Jul 2026· English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies· 0 citations
Abstract
Domestication and foreignization are two common strategies for translators to deal with cultural differences. Based on Berman’s translation ethics and twelve deformations, this paper takes Bai Juyi’s the Everlasting Regret (selected sentences) as the object of study, adopts close reading and comparative analysis, and selects the English versions of Xu Yuanchong, Xu Zhongjie and W. J. B. Fletcher for comparative analysis, focusing on the different degrees of domestication and foreignization in the aspects of word choice, syntax, rhetorical organization, cultural transmission and so on, as well as the effects caused by these differences. The study found that in the English translation of classical Chinese poetry, in addition to the necessary domestication adjustment, the translator should retain the cultural background and aesthetic logic of the original poem as much as possible, so that the translation can achieve the purpose of conveying the cultural nature of this special literary genre. Therefore, in the English translation, foreignization enjoys ethical priority.
Literary translation involves more than linguistic conversion; it also entails the reconstruction and re-encoding of cultural meanings. From the perspective of cultural translation theory, this study takes Liu Cixin’s original Chinese novel The Three-Body Problem and its Spanish translation El problema de los tres cuerpos by Javier Altayó as the objects of analysis. Drawing on Nida’s framework of cultural classification, culturally embedded elements in the source text are grouped into five categories: ecological, material, social, religious-philosophical, and linguistic. Through a comparative reading of the Chinese and Spanish versions, the paper examines the translator’s shifting strategies among foreignization, domestication, and cultural negotiation. The analysis suggests that the translation does not rely on a single or fixed strategy. When dealing with culture-specific elements that carry strong historical or regional specificity, the translator is more likely to preserve foreignness through transliteration, literal translation, or brief explanatory additions. In contrast, for expressions that may hinder comprehension or lead to cultural misinterpretation, freer rendering, generalization, or contextual adjustment tend to be adopted in order to reduce the cognitive burden on target readers. Overall, the Spanish translation of The Three-Body Problem reveals a flexible negotiation process, in which cultural difference is retained to varying degrees while comprehension is facilitated and narrative flow is maintained. This case offers a useful reference for the Spanish dissemination of Chinese science fiction and more broadly for the cross-cultural transmission of heterogenous cultural elements.
Yueyang Zhang· Journal of Language, Culture...· 0 citations
Honglou meng, the eighteenth-century Chinese novel by Cao Xueqin, stands as one of the greatest achievements in world literature. Its translation into English has produced two major complete versions: David Hawkes and John Minford's The Story of the Stone (1973–1986) and Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang's A Dream of Red Mansions (1978–1980). These two translations embody fundamentally different translation philosophies. Drawing on Lawrence Venuti's concepts of domestication and foreignization as the primary theoretical framework and supported by Eugene Nida's equivalence theory and Peter Newmark's translation procedures, this paper undertakes a systematic comparative analysis of the two versions across four key textual dimensions: culture-specific items, names and appellations, poetic discourse, and religious and philosophical terminology. The analysis reveals that the Hawkes-Minford version consistently adopts a domesticating strategy, rendering Chinese cultural elements into familiar English forms to maximize readability for the Anglophone reader. In contrast, the Yangs' version follows a predominantly foreignizing approach, preserving the strangeness of the source text and requiring greater cultural effort from its audience. Neither strategy is inherently superior; rather, each serves different readerships and reflects distinct historical and ideological contexts. The paper concludes by arguing that the coexistence of these two approaches enriches the English-language reception of Honglou meng and offers enduring insights for the translation of classical Chinese literature.
Guo Nyuhuan· International Journal of Hum...· 0 citations
The English translation of Hongloumeng is of great significance to the dissemination of Chinese culture, and among them, Hawkes’ English translation is the most famous one. Based on the Dynamic Equivalence Theory, through the analysis of four levels: lexical, syntactic, textual and pragmatic, this study explores how to use the Dynamic Equivalence Theory to cross the linguistic and cultural gap between Chinese and English, and convey the original meaning to the target language readers. The study finds that Hawkes’ translated version mainly adopted the domestication translation strategy. In the lexical and textual levels, it mainly adopts methods such as free translation and idiomatic translation, while in the syntactic and pragmatic levels, it mainly uses techniques like division, conversion, and addition. The study enriches the practical path of Dynamic Equivalence Theory in the field of literary translation, and is also helpful to promote the spread and acceptance of Hongloumeng in the whole world.
