1、On the Foreignization and Domestication in Idioms Translation（School of Foreign Languages, Hubei University, Wuhan, 430062）習語翻譯的異化與歸化研究(湖北大學外語學院，武漢430062)摘要：習語是一種承載著文化信息的語言符號。習語的翻譯，無論是將英語習語翻譯成漢語，還是將漢語習語翻譯成英語，都不僅僅是語碼的轉換，更是文化信息的傳遞。因此，對我們來說，在不考慮文化因素的情況下講某一種語言或者是翻譯某一個文本都是不可行的。習語是語言的精華，它承載著豐富的文化特征和不同國家、不

2、同名族的文化底蘊。無論在結構上還是在意義上，習語都具有很強的穩定性。在這個全球化的時代，文化交流越來越頻繁，習語翻譯是非常重要的，而對于習語翻譯的異化與歸化研究非常有利于習語的翻譯和文化交流。本篇論文著眼于異化與歸化這兩種不同的習語翻譯方法以及它們各自的特征和側重點，通過對比分析以及舉例的方法，我們發現，在這個文化多元化的世界里，大多數情況下我們會傾向于選擇異化方法來翻譯習語。此外，本篇論文還研究了一些具體的異化翻譯方法，比如直譯法，借譯法和譯注法。關鍵詞：歸化，異化，習語，翻譯，文化1. A Brief Introduction to idiomsAn English idioms says

3、,“idioms are the daughters of daily experience.”Idioms, existing distinctively and numerously in almost every language, are the panoramic pictures of linguistic and cultural traits of a community. They are an important integrated part of a language and widely recognized as the essence and crystalliz

4、ation of a nation. In content, idioms are closely connected with history, religion and living condition of a nation. In form, idioms are presented by sentences or phrases that cannot be substituted randomly. As a gem of a language and a mirror of linguistic and cultural concepts of a nation, idioms

5、have been handed down from generation to generation. Without idioms, a language will lack vitality, vividness and expressiveness. A idiom is defined as “phrase or sentence whose meaning is not clear from the meaning of its individual words and which must be learned as a whole unit ” by Oxford Advanc

6、ed Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary (2002). 2. Definition of Foreignization and DomesticationDomestication and foreignization are two basic translation strategies which provide both linguistic and cultural guidance. These two terms were derived from the German philosopher Friedrich Schleierm

7、achers famous notion of the translation strategies in his lecture in 1813. According to his lecture, there were two translation methods-“ 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, an

8、d moves the author towards him.”(Venuti, 1995:19-20) The U.S. translator Lawrence Venuti named the former foreignization and the latter domestication in his book The Translators Invisibility: A History of Translation in 1995. He defines domestication as “an ethnocentric reduction of the foreign text

9、 to target-language cultural values, bringing the author back home”, and defines foreignization as “an ethnodeviant pressure on those values to register the linguistic and cultural difference of the foreign text, sending the reader abroad”(ibid, 1995:20). In China, Lu Xun (魯迅), Zhang Peiji(張培基), Sun

10、 Zhili(孫致禮),etc, vigorously advocated the literal translation approach by urging translators to keep the exotic tone and preserve the authentic flavor of the original in the version(羅新璋, 1984:310). Lu Xun defined domestication as “rewriting, changing the foreign story in Chinese story and changing t

11、he foreigners into Chinese”, and foreignization as “going abroad traveling, it must reflect the scene and flavor of the foreign country concerned ” (羅新璋，1984:301).Generally speaking, domestication designates the type of translation in which a transparent, fluent style is adopted to minimize the stra

12、ngeness of the foreign text for target language readers, while foreignization means a target text is produced which deliberately breaks target conventions by retaining something of the foreignness of the original (Shuttleworth & Cowie 1997:59). 3. The Application of Foreignization and Domesticat

13、ion in Idioms TranslationAccording to Venuti(2004), domestication means bringing the foreign culture closer to the reader in the target culture, making the translated text recognizable and familiar. The concept of domestication involves two important factors. The first factor is fluency. The second

14、essential factor involved in domestication is ethnocentric. “ethnocentric” means that domesticated translation should erase the linguistic and cultural differences of the original text and handle them in such a way that they are made to conform to the current dominant values in the target language c

15、ulture.Foreignization is a term which Venuti created and which is in contrast to the domesticating strategy. According to Venuti, foreignization requires the translator to take the reader over to the foreign culture and make him or her see the cultural and linguistic differences.Generally speaking,

16、both foreignization and domestication are important strategies for idioms translation. The most important feature of foreignization is to remain the foreign features and flavor of the original work in the translation, while the most important feature of domestication is to make the translation as co

