一、Venuti’s advocation of foreignization

Foreignization is resistant translation.

Translations should be non-fluent so as to show the foreign identity of the source text and protect it from being influenced by the cultural ideology (文化意识形态) of the target language. 

The foreign texts and translating methods we choose should be the ones that are excluded from main stream cultural values of source texts.

He believes that he can challenge the cultural hegemony （文化霸权） of English-speaking countries his selection of the source text and usage of foreignization in translation, thus the equality of cultural exchange will be achieved.

二、Flaws in His Theory

1. He didn’t take the purpose of  literary translation or the requirements of readers into account.

The well-known western translator Edith Grossman, who has been translating the works of Garcia Marquez (author of One Hundred Years of Solitude), said in a letter that her expectation of her translation was "to write as Garcia Marquez would have done had he been writing in English".

Translator Tyldesley Esther (graduated from department of Chinese in Cambridge and department of translation in Leeds) always tells her students to "ignore the so-called foreignization theories" and that “good translations should be native, idiomatic, and acceptable to readers."

From the examples above, we can see that both translators and translation teachers don‘t approve Venuti’s “resistant translation”. 

The fact is, western translators today still tend to regard “accuracy” and “fluency” as the standard of translation just like old times, and are in favor of target languages that read well.

2. Domestication is not only the main stream translating method of culturally-strong countries, but a widespread one around the world.

Anthony Pym points out that while Venuti advocates that the translation of works in English-speaking countries should use foreignization instead of domestication as translating method, the latter is also common in countries with less-spoken languages, like Brazil, Spain and France.

Conclusion

Such theory may bring about negative influence.

If a translation fails to fulfill the demand of readers, few may bother to read through it.

Unqualified translators will have excuse for their non-fluent translations.

三、翻译界直译(literal translation)与意译(liberal translation)之争,可谓由来已久。而归化(domesticating translation)与异化(foreignizing translation)之争,则是直译与意译之争的延伸。随着文化日益成为翻译的重心,归化异化孰优孰劣的争论声也越来越大。

In field of translation, there has long been a hot debate over the proper translation strategy chosen for the transmission of cultural contents. The two major approaches are domestication and foreignization, which have been the focus of debate since their appearance. 

The debate on foreignization or domestication can be viewed as the extension of the debate on “literal translation” and “free translation”.

But most scholars hold that literal and free translation are limited on the level of content and form, when two languages are very similar in their structures, the issue of literal versus free translating may not seen to be so acute. 

With the development of the translation studies, plenty of translators and theorists have realized that translation is a far more complicated activity with various cultural, poetic, political as well as economic factors related to it. Therefore, foreignization and domestication are a pair of new translation strategies which are more complex and extensive than literal translation and free translation method. 

归    化

根据韦努蒂的理论，《翻译研究词典》将归化定义为：

在翻译中采用透明、流畅（transparent, fluent style）的风格，最大限度淡化原文陌生感（strangeness）的翻译策略。

P211 

奈达是归化论的代表人物。Dynamic equivalence and formal equivalence are two terms for methods of translation coined by him.

Wet Paint

直译为“湿油漆”。

但是汉语中一般不这么讲，所以采用奈达的理论就应该采用“油漆未干”的译法。

Dynamic equivalence and formal equivalence are terms for methods of translation coined by Eugene Nida. The two terms have often been understood as fundamentally the same as sense-for-sense translation (translating the meanings of whole sentences) and word-for-word translation (translating the meanings of individual words in their more or less exact syntactic sequence), and Nida did often seem to use them this way; but his original definition of dynamic equivalence was rhetorical: the idea was that the translator should translate so that the effect of the translation on the target reader is roughly the same as the effect of the source text once was on the source reader.

The term "functional equivalence" suggests not just that the equivalence is between the function of the source text in the source culture and the function of the target text (translation) in the target culture, but that "function" can be thought of as a property of the text. It is, however, possible to think of functional equivalence too in the larger (dynamic/intercultural) context as about more than the structure of texts--as about how people interact in cultures.

异    化

毫无疑问,异化决不是简单的直译。因为异化的概念已经远远超出了语言的层面,而上升到了文化、诗学、以及政治的层次。韦努蒂对异化的定义是:

偏离本土主流价值观,保留原文的语言和文化差异。(Venuti)

根据他的定义,《翻译研究词典》把异化定义为:

在一定程度上保留原文的异域性,故意打破目标语言常规的翻译。

Generally speaking, domestication adopts words and phrases from the target language, so the expressions tend to be in accordance with the target language norm, and be more acceptable and readable.

However, the disadvantage is that translators may confuse one thing with another, or over-domesticate the translation.

P212 

With shifting change, as is false women’s fashion.

