Venuti’s Domestication and Foreignization in Translating Āḥlām Mstġānmy's Social Novel Ḏākiratu Ālǧasdi (The Bridges of Constantine)

Abstract

This study aims to identify the extent of the translator's use of domestication and foreignization in rendering Āḥlām Mstġānmy's social novel Ḏākiratu Ālǧasdi (The Bridges of Constantine). The study focuses on investigating the translation of culture-bound terms CBTs in literary translation in the light of the translation strategies used within the framework of Lawrence Venuti′s foreignization and domestication. The data were analysed descriptively by using frequencies and percentages. The study shows that 4 procedures have been used by the translator: literal translation, naturalization, transference and paraphrasing procedures underlying foreignization and cultural equivalent and cultural correspondence underlying domestication. However, most CBTs were foreignized during the translation process and the source text ST was translated into a fluent and natural text for English readers in order to communicate the message of the source text taking into account the cultural and ideological beliefs of their readership. Analytically speaking, we concluded some variations in the use of foreignization and domestication. In foreignizing strategy, the translator used literal translation, naturalization, transference and paraphrasing procedures in order to retain the ideology of the ST. In domesticating strategy, cultural equivalent and cultural correspondence were used by the translator and had the highest number of distributions in the target text TT which reflects the translator’ tendency to sustain the exact message of the ST.