17、herent, influent and natural as possible to readers. Both foreignization and domestication are applied widely in idioms translation. There are some examples which use the two translation strategies in idioms translation.last but not least 最后但不是最不重要的一點after ones own heart 正中下懷show the cloven hoof 露出馬

18、腳hang by a hair 千鈞一發heart and soul 全心全意 赴湯蹈火 to go through fire and water 空中樓閣 a castle in the air 破釜沉舟 to burn ones boat 易如反掌 as easy as turning over ones handThese above idioms are translated in a way of foreignization. Some more idioms which are translated with the strategy of foreignization can

19、be found in some kinds of dictionaries and on the Internet. In fact, there are countless numbers of idioms translated with the method of foreignization.fight the cat and dog 吵吵鬧鬧 hold the baby 干苦差事 smell a rat 懷疑有詐A cat on hot bricks 熱鍋上的螞蟻 These above idioms are translated in a way of domestication

20、. Likewise, there are more idioms translated with the method of domestication can be found in dictionaries and on Internet.Anyway, idioms translation are tightly connected with the two strategies. No matter how we translate an idiom, we can not ignore the two strategies-foreignization and domesticat

21、ion.4. A tendency to foreignization with a cultural perspectiveVenuti illustrated the aim of translation clearly, “Translation is a process that involves looking for similarities between languages and cultures- particularly similar messages and formal techniques- but it does this only because it is

22、constantly confronting dissimilarities. It can never and should never aim to remove these dissimilarities entirely. A translated text should be the site where a different culture emerges, where a reader gets a glimpse of a cultural other, and resistance, a translation strategy based on an aesthetic

23、of discontinuity, can best preserve that difference, that otherness, by reminding the reader of the gains and losses in the translation process and the unbridgeable gaps between cultures”(Venuti, 1995:306).In this multicultrual word, the traditional domestication in idiom translation has been challe

24、nged. It have been gradually replaced by foreignizing translation. The foreignization in idioms translation is the main trend at present. It is well known to us that the origin of idioms has been influenced by cultural factors to a large degree, such as religions, regions, customs and so on. Because

25、 of cultural differences, there are plenty of differences between Chinese idioms and English idioms. The foreignization in idioms translation remains a lot of foreign cultural factors in the translated work, thus helping readers to learn cultural differences and attain knowledge about foreign cultur

26、e.We all know that this world is a globalized world. With the development of the globalization of the world as well as the development of global economy, different countries have to enlarge their communication with other countries to cooperate with them for peace and development. Therefore, people f

27、rom different countries or different cultural background should be familiar with religions, customs, ideologies, traditions or even life styles of foreign countries to promote further cooperation with each other. One of the principle of international communication and cooperation is seeking common p

28、oints while reserving differences. In order to seek for the peace and development of the world, more differences between different cultures or different countries should be found and respected. The more differences we reserve and respect, the better we get along with each other in this globalized an

29、d multicural word. Therefore, we have a tendency to adopt foreignization in idioms translation since foreignizing translation shows the foreignness in translation. Conversely, the domesticated translation will reduce the foreign flavor of the original work. As a result, readers can not have a clear

30、idea about cultural differences or learn foreign culture. For example, if we translate the sentence “It is as significant as a game of cricket” with a domesticated way into “這件事如同吃飯一樣重要”, Chinese readers will misapprehend that Westerners also consider dining as the most important thing. In this case

31、, wed better translate it into “這件事如同板球賽一樣重要” by using foreignizing strategy. Then Chinese readers can realize that cricket is very important for western people.5. Specific translating method of foreignization in idioms translationForeignization is the main tendency and direction when we translate i

32、dioms. Specifically, there are three methods we can choose if we tend to adopt foreignization in idioms translation. The three methods are literal translation, borrowing translation and annotated translation.5.1 Literal translationWhen the implied meaning of the original idiom is just the same as it

33、s literary meaning, literal translation is the first choice because it transplant both literal meaning and cultural meaning into the target language. In this way, the literal meaning, implied meaning or even the style of the original text can be remained as well as some new vocabulary, structures an

34、d expressions can be introduced into the target language. There are some Chinese and English idioms which share the similar cultural meaning judging from their structures and meanings. And these words can be translated with a approach of literal translation. For example, in English, there are idioms

35、 like “to lose ones face”, “to save ones face”. According to its cultural background and our understanding of these idioms, we can translate them into “丟面子” and “保面子”. Whats more, idioms like “以眼還眼，以牙還牙” and “武裝到牙齒” in Chinese are transplanted from English idioms such as “an eye for an eye, a tooth

36、for a tooth” and “armed to the teeth”. Besides, some idioms such as “eat the fruit of ones own doings” (自食其果) and “misfortunes never come singly”(禍不單行) are coming from Chinese. Maybe readers are not used to this way of translation, but they can understand what the translated text convey, and after a

