Thoughts on Reading - Elaine

Several points in the article were particularly inspiring. First, it's important to naturally add helpful explanations to the translation. For example, while the term "cram school" in the article aligns with the meaning, it fails to convey to American readers the sense of pressure that this word evokes in Japanese readers, a part of their lives. Compared to adding footnotes or retaining the original Japanese text, this approach offers the advantage of making the information integral to the narrative, immersing the reader in the story without drawing them out of it. However, this approach also presents a limitation: whether the work would be interrupted by additional explanations.

In fact, this reminds me of Lawrence Venuti's concepts of domestication and foreignization. Domestication emphasizes the localization of the source language, focusing on the target language or target audience, and conveying the original text's content using expressions familiar to the target language readers. Foreignization, on the other hand, involves conveying the original text using expressions that correspond to the original language used by the author. The purpose of using foreignization strategies is to consider cultural differences and preserve and reflect the characteristics and linguistic styles of a foreign nation. Including additional explanatory language is a prime example of domestication.

The article concludes with an example about Tokugawa Ieyasu. Actually, I prefer to keep the original text referring to Tokugawa Ieyasu and put the explanation of the joke in a footnote. This reminds me of Ryunosuke Akutagawa's novels, where he often references Japanese cultural imagery, such as using chrysanthemums in a room to convey an aristocratic aura. When I'm confused about the emphasis on chrysanthemums, I research their meaning in Japanese culture and don't want the translator to translate them with the flower that has the same meaning in my culture (in Chinese culture, the peony might be used instead). In many cases, not only history books, but also novels are a medium for understanding culture. And as a very important historical figure in Japan, I believe preserving the original text will help readers better understand Japanese culture.