A Recent Understanding of Scientific Translation in Turkey Through a Lens of Paratexts

Yıl 2021, Cilt: 9 Sayı: 3, 110 - 126, 30.09.2021

Mine Çankaya

https://doi.org/10.29228/ijlet.49783

Öz

This article attempts to investigate how publishers and translators in Turkey perceive scientific translation/translator in the recent years. Aiming this, an analysis of certain paratexts including titles, front covers, and prefaces (editor’s and translator’s) located in 26 professional psychotherapy books translated from English into Turkish between 2014 and 2020 was conducted. In the first step of the analysis regarding covers, the findings highlighted that the covers were mainly designed to serve for guiding the reader about the content of the books. In the similar fashion, the titles underwent minor changes in order not to transmit the meaning coded in the source language title inaccurately. In terms of the translators, it was observed that nearly all of the books were translated by psychologists and psychiatrists working alone or as teams. The results also indicated these translators are partially visible with their names appearing in the second cover page and only four books have translator prefaces. One of them was prepared by a translator working as a psychiatrist while the other three prefaces about translation were written by psychiatrists assigned as translation editors. Those prefaces mainly promote and introduce scientific knowledge conveyed in the books. The only aspect mentioned by translator and translation editors regarding translation in the prefaces was way how terms were transferred to the target language. In this context, the study found that the publishers and translators working in the field of scientific translation in recent years tend to follow the mainstream simplistic understanding of scientific translation considering the activity as an informative, faithful, literal, and technical act where professional expertise and transfer of accurate terminology are sufficient.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Paratexts, scientific translation, translation producers

Yan Metinler Aracılığıyla Türkiye’de Modern Bilimsel Çeviri Anlayışı

Öz

Bu makale, Türkiye’deki çevirmenler ve yayıncıların, yakın dönemdeki bilimsel çeviri anlayışı hakkındaki fikirlerini incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Çalışmada, 2014 -2020 yılları arasında İngilizceden Türkçeye çevrilen ve alandaki uzmanlara yönelik 26 psikoterapi kitabındaki başlık, ön kapak, çevirmen ve editör önsözlerinden oluşan yan metinler incelenmiştir. Elde edilen bulgular sonucunda bilimsel kitapların bilgi verici ve kaynak metinlere olabildiğince sadık kalınarak çevrilmesi gereken metinler olarak ele alındığı gözlemlenmiştir. Metinlerin ise dil uzmanı olan çevirmenler tarafından değil alan uzmanları olan psikolog ve psikiyatristler tarafından çevrildiği görülmüş fakat bu kişilerin de kısmi olarak görünmez olduğu saptanmıştır. Buna ek olarak, bütüncüde sadece 1 kitapta çevirmen tarafından yazılan önsözün olduğu ve diğer 3 önsözün de psikiyatrist olan çeviri editörleri tarafından yazıldığı gözlemlenmiştir. Önsözlerde kitabın içeriğinin anlatılarak tanıtıldığı ve çeviri sürecine dair sadece terim çevirisi konusuna değinildiği ortaya çıkmıştır. Bu bulgular, çevirmen ve yayıncıların, Türk ve dünya kamuoyundaki bilimsel çeviriyi basit, teknik, ikincil ve yeterli dilbilimsel ve sosyokültürel edinç olmadan sadece art alan bilgisi ve uygun terim bilgisi ile çevrilebilecek bir alan olarak gören hâkim görüşle uyumlu bir algıya sahip olduğunu göstermiştir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Yan metinler bilimsel çeviri, çeviri üreticileri

Kaynakça

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