37、 certain time, they will get used to it. At the same time, some foreign cultural factors in the translated text are in harmony with the target language. Expressions like “一燕不成夏” ( One swallow does not make a summer) are widely accepted by Chinese people.5.2 Borrowing TranslationJust as we know, some

38、 English and Chinese idioms share the same connotation and emotional factors. When we translate this kind of idioms, we tend to use some expressions or idioms of the target language which can convey the equivalent meaning of the source language, instead of ignoring the cultural similarities and dead

39、 translation. For example, we can not translate “If the dog barks, he gives counsel” into “老狗叫，是忠告”. Since western people love dog very much, “old dog” is gradually attached with the rhetorical meaning of “ elders who have experienced a lot”. Therefore, when we translate this sentence, we prefer to

40、choose the equivalent Chinese idiom “不聽老人言，吃虧在眼前”. And English idiom “little fish are sweet” should be translated into “禮輕情意重”. Of course, there are many other examples of borrowing translation, such as “Make hay while sun shines”, which should be translated into “趁熱打鐵”; “A new broom sweeps clean” s

41、hould be translated into “新官上任三把火”, and so on. Not only can borrowing translation convey the meaning of original texts, but also it can make translated texts vivid and attractive to readers.5.3 Annotated translationWe usually adopt annotated translation such as adding annotation or epexegesis to the

42、 translated text to explain the cultural background of the source language when we deal with some idioms which contain many cultural factors, such as historical events, historical people and so on. This way of translation builds a bridge of communication between two or even more different kinds of c

43、ulture so that readers can easily acquire knowledge about foreign culture and have a better understanding of the original work (idioms). For example, there is a Chinese idiom- “三個諸葛亮，頂個臭皮匠”. We may translate it into “ The wit of three cobblers combined surpasses that of Zhuge Liang”. However, wester

44、ners may do not know who Zhuge Liang is. So when we translate this idiom, we should add annotation to explain the cultural background. The translation -“ The wit of three cobblers combined surpasses that of Zhuge Liang, the master mind”- will be a better version. In the same way, when we translate E

45、nglish idiom “as beautiful as Helen”, wed better translate it into “ 像海倫一樣美麗（海倫，希臘神話中世上最美的女子）” in case that there is someone who do not know who Helen is.6. Domestication as a Supplementary Strategy to ForeignizationThough foreignization is the main trend for idioms translation, we can not ignore do

46、mestication for it is an important supplementary strategy of idioms translation.We have to know that the foreignization strategy can not be employed every time we translate idioms. There are three general reasons or principles for us to choose foreignization strategy: Firstly, these idioms transmit

47、a kind of cultural universal truth, and reflect peoples common sense of nature and man. Target language and source language readers share the same “cognitive schemata” so that their understanding of these idioms are accordant. On this occasion, we prefer to choose foreignization strategy. Secondly,

48、we tend to choose foreignization strategy when the target language expressions can be constantly enriched by accepting the original expressions of the source language. Thirdly, the foreign expressions of source language which carry an exotic flavor can make the translated vision more vivid and attra

49、ctive and this kind of special flavor will make the target language colorful. Under this circumstance, wed better choose foreignization strategy.Anyway, we can not overuse the foreignization or we will fail to convey the information in our translated work. On some occasions when foreignization is no

50、t a proper way to communicate information and emotions, we can adopt domestication strategy. For example, “eat ones words” can not be translated as “食言” because the actual meanings of these two idioms are totally different though they are seemingly corresponding to each other. “Eat ones words” means

51、 that one is forced to admit having said something wrong or stupid, while “食言” refers to broking ones promise. Apparently, on this occasion we can not employ foreignization strategy. In fact, we can translate this English idiom into “失言”. The following are more examples which show that domestication

52、 strategy is a better choice for idioms translation in some occasions.(1) 我是不管三七二十一，還是要退的。I shall still withdraw no matter what.(2) 你可不要吃不了兜著走。 You will be in serious trouble.(3) 她憑什么對我鼻子不是鼻子，臉不是臉？Why does she give me an unpleasant look?(4) 她講地有鼻子有眼兒的。 She described vividly.(5) He is too old a dog t

53、o learn new tricks. 他上了年紀，學不了新道道了。(6) Its raining cats and dogs, so we cant go out to play right now.外面正下著傾盆大雨，所以現在我們不能出去玩兒。Though these examples, we can find that though foreignization is the prior strategy we usually choose to translate idioms, domestication is also a very important strategy which can not be ignored. We have to keep in mind that domestication is an essential supplementary to foreignization strategy in idioms translation.Conclusion In idioms translation, cultural elements is very esse