Journal of Al-Frahedis Arts, Tikrit University | Vol (14) Issue (50) Part I | June 2022 | Pages (574-589)

ISSN: 2663-8118 (Online) | ISSN: 2074-9554 (Print)

Journal of Al-Frahedis Arts

Article Available Online: Iraqi Scientific Academic Journals, Open Journals System

The Application of Venuti’s Translational Strategies

Tikrit University / College of Arts / Journal of Al-Frahedis Arts Tikrit University / College of Arts / Journal of Al-Frahedis Arts Tikrit University / College of Arts / Jo
Nada Bashar Abdul-Hadi *
E-Mail: [email protected]
Mobile: +9647705060017 to The Translation of Conrad's Novel "Heart of
Darkness" From English Into Arabic
Asst. Professor. May
Mokarram Abdul-Aziz ¹
E-Mail: [email protected] A B S T R A C T
Mobile: +9647722157684
One of the most essential goals of translation is to bridge the
gap between two cultures in two different languages since the
Department of English Language * misunderstanding of the SL culture may cause mistranslation especially
College of Arts
University of Mosul
in translating the literary text. In the light of that culture and literary
Nineveh language are elements that should be taken into consideration.
Iraq The current study aims at applying Venuti’s strategies of translation
(1995) in Joseph Conrad’s novel “Heart of Darkness” from English
Department of English Language ¹
College of Arts into Arabic. The main aims of this study are to identify the most common
University of Mosul strategies adopted by the translators of the above novel according
Nineveh to Venuti’s strategies of translation and explore the basic problems
Iraq found in the translation of the novel to indicate whether the translations
Keywords: are appropriate or not.
- Conrad's Novel One of the problematic issues that may appear is the difference
- Literary Text between English and Arabic that makes translation between them
- Heart of Darkness challenging. Also, the aesthetic function of literary language could
- Venuti’s Translational Strategies be problematic to the translation, in which it might cause ambiguity.
- Domestication and Foreignization
- Arabic Language
To grasp the above-mentioned aims and produce a well-translated
- English Language literary work, the study hypothesizes that translating the literary
texts especially the figurative images make problems for translators.
So, translators need to investigate the expressions of figurative language
that relate to the literary language carefully such as simile, metaphor,
irony. etc. To achieve the validity of those hypotheses, applying Venuti's
strategies which comprise two opposing concepts: domestication and
foreignization seem suitable strategies to present almost appropriate
rendering.
The study concludes that due to the differences in culture and
language between the English and Arabic languages, especially in
ARTICLE INFO the field of literature, many problems may appear in the translation
Article History:
process. Hence the translator has to decide on which strategy or
Submitted: 28/11/2021
method he should adopt to bridge this gap and transfer the message
Accepted: 28/12/2021 effectively.
Published: 17/07/2022 © 2009 - 2022 College of Arts | Tikrit University
1

* Corresponding Author: Nada Bashar Abdul-Hadi | Department of English Language, College of Arts, University of Mosul | Al-Anbar,
Iraq | E-Mail: [email protected] / Mobile: +9647705060017