Zheng-Yu Wu, Guangfang Huang· Journal of Education and Cul...· 0 citations
Du Fu has long been regarded as the greatest poet in Chinese literary history. Both American sinologist Stephen Owen and Chinese historian William Hung have highly praised his literary achievements and cultural significance. As one of Du Fu’s most representative long narrative poems, Five Hundred Words from Ch’ang-an to Feng-hsien embodies profound social criticism, personal concerns, and rich cultural connotations, making it an important text for the translation and dissemination of classical Chinese poetry. Drawing on Chesterman’s (2016) memes of translation, this study aims to investigate how translation strategies shape the transmission of cultural, ideological, emotional, and poetic memes in the English translation of Du Fu’s poetry, thereby deepening understanding of the preservation, adaptation, and transformation of Chinese classical poetry across cultures. Using qualitative textual analysis, it compares the translation strategies adopted by the two translators and investigates how these strategies influence the transmission of poetic memes across linguistic and cultural boundaries. The analysis focuses on the translation of cultural images, historical allusions, poetic language, and emotional expression. The findings reveal distinct strategic preferences between the two translators. Owen generally adopts a source-oriented approach that emphasizes linguistic fidelity and cultural preservation, whereas Hung tends to employ a more target-oriented approach characterized by explicitness change, interpretation, and cultural filtering, prioritizing readability and accessibility for English readers. These differences influence the fidelity, fecundity, and longevity of poetic memes in the target culture. The study argues that effective meme transmission requires a balance between preserving source-cultural meanings and addressing target readers’ communicative needs.
Hongyuan Feng, Roslina Mamat, Zaid Mohd Zin· International Journal of Eng...· 0 citations
This study demonstrates that the primary challenge in translating Indonesian literary works into Arabic lies in the cultural elements embedded in metaphors, proverbs, and local expressions. Employing a qualitative textual analysis of Hamka’s Di Bawah Lindungan Kaʿbah, the research reveals that differences in worldview between Indonesian and Arab societies influence lexical choices and stylistic expressions, making literal translation insufficient. The findings highlight the necessity for translators to grasp the cultural context of the source text to ensure comprehensive meaning transfer. The study contributes to translation studies by formulating strategies that integrate semantic and stylistic approaches, including transliteration with explanatory notes, functional equivalence in the target culture, and the preservation of social metaphors. These strategies prove effective in maintaining cultural authenticity while ensuring readability for Arabic audiences. Overall, the research reinforces the view that literary translation is an act of intercultural mediation, synthesizing linguistic, semantic, and cultural dimensions to preserve meaning, aesthetic nuance, and cultural resonance in the target language.
This paper takes the differences between Chinese and English polite speech acts as the research starting point, under the theoretical framework of cross-cultural pragmatics and second language acquisition, adopts the method of comparative analysis and case analysis, selects the typical corpus in the spring of a small town and my fair lady, makes a contextual investigation on the speech acts of invitation, assertion, apology and gratitude, and systematically discusses the differences in polite expression between Chinese and English and its teaching significance. The study found that although Chinese and English politeness speech acts follow similar pragmatic principles, they show significant differences under the influence of cultural values and face concepts: the Chinese context emphasizes collectivism and tends to use implicit, modest and indirect expressions. In the English context, individualism and individual rights are emphasized. The expression is more direct and depends on explicit politeness markers. These differences can easily lead to pragmatic failures in Chinese communication by native English learners. Based on this, this paper proposes to improve learners’ Politeness pragmatic competence and intercultural communicative competence by optimizing the content of teaching materials, introducing an authentic corpus and strengthening strategy teaching.