The Turkish language reform and intralingual translation
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Ozlem Berk Albachten
Abstract
This article focuses on the Turkish Language Reform and the practice of intralingual translation in Turkey as the updating of archaic or older texts, an area that has been largely overlooked in previous theoretical discussions within translation studies. It examines the ways in which the “purification” movement gave rise to intralingual translations of Ottoman Turkish literary works and affected the language of these translations and Turkish literature after 1928. This study argues that intralingual translations in Turkey cannot be divorced from the nationalist agenda and that they reveal linguistic, translational and ideological norms of the period when these translations were produced. Furthermore, it demonstrates that the presentation of and discussions around intralingual translations also shed light on the practice and perception of interlingual translations and on Turkey’s relationship with her Ottoman past.
Abstract
This article focuses on the Turkish Language Reform and the practice of intralingual translation in Turkey as the updating of archaic or older texts, an area that has been largely overlooked in previous theoretical discussions within translation studies. It examines the ways in which the “purification” movement gave rise to intralingual translations of Ottoman Turkish literary works and affected the language of these translations and Turkish literature after 1928. This study argues that intralingual translations in Turkey cannot be divorced from the nationalist agenda and that they reveal linguistic, translational and ideological norms of the period when these translations were produced. Furthermore, it demonstrates that the presentation of and discussions around intralingual translations also shed light on the practice and perception of interlingual translations and on Turkey’s relationship with her Ottoman past.
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
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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
