:" The fortunes of war are never constant; victory is never sure. In an abrupt confrontation, with infantry and cavalry jostling together, our men may not have time to reach the water much less board the boats". Sun Quan commented, "[Improvidence invites danger]. Lu Meng wisely looks ahead".

子邓忠劝曰: “[小不忍则乱大谋]，父亲若与他不睦，必误国家大事。” (《论语》)

Translation: Ai's son, Deng Zhong, urged him to forbear, saying, "[Intolerance for trifles ruins great plans]. Father, if you fall out with him, you will fail the dynasty".

The above two famous idioms are all from the Analects of Confucius. In the different translations versions, the translations of "人无远虑，必有近忧" and "小不忍则乱大谋" are also different. The word-by-word interpretation conveys the literal meaning of the idioms and is used in dialogue. The author's situation is always like this, he cannot express all aspects of the original text, and choosing one side means giving up other aspects. Observing the translations, the number of words is originally quite a lot, and the meaning is also expressed clearly enough, and there is no longer a need for domestication interpretation. To be fair, both translations are consistent with the language style of the translated text. The foreignization and domestication are balanced in the translation.

In translation, even if every word in the original text can be translated with its "equivalence" in the translation, it is not always guaranteed that the translation will have the same or similar effect on the readers of the translated text as the original text, because readers often use their own cultural concepts to understand the content of the translated text. In some idioms, the cultural color of the original language is preserved by foreignization, but it causes linguistic errors and difficulties for readers to understand, and if we adopt domestication, we will lose the cultural color of the original language and cannot let the readers fully understand the meaning of the original. Therefore, we can adopt a combination of domestication and foreignization to translate the literal meaning and then point out the implied meaning, so that the translation can be imaginative and vivid, reflecting the style and flavor of the original language and being fully accepted by the readers (Guo Jianzhong 1998, 17).

Conclusion

In the translation of idioms, domestication and foreignization are not mutually exclusive translation strategies. Instead, these two strategies can work together to make the translation better. If the expressive habits of the target language are taken into account, the cultural connotation in the source language is inevitably affected, and vice versa. From the perspective of cultural differences, excessive domestication or foreignization is not conducive to the transmission of idioms' meaning, and these two translation strategies need to be used interactively according to the actual situation (Guo Jianzhong 1998, 18).

Firstly, the choice of domestication and foreignization is in accordance with the purpose of translation. In order to ease cultural contradictions and to make the translation both fluent and easy to understand, it is recommended to use the domestication strategy. At the same time, there are also many Chinese idioms that introduce English vocabulary through foreignization translation strategy. For example, "lose one's face" comes from "丢面子". Many idioms can be translated using two strategies. The key depends on the translator's attitude and choice, and what needs to be achieved. The translation of Chinese idioms in the famous book Dream of the Red Chamber such as "巧妇难为无米之炊", which the famous Chinese translator Yang Xianyi translated like this:" Even the cleverest housewife can't cook a meal without rice". And the British sinologist David Hawkes translated it as "Even the cleverest housewife can't make bread without flour". Yang uses a foreignization strategy to introduce eastern culture to the west while Hawkes uses domestication strategy to enhance western readers' comprehension.

Secondly, the choice of using domesticaton and foreignization can be made on the basis of the Chinese idiom's content. Translation is a cultural exchange. Translators need to be culturally conscious, that is, to introduce the language and culture of one nation to another. If you can find the equivalent expression or the similar expression that you can directly apply, choose the foreignization translation. For example, "熟能生巧" can be directly translated as "Practice makes perfect". When the original text and the translation cannot be translated according to cultural differences, it is necessary to replace the "culture of source language" with the "culture of target language", and to transform the meaning to be conveyed in the source language into the cultural image familiar to the target language, such as "吃不了兜着走". Its corresponding expression in English cannot be found, so it has to be translated as "be in serious trouble" according to its original meaning.

Last but not least, the combination of domestication and foreignization is necessary in translating Chinese idioms. It is not enough to use just one translation strategy to retain the cultural characteristics of the idioms, but also to convey the meaning. If the translation also wants to be accepted by readers of the target language, it is not enough to use a certain translation strategy. The translator needs to combine two strategies to do the translation. For example, "三十六计，走为上策". If the translator only uses the foreignization translation strategy to translate it, the translation of this idiom will be like "Of the thirty-six strategies, the best is running away". Although the culture in the original text is retained and the literal meaning is also expressed, its implicit meaning is not reflected. At this time, it is indispensable to supplement the domestication translation like "as you have no better choice". Only in this way can the translation be more complete.

References

• Venuti, Lawrence. (1995). The Translator's Invisibility. London: Routledge.

• Schleiermacher, Fredrich. (1838/1963). "Ueber die verschiedenen Methoden des Uebersezens", in Hans Joachim Störig (1963) Das Problem des Übersetzens, Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft [Wege der Forschuung Band VIII], 38-70.

• Schleiermacher, Fredrich. (1838/1977). "On the Different Methods of Translating", in André Lefevere (ed. & trans.) (1977) Translating Literature: The German Tradition from Luther to Rosenzweig, Assen & Amsterdam: Van Gorcum, 66-89. [Translation of Schleiermacher 1838/1963].

• Schulte, Rainer & Biguenet, John‚. (1992). Theories of Translation. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

• ‚Nida, Eugene. A. (1993). Language, Culture, ‚and Transla‚ing. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press‚.

• Chan, Leo Tak-hung. (2004). Twentieth-Century Chinese Translation Theory. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Co.

• Shuttleworth, Mark & Cowie, Moira. (2004). Dictionary of Translation Studies. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.

• Sun Zhili 孙致礼. (2002). 中国的文学翻译：从归化趋向异化 [Literary Translation in China: From Domestication to Foreignization]. 中国翻译‚‚ Chinese Translators Journal ‚(01) 40-44.

• Hanks, Patrick.(ed.). (2001). The New Oxford Dictionary of English. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.

• Dictionary Editorial Office, Institute of Linguistics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences 中国社会科学院语言研究所词典编辑室. (2002). 现代汉语词典 [Modern Chinese Dictionary]. Beijing: The Commercial Press 商务印书馆.

• Qiu Nengsheng, Qiu Xiaoqin 邱能生, 邱晓琴. (2019). 文化差异背景下英汉习语翻译的异化和归化处理探微 [Foreignization vs. Domestication in Cross-cultural Idiom Translation]. 上海翻译 Shanghai Journal of Translators (01) 51-56.

• Qiu Jixin 裘姬新. (2002). 论习语翻译中的异化与归化 [On Foreignization and Domestication in the Translation of Idioms]. 语言与翻译 Language and Translation (02) 42-45.

• Zhang Ning 张宁. (1999). 英汉习语的文化差异及翻译 [Cultural differences and Translations between English and Chinese idioms]. 中国翻译‚‚ Chinese Translators Journal ‚(03) 03-05.

• Wang Fang 王芳. (2001). 中英习语翻译文化特色的处理 [The Treatment of Cultural Features in Chinese-English Idiomatic Translations]. 中国科技翻译 Chinese Science & Technology Translators Journal (01) 34-36.

• Xu Jianping 许建平. (2004). 英汉互译实践与技巧 [A Practical Course of English-Chinese and Chinese-English Translation]. Beijing: Tsinghua University Press 清华大学出版社.

• Liao Qiyi 廖七一. (2001). 当代英国翻译理论 [Contemporary Translation Studies in UK]. Wuhan: Hubei Education Press 湖北教育出版社.

• Guo Jianzhong 郭健中. (1998). 翻译中的文化因素：异化与归化 [Cultural Factors in Translation: Foreignization and Domestication]. 外国语（上海外国语大学学报） Journal of Foreign Languages (02) 12-18.

Title Translation

A Study on the Translation of Movie Titles 陈惠 Chen Hui

陈惠 Chen Hui No.202020080592 专业：英美文学--Chen Hui (talk) 03:52, 15 December 2020 (UTC)Chen Hui

陈惠 Chen Hui No.202020080592 专业：英美文学

--Li Yongshan (talk) 19:00, 20 December 2020 (UTC)

Abstract

Film is a comprehensive art integrating vision and hearing, which has made great contributions to the transnational communication and integration of culture. The title is an important factor in a movie's appeal to the public. Therefore, the translation of movie titles is of vital importance. The translation should not only fit the film content but also cross cultural differences. Moreover, it has strict word count control, which makes it difficult to translate literary works with relative freedom and high requirements.

This paper will analyze the current situation of film title translation, try to summarize the features and functions of film title translation, put forward the criteria and principles of film title translation, and briefly discuss the strategies of film title translation.

Key words

Features of film titles. Translation criteria, translation principles, translation strategies.

摘要

电影是一门集视觉和听觉为一体的综合性艺术，为文化的跨国传播和融合做出了巨大的贡献。电影标题正是电影吸引大众眼球的重要因素。因此电影标题的翻译就显得至关重要。其译文既需贴合电影内容又要跨越文化差异，并且有严格的字数控制，难以像文学作品翻译那样相对自由，要求极高。本文将分析目前电影名翻译的现状，试图总结电影片名的特点和功能，提出电影片名翻译的标准及原则并浅谈电影标题翻译的策略。

关键词

电影片名特点，翻译标准，翻译原则，翻译策略。

Chapter 1 Introduction

As one of the eight major arts, film is an important carrier of world cultural exchange, bearing specific cultural symbols. The translated names of films reflect different ways of dealing with foreign cultures and convey different cultural values. This paper released in mainland China and Hong Kong and Taiwan area's English movie, for example, from the political system, economic environment and language habits, this paper analyzes the reasons of different film title translation, points out that the different cultural values, dubbing staff of different translation strategies.

As one of the eight major arts, film is an important carrier of world cultural exchange, bearing specific cultural symbols. On the basis of English movie released in mainland China and Hong Kong and Taiwan area, this paper analyzes the requirements and criteria of different translation in film title, such as the political system, economic environment and language habits; and strives to trace the source back to the different cultural values, as well as different translation strategies practiced by dubbing staffs.--Li Yongshan (talk) 03:33, 21 December 2020 (UTC)

And in order to meet the requirement of the local culture market, cross-cultural differences should be important factors should be taken into consideration when the translation practice. With the increasingly close cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, English films, as an important cultural form, have gradually entered the Stage of Chinese films, which inevitably involves English-Chinese translation. In English-Chinese film translation, film title translation plays a very important role.

And in order to meet the requirement of the local culture market, cross-cultural differences would definitely be a key factor that should be taken into consideration in occasion of the translation practice.--Li Yongshan (talk) 03:33, 21 December 2020 (UTC)

Han Su said that “A good title translation can not only add to the film, but also help Chinese and Western films to go out and bring in better, and promote cultural exchanges and communication.” (Han,2018,P95).In order to translate high-quality film titles into Chinese, it is necessary to have an accurate understanding of the characteristics, translation principles and translation strategies of film titles.

Han Su said that “Good title translation can not only make the film more attractive, but also help Chinese and Western films to go out and bring in better, and promote cultural exchanges and communication.”--Li Yongshan (talk) 03:33, 21 December 2020 (UTC)

Chapter2 Movie: A kind of Art

2.1 The Introduction of Movie

Film is a comprehensive art integrating vision and hearing, which has made great contributions to the transnational communication and integration of culture. Yang Shu said that :“Different from other art categories, film is an emerging art form formed with modern technology and has its own ontological characteristics.”(Yang Shu, 2017, P78)).The title of the film is an important factor in its appeal to the public. Therefore, the translation of movie titles is of vital importance. The translation should not only fit the film content but also cross cultural differences.

The title of film is an important factor in its appeal to the public. Therefore, the translation of movie titles is of vital importance. It should not only fit the film content but also be fully aware of cross cultural differences.--Li Yongshan (talk) 03:49, 21 December 2020 (UTC)

Moreover, it has strict word count control, which makes it difficult to translate literary works with relative freedom and high requirements. This paper will analyze the current situation of film title translation, try to summarize the characteristics of film title translation and the principle of film title translation, and to talk about the strategies of film title translation. Film, a continuous image developed by the combination of mobile photography and slide show, is a visual and auditory modern art, but also a complex of modern technology and art that can accommodate drama, photography, painting, music, dance, writing, sculpture, architecture and other arts.

Moreover, one basic principle of film title is strict word count control,which is actually a high requirement and makes it difficult to translate,though with relative freedom.--Li Yongshan (talk) 03:49, 21 December 2020 (UTC)

Cinema is a visual art that simulates the experience of communicating ideas, stories, perceptions, sensations, beauty, or atmosphere through recorded or programmed moving images and other sensory stimuli. The term cinematography is short for cinematography, usually used to refer to film-making and the film industry, as well as the art form that emerges from it. Films are cultural relics created by a particular culture. They reflect these cultures and influence them. Film is regarded as an important art form, a source of popular entertainment and a powerful medium for educating citizens.

The visual basis of a film gives it universal power of transmission. The film has its own characteristics. In terms of artistic expression, it not only has the characteristics of all kinds of other arts, but also has the means of expression beyond all other arts because it can use the artistic montage of the film grouping skills. With the development of modern society, movies have penetrated into every aspect of human social life and become an indispensable part of People's Daily life. Film is an art whose time and course of growth are known by human beings.

It is a media with rapid development and great influence since the 20th century. It is also a creative industry integrating politics, economy and culture. Since the end of the 19th century, France, the United States and other parts of the film inventors have invented can mimic a person's eyes and ears of photoacoustic records and reduction technology and machine, the film technology, from the birth, were entrepreneurs become film business, by politicians become ideology, by artists become film art, researchers developed into film theory.

The history of a film is also the history of filmmakers exploring the laws of film. Film is a kind of modern art which uses modern scientific and technological achievements as tools and materials, and uses the means of expression to create visual images and the combination of shots. In the space and time of the screen, it shapes the specific images that are moving, sound and painting combined, and lifelike, to reflect social life.

The film can accurately "restore" the real world, "show" the virtual world, giving people a sense of authenticity, a sense of intimacy, just like being on the scene. This feature of film can satisfy people's desire to experience life in a broader and more real way. Movies can be divided into action movies, fantasy movies, comedy movies, horror movies, science fiction movies and so on.