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1. Preliminary:
Translation is an old human activity concerned with transferring the
meaning of a text from one language to another, most theorists agree on the
need for it to know the source and target languages and cultures of these
two languages since translation is a tool through which different peoples,
nations, and cultures can communicate and through which a common language
can be accessed.
Catford (1965: 20) defines translation as the process of replacing
textual material in one language with equivalent textual content in another.
According to Catford, the most significant aspect of the translation process
is determining how to identify equivalent meaning between source language
(SL) and target language (TL), so that readers or listeners may understand
and the translation product's meaning is not muddled.
The translator will be exposed to different influences. The source
text's and target text's languages and cultures both play a role in defining
how the translation is done and how it is influenced by the source or target
culture. If the target culture dominates the source culture, it is called a
"domestication" translation, but if the source language culture prevails over
the target language it is called a "foreignization" translation (Yang, 2010:
77).
Based on the above, the translator often finds himself facing these
difficulties, yet he can overcome these obstacles in front of two ways:
• Adopting “domestication “would reformulate the form and style
of the source text in line with the language and culture of the target.
• Adopting “foreignization” and maintaining the form and culture of
the source text.
According to Schleiermacher (1813, in Venuti, 1995: 19) The two
terms “Foreignization and Domestication”., achieved when the translator
lets the author in peace, as much as possible, and stirs the reader towards
him; or he lets the reader in peace, as much as possible, and stirs the author
towards him”. The act of “leaving the author in peace” may be equal to
foreignizing the text, as much as possible, and the act of “leaving the reader
in peace” may be equal to domesticating it.
2. Literary Text:
In general, the literary text is the text that the writer expresses his
feelings and what is in his mind through various literary works, such as, poetry,
drama, novels, short stories, and essays.
Kuepper (1977: 244) expresses that the literary text is not related to
objective reality, but the fictional reality is produced through the process of
reading. Its meaning cannot be included in the text but will be different
every time you read it. Therefore, literary texts provide readers with concepts
and open up perspectives, and the world understood through experience
appears in different ways. On the one hand, because there is no correspondence
between the fictional reality of the text and the reader's experience in the
objective reality, the reading process will stimulate the reader to coordinate
his knowledge of the real world with the fictional reality. He also maintains

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that "What distinguishes a literary text from a non-literary text?" It differs
from other kinds of texts in that it does not directly allude to or try to make
objects in the real world (ibid).
Wilss (1982:76) states that linguistic form in the literary text has a
text cohesive as well as an aesthetic function, and it carries the creative will
of the artist in the literary text, and this lends the literary text an outward
appearance which, in principle, can never be repeated, and can therefore be
realized in the TL only in analogous form.
3. Literary Language:
Language is a speech system, writing, symbols, or traditional cues with
authority that allow certain cultures to communicate effectively with others
(Douglas,2000: 155)
Kerraf (2009:113) says that a literary text has its special language
which differs from any other language, metaphorical language or style and
it is a way of expressing one's thoughts using a special language that confirms
the writer's spirit and personality traits (language use).
Leech (1969:151) classifies seven figurative categories (metaphor,
metonymy, simile, personification, hyperbole, litotes, and irony). A number
of them exist in the practical side of the current study. The used categories
in this novel are as follows:
• Metaphor:
It is a type of figurative meaning that is an implied comparison of
two dissimilar objects by identifying or substituting one for the other (1969:
151)
Example: "Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player" (1969:151).
• Simile:
It is a figurative term that compares two things that are fundamentally
different. A simile is a straightforward comparison between two items that
share one or more points in common and can be identified by the words "like"
and "as." The word simile is derived from the Latin term "simile," which means
"like” (1969:152).
Example: The ship goes through the waves, like a plow plowing the land (1969:
156).
• Personification:
It is consisting of giving human characteristics to an object. This can
affect the way the reader imagines things. This is used in children‟s books,
poetry, and fictional literature (1969: 158).
Example: An angry sky (1969:158).
• Irony:
It is a word that means something different from what we mean. The
irony is a sort of figurative language in which the opposing meaning and
disagreement with reality are declared (1969:171).
Example: His design were strictly honourable (1969:172).

