Essay Example on Intercultural Communication: Exchanging Verbal & Nonverbal Modes

Introduction

Intercultural communication is a way of exchanging verbal and nonverbal modes of interaction between individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds (Issa, Garga & Yunusa, 2015). It is a process that people use to communicate their culture to others. Language is one aspect of intercultural communication. When an individual does not understand the language of another person from a different culture, then the translation is essential to help make meaning of the words or signs used. The intercultural communication translation approach has been used to help people understand what others from different cultures are doing. This method utilizes several strategies in making meaning to the language used by people from different cultures.

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Domestication and foreignization are two common strategies that are utilized in the intercultural communication translation approach to provide a linguistic and cultural guide to the people (Yang, 2010). Domestication is a translation strategy that considers transparency and fluency in the style of translation to ensure the minimization of the weirdness of the foreign text for the targeted readers of the language. The foreignization strategy translates by producing a targeted version by deliberately breaking the target convention through the retention of something of the original foreignness (Elnaili, 2014). Understanding the intercultural communication translation approach is essential to learn the various strategies that educators can use to translate language and cues for learners of foreign languages. Efficiency in linguistic and cultural guidance through the use of domestication and foreignization strategies gives the reader ample time to understand the language from a different cultural background.

Research Questions

The study will answer the following research questions:

• How do domestication and foreignization strategies provide an adequate translation of intercultural communication?
• What are the challenges encountered when using intercultural communication translation strategies?
• What solutions can be used in addressing the weirdness and deliberate foreignness of the text during translation?

Research Objectives and Statement of the Problem

The intercultural communication translation approach is essential in understanding the language and cues of people coming from another cultural background. The research will examine the domestication and foreignization strategies used in the intercultural communication approach to show how they are used by translators, the challenges that the targeted readers get when using the translation strategies, and the possible solutions that can be used to address the difficulties in translation. The study will report on the findings of various researchers who have explored the topic in the contemporary international translation field to identify their results on domestication and foreignization strategies of the intercultural communication translation approach.

Even though translators of intercultural communication aim at providing linguistic and cultural guidance using domestication and foreignization strategies, it is essential to avoid the strangeness that may occur to the targeted readers and the deliberate breaking of text to conventions of the foreign and original language or culture. Yang (2010) noted that intercultural communication translation is a cultural activity, and the aim should be making readers understand the translated language fully. Readers must be able to comprehend the connotations and meanings given in the translations from the original words from a different culture (Elnaili, 2014). Translators have faced challenges in using and combining strategies in the intercultural communication translation approach. Such issues have increased the problem of translating the source text in a manner that conceals the potent effect of giving a direct meaning to inspirational words.

Literature Review

Effectiveness of Domestication and Foreignization in Intercultural Communication Translation Approach

The use of domestication and foreignization strategies in the intercultural communication translation approach is a common practice all over the world. The two strategies focus on achieving formal and functional equivalences in cross-cultural communication translation (Wang, 2014). Formal equality is achieved by paying attention to the message being translated both in content and form. The translator provides some ideas into the lexical as well as a grammatical structure of the source text. One can say that such a translation approach is similar to literal translation.

Functional equivalence is achieved by following the equivalent effect principle. When translating language or issues, the translator considers the association between the message and the receiver. The aim of translation should be achieving the same message as the original (Elnaili, 2014). In functional equivalence, the readers using the translated words should comprehend and conceive the text in a manner that they can connect with the original message from the different cultures. Functional equivalence in domestication and foreignization strategies avoid misunderstanding of the text by the receivers as much as possible to translate documents openly (Yang, 2010). Domestication alone in translating text simply reduced the foreign words to the target language that meets the customer. Effectiveness in translation may not be achieved if foreignization is not substituted when necessary.

In foreignization, foreign texts are chosen, and the translation method developed along the lines excluded by the dominant cultural values within the target language (Faharani & Mokhtari, 2016). The process produces translation results that cannot be confused with the source text or other words that have been written using the target language. The effectiveness of translation using foreignization strategy helps reduce the pressure of values registered in linguistic as well as cultural differences of the source text. It is an approach that restrains the ethnocentric violence of translation using the domestication strategy.