Film can somehow reflect on the real world, as well as creating a virtual world,giving people a sense of authenticity and intimacy and immersion.This feature of film can satisfy people's desire to experience different kinds of life in a broader and more effective way. In terms of classification,movie can be divided into action movie, fantasy movie, comedy movie, horror movie, science fiction movie and so on.--Li Yongshan (talk) 03:49, 21 December 2020 (UTC)

2.2 Features of English Film Title

On the one hand, a film title is an art form, reflecting the literary value of a film; on the other hand, it is linked with the box office, reflecting the commercial value of a film. Therefore, a film title directly affects the success of a film. English movie titles have the following characteristics.

(1) The title is easy to understand and arouses the audience's interest. This is contrary to the characteristics of Chinese movie titles. Some Chinese movie names are not introduced by media, which makes it difficult for the audience to have a clear understanding of the movie in advance, such as The Promise and Infernal Affairs. Movie titles in English are often simple, but they have a profound effect on the audience's enthusiasm. For example, True Lies, the movie's title tells you that the movie is about a lie, but what kind of a lie is a "True lie"? When the audience sees the name of the movie, they will first have such doubts in their minds, and then watch the movie with doubts and curiosity. There are plenty of similar movies, such as Back to the Future.

(1) The title is easy to understand so that can arouse the audience's interest. But this may be contrary to the characteristics of Chinese movie titles in our commonsense.Some Chinese movie names are not illustrated by the media, which makes them difficult for the audience to have a clear understanding of the movie in advance, such as 《承诺》 and 《无间道》.--Li Yongshan (talk) 04:07, 21 December 2020 (UTC)

(2) The title contains slang to enhance the appeal of the film.The title of the film incorporates slang, on the one hand, to make the audience feel friendly, on the other hand, to achieve the desired ironic effect of the film. One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, and at that very moment, the Cuckoo's Nest Flew very slowly. "Slumdog," for example, is a slur for someone who lives in a Slumdog. The other way around is to be sarcastic. The other way around is to be sarcastic.

(3)The title of the film is named after the name, which is clear at a glance.Names of people, places, objects and places often appear in the titles of European and American films, such as Pearl Harbor. As long as you have some historical knowledge, it is not difficult to know the content of the film, which is obviously related to the Pearl Harbor incident during the Second World War. In addition, there are also Casablanca, Roman Holiday, Waterloo Bridge(Waterloo Bridge) and other famous films with place names as film titles.

(3)The title of the film is named after a name, which is clear at a glance.--Li Yongshan (talk) 04:07, 21 December 2020 (UTC)

People like Forrest Gump, which is clearly the main story in the film, but also Emma, Jane Eyre, etc. It's about a Perfume genius who's obsessed with Perfume and becomes a psychopath. It's also about The Piano and The Net. In addition, there are one case, is to add in the title of the character (place or items) characteristics. For example, Edward Scissorhands, Schindler's List, The Mask of Zorro, etc.

(4) The title contains numbers to indicate the plot.Numbers appear frequently in English movies, and they are real rather than imaginary. In this kind of naming, the numbers in the title will appear in the play, either directly spoken by the characters, or the numbers-almand-or explained gradually through the plot. This may be related to the fact that westerners pay more attention to objectivity and practicality, and think more straight lines. The famous film with numbers included in the title has Seven Deadly Sins(" Seven Sins ").

According to the title, it can be associated with the Seven Deadly Sins of the Bishop. The mysterious serial murders in the film are one of these Seven Sins, so the title gives a good hint to the audience. Eleven tells the story of Eleven skilled dodgers.Heart completes a breathtaking mission story; Six Days and Seven Nights a man crashes in a plane and lands on a desert island for Six Days and Seven Nights. In addition, there are also Twelve Angry Men, The Six Sense, Eight Legged Freaks and so on.

These are the characteristics of British and American film titles, we can see that they value simplicity. Due to cultural differences, most Chinese film titles have deep meanings and reveal rich cultural heritage, such as Farewell My Concubine, A Thousand Miles Away, Curse of theGolden Flower and so on. Therefore, foreign films should attach importance to the translation of film titles in order to enter the Chinese market. How to arouse the resonance of Chinese audience's aesthetic appreciation requires the translator to pay attention to aesthetic factors in the translation of movie names.(Lin Wen, 2015) ……such as 《霸王别姬》,《千里之行》,《金花咒》and so on.--Li Yongshan (talk) 04:07, 21 December 2020 (UTC)

2.3 Functions of English Film Title

The British translation theorist Newmark believes that language has six functions: the function of expression, the function of information, the function of demanding, the function of beauty, the function of responding, and the function of meta-language. Among them, the first four are the main ones. The title of a film is a proper noun, which is the product of the screenwriter's careful conception. It can not only highly summarize the theme or content of the film, but also strongly stimulate the reader's desire to watch it. Therefore, it mainly has information function, imperative function and aesthetic function.

In film title translation, BaoHui south thinks "should not only conform to the language specification, but also full of artistic charm, as well as the content of the faithful to the original title, and to reflect the language characteristics of formerly, strive to achieve the art to create", wants be particular about "mass, popularization, colloquial and artistic quality", "to be able to have very good guide depending on and promotion effect". The author believes that the film title has five functions: 1) Suit the content of the original film, reflect the theme of the original film, help the audience better understand the original film, highlight the style of the original film.

2) Concise and comprehensive, easy to remember.

3) Set the emotional tone of the film, and infect the audience with strong lyric, thrilling or dramatic atmosphere.

4) It conforms to the language norms of Chinese and is suitable for the appreciation habits of Chinese audiences.

5) Attract audience and increase box office income. Therefore, the theoretical support for film title translation is not the traditional translation theory centered on "faithfulness to the original author or the original text", but the unified equivalence with the original title in language, cultural information and functional characteristics.(Newmark,1958).

Chapter3 Analysis on Movie Title Translation

3.1 Current Study of Movie Title Translation

With the rapid development of China's society and the improvement of the openness of the country at all levels, more and more foreign films have entered China, giving Chinese audiences different visual and spiritual cultural feast. At times, however, the translation of movie titles has left audiences baffled. Due to the vast territory of China, the same English movies are sometimes translated differently under the cultural background of the mainland, Taiwan and the three places, making it difficult for people to judge the same movie from the name of the translated movie.

For example, Gone with the Wind is translated in Mainland China, while Gone with the Wind is translated in Hong Kong and Taiwan. For example, in Cantonese, "slam-dunk" is called "Thun", while in Mandarin it is "slam-dunk". Therefore, the movie Space Jam has been translated into "Thun in Space" and "Slam-Dunk in the Air". Due to different pronunciations, the translation of movie names will also be different. For example, the classic film Titanic was translated into the Hong Kong version of "Titanic" and "Titanic", but the latter is better known.

For example,《飘》is translated in Mainland China, while《乱世佳人》is translated in Hong Kong and Taiwan. I think translation of titles in Chinese is no need to be written in English again, we can write in Chinese directly.--Li Yongshan (talk) 04:15, 21 December 2020 (UTC)

Influence of commercial interests More and more films are driven by commercial investment. In order to win high box office, eye-catching words are often added to the title of the film in translation to make the audience shine. For example, in the film Leon, merchants translate it into Leon in order to pursue a better box office. In fact, it is also possible to translate it into Leon, but it lacks the thriller of the former, so it cannot better attract the audience. There's another movie, The Mask, for example. The Mainland version is The Mask, while The Taiwan version is The Modern Saint.

The former is more convincing and mysterious, and The translation is better.Random translation is quite common in Hong Kong. The so-called random translation refers to the translation of the name without the content of the film, imaginary, unrestrained, full of exaggerations, suspense, with only one purpose, is to attract audiences. For example, "Fair Came" was translated into Chinese by Hong Kong and translated into Chinese as "Fair game". The film tells the story of Kitty, who was originally a lawyer in miami-famous family firm, who woke up and suddenly became a target of Soviet spies, facing death threats all the time. It was hard to see how Kitty could be called a witch from beginning to end.

Hong Kong translations (1995) and mainland Chinese translations of "Shawshank Redemption". The story takes place at the beginning of 1947, banker Andy is wronged and imprisoned. Facing the unfair fate, Andy can show not pleased by external gains, not saddened by personal losses and silently construct his own future. It is not clear where 1995 came from in the Hong Kong translation, and the word "stimulus" does not match the content of the film. From the perspective of translation, translation has made big fear of translation standards, even the most basic of faithful to the original works and "letter" to the cause for the current more than a translation, the chaotic translation for the current situation.

In addition to our regional factors mentioned above, a local translation characteristics, the mass media have unshirkable responsibility. As a mass media, newspapers, magazines, films, radio and television do not pay attention to the use of standardized translation of the name, which leads to the further deterioration of the phenomenon of film translation one translation. In addition, in order to pursue business profits, translator and even from The film content, subjective themselves, exaggerated exaggerated, use some stimulus, poignant words to attract audience attention, no bridge ", and "candle" two characters.

The tragic fate of The film, The heroine, consider translation of "faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance", such as Hong Kong and Taiwan to Hemingway's masterpiece The Sun Also Rises "The Sun Also Rises" translation "concubine is chaoyang and zhao jun, and formerly known as and simply goes and The original content.(Song Yanlan, 2017)

3.2 Standarding Movie Title Translation

3.2.1 Ways to Standard

=====3.2.1 Ways to be Standard?=====--Li Yongshan (talk) 04:18, 21 December 2020 (UTC) Facing the current situation of film title translation, how should we regulate the translation of film title? I think there are several ways to look at it. From the perspective of the translator, the translator should accurately grasp the original content, want to reaction and its creation and works reflect the major theme of background, this can help the translator vividly grasp accurately the original content, understand the formerly known as connotation, translation with the original content, to maximize the reappearance of formerly known as information, make the translation really play a guide role.

Such as film, A Walk in the Clouds, title literally "go" in the cloud, which describes A youth couple of vine flowers in the loving touching love story, also the garden it is translated into "to Walk through the Clouds,", reflects both the original meaning, and full of poetic, leave the audience with fragrant vineyard, fascinating intoxicating refreshing romantic breath. The translator should also be in accordance with the original, pay attention to the using a variety of translation method is flexible, should not only respect the formerly known as film, also considering the cultural differences, adopt the appropriate expression, proper free translation of some of the titles, appropriately express the original information, should not only to retain the original western style.

And to consider domestic audience's comprehension and language habits, considering the cultural differences. Some titles can be translated literally, simply and clearly to convey the information of original titles, such as Sindler's List translated into Schindler's List,Back to the Future translated into Back to the Future, etc. Some titles require free translation. For example, the novel Cone Wih the Wind is translated as "Gone with the Wind" with literal translation, but the film's translation of "Gone with the Wind" is more attractive.

"Troubled times" tells the background of the story, "Beautiful Woman" points out the heroine of the film, which -- the translated title vividly shows the heroine Scarlett's rough experience in the war years, which can fully attract the audience's attention. Waterloo Bridge, literal translation is "Waterloo Bridge", see the translation, the audience will first think of the battle of Waterloo, napoleon, but the film describes not smoke of the battlefield, but sad love story, the symbol of the combination of Chinese folk story "the blue Bridge", the translator skillfully as a "blue use some stimulus, poignant words to attract audience attention, no Bridge", and "candle" two characters, the film highlighted the tragic fate of the heroine.(Yao Dongyu, 2016)

3.2.2 The Criteria for Movie Title Translation

As for the criteria of translation,Yan Fu, a famous modern translator, put forward the criteria of "faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance". Letter “is for the original text, requires the translator to correctly understand the original text, faithful expression of the original thought, style, inside” is for the translation, and requires to use fluent and easy to understand the speech, but on the elegant ", but there is no consensus. King explained the concept from three aspects: receiver concept, effect concept and equivalence concept.

Faithfulness “is for the original text, requires the translator to correctly understand the original text, faithful expression of the original thought, style and inside.”Expressiveness is for the translation, and requires to use fluent and easy to understand the speech. While in terms of elegance, there is no consensus. King explained the concept from three aspects: receiver concept, effect concept and equivalence concept. --Li Yongshan (talk) 04:22, 21 December 2020 (UTC)

As for the concept of effect, he pointed out that, after clarifying the effect of information on the receiver, it should be emphasized that it should include the full effect of information, namely the thorough understanding and feeling obtained by the receiver. Includes main spirit, concrete fact, artistic conception atmosphere three main elements. In the translation practice of the film title, Jin Ti said that because of different language changes are bound to cause changes in the language effect, so only from the effect of the translation, to determine whether the language is appropriate.

Taking this as the standard, the translated name should try to achieve the equivalence of spirit, fact and artistic conception in sound, shape and meaning, that is, the relationship between the recipient and the translated message should be basically the same as that between the recipient and the original message "(Nida, CF King: 1998).

3.3 The Principles of Movie Title Translation

Although the translation of film titles has its particularity, it is not distinct from the translation of other genres, but has something in common. In terms of its translation process and results, the author believes that it should be mainly reflected in the following two principles :1. Principle of Economic Benefit Liu Miqing (1999,P.49) pointed out that since the content contained in the original language is worthy of translation (i.e., it has social benefits), the conversion should be realized by the target language that is acceptable to the society, instead of being restricted by the readability of the original language.

It is also said that social benefits are the yardstick by which the meaning of translation, the quality of translation and the value of translation are tested "(1999,P.48). He puts forward three principles, among which the readability principle of the target language plays a guiding role in title translation. When the readability of the source language is very good, it can convert all the formal meaning and stylistic meaning of the source language into the target language correspondingly...". In Hong Kong, for example, Sound of Music has been translated as "floating in the sky" and in Taiwan as "truth, goodness and beauty", which leaves the audience puzzled.

Since then, the film has been widely accepted as "the sound of music" by Chinese mainland translators. 2. Principles of Cultural Characteristics Translation with cultural characteristics is considered to be one of the most difficult to translate. "As for culture-specific", translation theorist Baker(2000, p.64) said that the words of the target language may express a concept that is completely unknown to the culture of the target language, which may be abstract or concrete and may be related to religious beliefs, social customs or even certain things.

