Domestication or Foreignization：A Cultural Choice

Zhao Tuanjie

【Abstract】Through detailed statistics and analysis about the translation of 108 heroes nicknames， the author manages to probe into the rendering of nicknames in Outlaws of the Marsh from the angle of foreignization and domestication theory. And in Outlaws of the Marsh， Sidney Shapiro managed to achieve a balance between domestication and foreignization in translating the nicknames.

【Key words】domestication; foreignization; Sidney Shapiro; Outlaws of the Marsh; nicknames

【作者簡(jiǎn)介】Zhao Tuanjie，Associate Professor of International Education School of Wuchang Institute of Technology.

In the 5000-year history of Chinese culture， Outlaws of the Marsh is one of the best known ancient Chinese novels which have come down through the ages. Up to now， this book has been translated into a dozen of foreign languages. Among all these various translations， Shapiro has translated this classic novel into English with its name as Outlaws of the Marsh， which has attracted world-wide attention and is considered as one of the most popular versions.

Ⅰ. Domestication and Foreignization

These two terms foreignization and domestication were first coined by Friedrich Schleiermacher， and Lawrence Venuti has given a further explanation as follows： “Admitting that translation can never be completely adequate to the foreign text， Schleiermacher allowed the translator to choose between a domesticating method， an ethnocentric reduction of the foreign text to target-language cultural values， bringing the author back home， and a foreignizing method， an ethno-deviant pressure on those values to register the linguistic and cultural difference of the foreign text， sending the reader abroad.”（Venuti 2004： 20）

Ⅱ. Translation of Nicknames in Outlaws of the Marsh

1.The Application of Domestication in Translating Nicknames. About how to apply such a translation theory as domestication， there are two major ways involved. One is free translation， while the other is transplanting. Free translation is a very effective way to express the strange and odd meanings of some expressions in SL text. Shapiro fully applied that skill in the translation of “the Guardian of the Clouds” which exactly tells the readers that Song Wan is very tall and strong because he can guard the clouds.

The term replacement refers to adopting a popular image in the TL， which is similar in cultural connotation to the one in the SL， to replace the strange image if literally translated. Shapiro has rendered “活閻羅阮小七” into “Ruan the Seventh， the Devil Incarnate”. The literal meaning of 活閻羅 refers to an alive god of death， which symbolizes that Ruan the Seventh is a very brave warrior in the war field. In order to make the western readers understand the real meaning hidden behind the appearance， Shapiro put it into a “l(fā)iving” devil， which is a popular image of ferocious and brave ghost in the west.

2.The Application of Foreignization in Translating Nicknames. Specifically， there are four methods of foreignization in translation， including literal translation， transplantation， transliteration and translation with notes. Literal translation sometimes can be called word-for-word translation. It seems very faithful to the original text， because every word in the SL has been rendered into the target language. In regard to the nicknames of heroes in Outlaws of the Marsh， there is a long list of examples about applying literal translation. For Yu Baosi， his nickname 險(xiǎn)道神 has been rendered as “the Spirit of the Dangerous Road”， in which the English words correspond exactly to the three Chinese characters， 險(xiǎn)（dangerous）， 道（road）， and 神（spirit）.

3. Combination of Domestication and Foreignization. When some nicknames are translated into English， Sidney Shapiro has combined domestication and foreignization. In other words， domestication is adopted in the rendering of a part and foreignization is chosen in the translation of other parts. Despite the fact that he did nothing in particular on Mount Liangshan， Jiang Jings nickname is 神算子， which has been put into English as the Magic Calculator. When translating神 into “magic”， the translator has adopted literal translation， a method of foreignization; when translating 算子 into English， Sidney Shapiro has chosen replacement， a method of domestication. Also there exists a wide gap in the meaning between 算子 and calculator because the first refers to a person who can predict what will happen in the future， and the latter refers to a machine for mathematic calculation.

Ⅲ. Mistranslation of some Nicknames in Outlaws of the Marsh and Suggested Improvement

When surveying the nicknames in Outlaws of the Marsh， the author of this thesis has uncovered that there exists a considerable gap between the English translation and the Chinese novel. Such inappropriate translations may mislead the TL readers to wrongly understand the nicknames and the relevant cultural implications. After making classifications， these inappropriate nickname translations may be the result of any of the following three reasons： misunderstanding of the SL nicknames， inappropriate omission of some information， improper transplanted TL images. For example， Gong Wang， another hero on Mount Liangshan， is nicknamed as “花項(xiàng)虎”， which was literally translated as “the Flowery-necked Tiger”. From this novel， it can be seen that there was a scar on his neck， for which he was nicknamed “花項(xiàng)虎”. So， a literal translation as “the Flowery-necked Tiger” is not appropriate. Instead， “the Neck-scar Tiger” is much better in that it can not only transfer the relevant background about the involved hero， but also make it easier for English readers to understand.

Ⅳ. Conclusion

Nickname has constituted a hard bone for the translators to put them into another foreign language. Both domestication and foreignization has been widely used in the nickname translation. Also， combination of the above two translation methodologies has been occasionally adopted. Anyhow， which method should be adopted depends on the specific occasion. And the only criterion is to better serve the trans-lingual communication by means of culture.

References：

[1]Lefevere， A. （ed. and trans.） Translating Literature： The German Tradition from Luther to Rosenzweig[J]. Assen： Van Gorcum，1977.

[2]Shapiro， S. Outlaws of the Marsh[M]. Beijing： Foreign Languages Press，1996.

[3]Venuti， L. The Translators Invisibility[M]. Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press，2004.