Research Article

The Power of Self-Translation: Insomnia Café As a Case Study

Volume: 2022 Number: 32 July 31, 2022
TR EN

The Power of Self-Translation: Insomnia Café As a Case Study

Abstract

This present article aims to contextualize the power of self-translation through a case study. The subject of this case study is a comic series called Uykusuz, written and drawn by Kutlukhan Perker and published in the Turkish comics magazine L-Manyak between 2004-2005. In 2009, the English self-translation of this series was published by Dark Horse Comics in the USA with the title Insomnia Café. Although the series was written in Turkish first, in 2017 the self-translated English version of the series was translated back to Turkish by a translator, Emre Yavuz. In this study firstly, Perker's Turkish text and his self-translation are compared; then, the original Turkish text and the Turkish back translation from the English self-translation are examined within Javier Franco Aixela’s conceptual framework of ‘conservation’ and ‘substitution’. The findings elucidate that while self-translating Perker has changed all Turkish culture-specific items to American ones, showing that he has adopted ‘autonomous creation’ strategy for substitution. In the back translation performed over the self-translation, which has undergone ideological manipulation, the translator, Emre Yavuz has conserved the text and adopted 'repetition' strategy the most. Because of Perker’s manipulation, when the self-translated version is translated back into Turkish the series looks like a product of American culture instead of a Turkish one. This shows the power of self-translation and highlights the self-translator’s authority; so, the need for further case studies on self-translation is emphasized.

Keywords

References

  1. Agirrezabalaga, E. M. (2017). Collaborative self-translation in a minority language: Power implications in the process, the actors and the literary systems involved. In O. Castro, S. Mainer, S. Page (Eds.), Self-translation and power: Negotiating identities in multilingual European contexts (pp. 191-217). Palgrave Macmillan.
  2. Aixela, J.-F. (1996). Culture-specific items in translation. In R. Alvarez and M. C. Vidal (Ed.). Translation, Power, Subversion (pp. 52-79). Multilingual Matters.
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  4. Bassnett, S. (2013). Self-translator as rewriter. In A. Cordingley (Ed.), Self-translation brokering originality in hybrid culture (pp. 13–26). Continuum.
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  6. Bassnett, S. & Lefevere, A. (1992). Translation, rewriting and the manipulation of literary fame. Routledge.
  7. Castro, O., Mainer, S. & Page, S. (Eds.). (2017). Self-translation and power: Negotiating identities in multilingual European contexts. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-50781-5
  8. Cordingley, A. (2013). Introduction: Self-translation, going global. In A. Cordingley (Ed.), Self-translation: Brokering originality in hybrid culture (pp. 1–10). Continuum.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Language Studies

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

July 31, 2022

Submission Date

March 16, 2022

Acceptance Date

June 9, 2022

Published in Issue

Year 2022 Volume: 2022 Number: 32

APA
Gülmüş Sırkıntı, H. (2022). The Power of Self-Translation: Insomnia Café As a Case Study. Çeviribilim Ve Uygulamaları Dergisi, 2022(32), 105-120. https://doi.org/10.37599/ceviri.1089128
AMA
1.Gülmüş Sırkıntı H. The Power of Self-Translation: Insomnia Café As a Case Study. Çeviribilim ve Uygulamaları Dergisi. 2022;2022(32):105-120. doi:10.37599/ceviri.1089128
Chicago
Gülmüş Sırkıntı, Halise. 2022. “The Power of Self-Translation: Insomnia Café As a Case Study”. Çeviribilim Ve Uygulamaları Dergisi 2022 (32): 105-20. https://doi.org/10.37599/ceviri.1089128.
EndNote
Gülmüş Sırkıntı H (July 1, 2022) The Power of Self-Translation: Insomnia Café As a Case Study. Çeviribilim ve Uygulamaları Dergisi 2022 32 105–120.
IEEE
[1]H. Gülmüş Sırkıntı, “The Power of Self-Translation: Insomnia Café As a Case Study”, Çeviribilim ve Uygulamaları Dergisi, vol. 2022, no. 32, pp. 105–120, July 2022, doi: 10.37599/ceviri.1089128.
ISNAD
Gülmüş Sırkıntı, Halise. “The Power of Self-Translation: Insomnia Café As a Case Study”. Çeviribilim ve Uygulamaları Dergisi 2022/32 (July 1, 2022): 105-120. https://doi.org/10.37599/ceviri.1089128.
JAMA
1.Gülmüş Sırkıntı H. The Power of Self-Translation: Insomnia Café As a Case Study. Çeviribilim ve Uygulamaları Dergisi. 2022;2022:105–120.
MLA
Gülmüş Sırkıntı, Halise. “The Power of Self-Translation: Insomnia Café As a Case Study”. Çeviribilim Ve Uygulamaları Dergisi, vol. 2022, no. 32, July 2022, pp. 105-20, doi:10.37599/ceviri.1089128.
Vancouver
1.Halise Gülmüş Sırkıntı. The Power of Self-Translation: Insomnia Café As a Case Study. Çeviribilim ve Uygulamaları Dergisi. 2022 Jul. 1;2022(32):105-20. doi:10.37599/ceviri.1089128