The identity metonymics of translated Turkish fiction in English
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Arzu Eker Roditakis
Abstract
Focusing on the novels of Orhan Pamuk and Bilge Karasu in English translation, this study explores the ways their reception evokes identity issues regarding Turkey. It begins with a theoretical discussion, comparing “national allegory” (Jameson 1986) and “metonymics” (Tymoczko 1999), which is a more apt concept when dealing with representations translations offer. The analysis section focuses on the recontextualization of the novels in the reviews in British and American target cultures and the discourses in which they are embedded, illustrating that the works of the two writers establish different metonymical connections: while Pamuk’s novels are linked to a discourse that defines Turkish cultural identity between East and West, no such association exists for those of Karasu. I argue that the identity metonymics found in Pamuk’s translations is one of the factors underlying his popularity.
Abstract
Focusing on the novels of Orhan Pamuk and Bilge Karasu in English translation, this study explores the ways their reception evokes identity issues regarding Turkey. It begins with a theoretical discussion, comparing “national allegory” (Jameson 1986) and “metonymics” (Tymoczko 1999), which is a more apt concept when dealing with representations translations offer. The analysis section focuses on the recontextualization of the novels in the reviews in British and American target cultures and the discourses in which they are embedded, illustrating that the works of the two writers establish different metonymical connections: while Pamuk’s novels are linked to a discourse that defines Turkish cultural identity between East and West, no such association exists for those of Karasu. I argue that the identity metonymics found in Pamuk’s translations is one of the factors underlying his popularity.
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