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4. Heart of Darkness:
“Heart of Darkness” is one of the best modern works of the 20th
century written by the polish British writer Joseph Conrad. The title is an
important aspect of most literary works; it gives the reader an idea of the
story's theme or the authors' intentions (Brantlinger, 1999: 195) The title of
this novel, Heart of Darkness, is a bit ambiguous. The term "darkness" has
two meanings: one is literal, while the other is symbolic and political. The
author uses the word "darkness" to describe Congo to convey the people's
ignorance and superstition. The title Heart of Darkness alludes to Africa's
image as a dark continent. He adds that the term "heart of darkness" also
refers to an inaccessible location or region that has yet to be explored but is
being colonized by conquerors. Heart of Darkness is a depiction of European
selfishness, greed, and capitalistic attitude. Africa is known for its dark jungles,
which are mysterious, subconscious, and brimming with secrets. Conrad's
depiction of "darkness" refers to a lack of purity and knowledge (Brantlinger,
1999: 195).
Joseph Conrad's novel is set at a moment of transition between
Victorianism, with its rigorous norms and emphasis on polite society, and
modernism, which aimed to deconstruct old conventions and invent new
literary forms to better convey human experience. Conrad's work, notably
his experiments with time and non-chronological narrative, was crucial to
his success. Heart of Darkness also belongs to the genre of colonial literature,
which was popular in late 19th and early 20th century Europe from Africa
to the Far East: www.litcharts.com/heartofdarkness.
5. Culture and Translation:
Taylor (1958: 1) says that culture is a broad term that covers a wide
number of aspects such as knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, conventions,
and any other capacities or habits acquired by man as a member of society.
According to Aziz and Muftah (2000:85), Culture is a system of beliefs
that governs a society's behavior patterns. Religion, economics, politics,
literature, and language are all examples of these beliefs. Language is an
intrinsic element of culture, and translation incorporates two cultures: the
source language's culture (source culture) and the target language's culture
(target culture) (target culture).
Cultural translation is that type of translation in which the content of
a message is altered in some way to correspond to the culture of the recipient,
where the information that is not linguistically included in the original
message is added. (Nida and Taber, 1974:199). It means that translation is
the process of transferring language and some cultural components into the
target language, and aids the target reader's acceptance of the translation
culture's work. The message's substance can be altered to something more
familiar, natural, and acceptable to the target reader related to his culture.
Cultural variations frequently cause many problems for the translator
than linguistic features such as language structure. Different components of
society frequently produce cultural gaps, which contribute to language
gaps. As a result, establishing cultural term translation counterparts necessitates

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overcoming cultural and linguistic gaps as well as matching readers' expectations.
Translators must be aware that culture influences readers' expectations,
norms, and values, and that these expectations, norms, and values influence
readers' comprehension of utterances to a great extent. (Kussmaul 1995, 70).

6. Literature and Translation:

Queneau (1983:11) says that what is essential in literary translation
is the spirit and meaning of the literary work rather than the words themselves.
This type of rendering is regarded as one of the most difficult kinds
since the translator must absorb the intention and imagination of the author
of the literary work to be able to reformulate the work and present it to the
recipient (Bang, 1986: 200).
Ilyas (1989:65) believed that literature differs from science in that it
is not technical but open and characterized by richness and complexity, which
is a reflection of the richness and complexity of man's awareness of it. As
a result, the translator's primary responsibility in literary translation is to analyze
not only the S.L. author's ideas, but also his style and language (the author's
purposeful choice of words and their undertones, structural devices, figures
of speech, and other stylistic details).
Farghal and shunnaq (1999:21) mention that literary translation is
representing the essence of the SLT without the manner to the TLT.
A literary translator will confront a range of challenges, including those related
to meaning, such as lexical meaning, grammatical meaning, the meaning of
contextual or situational meaning, textual meaning, and socio-cultural obscurity.
Some meanings are not simple to translate (translatable) (difficult to translate)
(untranslatable). Furthermore, if a translator is already conscious of his position,
he will produce a competent translation, that is, a qualified translation that is
simple to comprehend appears natural, and is useful as a source of information.
(Kovács, 2008: 5).
7. The concept of the Domestication and Foreignization:
Domestication and foreignization are two major translation strategies
defined by Friedrich Schleiermacher, a German philosopher who coined the
term in his 1813 essay On the Different Methods of Translating Schleiermacher
was concerned that, rather than seeking to communicate the SL's foreignness
and culture to the target audience, many translators opted to remain "invisible"
in the translation process, translating writings as the original writer would
have written if the TL were his mother tongue. He advised that rather than
seeking to "fit" the original text into the target culture, the translator should
humbly assist the target readers in appreciating the original text's foreignness.
(1813: 49) Schleiermacher's description of two forms of cultural translation
is outlined in the diagram below: domestication and foreignization:

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Figure 1. Schleiermacher’s Notion of Domestication, and Foreignization Strategies, After

