Abstract

The two translation strategies—domestication and foreignization are related to the translation of cultural factors in literary works and which strategy should be applied has been the topic of discussion in translation studies for a long time. Jokes and riddles are special types of text, which may not belong to highbrow art and literature but have profound cultural background. Dream of the Red Chamber as one of the four greatest ancient Chinese novels not only is the encyclopedia of Chinese culture, but also has a considerable number of famous foreign translations. This thesis chooses two translated versions of Dream of the Red Chamber, one translated by Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang, the other translated by Hawkes, to analyze which translation strategy they adheres to in translating jokes and riddles which contain specific Chinese traditional culture.

Key Words: domestication  foreignization  translation strategy  cultural factors  Dream of the Red Chamber

摘 要

归化与异化这两种翻译策略常常与文化因素的翻译联系在一起，不过在翻译中应采用异化还是归化一直是国内外翻译界争论的焦点。笑话和谜语作为特殊的语言形式，虽然称不上是阳春白雪，但仍然富有深厚的文化背景。而《红楼梦》作为中国古代四大名著之一，不仅是中国文化的百科全书，而且也不乏有大量著名的译作。本文则采用了杨宪益夫妇和霍克斯的《红楼梦》英译本，对比分析他们是如何在极具中国文化特色的笑话和谜语中运用归化与异化策略的。

关键词：归化 异化 翻译策略 文化因素《红楼梦》

1 Introduction
Domestication and foreignization are proposed by American translation theorist Venuti in his The Translator's Invisibility: A History of Translation. Since he first brought them to people’s attention, the question of which translation strategy should be used and which strategy is superior to the other has been the focus of research both in the west and in China.
Dream of the Red Chamber, as one of the four great classical novels in China, is the fruit of Chinese traditional culture as well as gem of world cultural treasures. Both at home and abroad, translators have produced a considerable number of foreign language versions. However, until now, only two complete English versions are produced. One is by the British scholar David Hawkes entitled The Story of the Stone. The other is by Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang entitled A Dream of Red Mansions.