Domestication and Foreignization Strategies Applied in News Headline Translation within the Global Media Context

DOI: https://doi.org/10.62517/jhet.202515455

Author(s)

Li Qingqing, Huang Shiqiao

Affiliation(s)

Gannan University of Science and Technology,Ganzhou, Jiangxi, China

Abstract

Against the backdrop of increasingly frequent global information dissemination, the translation of news headlines—as a crucial link in attracting readers and conveying information—demands careful strategic selection. This paper finds that news headline translation is not a simple binary opposition but a continuum of choices influenced by multiple factors. Translators' strategic decisions are significantly shaped by news genre, media positioning, target audience ideology, and cultural power dynamics. Hard news headlines tend to favor domestication to ensure informational accuracy and readability, while soft news headlines are more receptive to foreignization to preserve source-language cultural characteristics. Successful news headline translation lies in flexibly balancing domestication and foreignization strategies to achieve the optimal equilibrium between effective information transmission and cultural preservation.

Keywords

News Headline Translation; Domestication; Foreignization; Cross-Cultural Communication

References

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