Howard Goldblatt’s English Translation of Culture-Specific Items in the Spatial Depiction of Frog

This study investigates the distribution of culture-specific items (CSIs) in the spatial depictions of Mo Yan’s novel Frog, as well as translation strategies and specific methods employed by Howard Goldblatt in rendering these CSIs. Based on Nida’s (2004) classification of culture and the linguistic characteristics of spatial depictions in the novel, the study categorizes CSIs into four types: ecological, linguistic, material, and religious. Using qualitative content analysis, 71 CSIs were identified and analyzed at the lexical level across the spatial depictions of the source and target texts. Following Aixelá’s (1996) translation strategies of CSIs, the findings show that conservation strategies such as linguistic translation and orthographic adaptation are primarily applied to ecological CSIs, while substitution strategies, particularly limited and absolute universalization, dominate the translation of linguistic, material, and religious CSIs. The results suggest that in translating the CSIs within the spatial depictions of Frog, substitution strategies are employed more frequently than conservation strategies, reflecting Goldblatt’s tendency to adapt culturally specific content for greater accessibility and contextual relevance in the target language. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the interplay between cultural representation and translation in literary works, and offers practical insights for the translation of CSIs in spatial depictions.