Schleiermacher (1813(

In his book "The Translators Invisibility: A History of Translation",

the American translation scholar Lawrence Venuti addressed these two
strategies. (Venuti, 1995: 6–7) He studied translation in Anglo-American culture
and discovered that most translators prefer domestication since it improves
the acceptability of the translation. Domesticating the original text, according
to Venuti (1995: 20-24), makes the translator invisible on the one hand,
while on the other, it includes "an ethnocentric reduction of the foreign text
to target-language cultural values." He says that translators employ domestication
to impose Anglo-American values on translated works. To overcome such
conflicts, Venuti advises using foreignization as a solution for cultural problems
in translation. (ibid).
Nida (1964:2), unlike Venuti, advocated for the domestication strategy,
believing that the source text language should not interfere with the target
text language, which is accomplished by diminishing the foreignness of the
source text environment.
Munday (2012:9) shows that there are two fundamental translation
methodologies for translating meaning to TL. Domestication and foreignization
are two different concepts. Domestication refers to the transfer of cultural
values from one language to another to minimize foreignness, whilst
foreignization refers to the transfer of cultural values from one language to
another to increase foreignness.
Many experts propose different domestication and foreignization
strategies to deal with issues in translating cultural literature. Four domestication
strategies and three foreignization strategies are offered by Vinay and
Darbelnet (1995) transposition, modulation, equivalency, and adaptability
are examples of domestication strategies. Foreignization tactics include
borrowing, calque, and literal translation (Munday, 2012: 86-88).

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8. The Foreignization and Domestication Procedures:
Several translation procedures are employed depending on the
strategies that must be applied in other words, implementing a strategy
necessitates the use of specific methods.
According to Vinay & Darbelnet (1995:21), procedures are the translation
strategies used to translate the source text's lexical elements and linguistic
structures. A strategy can apply several procedures at clause, word, and sentence
levels. They also proposed their model of translation strategies based on a
compared stylistic analysis of English and French, which was then replicated
by many experts on a variety of languages. This model consists of two general
strategies which break down into seven more procedures. This model of
translation procedure is concerned with the "translation unit," which is defined
as "the smallest component of the utterance whose signals are related in such
a way that they should not be translated individually" and ignores translation
on the word level (ibid).
According to Vinay and Darbelnet when they mentioned only two
procedures of translating: direct, (Foreignization) and oblique translation
(Domestication), there were seven major processes or procedures at work
for each particular translation, which are borrowing, the calque, literal translation,
transposition, modulation, equivalence, and adaptation.
Furthermore, the harsh reality is that translators must frequently deal
with gaps in the target language (TL), that must be filled by corresponding
elements in a way that appear the same resulting text's message. Because of
structural or metalinguistic differences between the languages involved in
the translation process, the translator may encounter instances in which
certain SL stylistic effects cannot be translated into the TL without causing
syntactic or lexis problems.
As a result of the previous, translators will frequently need to use
more difficult, i.e., oblique translation procedures. Translation would not
require any specific stylistic talents on the side of the translator if it was
always only the application of direct translation processes. Furthermore, the
translation would be lost of a certain intellectual challenge because it would
be relegated to an easy transfer from the SL to the TL (Vinay & Darbelnet,
1995: 34). When a literal translation is unsuitable due to structural or conceptual
issues between the SL and TL, oblique translation procedures are used.
This, in Vinay and Darbelnet's opinion, applies to cases where the message,
when translated literary, is unclear (ibid: 35).
• Direct procedures (Foreignization):
Direct or literal translation -as defined by Vinay and Darbelnet (1995:
31) may be used when there is structural parallelism depending on parallel
categories or metalinguistic parallelism depending on parallel concepts by
conveying the source text message piece by piece into the target text. This
is a good technique if the languages are near enough to each other, but it can
also be used when translators notice gaps or lacunae, which means the source
text element has no identical counterpart in the target language. This gap
must be filled to provide the same effect in the target language (ibid: 65).

