A study of culture-specific items in Jean M. James’s translation of Luotuo Xiangzi: an analysis of translation strategies and challenges based on Aixelá’s Theory
Culture-specific items have been central in translation studies. Aixelá (1996) defines and classifies them and proposes translation strategies that advance research. Luotuo Xiangzi, which has been translated into four English editions, is a landmark in modern Chinese literature and has attracted...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en |
| Published: |
Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2025
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/26069/1/Gema_25_2_9.pdf http://journalarticle.ukm.my/26069/ https://ejournal.ukm.my/gema/issue/view/1824 |
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| Summary: | Culture-specific items have been central in translation studies. Aixelá (1996) defines and classifies
them and proposes translation strategies that advance research. Luotuo Xiangzi, which has been
translated into four English editions, is a landmark in modern Chinese literature and has attracted
worldwide interest. Among these, the translation by Jean M. James stands out for its recognition
and inclusion in prominent American university libraries. Despite this, research on James’s
translation remains limited, particularly regarding her handling of culture-specific items. To
address this gap, the present study, guided by Aixelá’s theoretical framework, conducts a
comprehensive analysis of James’s culture-specific items translation strategies and the challenges
she faced in translating culturally bound expressions from Chinese into English. Utilizing a
qualitative methodology, the study identifies key factors influencing James’s translation decisions
and explains major challenges in dealing with Chinese culture-specific items. The findings reveal
Jean M. James’s preference for conservative-oriented strategies over substitution-oriented
strategies, such as linguistic translation, orthographic adaptation, and intratextual glosses,
reflecting her tendency to preserve cultural nuances rather than replace them with target culture
equivalents. This translation foreignization-oriented strategy preserves the cultural context of the
source language and increases readers' understanding of the source language's culture. This study
provides new insights into the practical application of Aixelá’s theory in Chinese-English literary
translation and highlights the complexities of cross-cultural translation practices. |
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