Theorists of translation studies believe that translation is in practice a cultural activity, or to be exact, an intercultural transaction. In this light, translation can be viewed as putting what is represented in one language/cultural system into another language/cultural system. Unlike the structuralist notion that only emphasises the role of language, this point of view foregrounds the function of both language and culture, and spotlights the cultural influence upon translation. The underlying assumption is that translation is an activity controlled in one way or another by culture, which can be felt not only in the selection of texts to be translated, but also in the selection of translation strategies. The latter directly acts on the configuration of stylistic pattern in translation.

Even-Zohar's polysystem hypothesis suggests that the position of the target culture that is weaker or stronger than the source culture may influence the translator's choice of translation strategies, which is usually dichotomised as target-oriented and source-oriented, or in Venuti's terms, domesticating and foreignising. Even-Zohar believes that when a translator from a strong culture translates a text from a weak culture, his or her strategy tends to be domestication-oriented; if otherwise, foreignisation-oriented. Although this notion finds convincing evidence in Israel and, according to Lawrence Venuti, in the 20th century in the United States, it meets counter-evidence during a certain period in China, when the two strategies co-existed, if not co-tolerated.

A Polysystem Perspective

As cultural exchange is never an equal play, the translator, as the negotiator, who represents a particular cultural power, tends to assume a specific attitude towards the culture from which the text to be translated is chosen. This specific attitude, either respectful or scornful, towards the source culture reflects a deep-rooted sense of the position of the culture the translator represents and ultimately gives rise to specific translation strategies for a given socio-pragmatic purpose.