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Direct translation consists of three Procedures: borrowing, calque,
and literal translation. These Procedures don't change the language's style.
1. Borrowing: According to Vinay & Darbelnet (1995:31), The concept of
borrowing is to take a word from the source language (SL) and keep it in
the target language (TL). without the need for translation.
2. The Calque: The calque is a special type of borrowing when one language
borrows another's expression form, then translates each of its elements. a
calque that keeps the TL's syntactic structure while adding a new form of
expression; or a structural calque, (Vinay & Darbelnet,1995: 32).
3. Literal Translation: According to Vinay & Darbelnet (1995:33), the literal
translation is replacing the source language directly with the target language
when it is acceptable grammatically and idiomatically.
• Oblique translation procedures (Domestication):
Oblique translation procedures may be required to convey the same
message by various means, including but not limited to elaborating the content
of the source text, in certain cases due to metalinguistic and structural disparities,
direct translation procedures do not lead to acceptable translations Vinay &
Darbelnet (1995: 35).
Oblique translation includes four translation procedures: transposition,
modulation, equivalence, and adaptation.
1. Transposition: Transposition includes replacing one-word class with
another without changing the meaning of the text. (Vinay & Darbelnet,
1995: 36).
2. Modulation: The semantics and meaning of the text are changed as a
result of this procedure. It shifts the viewpoint from which something is viewed.
3. Equivalence: Vinay and Darbelnet (1995: 36). adopt this term to specifically
refer to the translation of certain SL expressions, such as idioms and proverbs.
Such expressions can be translated using equivalent TL expressions in this
process.
4. Adaptation: It refers to the replacement of an SL cultural lexical item
with a TL lexical item when the SL item is not understood by the TL audience.
This approach can be used to create situational equivalency or localization
in a variety of situations.
9. Data analysis: The following analyses the translations of 5 texts in the
SL which are produced in the TL by three translators. The translators are
(Shaheen, 2004) who is referred to as translator no.1, (Tawfiq, foulabook.
com) who is referred to as translator no.2, (Alhazen,1979) who is referred
to as translator no.3. The translations of each text are discussed separately,
and each discussion is preceded by a table proposed by the researcher that
illustrates the analysis of the variables.
SLT 1:
Table (1) Translational Analysis in terms of Venutie’s strategies (1995) with
Vinay and Darbelnet Translational procedures (1995)
SL Figurative Type
The tidal current runs to and fro in its unceasing
service, crowded with memories of men and Personification
ships. (p.3)

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The strategies of Venuti

Foreignization Domestication
TTs TL
renderings Direct Translation Oblique Translation
No.
Borrowing The Calque Literal Transposition Modulation Equivalence Adaptation
Translation

‫ك ا ا ااار اا اا ا ا ااا‬
1
‫ااا ا ا ا‬ ‫اا ا ا ااا ا‬
‫اا اا‬ ‫وجا ااي‬ _ _ + _ _ _ _
‫ه ا اه ا ا ااا وه ا اه ا ا ااا‬
‫مؤد ااا ا ا م ااا ا‬
‫ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا اا‬ ‫ااا ا‬
‫حافال ب ذارياتاف ب‬
‫الاااااااااااااا اااااااااااااف ب‬
‫ (ص‬. ‫والسااا‬
)9
‫الكمب م ب ر ااااف ب‬
2
‫ونساااااااااف حاا‬
. ‫ا اه ا ا ا ا‬ ‫ه ا ا اار‬ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
)13 ‫(ص‬
‫اا‬ ‫ي دد ااا‬
3
‫ااا‬ ‫و ا ا ا ا ا ااي‬
‫الما ا ا ااا و ا ا ا ا‬ _ _ + _ _ _ _
‫ااا‬ ‫ا ا االا ا ا ا ا ا‬
‫ماخااا ااااافب‬ ‫ا فا‬
‫ذرياتف بالا ف ب‬
‫والساااااااااااااا ا ااااا ا ب‬
)7‫(ص‬
Discussion:
The author employed the figurative language: personification in this
sentence when he gave human characteristics to the tidal (crowded with
memories of men and ships) like if the tidal had a mind and it can remember
everything just like the human.
Translators no.1 & 3 succeded in conveying the figurative type of
the ST to the TT and presented the Foreignization strategy of Venuti (1995)
to translate the sentence, besides that they have chosen the literal translation
procedure, and this procedure according to Vinay and Darbelnet (1995)
means replacing the SL directly by the TL when it is acceptable grammatically
and idiomatically. Both of them translated the word (memories) into
)‫(ذكريات‬. Their renderings seem suitable ones for the ST.
By contrast, the translator n.2 failed to achieve the figurative image
which exists in the ST also the strategies of the SL when he omitted the

