Foreignizing and Domesticating Strategies in Literary Translation from Arabic into English

Abstract

The present study aims at investigating the use of foreignizing and domesticating strategies in the translation of literary works from Arabic into English. To achieve the goal of this study, the research takes Bahaa Taher’s Khalati Safiyya Wal-Dayr (1991) and its English translation Aunt Safiyya and the Monastery (1996) as its practical scope. The study follows an analytical methodology focusing on the central issues of this work which are foreignization and domestication. Subsequently, the first part of this study tackles some significant theoretical concepts relevant to the research theme including the meaning of translation, different approaches related mainly to the translation of culture, followed by a discussion about the literary translation and its particularity, then this part ends with an analysis of the foreignizing and domesticating strategies used in the translation of literary works. The second part of the study serves an analytical dimension of the foreignizing and domesticating strategies and procedures used to translate Khalati Safiyya Wal-Dayr into English. The exploration was done through the analysis of different expressions mainly related to the concepts under study. The results show that the translator provides an adequate translation of the source text. She equally diversifies in the use of foreignization and domestication in her translation. The study concludes that foreignizing strategies are likely to offer a better translation especially when it comes to religious concepts, domesticating strategies can be more effective and allow a better understanding. Generally the meaning of the source text is reflected in the target text.