Translation and Cultural Shift: A Domestication and Foreignization Analysis of Naulakhi Kothi from Urdu to English

Abstract

The focus of this research is to examine the translation of Culturally Specific Items (CSIs) in the English translation of the novel Naulakhi Kothi, using the concept of domestication and foreignization by Lawrence Venuti. Newmark’s (1988) taxonomy is used to categorized the cultural terms. The analysis is based on the model of domestication and foreignization created by Ramiere (2006), which identifies six translation procedures, namely, borrowing, calque, gloss, omission, neutralization, and cultural substitution. The former three are foreignization strategies, and the latter three are regarded as domestication strategies. This research is based on a mixed-method approach. The result showed that foreignization was most frequent with 64.7%, while domestication appeared 35.3% of the time. This proves that in translating Naulakhi Kothi, the translator leaned more toward cultural preservation rather than adapting it for the target audience.

Keywords: Domestication, Foreignization, Culture-Specific Items