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word )‫ (ذكريات‬besides that he mistranslated this sentence (men and ships)
into ) ‫ (رجاااان اء)ااااااا‬instead of ) ‫(رجاااان ا)اااااا اا‬, so his rendering seems
inappropriate.
Proposed rendering: ‫ مكتظا بذكريات‬، ‫يتدفق تيار المد ذهابا وإيابا في خدمته المتواصلل‬
)‫الرجان اال‬

SLT 2:
Table (2) Translational Analysis in terms of Venutie’s strategies (1995) with
Vinay and Darbelnet Translational procedures (1995)
SL Figurative Type
It had borne all the ships whose names are like Simile
jewels flashing in the night of time. (p .4)

The strategies of Venuti

Foreignization Domestication
TTs TL Direct Translation Oblique Translation
renderings
No.
Borrowing The Calque Literal Transposition Modulation Equivalence Adaptation
Translation

‫طاا ااا ح اا‬

1
‫جا ع س ا ا ا ا‬
‫ا ااا ا ا ا‬ ‫اا‬
_ _ + _ _ _ _
‫اس ف بشبيهةب‬
‫بااااافلااا ااا ا اااااب‬
‫ب‬ ‫الااخاااألب ااخاا‬
‫يم‬ ‫يا‬ ‫ف‬
)9 ‫( ص‬
‫ا‬ ‫ق ا حا ا‬
2
‫الخألب‬ ‫سا ا ا ا ا ا ا‬
‫يل عباساااا ا هفب‬
_ _ _ _ + _ _
‫كاافل ا ا ف‬
‫اايما‬ ‫ظا‬
)13‫(ص‬
‫ا‬ ‫وفا حاا‬
3
‫الخألب‬ ‫سا ا ا ا ا ا ا‬
‫ب‬ ‫ااااااااااااخاااااااااااا‬
_ _ + _ _ _ _
‫اسااااااا ا ااااف اااافب‬
‫كاافل ا ا بف‬
‫سا ا اااان يم‬
)7‫(ص‬

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Discussion:
It is noticed that the author used simile which is one of the figurative
languages since he intended to compare two objects, according to Leech (1969:
151) Simile is a kind of figurative meaning comparing two essentially unlike
things.
All the translators transferred the figurative language in their renderings,
yet they used different strategies according to their understanding of the
text.
Translators no. 1&.3 translated the sentence by using the foreignization
strategy of Venuti (1995) through the literal translation procedure of Vinay
and Darbelnet (1995) when they transferred the sentence of source language
text into the target language text, (whose names are like jewels flashing)
into )‫ (ا)ما شبيهة بالجواهر التي تتألأل‬by the translator no.1 and into ‫(التي تتألأل‬
)‫ ا)ماؤها كالجواهر‬by the translator no.3 which is close to the original.
While translator no.2 applied the domestication strategy of Venuti (1995)
by the modulation procedure of Vinay and Darbelnet (1995) when he
translated this sentence (whose names are like jewels flashing) into ‫(التي‬
)‫يلمع ا)مها كالجواهر‬. Note here that translator no.2 made a grammatical
mistake when he presented the singular word of (names) to plural one as
)‫(ا)مها‬.
Proposed rendering: ‫لقد حمل جميع السفن التي ا)ماؤها مثل بريق الجواهر في ظالم ال يل‬

SLT 3:
Table (3) Translational Analysis in terms of Venutie’s strategies (1995) with
Vinay and Darbelnet Translational procedures (1995)
SL Figurative Type