Since then, the film has been widely accepted as 《音乐之声》 by Chinese mainland translators.--Li Yongshan (talk) 04:27, 21 December 2020 (UTC)same that if Chinese names can be written in Chinese, it is more appropriate.--Li Yongshan (talk) 04:27, 21 December 2020 (UTC)

This shows the difficulty of cultural translation. The film is the director's reflection of the real or virtual life, and the title that reflects the content of the film also naturally contains many cultural factors, making it difficult to translate. There are various ways to embody cultural connotation, such as cultural words and idioms. "First Blood” for example, is an idiom meaning "first to win a battle", but always translated as "the first drop of blood".

Chapter4 Ways of Movie Title Translation

4.1 Literal Translation

literal translation - simple and clear, to the literal translation is carried out in accordance with the literal meaning to translation, translation is not to add or increase or decrease, achieve unity, so as to convey sincerity buy primitive thoughts, reflects the primitive expression of the style of work, even done very well, otherwise the translation will lose the essence of the original. Nowadays, more and more audiences like original films. Excellent film translations retain their own unique labels while promoting films. Although there is no gorgeous translation of words, they are insipid yet mysterious.

For example, a film about psychology, Beautiful Mind, which the translator translated directly into "A Beautiful Mind", without adding any other elements, makes people have a calm and mysterious feeling towards this film. There is also a film about the Sniper in Iraq war, American Sniper, which the translator directly translated into American Sniper. When people see the title, they can clearly know what subject this film is about. There is no gorgeous language, but it goes straight to the theme without losing the original meaning.(Zhou Baoxue, 2013)

4.2 Free Translation

Free translation -- in a similar situation, free translation with cultural characteristics is translated in accordance with the general idea of the original text, instead of word for word translation, which can be applied in the context of huge cultural differences between the original language and the target language. There is a classic work by Nicolas Cage called "Face Off". Some translators have translated it into "Face Off" or "Face Off". Both translations are free translation, not literal translation. The advantage of this is that it not only expresses the meaning of the English title, but also conveys the content of the film.

When English films encounter Chinese culture, they need to be adjusted appropriately, so that the film name can quickly enter people's lives and let people quickly understand the general content of the film on the basis of highlighting the theme and with local cultural characteristics. Such as a movie starring Tom Hanks was called Catch Me If You Can, translation version did not directly translated into "If You Can Catch Me, but according to the four words idioms in Chinese habit and common cultural features translated into" cat and mouse game "or" free ", the two translation versions are make good use of the four words idioms, injected with Chinese cultural characteristics, and highlight the theme, let the people You'll never forget.(Yang Huhong, 2006)

There is a classic work starring by Nicolas Cage called "Face Off". Some translators have translated it into 《变脸》 or 《夺面双雄》. Both are free translations, not literal ones.The advantage is that it not only expresses the meaning of the English title, but also conveys the content of the film.

so that the film name can quickly enter people's minds and let people quickly understand the general content of the film on the basis of highlighting the theme with local cultural characteristics.For example,the translation title of a movie starring by Tom Hanks,called Catch Me If You Can,was not directly translated into 《如果你能抓住我，but translated into《猫鼠游戏》or《逍遥法外》，according to the four words idioms in Chinese habit and common cultural features.The two translation versions both make good use of the four words Chinese idioms, injected with Chinese cultural characteristics, and highlight the theme, leaving people never forget.(Yang Huhong, 2006)--Li Yongshan (talk) 19:34, 20 December 2020 (UTC)

4.3 Transliteration

Transliteration means to translate according to the English pronunciation and find the corresponding Chinese words, which is more intuitive and lets people remember the name of the movie. Even if English is not well spoken, foreigners can still understand it through the corresponding Chinese translation, which promotes cultural exchange. Milk, for example, translates directly into Milk. There are Avatars, Juno and so on, which keep the original flavor of the original films.(He Ying, 2001)

Transliteration means to translate according to the English pronunciation and find the corresponding Chinese words, which is more intuitive and lets people remember the name of the movie. Even if English is not well spoken, foreigners can still understand it through the corresponding Chinese translation, which promotes cultural exchange. Milk, for example, translates directly into 米尔克. There are Avatars, Juno and so on, which keep the original flavor of the original films.(He Ying, 2001)--Li Yongshan (talk) 19:15, 20 December 2020 (UTC)

4.4 Amplification and Omission

Amplification and provincial translation -- to highlight the features of the film and keep close to the theme, amplification or provincial translation refers to adding or reducing the corresponding information on the original basis to achieve the function of better information transmission, so as to make the name of the film more representative and play the role of advertising.

So for example, the movie, instead of making it literally Interstellar, you make it into Interstellar, you make it into Interstellar, so that you have a better way of talking about what the movie is about. -Two. There's also How to Train Your Dragon. Instead of being translated into how to tame your dragon, the translator reduced it to How to Train Your Dragon.(Jin Ti, 1997) So for example, the movie, instead of making it literally Interstellar, you make it into Interstellar, so that you have a better way of talking about what the movie is about. -Two. Another movie is named How to Train Your Dragon. Instead of being translated into How to Tame Your Dragon, the translator reduced it to How to Train Your Dragon.(Jin Ti, 1997)--Li Yongshan (talk) 19:12, 20 December 2020 (UTC)

4.5 Naturalization

Domestication method is adopted in the translation of English film titles to avoid literal translation, which would make the Chinese translation of film titles impossible for Chinese audiences to understand the theme and cultural connotation of the film. This translation strategy aims to make the translated title conform to the cultural psychology and aesthetic standards of Chinese audiences, adapt to the difficulty of public understanding, give the audience an intuitive and preliminary understanding of the film content, and stimulate their interest in watching the film.

Cleopatra Cleopatra was the last queen of the Ptolemaic Dynasty of Egypt, one of the first sovereigns of Alexander the Great after his conquest of Egypt. Legend has it that Cleopatra was beautiful and intelligent. She was close to Caesar and Antony, politically adept, involved in the politics of the end of the Roman Republic, ambitious, and a legendary Egyptian queen. There is no doubt that Cleopatra was a central figure in ancient Egypt, and her anecdotes about Her relationships with Caesar and Antony made her a famous figure in literature and art. This is the story of Cleopatra, the 52-year-old Caesar who came to Egypt as a Roman governor to settle a royal contest between Cleopatra, the Ptolemaic dynasty, and her half brother Ptolemy XIII.

Cleopatra quickly conquered Caesar with her charm of courage and political skill, gaining control not only of the Ptolemies in Egypt, but of Rome as well. The son of Cleopatra and Caesar was made heir, but Antony and Octavian were not satisfied. After Caesar's assassination, Antony took over the REINS of Rome and was also conquered by Cleopatra. If the title of the English movie is literally translated into Chinese as Cleopatra, Chinese audiences who are not familiar with Egyptian history will lose interest in watching it. Compared with the literal translation of Cleopatra, the domestication strategy can be used to translate Cleopatra to achieve the commercial purpose of attracting audiences' interest, and at the same time, the audience can understand the theme of the film more intuitively, so as to achieve the purpose of promoting the cultural transmission.(Wu Shuang, 2005)

After Caesar's assassination, Antony took over the territory and throne of Rome and was also conquered by Cleopatra.If the title of the English movie is literally translated into Chinese as《克娄巴特拉》……Compared with the literal translation of Cleopatra, the domestication strategy can be used to translate it as 《埃及艳后》to achieve the commercial purpose of attracting audiences' interest.--Li Yongshan (talk) 19:41, 20 December 2020 (UTC)

4.6 Foreignization

In the translation of English film titles, foreignization should try to keep the expression habits and cultural characteristics of the original titles, bring the audience into the English language and culture, let the audience experience an unprecedented exotic amorous feelings, and maximize the dissemination of English language and culture. Zeng Qinyu thought domestication and foreignization can be regarded as the extension of literal translation and free translation, but they are not completely equivalent to literal translation and free translation.

The Hollywood film Titanic tells the touching love story between rose, a rich girl, and Jack, a poor boy painter, when the luxury liner Titanic collided with an iceberg and sank. On April 15, 1912,Titanic set sail from Southampton, England, carrying more than 1,000 passengers and more than 800 crew members, bound for New York. But unfortunately it collided with an iceberg and sank. When the wreck was found on the bottom of the sea in 1985, there was a portrait of a teenage girl on the cabin wall, and Rose, who was 102 at the time, claimed to be the girl. The original Rose because her fiance Carl is a snob and do not want to marry him, when ready to throw himself into the sea, was Bohemian poor painter Jack save.

Rose fell in love with jack, a cheerful character. As a witness of love, Jack drew a portrait for Rose. Not long after that, the ship hit an iceberg and began to sink. In the critical moment of life and death, Jack left the chance of life to Rose, he was frozen to death in the cold sea. In the translation of the film title, alienation strategy was adopted, literally translated as Titanic. This translation strategy was consistent with the understanding and acceptance level of Chinese audiences, loyal to the social and cultural life of English-speaking countries, and retained the form and content of the original English title to the greatest extent.(Zeng Qinyu，2020)

In the translation of English film titles, foreignization should try to keep the expression traditions and cultural characteristics of the original titles, so as to bring the audience into the English language and culture,and give the audience an unprecedented exotic amorous experience.……Zeng Qinyu thought domestication and foreignization can be regarded as the extension of,but not completely equivalent to literal translation and free translation. The Hollywood film Titanic tells a touching love story between Rose, a rich girl, and Jack, a poor boy painter happened on the sunk luxury liner Titanic collided with an iceberg.--Li Yongshan (talk) 19:50, 20 December 2020 (UTC)

Chapter5 Conclusion

Film is a comprehensive art. The translation of film titles should not only follow certain principles and methods of translation, but also have rich cultural knowledge and solid language skills. The title translation is not a simple and mechanical arrangement. It needs to consider the similarities and differences between Eastern and Western cultures and the acceptability of translation according to the content of the film, so that it not only conveys the message of the film, but also is full of beauty.

Film is a comprehensive art. The translation of film titles should not only follow certain principles and methods of translation, but also require rich cultural knowledge and solid language skills. --Li Yongshan (talk) 19:53, 20 December 2020 (UTC)

Therefore, translators should not only be familiar with the ways of language expression and conversion, but also have a profound cultural awareness. On the basis of in-depth understanding of the cultural information conveyed by the title, translators should understand the content and style of the film, try to understand the wording and try to accurately grasp the surface meaning and associative meaning of the source language and the target language. "I was a standup, I was at the tenth month of October", I translated the title of the film with a rigorous attitude, and only by carving and chiselling can I achieve a classic translation that enjoys universal popularity.(Yang Shu, 2017)

References

[1]Eugene A. Nida. Toward a Science of Translating. Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2004.

[2]Jin Ti. Equivalent Translation Exploration. Beijing: China International Translation and Publishing Company, 1997.

[3]Han Su. Comparison between English and Chinese Version in Film Title Translation. Journal of Chifeng University.2019(03):101-103

[4]He Ying. Theory and method of Film Title Translation. Foreign language Teaching, 2001 ,(01):56-60.

[5]Lin Wen. Cultural Identity and Translation of English Film Titles. Guizhou Normal University,2016.

[6]Liu Miqing. Contemporary Translation Theory. Beijing: China International Translation and Publishing Company, 1999.

[7]Lu Hui. Brief analysis of English Film Title Translation. Huashang. 2008(06):68.

[8]Song Yanlan. Common Chinese Cultural Factors in English Film Title Translation -- Take 50 films for example. Liberal arts navigation. 2017(04):22-24.

[9]Yao Dongyu. Journal of Liao Ning Institute of Science and Technology,2016.

[10]Yang Hu Hong. On several Translation Methods of Film Title Translation. Anhui Literature, 2006.

[11]Yang Shu. Narrative Studies of Mainland Chinese Films Since the New Era. Shandong Normal University. 2017.

[12]Zen Qingyu. A Brief analysis of domestication and Foreignization of English Film Title Translation. Science and Education Guide. 2020(05):25-26.

[13]Zhou Baoxue. A Brief Analysis of the Principles and Methods of English Film Title Translation. Science and Education Literature Review. 2013(08):149-150.

A Study on Movie Titles Translation from the Perspective of Skopos Theory 罗雨晴 Luo Yuqing Student No.202070080601 MTI英语笔译

罗雨晴 Luo Yuqing No.202070080601

Abstract

With the continuous advancement of globalization, more and more foreign films are introduced into China continuously. China's film market is huge and Watching films has become a popular way of entertainment for Chinese. Various kinds of films emerge in endlessly so that film titles are particularly important. The film title is the eye of the film, the highlight and essence of a film. A good film title can successfully attract people's attention, stimulate the desire to watch, and bring them into the cinema, which is the purpose of English film title translation. From the perspective of Skopos Theory, this paper will analyze the characteristics and functions of film titles, all kinds of existing translations, and puts forward some translation methods of English film titles, hoping to be helpful to the translation of film title translation.

