Domestication versus Foreignisation in the English Translation of Mthembu’s UMamazane

ABSTRACT

The presence of culture-specific items in a source text demands that the translator be well acquainted with both the source and target culture in order to render a comprehensible and reader-friendly translation. The translator can either opt for the norms and conventions of the source culture (foreignisation) or those of the target culture (domestication) in dealing with the hurdle of translating culture-specific items. This study seeks to determine whether the translators of the novel UMamazane opted for the domestication or foreignisation strategy in translating proverbs in this novel. UMamazane is an isiZulu novel that was written by R. H. Mthembu and translated into English by A. T. Cope and D. M. Mzolo. The study is based on the framework of the Descriptive Translation Studies (DTS), which propagates the idea that translations are facts of the target culture. The findings reveal that foreignisation is predominant in the translation of proverbs in UMamazane.

Keywords:

• translation
• domestication
• foreignization
• culture-specific items
• UMamazane
• source text
• target text