They were men enough to face the darkness. (p .6) Metaphor

The strategies of Venuti

Foreignization Domestication
TTs TL Direct Translation Oblique Translation
No. renderings

Borrowin The Literal Transposit Modula Equival Adapta

g Calque Translatio ion tion ence tion
n
‫لاااكاااا ب يااااافنا ا اب‬
1 _ _ _ _ _ + _
‫ر اااااف ب باا ا ااااافب‬
‫عايألب الكل اااااةب‬
‫ما ا ببماااعااايا ا‬
‫اا‬ ‫ف ا ا اااد ا‬
‫مااااا جااااا ااااا‬
‫(ص‬ ‫اا اا‬
)11

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2 _ _ _ _ _ _ _

‫كفنبل يهمبم ب‬
3 _ _ _ _ + _ _
‫الا لاااااةببم ا ا ااا‬
‫يا جا ا ر ا ا ا ا‬
‫(ص‬ ‫اا اا‬
)9
Discussion:
According to Leech (1969:151) metaphor is a kind of figurative meaning
which is an implicit comparison in which two, unlike objects, are compared
by identifying or substituting one with the other. Here in this example,
Marlow describes the Romans, by imagining their way up a river through a
barbaric, and death-filled land at the end of the world.
The translators no.1&3 transferred the figurative language in their
renderings, yet they used different strategies according to their understanding
of the text.
Translators no. 1&3 provided the domestication strategy of Venuti
(1995) to translate the sentence, but, translator no.1 preferred to use the
equivalence procedure, and this procedure according to Vinay and Darbelnet
(1995) is viewed as a procedure in which the same situation is replicated as
in the original by using different words when he translated the sentence
(they were men enough) into )‫ (لقد كاءو رجاال بما تعني الكلمة م معنى‬While,
translator no.3 used the modulation procedure, and this procedure according
to Vinay and Darbelnet (1995) is translating the source text from a different
point of view in the target text, when he translated the sentence (they were
men enough) into )‫(كان لديهم م الرجولة‬.
As for translator no.2, again he did not translate this sentence.
Through a close look at the renderings, it's noticed that translator no.1 that
the translation of the first translator is more appropriate than the translation
of translator no.3.
Proposed rendering: ‫كاءوا رجاال بما فيه الك اية لمواجه الظالم‬

SLT 4:
Table (4) Translational Analysis in terms of Venutie’s strategies (1995) with
Vinay and Darbelnet Translational procedures (1995(

SL Figurative Type

And the river was there fascinating deadly like a Simile

snake. (p.10)
The strategies of Venuti
Foreignization Domestication

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Direct Translation Oblique Translation

TTs TL Borrowin The Literal Transposit Modula Equival Adapta

No. renderings g Calque Translatio ion tion ence tion
n

‫ه‬ ‫ف اا ظ‬
1 _ _ _ + _ _ _
‫مهط ا ااا‬ ‫هه ا ااا‬
‫فا ا ا ا ا اها ا ا ا‬ ‫ا اا ا اا‬
‫م‬ ‫وسا ا ا ا ا ا ا‬
‫ماياخااااافب ياااا الاعا ب‬
)18 ‫(ص‬
‫ا اها ا ا ا‬ ‫حا ايا ا ا ا‬
2 _ _ + _ _ _ _
‫ههاا فاا بقاف ا ب‬
‫كافلعباافن (ص‬
(22
‫و ا ا ااار ا اها ا ا ا‬
3 _ _ + _ _ _ _
‫ههااا س ا ا ا ا ا ا اااح‬
‫م يخافبياف الع‬
)14 ‫(ص‬