Key words

 English film title translation; Skopos Theory; translation methods

摘要

随着全球化进程的不断推进，越来越多的外国电影源源不断地涌入中国，中国电影市场巨大，看电影已成为一种广受欢迎的娱乐消遣方式，各种电影层出不穷，因此电影片名就显得尤为的重要。电影片名是电影的眼睛，是一部电影的亮点与精华所在。一个好的电影名可以成功吸引人的眼球，激发大众观看欲望，将大众带入电影院。而英语电影片名的翻译目的就在此。本文主要将从目的论的视角出发，分析电影片名的特点与作用，对各种现有译名的进行分析，就此提出一些英文电影片名的翻译方法，希望能对电影片名的翻译工作有所帮助。

关键词

英语电影片名翻译； 目的论; 翻译方法

Chapter1 Introduction

A film is like a book with pictures and sound. When reading books, we will imagine the scenes described in the books, while words in book will be presented in the form of images and sound in film. Most of films last about two hours. In these two hours, we can get in touch with something we are not familiar with in a relaxed way. Film brings us a variety of visual, auditory and other sensory pleasure. It is not only a way of entertainment, but also an important medium to spread culture. （Ma Yuanyuan，2010,1-5)

With the rapid development of economy, people pay more and more attention to the quality of life and cultural exchanges because different countries are closer than before. A large number of foreign films are pouring into China, trying to get a share of the Chinese market. Although there are close cultural exchanges, there are still cultural differences between China and the West. Therefore, the translation of film titles after the introduction of foreign films into China is very important. （Ma Yuanyuan，2010,1-5)

Although the translation of film titles seems to be a small project, it is not so easy to translate them well and to the point to let people can't wait to see the whole film. It is self-evident that the film title is the essence of a film. It is not good enough to accurately summarize the contents of the film to attract the audience. The quality of the film title directly affects its dissemination in China, and its importance is self-evident. （Ma Yuanyuan 2010,1-5）

This paper proposes a Skopos Theory approach to the translation of film titles. The ultimate goal of film title translation is to attract attention as much as possible on the premise of accurately conveying the content of the film. The Skopos Theory can provide a reasonable explanation for those film titles that are not translated according to the traditional translation theory. （Baidu Encyclopedia:翻译目的论）

The Skopos Theory put forward by Hans Vermeer is the core theory of functional translation theory. Compared with some previous translation theories, this theory has some breakthroughs. The purpose of translation carries through the whole process of translation, and the purpose determining method is its biggest feature, which gives the translator a lot of space to adopt the translation method that he thinks is suitable.（Baidu Encyclopedia:翻译目的论）

This thesis is composed of five chapters. Chapter one serves as an introduction, presenting the importance of the translation of English film title, the adaptability of the Skopos Theory and the structure of the thesis. Chapter two is a general analysis of English film title translation, including film genres, features and functions of English film title translation. Chapter three is a general introduction of Skopos Theory, consisting of its development, concept and three basic principles. Chapter four analyzes the existing film title translation from the perspective of Skopos Theory, and comes to the methods of film title translation. Chapter five draws a conclusion finally.

Chapter2 A General Introduction of English Film Title

2.1 Film Genres

According to He Ying in her article "Theory and Method Guiding Film Title Translation", films are normally divided into three categories: science and educational film, documentary film, and feature film. Educational film spread scientific and technological knowledge. Documentary film is a kind of film or TV art form that takes real life as the creation material, takes real people as the object of expression, and processes and displays it artistically. It takes showing the truth as the essence and arouses people's thinking with reality. Feature film is a kind of film work which uses image and sound as means to narrate. Any film which is played by actors, has a certain plot and expresses a certain theme can be called a feature film. (He Ying 2001, 57)

Feature films are often more easily accepted by all and have a large audience,so that this thesis confines its tentative study to the titles and the corresponding translations of English feature films. As for feature films, Tim Dirks categorized the main genres such as action films, adventure films comedy films, crime&gangster films, drama films, epics or historical films, horror films, musical (dance）films, science fiction films, war (anti-war) films, and Westerns. Actually, a genre is always a vague term with no fixed boundaries and the referred types may overlap each other. Genres can be combined to form hybrid genres, such as Inglourious Basterds 《无耻混蛋》 which melts the genre of action and war，so does Saving Private Ryan《拯救大兵瑞恩》. (Tim Dirks,2003,3.19)

2.2 Features of English Film Title

2.2.1 Linguistic Features

Foreign film titles are usually translated into Chinese with four characters and the translated titles are usually concise. It is not convenient for the audience to grasp the key points when they meet with long title and a short title can also contain many meanings. With the fierce competition in the film market, most of the audience just want to relax so that they prefer to watch films with accurate and concise expression of film titles. In addition, the use of four characters may be related to Chinese language habits that there are four-character idioms in China. For example, Transformers 《变形金刚》, Captain America《美国队长》, Escape Plan 《金蝉脱壳》, The Hunger Games 《饥饿游戏》, Once Upon a Time in America《美国往事》.(Tang Su, 2015,(05)128-129)

The translated titles of these foreign films are very concise and to the point, the emphasis is on simplicity. They use vivid words to arouse the audience's interest. For example, the film Escape Plan is literally translated into Chinese as《金蝉脱壳》. The translator combines a Chinese idiom, golden cicada out of shell, which comes from the Xie Tianxiang written by Guan Hanqing. This idiom means when a cicada turns into an adult, one should take off a layer of shell, which draws an metaphor between people and cicada. And the film is about a prison designer who is locked into a high-pressure prison designed by himself and is ready to escape with other accomplices. The meaning the film and the idiom want to express is just the same, and the translated title is more vivid. (Baidu Encyclopaedia, golden cicada out of shell）

2.2.2 Aesthetic Features

In fact, the translation of film titles is also a kind of literature. When foreign films are introduced into China, the translation of translated titles is equivalent to giving the film a life again. Film titles can also be appreciated as the paintings do. The aesthetic translation of film titles will create a kind of artistic conception with a strong artistic quality. The translator will use a lot of rhetorical devices, such as metaphor, contrast, repetition, contradiction, exaggeration, parody, symbol and so on. (Ma Yuanyuan,16-17)

Take film Hilary and Jackie《她比烟花寂寞》 for example, the film mainly shows us a cello genius Jacqueline Dupley's brilliant and extremely short life like fireworks, which reflects the extreme gorgeous beauty, the loneliness behind the streamer. The word "fireworks" is used symbolically. At first, some people may think this translation is kind of affected, but in fact it is quite consistent with this film’s content and touching. There are other wonderful examples, such as The Hours《时时刻刻》, Sommersby《似是故人来》, The Shape of Water《水形物语》, Flipped《怦然心动》, The Bridges of Madison County《廊桥遗梦》, which are fabulous. (All film titles and their translations, Douban Movie website)

2.2.3 Commercial Features

Whether the translation of the film is concise or aesthetic, it is aimed to attract the public to buy tickets. Film is the combination of art and commerce. A cinema film will not only express art or just for commercial purposes, It better to say that commercial films may pay more attention to box office, while literary and artistic films will pay more attention to artistic expression. A film is the painstaking efforts of all the workers. If no one appreciates it, it would be a pity. Therefore, attraction is indispensable in the translation of film titles. (Ma Yuanyuan,16-17)

For example, there are some animated feature films made by Pixar. Finding Nemo《海底总动员》,Toy Story《玩具总动员》,The Incredibles《超人总动员》,Cars《汽车总动员》. They all used the form《XX总动员》,which is a manifestation of business characteristics. Toy Story, as an animated film, created a box office miracle and had a wide influence in China. Naturally, the audience was deeply impressed by this translation. Therefore, considering its popularity and attractiveness, the distributor will try to translate similar cartoons in this way. However, with more and more such translated titles, the public have already experienced aesthetic fatigue. This kind of translation may lose its original function, so it will be replaced by other translations later. (All film titles and their translations, Douban Movie website)

2.3 Functions of English Film Title

2.3.1 Informative Function

The informative function is the basic function that any film title should possess. It is agreed that the film title should be of high-information value. A title without any informative value can be said meaningless. To enable the audience to get a thorough understanding of the film content. According to Newmark, the core of the informative function of language is external situation, the facts of a topic, reality outside language, including reported ideas or theories. In this thesis, the interpretation of the informative function is two-fold. (Newmark 2001, 40)

A film tile should highly summarize the content of a film, which conveys a lot of information, such as the genre of film. Many film viewers tend to watch a certain type of film. When she chooses which film to watch in the cinema, the translation title of the film plays a very important role, such as Triangle 《恐怖游轮》,a psychological suspense film. The heroine experiences repeated asmsaras interacted with each other. The film shows the same people appearing in the same place and even chasing each other, which provides a variety of understanding for the play. The director said that the film has three endings, but they all lead to the same terminus, that is, the final scene of the car accident, leaving Melissa in this endless cycle. (Ma Yuanyuan,16)

The original translation is triangle in Chinese, which is actually about the closed reincarnation of a triangle. It can be said that the translation does not fully grasp the inner essence of the film. By contrast, 《迷失三角洲》 expresses this film’s theme more accurately, but the title 《恐怖游轮》 is more attractive. It makes the genre of the film more easy to get to. People will know that it is a thriller and suspense film at the sight of the title. (Film title and its translation, Douban Movie website)

Film title can not only let the audience know the type of the film, but also let the audience quickly know the relevant information of the film, such as time, place, character, what’s going on with characters. For example, Rise of the Planet of the Apes《猩球崛起》，from the title , we can know that the film is telling stories about orangutans. 12 Angry Men《十二怒汉》, this title tells us that the main characters of the story are twelve men. Homeless to Harvard: the Liz Murray story 《风雨哈佛路》，this title let us know know that it tells the story of the protagonist's struggle at Harvard. Sleepless in Seattle《西雅图夜未眠》, and from this title, we are aware that the location of the story is mainly in Seattle.(Ma Yuanyuan,16)

2.3.2 Aesthetic Function

Chinese and English are two different languages. Chinese pays attention to refining words, which is very consistent with the requirements of film title translation. Word refining pays attention to vivid, using language to render an atmosphere or artistic conception, and transmit this feeling to the Chinese audience. (Ding Jin,2008,9)

Take The Remains of the Day《长日将尽》for examle, this film is adapted from the novel of the same title British novelist of Japanese origin Kazuo Ishiguro, and the film is an elegy about the decline of the aristocracy in the British Empire. The protagonist of the story recalls his life in the form of a diary. The most important thing is the relationship between him and his former colleague, the housekeeper Miss Ken Dunn. He was a loyal housekeeper in the noble family. He saw the vicissitudes of prosperity and tried to perfect his work. However, he always suppressed his feelings and saw Miss Kendeng, who was waiting for no result, to marry away from home. This translation has successfully created melancholy atmosphere. (The plot of this movie)

What’s more, a carefully designed film title can well perform the aesthetic function, creating such beauty as phonetic beauty and imaginational beauty. For example, Breathe《一呼一吸》, this translation sounds rhythmic, if we just translate it into 《呼吸》，then it will lose the beauty of sound. In addition, four characters looks more neat visually. And there are other wonderful examples, such as Like Sunday, Like Rain《如晴天，似雨天》, The Words《妙笔生花》. (All film titles and their translations, Douban Movie website)

2.3.3 Vocative Function

A film title can show the audience the relevant information about the film, and it can create an imaginative atmosphere for the audience and entertain them aesthetically. However, its vocative function is more important. That is to call upon the audience to buy tickets. According to Newmark, "the core of the vocative function of language is the readership, the addressee" (Newmark 2001, 41).

According to Wei Jianhua, when the definition is applied to film titles, the addressees here refer to audiences. The vocative function of film titles is to draw the attention of audiences, make them psychologically interested and buy tickets. Both informative and aesthetic functions serve the vocative function since the prime and ultimate aim of film production is to win the hearts of audiences and be financially rewarded. Few titles are purely informative aesthetic or vocative. The three major functions are often integrated, with emphasis on one of them. (Wei Jianhua2008, 121-122)

Some translations of film titles are very eye-catching, such as Frozen《冰雪奇缘》, if it is translated literally, it will become 《冰冻》, which is not vivid at all. However, 《冰雪奇缘》is full of sense of fairy tale, which gives people a lively and wonderful feeling, that is, realizes the value of information transmission, and also improves the publicity effect of the film. There are far more examples, such as Man on Fire《怒火救援》, The Bourne Identity《谍影重重》, The Matrix 《黑客帝国》, V for Vendetta《V字仇杀队》. (Wei Jianhua2008, 121-122)

Chapter3 A General Introduction of Skopos Theory

3.1 The Development of Skopos Theory

Skopos Theory, originally written as Skopostheorie in German, is a major translation approach of German Functionalist School. "Skopos" means " purpose "or " goal " in Greek. "The 1970s and 1980s saw a move away from the static linguistic typologies of translation shifts and the emergence and flourishing in Germany of a functionalist and communicative to the analysis of translation ." The Skopos Theory is one of the achievements of its development and the most important one. The development of the Skopos Theory experienced following four stages. (Munday 2016, 73)

Firstly,in the book “ Possibility and Limitations in Translation Criticism” , Katherine Rice first proposed functional translation theory. She believes that translators should put functional features first rather than information equivalence. (Baidu Encyclopaedia , Skopos Theory)

Secondly, Hans Vermeer, a student of Reiss, broke away from the equivalence-based theories and set up the theoretical framework for "Functional School": Skopos Theory. situation". In the framework of Vermeer's theory, every translation is directed at an intended audience, since to translate means “ to produce a text in a target setting for a target purpose and target addressees in target circumstances” (Vermeer 1987, 29).

Thirdly, on the basic of Vermeer's research, Justa Holz Manttari further developed the functional theory. “ Manttari's theory is based on the principles of action theory and is cover all forms of intercultural transfer ”“ Manttari places special emphasis on the action aspect of the translation process, analyzing the roles of the participants (initiator, translator, user and message receiver) and the situational conditions (time, place and medium) in which their activities take place". Skopos Theory views translation as a complex activity intended to realize a specific purpose.(Nord1991, 12-13).

