The translation of culturally specific items

The translation of items (words and phrases) which are specific to one culture from a Source Language expressing that culture (the Source Culture) into a Target Language expressing another culture (the Target Culture) necessarily involves ‘dislocation’. This paper reviews three influential typologies for the translation of culturally specific items: Ivir (1987), Newmark (1981, 1988), and Hervey and Higgins (1992), referring also to Venuti (1995). It suggests a number of dichotomies for understanding these typologies and the translation of culturally specific items: 1 Source Culture-/Source Language-oriented (dom esticating) vs. Target Culture-/Target Language-oriented (foreignising); 2 non- lexicalised/ ungrammatical vs. lexicalised/grammatical; 3 semantically systematic vs. semantically anomalous; 4 synonymy-oriented vs. non-synonymy oriented; 5 situationally equivalent vs. culturally analogous; 6 lexical vs. structural. As an aid to understanding these typologies, the paper provides a visual ‘grid’, siting the various procedures proposed by each of the four typologies.