Savaş Alanında Dil: Rajiv Joseph’un Bağdat Hayvanat Bahçesindeki Bengal Kaplanı adlı Oyununda Çevirinin Gücü

Year 2018, Volume: 12 Issue: 1-2, 99 - 111, 28.12.2018

Qurratulaen Liaqat Asia Mukhtar

Abstract

11
Eylül saldırısının ardından Afganistan’ın ve Irak’ın işgali, İngiliz ve
Amerikan oyun yazarlarına savaşın ve çatışmaların anlamsızlığını protesto eden
politik oyunlar yazmaya konusunda ilham vermiştir. Rajiv Joseph tarafından
yazılmış olan Bağdat Hayvanat
Bahçesindeki Bengal Kaplanı (2009) adlı eser, işgal altındaki bir ülkenin
ve vatandaşlarının durumunu anlatan oyunlardan biridir. Oyun, Iraklı tercüman
Musa karakterinin etrafında döner. Savaş bağlamında çevirmen çok önemli bir
role sahiptir çünkü dilsel beceriler somut bir güç kazanır. İşgalcilerin elinde
bulunan çevirmenlerin güçsüz durumları ve onların istismarı üzerine yapılan
birçok çalışma bulunmaktadır. Bu çalışmada ise Musa karakterinin çevirmen ve
birey olarak güçlenmesinin hermenötik bir analizi yapılmaktadır. Bu çalışma,
iki bakımdan önem taşımaktadır; ilki, çevirinin gerektirdiği potansiyel güce
ilişkin tartışmalara öncülük etmesi; diğeri ise bu gücü kendileri, ülkeleri ve
büyük ölçekte genel olarak daha iyi bir dünya yaratmak için kullanmaları
amacıyla ihtiyaç duydukları eğitime dikkat çekmesidir.

Keywords

Rajiv Joseph, dil, çeviri, güç, çatışma

Language in the War-Zone: The Power of Translation in Rajiv Joseph’s Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo

Abstract

In the backdrop of 9/11, the two subsequent invasions
in Afghanistan and Iraq sparked the imagination of British and American
playwrights for creating political plays which protest the futility of wars and
conflicts. Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad
Zoo (2009) by Rajiv Joseph is one of those plays which depict the plight of
an invaded country and its inhabitants. The play revolves around the character
of an Iraqi translator, Musa. The role of an interpreter in conflict zones is
very significant because linguistic capability bequeaths palpable forms of
leverages. Additionally, the very act of translation becomes more considerable
and culturally evocative in the backdrop of war. There are many studies
conducted on the powerlessness of translators and the exploitation of
interpreters at the hands of invaders; however, this paper will conduct a
hermeneutic descriptive analysis of the growing empowerment of Musa’s character—both
as a translator and as an individual. This study is significant as it initiates
the debate into the potential power which the act of translation entails and
the need to train interpreters to utilize this power to create a better world
for themselves, their country and the world at large.

Keywords

Rajiv Joseph, language, translation, power, conflict

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