On the Translation of Culture—loaded Words from the Perspective of Venuti’s Domestication and Foreignization A Case Study of Two English Versions of Ah Q Zhengzhuan

潘美珠

【Abstract】In this era when cross-cultural communication is increasing， study on the translation of culture-loaded words becomes more significant. In Lu Xuns novel Ah Q Zhengzhuan， there are many culture-loaded words. Among many English versions of Ah Q Zhengzhuan， the most well-received are the one of the couple Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys and the one of William Lyell. The former mainly adopts foreignization while the latter mainly adopts domestication. This paper attempts to make a comparative study on the translation of the culture-loaded words in the two English versions， aiming to prove that foreignization and domestication should supplement each other in translating culture-loaded words.

【Key words】culture-loaded words； Ah Q Zhengzhuan； domestication； foreignization； comparative study

1. Introduction

The 21st century has witnessed the increasing frequency of the international exchange and cooperation， and as a bridge of the cross cultural communication， translation is playing an increasingly crucial role in our social life. As people attach more and more attention to the handling of the cultural factors in translation， the translation of the culture-loaded words and expressions is very important， which can improve and enhance the cross cultural communication in an effective way. In Lu Xuns novel—Ah Q Zhengzhuan， there are a great many of culture-loaded words and expressions， which is a typical feature of his novel.

2. Culture-loaded Words

Known as culture vacancy or culture default， culture-loaded words are differently defined by different scholars from different perspectives. Nevertheless， they convey the identical meaning： culture-loaded words refer to some linguistic phenomena or cultural items existing in the SL but having no equivalences or corresponding expressions in the TL owing to differences in historical backgrounds， social customs， religious beliefs， etc.

3. Venutis Theory of Foreignization and Domestication

Foreignization， or foreianizing translation， means that the translators attach great importance to maintaining and protecting the language and cultural differences of the original text， reducing the strangeness to the target language readers， who will certainly feel the linguistic characteristics and the excellent cultural differences of the unique foreign culture（Venuti， 1995： 53）. In contrast to foreignization， domestication means a translators loyalty to the target language by using the target-culture-oriented expressions in order to present idiomatic expressions to the target readers.

4. Comparative Study of the Translations in the Two Versions

Example ： 但真所谓“塞翁失马焉知非福”罢，阿Q不幸而赢了一回，他倒几乎失败了。（鲁迅， 1979：25）

Yangs version： However， the truth of the proverb “Misfortune may prove a blessing in disguise” was shown when Ah Q was unfortunate enough to win and almost suffered defeat in the end. （Yang Hsien-yi & Gladys， 1972： 27）

Lyells version： It is true， however， that losing can sometimes be a blessing in disguise， for once when Ah Q did actually win， he came very close to losing. （William Lyell， 1990：113）

Analysis： “塞翁失马焉知非福” is another Chinese classical allusion. In translating this sentence， both the Yangs and Lyell adopted the method of substitution （a kind of free translation）， that is to substitute the classical allusions， idioms， proverbs， etc. in the source language with functional equivalents in the target language. Substitution can be classified into domestication， which enables target language readers better understand the original meaning though it cannot transmit the classical allusion.

5. Conclusion

Based on the comparision between Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys and William Lyells translation of different kinds of culture-loaded words in Ah Q Zhengzhuan， we can find that both of them adopted the combination of foreignization and domestication， though as a whole Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys incline to foreignization while William Lyell inclines to domestication. In translating Culture-loaded words， just any kind of foreignization or domestication translation method will not work， two or more methods of translation should be used in combination.

References：

[1]Venuti，L.The Translators Invisibility：A History of Translation[M].London and New York：Routledge，1995.

[2]鲁迅.呐喊[M].北京：人民文学出版社，1979.