                                            --Shakespeare Sonnet 20

时髦女人的水性杨花和朝秦暮楚。

Shakespeare (1564-1616) couldn’t have known the history of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States (770 B.C.-221 B.C.) of China. So if characters like “qin” or “chu” appear in the translation of Shakespeare’s works, readers may misunderstand and get puzzled.

P212 Example:

When Mary came down dressed for the dance, her father remarked, “Fine feathers make fine birds.”

玛丽打扮好了下楼来，准备去参加舞会，父亲一见就说：“佛要金装，人要衣装。”

Compared with domestication, foreignization strategy in translation shows the differences in language and culture of ST much better. Meanwhile, foreignization can maintain the cultural features of ST and the author’s unique expressions as much as possible so that readers are able to comprehend the original style of ST. 

e.g.: 

原：抽刀断水水更流，举杯浇愁愁更愁。

译：Drawing sword, cut into water, water again flows.

        Raise up, quench sorrow, sorrow again sorrow.

Although Pound’s translated poetry has been a source of controversy, to some extent it indicates the parataxis characteristic of Chinese syntax and the expression techniques of superposition of images in classical Chinese poems. By reproducing the form and syntactic structure of the classical Chinese poetry, Pound’s translation brings the original appearance of ST to foreign readers who almost know nothing about Chinese. 

By literal translation and abandonment of idiomatic expressions of SL, foreignization strategy keep the “original taste and flavor” of TT.

P213 

Moreover, the method of foreignization has enriched and developed the language of one country, and has injected fresh blood to the target-language culture. For example, many fresh and vivid expressions in modern Chinese originate from foreignization.

吻别         farewell kiss

象牙塔        an ivory tower

处女地        virgin land

酸葡萄       sour grapes

替罪羊        scapegoat

摊牌             to show one’s card

伸出橄榄枝         to hold out an olive branch

以眼还眼，以牙还牙        an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth

条条道路通罗马           All roads lead to Rome

见树不见林                   not to see the wood for the trees

Certainly, foreignization also has shortcomings:

1.Obvious trace of translation

2.Readers need to overcome more obstacles in language and culture when reading translation.

3.Bad influence on communicative effect

4.If some information in source-language culture is not handled properly, cultural misunderstandings even cultural conflicts will be caused.

P214 e.g.  He is a lazy dog.

     他是条懒狗。  ×

     他这个人很懒。  √   （dog 指“伙计，家伙）

P214

What’s more, translators are influenced by many factors while choosing domestication or foreignization. 

The purpose of the translator

The type of the text

The quality of the translator

The purpose of the translation

The nature of readership

The main translation environment 

Lu Xun was deeply influenced by the popularity of paraphrase in late Qing Dynasty. In order to meet the reading habit of Chinese people, he not only sincized （中国化）the names of people and places, titles and classical allusions, but also applied the traditional Chinese fiction model while translating. 

凡读过世界地理同历史的，都晓得有个亚美利加的地方。至于亚美利加独立战争一事，连孩子也晓得是惊天动地；应该时时记得，永远不忘的。今且不说，单说那独立战争时，合众国中，有一个卖烈兰国，其首府名曰拔尔祛摩，是个有名街市。真是行人接踵，车马如云。这府中有一所会社，壮大是不消说，一见他国旗高挑，随风飞舞，就令人起一种肃然致敬的光景。（鲁迅 译）

美国独立战争期间，马里兰州巴尔的摩市新成立了一个颇具影响力的俱乐部。（直译）

Now what makes naturalization and alienation take 

the spotlight in the translation area is that globalization becomes an irresistible trend in the whole world. 

With more and more deeply communications among countries, it leads to a question whether we should abandon the language diversity, pursuing a single language, or protect our unique system, making multiple languages co-exist with our own language. 

It gets a more and more attention from people, including translators and interpreters.

Now what makes naturalization and alienation take 

the spotlight in the translation area is that globalization 

becomes an irresistible trend in the whole world. 

With more and more deeply communications among 

countries, it leads to a question whether we should 

abandon the language diversity, pursuing a single 

language, or protect our unique system, making 

multiple languages co-exist with our own language. 

It gets a more and more attention from people, including

translators and interpreters.

A global statement about cultural diversity was released 

by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific,

and Cultural Organization) in 2001, which pointed out 

it was essential for human to accept cultural diversity. 

In 2004, the theme for that year’s International 

Translation Day made by International Federation 

of Translators was “translation—the footstone of 

multiple languages and cultural diversity”. 

All these show that it has become people’s common 

view and the mainstream of society to protect cultural 

diversity and otherness (异质性). 

Translation, as the carrier of culture, must play an important 

role to strengthen communication among different nations, 

at the same time, it must maintain their own cultures.