Domestication And Foreinization In Idiom Translation

The intention of this study is to analyze which strategy (domestication or foreignization) is more suitable for idiom translation. Whether domestication or foreignization should be applied has been the topic of discussion in translation studies for a long time. Many scholars have proposed theories from different aspects, but no universally accepted standard has been set. In Western translation studies, Eugene A. Nida advocates domestication, while Lawrence Venuti advocates foreignization. In China, Qian Zhongshu prefers domestication, while Lu Xun prefers foreignization. During the 20th century and before, domestication is the dominant translation strategy. However, in the 21st century, there is a trend in both translation practice and theory that foreignization is gradually taking advantage over domestication. The trend is the consequence of cultural globalization and it will maintain the cultural variety in the world. In this thesis, through analyzing the characters of culture-loaded expressions ---- idioms, we suggest using foreignization as the main strategy for idiom translation and domestication as the supplement one. Foreignization in idioms aims primarily at producing the foreignness and cultural features in the original as much as possible. Therefore, in cultural translation, foreignization should be mainly used so as to retain the exotic cultural color of idioms. The significance of this thesis is to promote the cross-cultural exchange, accelerate the speed of cultural globalization and resist ethnocentrism through analyzing the translation strategy for idioms. In the thesis, we will use the method of comparison to conclude and analyze the concepts, the advocates and the conflicts of domestication and foreignization in West and in China; with accumulated data, we will use the analytic method to discuss the specific ways to translate idioms.