Domestication vs. Foreignization: A Clear-cut Line?

This panel will examine the challenges of translation across periods and continents, with an emphasis on issues of domestication and foreignization. Through a discussion between three students from different cultures and... [ view full abstract ]

This panel will examine the challenges of translation across periods and continents, with an emphasis on issues of domestication and foreignization. Through a discussion between three students from different cultures and language backgrounds, one will come to better understand issues that arise when translating various forms of expression. In particular, how can one preserve the tone and meaning of an original text while making it accessible to a target audience? To what extent - if at all - should one adapt texts to a host culture, and can it be preferable to produce translations that are deliberately foreign sounding? What should one consider to be an appropriate balance between domestication and foreignization, and how does this vary across genres and periods? How do differing linguistic and grammatical structures affect a translator's work? Through the prism of three translation projects - American commentary on Japanese gender issues, a Chinese science fiction novel, and an East German Jewish newspaper - one will come to appreciate translation as not only a linguistic exercise, but also a form of expression in itself.