Domestication and/or Foreignisation of Literary Texts in Translation: a Study of pre Revolutionary Era in Iran

Chronologically, the specific periods of the 1330s to the 1350s plays an important part in theemergence of Translation Study, cultural translation in particular, in Iran. Thus, this specificperiod of time need to be study precisely. In this respect, considering two main cultural strategiesof domestication and foreignisation suggested by Venuti, the present study aims to determinewhether authentic texts (English) are foreignised or domesticated in the meantime. It also tried toidentify the dominant translation strategies used by Iranian translators over intended period oftime .To do so, it has been tried to extract culture - specific items from the research corporabased on the culture -specific items taxonomies proposed by Espindola and Vasconcellos,Newmark and Pavlovic. In the next step, the researcher analyzed the strategy used in the processof translating culture -specific items based on the translation strategies suggested by Vinay andDarbelnet, and Aixela in order to determine the translators’ prominent strategy. The studyindicated that domestication and foreignisation strategies have been commonly used by theIranian translators over intended period of time but foreignisation has been the most commoncultural strategy used in the translation of culture – specific items.

Keywords:

Translation strategy , Domestication , Foreignisation , Culture-specific item