Fourthly，Christina Nord summed up and perfected the theory of functionalism. She systematically expounds in English the internal and external factors to be considered in text analysis in translation and how to formulate translation strategies suitable for translation purposes on the basis of the functions of the original text. Christina Nord sorts out the functionalist theories and proposes that translators should follow the guiding principle of “ Function Plus Loyalty ” , thus perfecting the theory.(Baidu Encyclopaedia , Skopos Theory)

3.2 Three Basic Rules of Skopos Theory

The top-ranking rule for any translation is thus the “ skopos rule”, what Reiss and Vermeer described as “ the end justifies the means ” (Reiss &Vermeer1984, 101). There are three possible kinds of purposes in the field of translation: (1) the translator's general purpose in the translation process (perhaps to earn a living); (2) the communicative purpose aimed at by the target text in the target situation (perhaps to instruct the reader); (3) the purpose aimed at by a particular translation strategy or procedure (for example, to translate literally in order to show the structural particularities of the source language). (Baidu Encyclopaedia , Skopos Theory)

The skopos rule is summed up by Vermeer as “ the end justifies the means ”. He explains the skopos rule in the following way: Each text is produced for a given purpose and should serve this purpose. The rule thus reads as follows: translate/ interpret/ speak/ write in a way that enables your text/translation to function in the situation in which it is used and with the people who want to use it and precisely in the way they want it to function. (Nord 2001, 29)

Another important rule of Skopos Theory is the coherence rule, which means that "a translation should be acceptable in a sense that it is coherent with the receivers situation". Focusing on the target readership and target culture, functionalists regard intra-textual coherence than inter-textual coherence, just as Nord put it, "inter-textual coherence is considered subordinate to intra-textual coherence, and both are subordinated to the skopos rule. (Baidu Encyclopaedia , Skopos Theory)

The third rule of Skopos Theory is fidelity rule. Fidelity rule means that there should be inter -textual coherence between the original text and the target text. This is equivalent to the so-called faithfulness to the original text in other translation theories, but the degree and form of faithfulness to the original text depends on the purpose of the translation and the translator's understanding of the original text. (Baidu Encyclopaedia , Skopos Theory)

3.3 Function Plus Loyalty

As mentioned above, the primary rule in Skopos Theory is the skopos rule, which defines that the translators can make changes of the word, style or form of the source text in the accordance with translation purpose. While the inter-textual coherence rule holds that the translated version should be loya1 to the source text. However, when the aim of the author is contrary to the aim of the translator, the inter-textual coherence rule should be abide by the skopos rule. As a result, there may appear the situation that there is no restriction to the change of source text. (Ding Jin,29）

In order to improve the functionalism studies, Nord proposes the loyalty rule, which insists that the translator should be loyal to the author and audience: “ The audiences have the right to know what the translator has done for the original text and what kind of work produced by the translator. Translators cannot simply translate in a non-literal way without telling the target audience what they have done and why."(Nord 2001, 125)

Function refers to the factors that make a target text work in the intended way in the target situation. Loyalty refers to the interpersonal relationship between the translator, the source-text sender, the target-text addressees and the initiator. Loyalty limits the range of justifiable target-text functions for one particular source text and raises the need for a negotiation of the translation assignment between translators and their clients. All in all, this theory enriched Vermeer’s Skopos Theory, avoids soure-text sovereign and perfects radical functionalist. (Baidu Encyclopaedia,Skopos Theory)

Chapter4 The Application of Skopos Theory in Film Title Translation

4.1 Skopos Theory's Guiding Role in English Film Title Translation

A careful look at theory may show that it is significant in that it is different from traditional theories. It helps to free translators from the bondage of traditional theories by providing them a new way of thinking, broadens the scope of translation studies by increasing the range of possible translation strategies, and establishes a profound foundation, helping people to penetrate deeper into cultural and translation phenomena. Traditional translation theories tend to classify the translation of film titles into general literature translation. （Zheng Yuqi & Wang Xiaodong，2006）

Equivalence theory plays an important role in traditional translation theories. However, the author believes that it is difficult to achieve the commercial effect required by the film title simply by emphasizing the equivalence between the original text and the translation. Therefore, it will be more appropriate to regard it as an advertisement translation. Since it is an advertisement translation. Of course, the first thing to emphasize is the publicity effect. （Zheng Yuqi & Wang Xiaodong，2006）

For example, the Chinese translation of film titles is to make the Chinese translation attract the interest of Chinese readers in the Chinese market. In this way, Skopos Theory naturally plays a guiding role. Therefore, the first rule of Skopos Theory is skopos rule. The translation of film titles emphasizes the commercial nature, that is to say, it should be attractive enough. Therefore, we should not stay in the translation itself when translating film titles. The traditional equivalent translation theory can not be fully applied to the translation of film titles, so more effective translation theories are needed to guide it. （Ding Jin,36）

Therefore, it has to be associated with the German functionalist translation theory with Skopos as its core. The most direct purpose of film title translation is the transmission of information. A good translation can highlight the content of the original film and make the audience better understand the theme information expressed and transmitted by the original film. If the translator could not produce a satisfactory version only on the base of the original title, he should consult the plot of the film. (Baidu Encyclopaedia,翻译目的论)

Let's look at an example in order to make this point clear. The film Thelma and Louise, Louise is a waitress in a cafe. She is busy all day and wants to travel. Her good friend Selma has been unhappy since she married a car salesman Daryl. She stayed at home all day, lonely and bored. One weekend, Persuaded by Louise again and again, she agreed to go on a pleasant trip with her. They parked their car in a bar in Arkansas for the night. The bar is full of young customers. The drunken Harun took a fancy to Selma and asked her to dance. Selma didn't listen to Louise's advice. She danced and drank with Harlan, and was taken outside to the parking lot. (The plot of film, Douban Movie website)

Harlan tried to harass her. After being rejected, Harun becomes violent and tries to force Selma to submit to him with violence. Louise came to the parking lot, found Selma in a critical condition, took out the pistol that Selma had brought in the luggage bag, and forced Harlem to let Selma go. Harlan began to curse and insult them. In his anger, Louis shot and killed him. In a flash, the two female partners on a vacation journey, embarked on a journey of despair that can not be turned back.In the Grand Canyon, Selma and Louise are determined to fight to the end and never give in. They smile and clasp hands,driving towards the cliff. (The plot of film, Douban Movie website)

Actually, this film mainly describe what happened to this two women and their growth process.Thelma and Louise, When translated into《末路狂花》, the audience can predict the stimulating effect that the film wants to express and convey the message of the film. If translated literally into 《塞尔玛与露易斯》, it will inevitably make people confused, unable to grasp the main meaning of the film, only two names can be known. Therefore, Skopos Theory plays an important role in the translation of film titles. (The plot of film, Douban Movie website)

There are many examples, Erin Brockovich 《永不妥协》, Fast & Furious《速度与激情》 Blade Runner《银翼杀手》, Lord of Ring 《魔戒》, Inception《盗梦空间》,Top Gun《壮志凌云》, These titles are not only translated from the source language into the target language, but also for the purpose of film sales, taking into account the information, aesthetic and other factors to form an attractive translation. (Ding Jin,16)

4.2 Methods for Film Title Translation

4.2.1Transliteration

Transliteration means to seek phonetic correspondence in terms of the translation to describe the English syllables through the corresponding Chinese characters carrying similar sounds. It relates to the conversion of different alphabets in different language system. Transliteration is usually applied this situations, when they are the name of persons and places and historical events. (Wei Jianhua,2008,121-122)

This method is often adopted in the film title translation because it has the obviously features in keeping the phonetic fluency of original film titles which express its strong exoticism, which can arouse the audience's curiosity to see the film. With the development of global communication, people become more and more interested in knowing other country’s culture, this method is becoming increasingly popular. (Wei Jianhua,2008,121-122)

For example，Jane Eyre 《简爱》，Dunkirk《敦刻尔克》，Hamlet《哈姆雷特》, Emma《爱玛》, Mulan《木兰花》, Brooklyn《布鲁克林》,Manhattan《曼哈顿》.Transliteration can enable the target audience to know more about the original history and culture. On the contrary, if they are translated in other ways, the viewers may take it as an ordinary film and may feel no interest in it, which will in turn do great harm to the box-office value of the film. However, this does not mean that transliteration should be adopted for any title which can be transliterated. If the original title can only provide little information and the audience can only contact with a foreign word, then transliteration can not achieve the effect that translation of film title should have. (Wei Jianhua,2008,121-122)

4.2.2 Literal Translation

Functionalism does not exclude equivalence so long as it is adequate to a Skopos that requires that the target text serve the same communicative function or functions as the source text. The merits of this method lie in its fidelity to the original meaning and cultural flavor of the original. The original title of many films is a high generalization of the content of the film, which can better realize its information function, aesthetic function and market function. It is necessary to be faithful to the theoretical basis of the original text. At this time, the literal translation of the title often inherits the simplicity and clarity of the original title, with large amount of information and easy to arouse the audience's curiosity. （Nord 2004, 36)

In the process of actual translation, the degree of overlap between Chinese and English in many film titles is astonishing, which can almost achieve word-for-word translation. For example, Blue Valentine《蓝色情人节》,Eat Pray Love《美食、祈祷和恋爱》,Darkest Hour《至暗时刻》,Hideen Figures《隐藏人物》, Primal Fear《一级恐惧》, Four Wedding and a Funeral《四个婚礼和一个葬礼》, Pearl Harbor《珍珠港》, Atonement《赎罪》, Leap Year《闰年》, Detachment《超脱》. (He Ying,59)

Besides, there are other way to use this method by changing the parts of the speech or adjusting the word order, for example, 10 Things I Hate About You《我恨你的十件事》12 Years a Slave《为奴十二年》, Life as We Know It《我们所知道的生活》. To make it more specific, I will use this example A Star Is Born《一个明星的诞生》，in the original title, the “born” is a verb, but when it is translated in to the Chinese title, the verb is changed into a noun to make this title look more balance. And in this example,The Boy in the Striped Pajamas《穿条纹睡衣的男孩》, the translator changed the original order to cater to the grammar of Chinese.(He Ying,59)

What’s more, sometimes, the article like "a, or, the" will be deleted when translated into Chinese because it is not so important to viewer to catch the information about a certain film in some circumstances and by doing this, the title will look more concise, such as The Imitation Game《模仿游戏》, A Beautiful Mind 《美丽心灵》, A Perfect World《完美的世界》, The Social Network 《社交网络》. (He Ying,59)

4.2.3 Liberal Translation

Any translator with common sense of translation will not expect to find equivalent expressions in the target language all the time. Given this, translators may often adopt free translation. Free translation is an alternative approach that is used mainly to convey the meaning and the spirit of the original title without sticking to the form. (Feng qinhua2000, 36-44)

Liberal translation preserve the content of the original title as much as possible at the cost of changing the form of the film title. In the specific operation, translators often use some techniques, such as addition, conversion and extension in particular so as to deeply convey the content of the original film and enhance the appeal of the title.（He Ying 2001, 57）

A List of examples belong to this group, such as Coherence《彗星来的那一夜》, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty《白日梦想家》, Welcome《非法入境》, Agro《逃离德黑兰》, Silver Linings Playbook《乌云背后的幸福线》, A Lot Like Love《相见恨早》, If Only《爱再来一次》, Temple Grandin《自闭历程》, La La Land 《爱乐之城》,Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind《暖暖内含光》,Hacksaw Ridge《血战钢锯岭》. (All film titles and their translations, Douban Movie website)

4.2.4 Combination of Transliteration and Literal Translation

In addition to literal translation and transliteration, there is another way, that is, to combine literal translation and transliteration. This method is usually applicable to the original title containing the name of a person or place. Of course, this is not a perfunctory translation method, the title can still summarize the information of the whole film after being translated. (Ding Jin,51)

For example, Becoming Jane《成为简奥斯丁》, The Life of David Gale《大卫·戈尔的一生》, Manchester by the Sea《海边的曼彻斯特》, Notting Hill 《诺丁山》, A Rainy Day in New York《纽约的一个雨天》, Maid in Manhattan《曼哈顿女佣》,Citizen Kane《公民凯恩》, The Shawshank Redemption 《肖申克的救赎》, Schindler’List《辛德勒的名单》. (All film titles and their translations, Douban Movie website)

4.2.5 Combination of Literal Translation and Liberal Translation

The combination of literal translation and liberal translation can be faithful to the original text to the greatest extent and attract the audience. Due to various reasons, the original titles of some English films only realize the information function of translated titles. In order to realize the various functions of translation, the translator sometimes retains the reasonable part of the original name, and then combines the need of the audience to complete the relevant information as far as possible. (He Aixiang2020, 103-107)

There are some examples, such as Wonder《奇迹男孩》, Whiplash《爆裂鼓手》, Sully《萨利机长》, I, Tonya《我，花样女王》, Love Actually《真爱至上》, Changeling《换子疑云》, The Bucket List《遗愿清单》, Before Sunrise《爱在黎明破晓前》, Before Sunset《爱在日落黄昏时》, Before Midnight《爱在午夜降临前》, The Martian 《火星救援》. (All film titles and their translations, Douban Movie website)

4.2.6 Re-creative Translation

As mentioned above, re-creative translation is the last resort so far as the translation of English film titles is concerned. Sometimes, some titles are obscure and neither nor fowl after translation while others are very ordinary without attraction and this method aims not only transferring the informative value, but also reproducing the aesthetic and appellative value of the film. (Ma Yuanyuan 2010, 28-29)

The following are good examples, such as North Country《永不让步》, Rudy《追梦赤子心》, Definitely，Maybe《爱情三选一》, Up《飞屋环游记》, Coco《寻梦环游记》. (All film titles and their translations, Douban Movie website)

Chapter5 Conclusion

This paper studies the translation of film titles from the perspective of Skopos Theory. Firstly, it analyzes the genres of films, the characteristics and functions of film titles translation. Secondly, it mainly introduces the development and rules of Skopos Theory. Finally, it analyzes the translation of film names under the Skopos Theory and puts forward some translation methods of film titles.

Skopos Theory holds that the skopos rule is the primary rule, therefore, when translating film titles, translators have more initiative and they can use more diversified methods, which makes the film titles more commercial. However, there are still many shortcomings in this paper. For example, when analyzing the characteristics and functions of film titles, the aspect of cultural exchange is not taken into account. In the final translation method part, the summary is not in place, and the proposed method is not novel enough.

I hope that in the further study, I can put forward a more applicable model of film title translation, and the last point is the lack of film data, the main purpose of film title translation is to attract more audience to buy tickets. If I can analyze the data of box office well, I can further evaluate whether the purpose of film title translation has been achieved.

This paper is only limited to the author's understanding of the translation, thus some conclusions and analysis are still not profound enough. The author hopes that there will be more research results in the future, which can provide more abundant theories and methods to guide the translation of film titles.--Luo Yuqing (talk) 09:43, 21 December 2020 (UTC)

References

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• Tim, Dirks.(2003) [Main Film Genres]. https://www.filmsite.org/genres.html

• Tang Su（2012）.电影译名的汉语四字格现象探析[An Analysis of Chinese Four Character Case in Film Title Translation].英语广场：学术研究 English Corner(Academic Research)

• Baidu Encyclopaedia 百度百科 金蝉脱壳 https://baike.baidu.com/item/金蝉脱壳/83303?fr=aladdin

• Newmark, Peter. (2001). [A Textbook of Translation]. Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 41-44.

• Wei Jianhua韦建华. (2008). 英语电影片名翻译原则与方法探讨[On the Principles and Methods of English Film Title Translation].电影文学 Movie Literature, (03) 121-122.

