A Study On Proverb Translation From Cross-cultural Perspective

The purpose of the proverb translation is to analyze which strategy issuitable to proverb translation, domestication or foreignization. The debatebetween domestication and foreignization has been a hot topic both athome and abroad.Although many scholars put forward many ideas fromdifferent angle, there is no such a widely accepted view. As culturalexchanges become more frequent, the focus of the translation research hasshifted from pure language aspect to cultural aspect.Translation is not only the conversion between different languages. Atthe same time, it is also a kind of cultural exchange phenomenon. It is across-cultural communication activity. As a special form of languageexpression, proverb is also involved in cultural phenomenon. It involvesnot only the transition between different languages but also the conversionbetween different cultures.This thesis focuses on the study of the proverb translation betweenEnglish and Chinese from the perspective of cultural exchange. It exploresthe specific strategy in translation of proverb.This thesis emphasizes the importance of the culture and introducesthe situation and the characteristic of the proverb. It also analyzes thecommon features and differences between English and Chinese proverbs. Combining the modern translation theory, the thesis discusses the twotranslation strategies in the process of the proverb translation. They aredomestication and foreignization.The relationship between domestication and foreignization should notbe contradictory but complementary. The foreignization translation isproffered to the domestication translation. The domestication translationserves as a supplement of the foreignization translation.As two translation strategies. the research of domestication andforeignization should not only stay at the language level but cultural values.Foreignization strategy is the leading method of proverb translation.However, the excessive foreignization is likely to lead to semanticambiguity and prevent the smoothness of the communication betweencultures.Some proverbs contain rich and unique cultural connotation andforeignizing translation is likely to affect the cultural exchanges. Therefore,the translation requires the combination of domestication andforeignization. In one word, the foreignization is used as the main methodand the domestication is used as the supplement which is the best way ofproverb translation.I hope this thesis can provide the necessary supplement for the studyof the current proverb translation. I also hope readers can enhanceintercultural awareness and realize the importance of the culture factor in the cross cultural communication to accurately understand and grasp thecultural features of the proverb and achieve the purpose of promotingcultural exchanges.