Challenges Encountered When Using Intercultural Communication Translation Strategies

The use of domestication and foreignization strategies in intercultural communication presents various challenges. The functional perspective of translating texts from the original and giving direct meaning may be ineffective for cultural translation (Yang, 2010). Adaptations such as those of the Bible have worked well by using the functional perspective. However, it creates a problem to translate cultural meanings from one language to another directly. It means that the practical perspective may not be applicable in some of the translations when considering the aspect of culture in the word being translated.

Disputes have been evident in using the strategies of domestication and foreignization when translating texts from one language to another (Wang, 2014). Domestication and foreignization have been regarded as opposite strategies in the intercultural communication translation approach. There is a conflict between the two plans on how they engage culture in free and literal translation (Brasiene, 2013). The linguistic extension, as used in the two strategies, creates a controversy of whether the reading is free or authentic. It shows that literal and liberal translation of intercultural texts is not synonymous with both foreignization and domestication. The two overlaps some of the times, and culture is the ultimate determinant of whether a translation used either domestication or foreignization strategy.

Even though the primary concern of the strategies is culture, domestication aims at replacing the source culture meaning to suit the target culture. Foreignization, on the other hand, focuses on preserving the source culture differences (Sharifabad, Yaqubi & Mahadi, 2013). However, when there are linguistic presentations and cultural connotations, foreignization and domestication strategies will prevail in the intercultural communication translation approach. Domestication has been identified to present the problems of abusing the four-word idioms when translating texts from the source culture (Brasiene, 2013). It is a strategy known to abuse words associated with classic elegance, abstraction, replacement, allusions, and images. When domestication uses the national attributes of the source text, it distorts the meaning, and that affects the features of the national culture.

Solutions for Addressing the Weirdness and Deliberate Foreignness of the Text during Translation

The challenges posed by the domestication and foreignization strategies in the intercultural communication translation approach can be avoided by applying various solutions. Comparing cultures when translating sources texts is crucial (Wang, 2014). Such a step helps the translator to facilitate an intuitive understanding regarding the aspects of the discussion. It is also recommended to use personal strength to make the target text more meaningful to the receiver (Sharifabad et al., 2013). The ability to identify the differences in culture is necessary for addressing the problem of abusing words when using the domestication strategy of intercultural communication translation.

A successful translation in intercultural communication requires an understanding of biculturalism when compared to bilingualism (Yang, 2010). Words have meanings only, and cultures serve functions. When there are cultural gaps, it means that the translator will not be able to translate the source text appropriately to the required target language. Comparing cultures is the key to apply the domestication and foreignization strategies in the intercultural communication translation approach. According to Wang (2014), the actual application of foreignization and domestication should be from the intentions of the translator. It should consider the readers' demands as well as the cultural atmosphere of the concrete texts. Translators should use the two strategies to complement each other when necessary. In literature, translators should adopt foreignization and not hesitate to choose domestication when the need arises. The translator must know the importance of using intra-textural gloss during foreignization to help the target language reader in understanding the translated text (Faharani & Mokhtari, 2016).

Significance of the Study

The current research will be beneficial to translators of source texts to the targeted language, organizations that employ translators, educators, and students who want to explore the topic in the future. The study provides information on two essential strategies used in the intercultural communication translation method. Knowledge in this subject will assist translators in identifying the most appropriate strategy when translating sources text in a culturally specific way. The research will be of importance to organizations that employ translators as it will be easy to identify the qualified candidates for the job after understanding the strategies that can be applied in the intercultural communication translation method. Students and researchers who want to explore the topic of investigation will obtain a piece of background information for their further examination to expand on the findings of the present study.

Research Methodology

The study will utilize a qualitative method of research to collect and analyze data. Correctly, the research will use a secondary source of data from a chosen literary text that has been translated to explore how the source text was converted to reveal society's be...