Domestication and Foreignization in English Versions of Huawei’s New Year Messages from 2017 to 2022

Authors

  • Huiying Zhang Guangdong University of Foreign Studies
  • Zhanghong Xu Guangdong University of Foreign Studies

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6636414

Keywords:

New Year message, domestication, foreignization, translation method

Abstract

New Year message, an important source for understanding cultural differences, is understudied at present, in particular in the field of translation. Based on Xiong (2014)’s classification of translation strategies and translation methods, this paper investigates the English versions of Huawei’s New Year messages delivered from 2017 to 2022 from the perspective of domestication and foreignization. Results suggest that (1) three translation methods are employed, namely literal translation, liberal translation and imitation; (2) literal translation as a foreignization-oriented method fails to communicate the message of the source text in many circumstances and inevitably causes some trouble for target readers since it retains the expressions that are unique in the source language; and (3) liberal translation and imitation as domestication-oriented methods help facilitate target readers’ understanding of the source text. The current study is believed to shed light on further studies on New Year message.

Author Biography

Zhanghong Xu, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies

Prefessor specialzing in pragmatics in School of English for International Business, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies

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Published

2022-04-28

How to Cite

Zhang, H., & Xu, Z. (2022). Domestication and Foreignization in English Versions of Huawei’s New Year Messages from 2017 to 2022. Communication across Borders: Translation & Interpreting, 2(01). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6636414

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Articles