Challenges of Measuring Domestication and Foreignization in Translations

Författare

• Igor Kudashev University of Tampere

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61200/mikael.129421

Nyckelord:

domestication, foreignization, Retranslation Hypothesis

Abstract

In the past decades, the concepts of domestication and foreignization coined by Lawrence Venuti have become convenient catchwords for describing two opposite strategies of translating. Domestication is typically associated with adapting the text for the reader and foreignization with staying close to the original. The concepts of domestication and foreignization have been used in empirical studies worldwide. In recent years, quantitative measuring of the degree of domestication and foreignization in translations has become a popular topic among both researchers and students of Translation Studies. In this article, I will present a short historical overview and the state-of-the-art of the concepts of domestication and foreignization, discuss a number of challenges related to the measuring of the degree of domestication and foreignization in translations, and provide some recommendations for avoiding common pitfalls. As the measuring of domestication and foreignization is closely related to the Retranslation Hypothesis, which has been proven insufficient in multiple empirical studies, I will also propose an alternative version of this hypothesis.