完整原文
Literary translation functions not merely as a linguistic transposition but as a complex act of cultural mediation, where the translator must navigate the subtle interplay between source-text authenticity and target-culture readability. The central challenge lies in preserving culturally bound concepts—such as idiomatic expressions, historical allusions, and socio-pragmatic norms—without resorting to either excessive domestication that erases the foreign text’s distinctiveness or rigid foreignization that alienates the readership. To mitigate this dichotomy, contemporary translation theory advocates for a hybrid strategy that employs deliberate cultural compensation techniques, including strategic footnoting, gloss adaptation, and intertextual resonance, thereby bridging the cognitive gap between disparate linguistic ecosystems. Empirical studies across canonical works reveal that successful cultural transmission hinges on the translator’s dual literacy; they must possess an intimate command of the source culture’s historical semiotics while simultaneously anticipating the target audience’s hermeneutic limitations and expectations. Ultimately, the efficacy of cultural transfer in literature is measured not by absolute lexical equivalence, but by the preservation of the text’s existential and aesthetic ethos, affirming translation as an indispensable conduit for cross-cultural dialogue and mutual intellectual enrichment.