• Ma Yuanyuan马媛媛. (2010). 翻译目的论视角下的英文电影片名的汉译 [Translation of English Film Titles from the Perspective of Skopos Theory]. 黑龙江大学 Heilongjiang University ,2-29.

• Ding Jiin 丁进.(2008)英语电影片名的翻译[Translation of English Film Title].山东大学 Shangdong University, 9-51.

• Munday, Jeremy .(2016). [Introducing Translation Studies:Theories and Application]. London and New York: Routledge 73.

• Vermeer, H. J.(1987). [What Does It Mean to Translate?]. Indian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 13 (2) 25-33.

• Nord, C. (1991). [Translation as a Purposeful Activity--Functionalist Approaches Explained] .Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 12-36 & 129.

• Baidu Encyclopaedia 百度百科 翻译目的论https://baike.baidu.com/item/翻译目的论

• Reiss, K. & Hans J. Vermeer, H. (1984). [Groundwork for a General Theory of Translation].Tubingen: Niemeyer 101.

• Zheng Yunqi & WangXiaodong. 郑玉琪,王晓冬. (2006) 小议电影片名的英汉翻译原则[On the English-Chinese Translation of Movie Titles].中国翻译 Chinese Translators Journal, 27(02) 66-68.

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• He Aixiang何爱香. ( 2020). 中国电影片名的新修辞翻译策略探究[Translation Strategies for Chinese Movie Titles --A Rhetoric Perspective]江南大学学报(人文社会版) Journal of Jiannan University (Humanities&Social Sciences), 19(02) 103-107.

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The Study of Brand Name Translation 谭鑫洁 Tan Xinjie

谭鑫洁 Tan Xinjie，202020080641. 俄语语言文学

Abstract

With acceleration of economic globalization, more enterprises have been active in the global market. Brand name translation plays a significant role in the international trade. A successful brand name is the direct element to attract the customers’ attention, evoke their desire to buy the products, and is gravely important to the sales volume of commodities. Based on many convincing examples, this chapter introduces the definition and functions of brand name, states the principles of the its translation, offers the available and useful methods for its translation. The study of brand name translation is helpful to express the meaning of brand name, reflect its cultural connotation, and promote cultural exchange and transmission.

key words

Brand name translation; Principle; Methods

摘要

随着经济全球化进程的加快，越来越多的企业活跃在全球市场中。商标翻译在国际贸易中起着举足轻重的作用。一个好的译名是吸引顾客注意，并唤起他们购买商品欲望的直接因素，对商品的销售量有着极其重要的影响。本文结合许多令人信服的例子，介绍商标的定义和功能，阐述商标翻译的原则，提供有用的商标翻译方法。研究商标翻译有助于准确表达商标含义，体现其蕴藏的文化内涵，促进文化交流与传播。

关键字

商标翻译；原则；方法

1. Introduction

In the development of human society, the emergence of commodities gives rise to the birth of brand name. The contemporary Chinese dictionary defines the brand name as “it is the mark, sign (words like drawing and patterning) which are printed on the cover of the product or the packaging”, A brand name is the most prominent mark of a commodity, and can leave deep impression upon the mind of shoppers and arouse their desires to buy the related commodity. (Lu Wenchan 2018,2)

In the development of human society, the emergence of commodities gives rise to the birth of brand name. The contemporary Chinese dictionary defines the brand name as “it is the mark, sign (words like drawing and patterning) which are printed on the cover of the product or the packaging”. A brand name is the most prominent mark of a commodity and can leave deep impression upon the mind of shoppers and arouse their desires to buy the related commodity. (Lu Wenchan 2018,2)--Wu Xiang (talk) 08:02, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

The import and export of commodities gives rise to the birth of brand name translation. A good brand name translation may bring an enterprise huge wealth, whereas a bad one may let an enterprise suffer great loss. Therefore, an enterprise's future is closely linked with brand name translation, and it is valuable to have a research on how to translate brand names properly. At the same time, brand name translation can widen the linguistic research field, enrich the connotation of linguistics, and accelerate the combination of linguistic theoretic research and its practical application.

The import and export of commodities gives rise to the birth of brand name translation. A good brand name translation may bring an enterprise huge wealth, whereas a bad one may let an enterprise suffer great loss. Therefore, an enterprise's future is closely linked with brand name translation, and it is valuable to have a research on how to translate brand names properly. At the same time brand name translation can widen the linguistic research field, enrich the connotation of linguistics, and accelerate the combination of linguistic theoretic research and its practical application. --Wu Xiang (talk) 08:02, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

In this paper, first part is introduction of this paper. The value of this research is mainly introduced in first part. Second part introduces the definition and functions of brand name and brand name translation. Third part gives concrete examples to analyze five principles brand name translation (the principle of following the target customers' culture, the principle of using concise words, the principle of grasping the characteristics of commodities, the principle of considering the target consumers’ aesthetic preference, "Three Principles of Beauty"). Fourth part gives examples about brand name to introduce five methods in brand name translation (transliteration, literal translation, free translation, combinative translation, non-translation). The last part of this paper is conclusion emphasizing the theme of this research.

First part is the introduction of this chapter. The value of this research is mainly introduced in first part. Second part introduces the definition and functions of brand name and its translation. Third part gives concrete examples to analyze five principles of brand name translation (the principle of following the target customers' culture, the principle of using concise words, the principle of grasping the characteristics of commodities, the principle of considering the target consumers’ aesthetic preference, "Three Principles of Beauty"). Fourth part gives examples about brand name to introduce five methods in brand name translation (transliteration, literal translation, free translation, combinative translation, non-translation). The last part of this chapter is conclusion emphasizing the theme of this research. --Wu Xiang (talk) 09:56, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

1.1 Brand and Its Name

According to the European Community Trademark Regulation, “the brand is a name, symbol, sign, design, number or some combination of these elements used to identify commodities or services of the enterprise.”Brand is a kind of soft power and a part of the core competitiveness of an enterprise. A good brand can not only reflect the value of products, but also represent the corporate image. What’s more, it will attract consumers’ attention and promote the sales of the goods. (Jing Yang 2018,1)

According to the European Community Trademark Regulation, “The brand is a name, symbol, sign, design, number or some combination of these elements used to identify commodities or services of the enterprise.”Brand is a kind of soft power and a part of the core competitiveness of an enterprise. A good brand can not only reflect the value of products, but also represent the corporate image. What’s more, it will attract consumers’ attention and promote the sales of the goods.(Jing Yang 2018,1) --Wu Xiang (talk) 09:56, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

Bhimrao M. Ghodeswar(2008: 4-12) remarks, “Branding is a set of marketing and communication methods that help to distinguish a company or products from competitors, aimed at creating a lasting impression in the minds of customers. The key components that form a brand's tool box include a brand’s identity, brand communication, brand awareness, brand loyalty and various branding strategies.” Therefore, a good brand name is especially important to the enterprise. (Lu Wenchan 2018,2)

Bhimrao M. Ghodeswar(2008 4-12) remarks, “Branding is a set of marketing and communication methods that help to distinguish a company or products from competitors, aimed at creating a lasting impression in the minds of customers. The key components that form a brand's tool box include a brand’s identity, brand communication, brand awareness, brand loyalty and various branding strategies.” Therefore, a good brand name is especially important to the enterprise. (Lu Wenchan 2018,2)--Wu Xiang (talk) 11:39, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

1.2 Brand Name Translation

With the development of the global economy, China has become the most potential markets around world. More and more foreign products to enter the Chinese market and got the attention of the Chinese. At the same time, to compete with foreign products, many Chinese products have entered into the international market.

With the development of the global economy, China has become the most potential markets around world. More and more foreign products enter the Chinese market and have gotten the attention of the Chinese. At the same time, to compete with foreign products, many Chinese products have entered into the international market.--Wu Xiang (talk) 09:56, 18 December 2020 (UTC) To participate in international competition, a good brand translation is extremely important. However, brand translation is not a simple conversion process from Source Language to Target Language, but an interlingual and intercultural communication, and often reflects culture, customs, economy, politics, religions and cultural aesthetics. In order to accurately translate the brand, the translators are required not only to have good language skills, but also to possess comprehensive knowledge of interlanguage and intercultural communication.

To participate in international competition, a good brand translation is extremely important. However, brand translation is not a simple conversion process from source language to target language, but an interlingual and intercultural communication, and often reflects culture, customs, economy, politics, religions and cultural aesthetics. In order to accurately translate the brand, the translators are required not only to have good language skills, but also to possess comprehensive knowledge of interlanguage and intercultural communication.--Wu Xiang (talk) 09:56, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

2. The Principles of Brand Name Translation

The purpose of brand name is to give publicity to commodities, stimulate consumption and boost the celebrity of the brand of the goods. Brand name translation is not a simple translation from one language to another language, it should reflect the commodities' information and embody enterprises' intelligence. But the same brand has different cultural connotations in different languages and cultures due to the cultural differences of different countries. Therefore, In order to promote the sales of the products, the translation of brand names should abide by the following principles. (Fade Wang 2012,3)

The purpose of brand name is to give publicity to commodities, stimulate consumption and boost the celebrity of the brand of the goods. Brand name translation is not a simple translation from one language to another language. It should reflect the commodities' information and embody enterprises' intelligence. But the same brand has different cultural connotations in different languages and cultures due to the cultural differences of different countries. Therefore, in order to promote the sales of the products, the translation of brand names should abide by the following principles. (Fade Wang 2012,3)--Wu Xiang (talk) 09:56, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

2.1 The Principle of Following the Target Customers' Culture

In China people pursues auspicious and peaceful culture and like the characters that mean happiness, prosperity and auspiciousness, such as "金", "美", "福" and "佳 ". In order to conform to the aesthetic culture of Chinese consumers, when translating the brand names of products, translators consciously choose characters that Chinese consumers like, such as “Marlboro”(万宝路), “Carrefour”(家乐福), “Ford”(福特). (Liu Haiyan 2013,11)

In China people pursue auspicious and peaceful culture and like the characters that mean happiness, prosperity and auspiciousness, such as "金", "美", "福" and "佳 ". In order to conform to the aesthetic culture of Chinese consumers, when translating the brand names of products, translators consciously choose characters that Chinese consumers like, such as “Marlboro”(万宝路), “Carrefour”(家乐福), “Ford”(福特). (Liu Haiyan 2013,11)--Wu Xiang (talk) 09:56, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

Different countries and areas have great differences in culture. Translators should pay more attention to cultural differences, avoiding misapprehension and antipathy. For example, many brand names in China contain the characters "dragon", "phoenix", "magpie", "petrel" and so on, because in Chinese culture, dragon is the symbol of imperial power and nobility, magpie is a lucky bird, Petrel is the symbol of courage and strength. But in English culture dragon is an evil imaginary animal, and it arouse terror and aversion in people’s mind, magpie means "someone who chatters", petrel is the symbol of disaster. (Liu Haiyan 2020,4)

Different countries and areas have great differences in culture. Translators should pay more attention to cultural differences, avoiding misapprehension and antipathy. For example, many brand names in China contain the characters "dragon", "phoenix", "magpie", "petrel" and so on, because in Chinese culture, dragon is the symbol of imperial power and nobility, magpie is a lucky bird, petrel is the symbol of courage and strength. But in English culture dragon is an evil imaginary animal, and it arouses terror and aversion in people’s mind, magpie means "someone who chatters", petrel is the symbol of disaster. (Liu Haiyan 2020,4)--Wu Xiang (talk) 09:56, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

People with different cultural backgrounds have different ideas about the same things because of the different moral criteria, religions, beliefs, and modes of thinking. For example, a clock brand name “金鸡牌闹钟”, which is originated from the Chinese saying “雄鸡报晓” meaning that cock heralds the break of a day, was once translated as “Golden Cock Alarming Clock”. However,“cock” in English also refers to male reproductive organ and is regarded as a taboo word. (Fade Wang,2012,2)

People with different cultural backgrounds have different ideas about the same things because of the different moral criteria, religions, beliefs and modes of thinking. For example, a clock brand name “金鸡牌闹钟”, which is originated from the Chinese saying “雄鸡报晓” meaning that cock heralds the break of a day, was once translated as “Golden Cock Alarming Clock”. However,“cock” in English also refers to male reproductive organ and is regarded as a taboo word. (Fade Wang,2012,2)--Wu Xiang (talk) 09:56, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

2.2 The Principle of Using Concise Words

As commodities are to be sold to consumers, their brand names should be common, popular, concise and easy to understand and remember. Generally, English trademarks are not usually translated into Chinese more than four Chinese characters. (Feng Wang 2012,3).

As commodities are to be sold to consumers, their brand names should be common, popular, concise and easy to understand and remember. Generally, English trademarks are not usually translated into Chinese more than four Chinese characters. (Feng Wang 2012,3).--Wu Xiang (talk) 09:56, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

For example, “Budweiser”, an American beer, is not translated as “百德威瑟”, but as “百威”, which makes people feel energetic and powerful after drinking it. “Bausch &Lomb”, an American eyewear brand, is translated into “博士伦”, which combines sound and meaning, as if wearing the glasses can be as knowledgeable as the doctor. “Hewlett-packard” is the world's largest electronic apparatus and notebook computer company, named after its founders, William Hewlett and David Packard. "Hewlett packard" was transliterated as “休利特-帕卡德公司”, but it was finally replaced by other brief translation “惠普”, which is both concise and easy to remember.Other examples are as follows: Marlboro (cigarette) —"马尔波罗"—"万宝路"、Mercedes-Benz (car) —"默赛德斯·本茨"—"奔驰". The Chinese are familiar with “百威”, “万宝路”, “奔驰”, but few know what “百德威瑟”, “马尔波罗”, “默赛德斯·本茨” are referring to. The reason is that the original translation is long and difficult for Chinese. (Chen Yang,Wang Xiufeng 2018,2); (Zhang Lulu 2011,2)

For example, “Budweiser”, an American beer, is not translated as “百德威瑟”, but as “百威”, which makes people feel energetic and powerful after drinking it. “Bausch &Lomb”, an American eyewear brand, is translated into “博士伦”, which combines sound and meaning, as if wearing the glasses can be as knowledgeable as the doctor. “Hewlett-packard” is the world's largest electronic apparatus and notebook computer company, named after its founders William Hewlett and David Packard. "Hewlett-packard" was transliterated as “休利特-帕卡德公司”, but it was finally replaced by other brief translation “惠普”, which is both concise and easy to remember.Other examples are as follows: Marlboro (cigarette) —"马尔波罗"—"万宝路"、Mercedes-Benz (car) —"默赛德斯·本茨"—"奔驰". The Chinese are familiar with “百威”, “万宝路”, “奔驰”, but few know what “百德威瑟”, “马尔波罗”, “默赛德斯·本茨” are referring to. The reason is that the original translation is long and difficult for Chinese. (Chen Yang,Wang Xiufeng 2018,2); (Zhang Lulu 2011,2)--Wu Xiang (talk) 09:56, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

2.3 The Principle of Grasping the Characteristics of Commodities

Brand is a reflection of commodity and an important advertisement. Therefore, if the translation of brand name can represent the commodity’s characteristics and functions, it will make consumers impressed.

