Exploring Tercüman as a culture-bound concept in Islamic mysticism
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Arzu Akbatur
Abstract
Ottoman/Turkish translation tradition is rich with various practices as well as concepts, which have different significations other than their conventional meanings. This article explores one of these concepts, tercüman (the Turkish word for translator; from the Arabic tarjumān), within the tradition of Islamic mysticism. In addition to this signification of the concept, the paper also deals with the relationship between the sufi and the tercüman, presenting a descriptive analysis of examples from the paratexts of Muhyiddin Ibn al-Arabi’s Fusus al-Hikam in the Turkish and English translations. This analysis will demonstrate how tercüman is employed by the mystic to name or present himself as the divinely inspired “translator” of God’s truth. The study aims to contribute to the metaphorics of translation and the role and image of translators across different cultures.
Abstract
Ottoman/Turkish translation tradition is rich with various practices as well as concepts, which have different significations other than their conventional meanings. This article explores one of these concepts, tercüman (the Turkish word for translator; from the Arabic tarjumān), within the tradition of Islamic mysticism. In addition to this signification of the concept, the paper also deals with the relationship between the sufi and the tercüman, presenting a descriptive analysis of examples from the paratexts of Muhyiddin Ibn al-Arabi’s Fusus al-Hikam in the Turkish and English translations. This analysis will demonstrate how tercüman is employed by the mystic to name or present himself as the divinely inspired “translator” of God’s truth. The study aims to contribute to the metaphorics of translation and the role and image of translators across different cultures.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- In memoriam Elif Daldeniz Baysan xi
- Acknowledgements xiii
- Introduction 1
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Ottoman conceptions and practices of translation
- On the poetic practices of a “singularly uninventive people” and the anxiety of imitation 27
- Exploring Tercüman as a culture-bound concept in Islamic mysticism 53
- Ahmet Midhat’s Hulâsa-i Hümâyunnâme 73
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Transition and transformation
- On the evolution of the interpreting profession in Turkey 89
- Saved by translation 107
- The “official” view on translation in Turkey 125
- Translation, imported western legal frameworks and insights from the Turkish world of patents 145
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The republican revolutionary turn
- The Turkish language reform and intralingual translation 165
- John Dewey’s 1924 report on Turkish education 181
- Pseudotranslations of pseudo-scientific sex manuals in Turkey 199
- Censorship of “obscene” literary translations 219
- Ideological encounters 233
- An overview of Kurdish literature in Turkish 253
- The identity metonymics of translated Turkish fiction in English 273
- Notes on contributors 297
- Index 303
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- In memoriam Elif Daldeniz Baysan xi
- Acknowledgements xiii
- Introduction 1
-
Ottoman conceptions and practices of translation
- On the poetic practices of a “singularly uninventive people” and the anxiety of imitation 27
- Exploring Tercüman as a culture-bound concept in Islamic mysticism 53
- Ahmet Midhat’s Hulâsa-i Hümâyunnâme 73
-
Transition and transformation
- On the evolution of the interpreting profession in Turkey 89
- Saved by translation 107
- The “official” view on translation in Turkey 125
- Translation, imported western legal frameworks and insights from the Turkish world of patents 145
-
The republican revolutionary turn
- The Turkish language reform and intralingual translation 165
- John Dewey’s 1924 report on Turkish education 181
- Pseudotranslations of pseudo-scientific sex manuals in Turkey 199
- Censorship of “obscene” literary translations 219
- Ideological encounters 233
- An overview of Kurdish literature in Turkish 253
- The identity metonymics of translated Turkish fiction in English 273
- Notes on contributors 297
- Index 303