Discussion:
The figurative language of this sentence is a simile. As it has appeared
in the novel, all the translators transferred the same figurative image to the
TT as it is in the ST.
Although translator no.1 employed the domestication strategy of
Venuti (1995) and transposition procedure of Vinay & Darbelnet (1995)
which means the transposition of the translation of a class in the source
language with a different class in the target language while preserving the
meaning, he failed to convey the correct meaning, when he translated the
sentence (deadly like a snake) as )‫ (ميتا كأفعى‬instead of )‫ (مميتا كاألفعى‬he
changed the word (deadly) from an adjective into a noun.
Translators no.2&3 succeeded in presenting a proper rendering of
sentence and they employed the Foreignization strategy of Venuti (1995)
and the literal translation procedure of Vinay & Darbelnet (1995) when they
transferred the sentence from the SL into TL, but the third translation was
more appropriate where the word (deadly) translated properly as (‫)مميتا‬
while the second translation translated the same word as (‫)قاتل‬.
Proposed rendering: ‫كان النهر فاتنا امميتا كاالفعى‬

SLT 5:

Table (5) Translational Analysis in terms of Venutie’s strategies (1995) with

Vinay and Darbelnet Translational procedures (1995)
SL Figurative Type

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It is funny what some people will do for a few Irony
francs a month. (p.16)

The strategies of Venuti

Foreignization Domestication
TTs TL Direct Translation Oblique Translation
No. renderings
Borrowin The Literal Transposit Modula Equival Adapta
g Calque Translatio ion tion ence tion
n
، ‫انهبل ضا ا‬
1 _ _ + _ _ _ _
‫فك ف س ط ع‬
‫عض ها ا ااا‬
‫ر ا ا اعا ا ااا ا ا ا ا ا‬
‫ب شا ا ا ا‬
‫ال يا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا اااو‬
‫ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا اعا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ااض‬
‫ف‬ ‫نكا ا ااا‬
‫ش ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا اا‬
)26‫(ص‬
‫ما ب الاياااتاااا ب‬
2 _ _ _ _ + _ _
‫ر ك ف اا ااا‬
‫اعاض‬ ‫ا اعا ا ا ا ا‬
‫ما ا ا‬ ‫ا ا اه ا ا ااا‬
‫نكاا‬ ‫جا‬
)32 ‫(ص‬
‫مضااااااا ا ا ماا‬
3 _ _ + _ _ _ _
‫اعاض‬ ‫ا اعا ا ا ا ا‬
‫نا ايا‬ ‫اه ا ا ااا‬
‫ف ي اا‬ ‫ف نكا ااا‬
‫شا ا ا ا ا ا ا‬ ‫ف‬
)20 ‫(ص‬
Discussion:
The figurative type: irony is used here in the ST, which means the
use of words to convey the meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning,
in other words, it doesn't mean what it said, the fact is (not funny).
The three translators tried to convey the same figurative image which
is irony to the TT.
Although translators no.1&3 used the Foreignization strategy by
Venuti (1995) through the literal translation procedure by Vinay & Darbelnet
(1995), they didn't convey the intended meaning.

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On the other hand, translator no. 2 tried to be more accurate, so he
chose to employ the domestication strategy of Venuti (1995) and the adaptation
procedure of Vinay & Darbelnet (1995) he succeeded to transfer the intended
meaning when he translated the word (it's funny) in to (‫ )م الغريب‬and it
will be considered the best translation because it is what the author means
which includes the bitterness of people situation in this case.
Proposed rendering: ‫إءه ألمر غريب كيف يكتفي بعض الناس ببضع فرنكات شهريا‬
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the present study aimed at applying the application of
Venuti’s translation strategies in the translation of Joseph Conrad’s novel
“Heart of Darkness” into Arabic. Based on the analyses and discussion of
this study, some conclusions have come up:
1. Many translators have been confused by the debate over whether
to use a domestication or foreignization technique. However, a
successful translator considers a variety of elements to produce an
effective translation. Both tactics may be used in tandem to adhere to
the original language while remaining true to the ST.
2. The study reveals that no matter how meticulous a translator is,
there will always be some loss of meaning in the translation process.
This is because English and Arabic belong to separate language
families and hence have different language systems, posing
substantial cultural and linguistic challenges for translators.
3. In this study, four kinds of figurative language are identified in the
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. They are simile, metaphor,
irony, and personification.

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