A brand is a reflection of commodity and an important advertisement. Therefore, if the translation of brand name can represent the commodity’s characteristics and functions, it will make consumers impressed.--Wu Xiang (talk) 09:56, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

For example: The toothpaste brand “Colgate” was named after the company founder, William Colgate. Its Chinese name “高露洁” (Gao Lu Jie) might not sound like a perfect transliteration, but its meaning is unrivalled: “revealing superior cleanliness”. “Jie” indicates the type of the product (cleaning). “五粮液”(literally means the “essence of five grains”) makes people think of the wine that is brewed from grain; while “蒙牛”(literally means “Mongolian cows”) can be associated with the milk from Inner Mongolia. Brand names implies regional flavor. The Chinese famous brand "维维豆奶" is translated as "Soybean", in which "Bean" refers to the soybean, and it reflects the attributes of the product.(Fade Wang 2012,2); (Jing Yang 2018,4)

For example: the toothpaste brand “Colgate” was named after the company founder William Colgate. Its Chinese name “高露洁” (Gao Lu Jie) might not sound like a perfect transliteration, but its meaning is unrivalled: “revealing superior cleanliness”. “Jie” indicates the type of the product (cleaning). “五粮液”(literally means the “essence of five grains”) makes people think of the wine that is brewed from grain, while “蒙牛”(literally means “Mongolian cows”) can be associated with the milk from Inner Mongolia. Brand names implie regional flavor. The Chinese famous brand "维维豆奶" is translated as "Soybean", in which "Bean" refers to the soybean, and it reflects the attributes of the product.(Fade Wang 2012,2); (Jing Yang 2018,4)--Wu Xiang (talk) 09:56, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

Some commodities’ brand names bear the marks of the regions in which they are produced so as to raise the celebrity of the concerned places. For example, the two famous beer brand names implying the manufacturing places in China are “青岛啤酒”(Tsing Tao Beer) and “燕京啤酒”(Yangjing Beer)(Fade Wang 2012,2).

Some commodities’ brand names bear the marks of the regions in which they are produced so as to raise the celebrity of the concerned places. For example, two famous beer brand names implying the manufacturing places in China are “青岛啤酒”(Tsing Tao Beer) and “燕京啤酒”(Yangjing Beer)(Fade Wang 2012,2).--Wu Xiang (talk) 09:56, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

2.4 The Principle of Considering the Target Consumers’ Aesthetic Preference

Chinese translation of the American cosmetic brand “Revlon” is so beautiful (Lu Hua Nong 露华浓). On the one hand, "Lu Hua Nong" serves as a sound transcription of "Revlon", On the other hand, the translation of these three syllables provides an apt meaning for the brand name. These three characters come from the celebrated quatrain by the Tang poet Li Bai "云想衣裳花想容，春风拂槛露华浓", which originally describes the elegant female beauty of Yang Guifei. Translators skillfully combine the aesthetic connotation of Chinese culture with the pronunciation of the original trademark so as to create a trademark translation with Chinese characteristics. Bayerisch Motoren Werke(BMW) is translated into “宝马”, which quotes from an old saying “人中吕布，马中赤兔；宝马予英雄，鲜花赠美人”, Since ancient times, a good horse has been a symbol of wealth. Modern people pursue a good car just as ancient people crave a good horse. Therefore, the translated name is perfect in pronunciation, meaning and product characteristics. There are more examples such as “Make up for ever”- “浮生若梦”(from Li Bai “浮生若梦，为欢几何”), “Innisfree”- “悦诗风吟”(from Ye Zhi “The Lake Isle of Innisfree”), “Lexus”- “凌志”(from Mao Zedong “久有凌云志，重上井冈山”), “IKEA”- “宜家”,(from the Book of Songs: "桃之夭夭，灼灼其华。之子于归，宜其室家", which perfectly implies the good attributes of "home")(Victor Mair 2019);(Ogilvy Ao Mei 2017);(Liu Haiyan 2020,3); (Li Jianzi 2018).

Chinese translation of the American cosmetic brand “Revlon” is so beautiful (Lu Hua Nong 露华浓). On the one hand, "Lu Hua Nong" serves as a sound transcription of "Revlon". On the other hand, the translation of these three syllables provides an apt meaning for the brand name. These three characters come from the celebrated quatrain by the Tang poet Li Bai "云想衣裳花想容，春风拂槛露华浓", which originally describes the elegant female beauty of Yang Guifei. Translators skillfully combine the aesthetic connotation of Chinese culture with the pronunciation of the original trademark so as to create a trademark translation with Chinese characteristics. Bayerisch Motoren Werke(BMW) is translated into “宝马”, which quotes from an old saying “人中吕布，马中赤兔；宝马予英雄，鲜花赠美人”. Since ancient times a good horse has been a symbol of wealth. Modern people pursue a good car just as ancient people crave a good horse. Therefore, the translated name is perfect in pronunciation, meaning and producting characteristics. There are more examples such as “Make up for ever”- “浮生若梦”(from Li Bai “浮生若梦，为欢几何”), “Innisfree”- “悦诗风吟”(from Ye Zhi “The Lake Isle of Innisfree”), “Lexus”- “凌志”(from Mao Zedong “久有凌云志，重上井冈山”), “IKEA”- “宜家”,(from the Book of Songs: "桃之夭夭，灼灼其华。之子于归，宜其室家", which perfectly implies the good attributes of "home")(Victor Mair 2019);(Ogilvy Ao Mei 2017);(Liu Haiyan 2020,3); (Li Jianzi 2018).--Wu Xiang (talk) 09:56, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

2.5 “Three Principles of Beauty”

Professor Xu Yuanchong put forward the "Three Principles of Beauty" for poetry translation: including beauty in sense, that is, the beauty of language use and the beauty of words meaning; beauty in sound, that is, the beauty of rhythm; beauty in form, that is, the beauty of language form. However, the standard also applies to brand name translation. (Duan Wenpo, Guo Ru 2018,1)

Professor Xu Yuanchong put forward the "Three Principles of Beauty" for poetry translation: including beauty in sense, that is, the beauty of language use and the beauty of words meaning; beauty in sound, that is, the beauty of rhythm; beauty in form, that is, the beauty of language form. As far as I'm concerned, the standard also applies to brand name translation. (Duan Wenpo, Guo Ru 2018,1)--Wu Xiang (talk) 09:56, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

2.5.1 The Beauty in Sense

Through the characteristics of the product, as well as the experience and perception it can bring to consumers to translate the brand name of the product, so as to make the translation of the brand closer to its own meaning, the meaning of the brand name easy to understand, and make the translation more vivid and flexible. For example, “NIKE”(耐克) is the goddess of victory in Greek mythology, symbolizing victory and light. It gives people a sence of confidence. In the process of translation, the translator should fully grasp the characteristics of the goods, so that consumers can understand the goods. (Zhang Wenfei 2020,3)

Through the characteristics of the product, as well as the experience and perception it can bring to consumers to translate the brand name of the product, so as to make the translation of the brand closer to its own meaning, the meaning of the brand name easy to understand, and make the translation more vivid and flexible. For example, “NIKE”(耐克) is the goddess of victory in Greek mythology, symbolizing victory and light. It gives people a sence of confidence. In the process of translation the translator should fully grasp the characteristics of the goods so that consumers can understand the goods. (Zhang Wenfei 2020,3)--Wu Xiang (talk) 09:56, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

2.5.2 Beauty in Sound

The translated brand is loud in pronunciation, clear in rhythm and full of musical sense, giving people the enjoyment of auditory beauty. For example, “Nokia”(诺基亚), “Samsung”(三星), “Nestle”(雀巢), “HP"(惠普), “Della”(戴尔), “SONY”(索尼) and so on . In this way, the translation don’t lose the beauty in sound of the brand and sounds beautiful and concise, thus reflecting the characteristics of the product. When a Chinese brand is translated into an English brand, it is usually translated directly in pinyin. This method not only retains the phonetic beauty of the brand, but also shows the exotic feelings and characteristics of the product. (Zhang Wenfei 2020,3)

The translated brand is loud in pronunciation, clear in rhythm and full of musical sense, giving people the enjoyment of auditory beauty. For example, “Nokia”(诺基亚), “Samsung”(三星), “Nestle”(雀巢), “HP"(惠普), “Della”(戴尔), “SONY”(索尼) and so on . In this way, the translation don’t lose the beauty in sound of the brand and sounds beautiful and concise, thus reflecting the characteristics of the product. When a Chinese brand is translated into English, it is usually translated directly in pinyin. This method not only retains the phonetic beauty of the brand, but also shows the exotic feelings and characteristics of the product. (Zhang Wenfei 2020,3)--Wu Xiang (talk) 09:56, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

2.5.3 Beauty in Form

Brand name should be short in shape and easy to remember, which can leave a deep impression on consumers. Non-translation can be used to convey the beauty of the form. The method means to express the meaning of the source language without any equivalent word of the target language, that is to say, without any conversion between the two languages. For example, “SK-II”, “LG”, “IBM” (Wang Hengen, 2009,3).

Brand names should be short in shape and easy to remember, which can leave a deep impression on consumers. Non-translation can be used to convey the beauty of the form. The method means to express the meaning of the source language without any equivalent word of the target language, that is to say, without any conversion between the two languages. For example, “SK-II”, “LG”, “IBM” (Wang Hengen, 2009,3).--Wu Xiang (talk) 09:56, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

3.The methods of brand name translation

3.1 Transliteration

Transliteration is a translation method that transcribes the same or similar pronunciation between the original and target language to translate the name of the product. Though transliteration is simple, it can not only retain the original rhyme, but also well reflect the brand's cultural connotation. (Lu Wenchan 2018,4)

Transliteration is a translation method that transcribes the same or similar pronunciation between the original and target languages to translate the name of the product. Though transliteration is simple, it can not only retain the original rhyme, but also well reflect the brand's cultural connotation. (Lu Wenchan 2018,4)--Wu Xiang (talk) 09:56, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

Transliteration is quite common in the process of translating foreign trademark names into Chinese. Taking some products for example, the Germanic auto “Benz” was translated as “朋驰” or “本茨” in Taiwan, although this version is homophonic to the original name “Benz”, it sounds dull and lack of implied meaning. The present version of it in the mainland is “奔驰”, which is not only similar to the original pronunciation, but also give customers the impression that the car can run very fast, thus impressing the buyers with the excellent performance of such cars. A medicine called "Quick", is translated to "Kuai Ke" in Chinese, which is reminiscent to the fact that the medicine will quickly overcome disease. The brand name of food “Subway” is translated into“Sai Bai Wei”，the last characters “Bai Wei” mean “100 flavours”— a hint on showing what the brand offers to its customers, somewhere that provides everyone with their own favourite flavours. There are also some brand names which only conveys the pronunciation and do not have any meaning or function. Such as ,“Kodak”(Keda), “Intel”(Yingteer), "Puma"(Biao Ma), "Parker"(Pai Ke), "Lincoln"（Lin Ken), "Canon" (Jia Neng). Chinese consumers, seeing these transliterated brand names, would probably have the first impression that the merchandise is made in foreign countries. It would arouse the psychological demand of some consumers and encourage them to purchase greatly. (Fade Wang 2012,2); (Jing Yang 2018,4); )(Jing Yang 2018,4)

Transliteration is quite common in the process of translating foreign trademark names into Chinese. Taking some products for example, the Germanic auto “Benz” was translated as “朋驰” or “本茨” in Taiwan, although this version is homophonic to the original name “Benz”, it sounds dull and lacks implied meaning. The present version of it in the mainland is “奔驰”, which is not only similar to the original pronunciation, but also give customers the impression that the car can run very fast, thus impressing the buyers with the excellent performance of such cars. A medicine called "Quick" is translated to "Kuai Ke" in Chinese, which is reminiscent to the fact that the medicine will quickly overcome disease. The brand name of food “Subway” is translated into“Sai Bai Wei”，the last characters “Bai Wei” mean “100 flavours”— a hint on showing what the brand offers to its customers, somewhere that provides everyone with their own favourite flavours. There are also some brand names which only convey the pronunciation and do not have any meaning or function. Such as ,“Kodak”(Keda), “Intel”(Yingteer), "Puma"(Biao Ma), "Parker"(Pai Ke), "Lincoln"（Lin Ken), "Canon" (Jia Neng). Chinese consumers, seeing these transliterated brand names, would probably have the first impression that the merchandise is made in foreign countries. It would arouse the psychological demand of some consumers and encourage them to purchase greatly. (Fade Wang 2012,2); (Jing Yang 2018,4); )(Jing Yang 2018,4)--Wu Xiang (talk) 09:56, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

It is common for Chinese brand names to use “Hanyu Pinyin” for translation. Hanyu means the Chinese language, pin means "spell" and yin means "sound". In Chinese pronunciation, transliteration is mainly applicable to our country's names, merchandises with ethnic style. For example, “Haier” is transliterated from “海尔” and is homophonous with “higher”. This translated brand name is easily associated with the advertisement of “Haier”: “Haier, higher and higher”. The well-known drink brand “娃哈哈” is simply translated as “Wahaha”. (Fade Wang 2012,3)

It is common for Chinese brand names to use “Hanyu Pinyin” for translation. Hanyu means the Chinese language, pin means "spell" and yin means "sound". In Chinese pronunciation transliteration is mainly applicable to our country's names, merchandises with ethnic style. For example, “Haier” is transliterated from “海尔” and is homophonous with “higher”. This translated brand name is easily associated with the advertisement of “Haier”: “Haier, higher and higher”. The well-known drink brand “娃哈哈” is simply translated as “Wahaha”. (Fade Wang 2012,3)--Wu Xiang (talk) 11:24, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

3.2 Literal Translation

The literal translation means that using the corresponding target words directly according to the original brand name meaning. When we use the literal translation, it is usually the brand name which has a precise meaning, good cultural implication and the function is equivalent. Excellent literal translation not only keeps the original content, but also keeps the original form, especially the original metaphor, image and national, local characteristics. (Lu Wenchan 2018,4)

The literal translation means using that the corresponding target words directly according to the original brand name meaning. When we use the literal translation, it is usually the brand name which has a precise meaning, good cultural implication and its function is equivalent. Excellent literal translation not only keeps the original content, but also keeps the original form, especially the original metaphor, image and national, local characteristics. (Lu Wenchan 2018,4)--Wu Xiang (talk) 11:27, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

A great number of brand names are translated into another language by using literal translation. Only if there are correspondent words in the target language, literal translation can be applied. Taking a red wine brand "Dynasty" as an example, it is translated into “Wangchao”. In Chinese, “Wangchao”means power and wealth. It gives the customers an illusion that if they drink the red wine “Wangchao”, their status and taste will improve accordingly. It stimulates the customers to buy the product inadvertently. The car brand name “Bluebird” is translated into “Lanniao” (Bluebird). The brand name “Bluebird” originates from the pantomime “Bluebird” which is created by the Belgian author. In the pantomime, the “Bluebird” is the symbol of “the future happiness”. In China, it represents the object which can be the bailment of our “lovesickness”. Other examples such as Playboy (men’s wear) “花花公子”, Wild Turkey (whiskey) “野火鸡” , Blue Ribbon beer “蓝带” 啤酒, Redbull (drink) “红牛”, all of these translated brand names are very suitable for their goods. (Lu Wenchan 2018,4); (Lu Wenchan 2018,4); (Zhang Shu 2018,4)

A great number of brand names are translated into another language by using literal translation. Only if there are correspondent words in the target language, literal translation can be applied. Taking a red wine brand "Dynasty" as an example, it is translated into “Wangchao”. In Chinese, “Wangchao”means power and wealth. It gives the customers an illusion that if they drink the red wine “Wangchao”, their status and taste will improve accordingly. It stimulates the customers to buy the product inadvertently. The car brand name “Bluebird” is translated into “Lanniao” (Bluebird). The brand name “Bluebird” originates from the pantomime “Bluebird” which is created by the Belgian author. In the pantomime, the “Bluebird” is the symbol of “the future happiness”. In China it represents the object which can be the bailment of our “lovesickness”. Other examples such as Playboy (men’s wear) “花花公子”, Wild Turkey (whiskey) “野火鸡” , Blue Ribbon beer “蓝带” 啤酒, Redbull (drink) “红牛”, all of these translated brand names are very suitable for their goods. (Lu Wenchan 2018,4); (Lu Wenchan 2018,4); (Zhang Shu 2018,4)--Wu Xiang (talk) 11:27, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

In the above examples, they have the same referential meaning and cultural implication in the target language and source language which can associate the customers with the same feelings of China and western countries. However, there are also some circumstances that we cannot use the literal translation accounting of the different cultural message. For example, “紫罗兰”, a man’s clothing company, is translated into “Pansy”, but the definition of the word in the dictionary: an offensive word for homosexual man. So sales of the brand is poor. Other examples such as “Bianfu”(bat) , “Baixiang”(white elephant) , “Jinji”(Golden Cock), all are failure translation because of the different cultural implication. Therefore, it is important for us to pay more attention to the connotation and association of the brand name in the process of translation to avoid the cultural clashes. Translators should think deeply to find out what these English expressions really mean in authoritative reference books to minimize the mistakes in literal translation. (Zhang Jin 2019,2); (Lu Wenchan 2018,4)

In the above examples, they have the same referential meaning and cultural implication in the target language and source language which can associate the customers with the same feelings of China and western countries. However, there are also some circumstances that we cannot use the literal translation accounting of the different cultural message. For example, “紫罗兰”, a man’s clothing company, is translated into “Pansy”, but the definition of the word in the dictionary: an offensive word for homosexual man. So sales of the brand are poor. Other examples such as “Bianfu”(bat) , “Baixiang”(white elephant) , “Jinji”(Golden Cock), all are failure translation because of the different cultural implication. Therefore, it is important for us to pay more attention to the connotation and association of the brand name in the process of translation to avoid the cultural clashes. Translators should think deeply to find out what these English expressions really mean in authoritative reference books to minimize the mistakes in literal translation. (Zhang Jin 2019,2); (Lu Wenchan 2018,4)--Wu Xiang (talk) 11:27, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

3.3 Free translation

When both sounds and meaning can’t show the value of the product, it is a best choice to use the free translation. The free translation is also called “paraphrasing translation”, namely using similar and related words to translate brand name in the target language pronunciation. Free translation has the features of being vivid and impressive, which retains the original meaning. What's more, free translation is able to deliver the aesthetic and value orientation of the products. (Lu Wenchan 2018,4)

When both sounds and meaning can’t show the value of the product, the best choice is to use the free translation. The free translation is also called “paraphrasing translation”, namely using similar and related words to translate brand name in the target language pronunciation. Free translation has the features of being vivid and impressive, which retains the original meaning. What's more, free translation is able to deliver the aesthetic and value orientation of the products. (Lu Wenchan 2018,4)--Wu Xiang (talk) 11:30, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

Here are some instances such as "Rejoice", its translation is "Piao Rou". Rejoice means joy and happiness, and the brand name translation indicates hair will become smooth after using the shampoo. So translators fully explore its connotations of the brand name. A soap called “Safeguard” is translated into “Shu Fu Jia”, “Shu” gives a refreshing and comfortable feel; “Fu” means “skin”, which shows the commodity's function; “Jia”expresses the using effect. The translation of many brand names named adopts free translation method, for instance, “葵花” (Sunflower), “百灵” (Lark), “Pioneer” (先锋), “Skinice”(肤美灵). (Jing Yang 2018,5); (Jing Yang 2018, 4)

Here are some instances such as "Rejoice", its translation is "Piao Rou". Rejoice means joy and happiness, and the brand name translation indicates hair will become smooth after using the shampoo. So translators fully explore its connotations of the brand name. A soap called “Safeguard” is translated into “Shu Fu Jia”, “Shu” gives a refreshing and comfortable feel; “Fu” means “skin”, which shows the commodity's function; “Jia”expresses the using effect. The translation of many brand names adopts free translation method, for instance, “葵花” (Sunflower), “百灵” (Lark), “Pioneer” (先锋), “Skinice”(肤美灵). (Jing Yang 2018,5); (Jing Yang 2018, 4)--Wu Xiang (talk) 11:30, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

However, owing to the different cultural system, some words have the same referential meaning with different associative meaning, sometimes; even the referential meaning is different. For example, If “芳草” is transliterated as “Fangcao”, it would bring antipathy to target readers, because “fang” in English means venomous tooth of a snake and “cao” sounds like “chaos.”, so “Fragrance Grass” should be a better translation for this brand name.(Fade Wang 2012,4).

However, owing to the different cultural systems, some words have the same referential meaning with different associative meaning, sometimes; even the referential meaning is different. For example, If “芳草” is transliterated as “Fangcao”, it would bring antipathy to target readers, because “fang” in English means venomous tooth of a snake and “cao” sounds like “chaos.”, so “Fragrance Grass” should be a better translation for this brand name.(Fade Wang 2012,4)--Wu Xiang (talk) 11:30, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

3.4 Combinative Translation

Combinative Translation is a combination of transliteration, literal Translation and liberal translation. This method is a bit more difficult for translators to master and challenges their creative ability. It requires that its meaning can indicate the characteristic and function of the product. Consumers can have nice association from the pronunciation and meaning of the translated brand name.

Combinative Translation is a combination of transliteration, literal Translation and liberal translation. This method is a bit more difficult for translators to master and challenges their creative ability. It requires that its meaning can indicate the characteristic and function of the product. Consumers can have a nice association from the pronunciation and meaning of the translated brand name--Wu Xiang (talk) 11:32, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

“Coca-Cola” is translated as “可口可乐”. The translator by using free translation method translate it as “可口” which means “very pleasant to people’s taste”, because as for beverage, people would attach importance to the feeling of the taste. The second part is transliterated as “可乐”. The version “可口可乐” sufficiently implies the characteristic and function of the beverage: it sure can give you nice flavor and pleasure. The "Goldlion" is translated into "Jin Li Lai", which is a good translation. As we all know, "lion" means "Shi Zi"" in Chinese, but the pronunciation of "Lion" is similar to the Chinese "Shi", and "Shi" means "Lose" in Chinese, then the businessmen will think "lose" unlucky. When it is translated as "Jin Li Lai", it means wealth and good luck, and the consumers' psychology is met satisfyingly. Other examples of this type are as follows: “Nike”(耐克), “Unilever”(联合利华), “Uniqlo”(优衣库), “Revlon”(露华浓), “Volkswagen”(大众) and so on. (Fade Wang 2012,4); (Jing Yang 2018,5)

“Coca-Cola” is translated as “可口可乐”. The translator by using free translation method translate it as “可口” which means “very pleasant to people’s taste”, because as for beverage, people would attach importance to the feeling of the taste. The second part is transliterated as “可乐”. The version “可口可乐” sufficiently implies the characteristic and function of the beverage: it surely can give you nice flavor and pleasure. The "Goldlion" is translated into "Jin Li Lai", which is a good translation. As we all know, "lion" means "Shi Zi"" in Chinese, but the pronunciation of "Lion" is similar to the Chinese "Shi", and "Shi" means "Lose" in Chinese, then the businessmen will think "lose" unlucky. When it is translated as "Jin Li Lai", it means wealth and good luck, and the consumers' psychology is met satisfyingly. Other examples of this type are as follows: “Nike”(耐克), “Unilever”(联合利华), “Uniqlo”(优衣库), “Revlon”(露华浓), “Volkswagen”(大众) and so on. (Fade Wang 2012,4); (Jing Yang 2018,5)--Wu Xiang (talk) 11:32, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

3.5 Non-translation

Due to the differences in Chinese and English, there are also some exceptions, when some brands enter a foreign culture, they choose to remain their original brand name, and this situation is called “non-translation” (Jing Yang,2018,5).

Due to the differences in Chinese and English, there are also some exceptions, when some brands enter a foreign culture, they choose to remain their original brand names, and this situation is called “non-translation” (Jing Yang,2018,5).--Wu Xiang (talk) 11:34, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

On many occasions, some brands are made up of letters, numbers, or combination of the two, after entering a foreign market with their original forms, for eye-catching and they are usually easy to be remembered. For example, we are all familiar with the "999"medicines, "IBM" computers, "TCL" electronic products, "LG" Electronics, “iphone”, “ipad” and so on. Non-translation avoids using the equivalences in the target language and leave the original ones untranslated. There are some brand names unifying intercultural communications by short forms which have great stability and maintain the original and profound meaning at any time. (Zhang Jin 2019,2)

On many occasions, some brands are made up of letters, numbers, or combination of the two, after entering a foreign market with their original forms, for eye-catching and they are usually easy to be remembered. For example, we are all familiar with the "999"medicines, "IBM" computers, "TCL" electronic products, "LG" Electronics, “iphone”, “ipad” and so on. Non-translation avoids using the equivalences in the target language and leaves the original ones untranslated. There are some brand names unifying intercultural communications by short forms which have great stability and maintain the original and profound meaning at any time. (Zhang Jin 2019,2)--Wu Xiang (talk) 11:34, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

4.Conclusion

In the age of economic globalization, in order to occupy the international market and attract customers, brand name and its translation are very important. Brand name translation is not only a simple replacement between two languages, but also a cultural combination in two different languages.

In the age of economic globalization, in order to occupy the international market and attract customers, brand name and its translation are very important. Brand name translation is not only a simple replacement between two languages, but also a cultural combination in two different languages.--Wu Xiang (talk) 11:36, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

From this thesis, the following conclusions can be reached:

First, brand name translation should follow the five principles mentioned in this paper. If the brand name translation follows the principle of following the target customers' culture, it will be easier for customers to understand the product and buy it. If the brand name translation follows the principle of using concise words and the princple of grasping the characteristic of commodities, it will make consumers impressed. If the brand name translation follows the principle of considering the target consumers’ aesthetic preference and "Three Principles of Beauty", product sales will increase.

First, brand name translation should follow the five principles mentioned in this chapter. If the brand name translation follows the principle of following the target customers' culture, it will be easier for customers to understand the product and buy it. If the brand name translation follows the principle of using concise words and the princple of grasping the characteristic of commodities, it will make consumers impressed. If the brand name translation follows the principle of considering the target consumers’ aesthetic preference and "Three Principles of Beauty", product sales will increase.--Wu Xiang (talk) 11:36, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

Second, brand name translation can use the five methods: transliteration, literal translation, free translation, combinative translation, non-translation.

Brand name relates to the image of the enterprise and business opportunities, which is vital for the source countries to further explore the international market. Brand name translation is one of intercultural translations. Translators need to stand on a level of intercultural translations and have observant awareness of cross culture. At the same time, they need to respect every ethnic customs and use correct methods and skills of translation to make brand name into customers hearts. Thereby, manufacturers can promote consumption and improve the interests of enterprises.

Brand name relates to the image of the enterprise and business opportunities, which is vital for the source countries to further explore the international market. It is one of intercultural translations. Translators need to stand on a level of intercultural translations and have observant awareness of translation cross culture. At the same time, they need to respect every ethnic customs and use correct methods and skills of translation to make brand name into customers hearts. Thereby, manufacturers can promote consumption and improve the interests of enterprises.--Wu Xiang (talk) 11:36, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

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