Recontextualising Ece Temelkuran in the UK:A Paratextual Look at the English Translationsof Her Works

Year 2020, , 621 - 643, 23.12.2020

Aysun Kıran

https://doi.org/10.26650/LITERA2020-0046

Abstract

Literary and non-literary works from Turkey have become more visible in the UK market through translations since the early 2000s. This increased interest in Turkish titles has been accompanied by the expectation from the authors to speak for their communities and represent their countries. Hence, translation has constituted a site of political signification in that Turkish authors’ works have largely been discussed in view of the information and/or criticism they provide about their social and political contexts of origin. Following in the footsteps of the literature on the promotion and reception of Turkish authors in translation, this article examines the English translations of Ece Temelkuran’s selected works with a focus on how they were presented in the UK. Specifically, it will offer a descriptive analysis of the paratextual elements of Turkey: The Insane and The Melancholy and Women Who Blow on Knots. In doing so, the article will focus mainly on the front and back covers, translated titles, visuals and blurbs of the selected books. This study shows that the translator’s work is more likely to be recognised when a Turkish title is selected for translation for its literary success in its country of origin rather than for the timeliness of its political commentary. In parallel, it will be argued that the selection of an author’s books for publication in the UK based on their literary merit provides more room for that author to release the burden of political signification.

Keywords

Paratexts, book covers, translated Turkish literature, translations into English, Ece Temelkuran

Ece Temelkuran’ı Birleşik Krallık’ta Yeniden Bağlamlaştırmak: Eserlerinin İngilizce Çevirilerine Yan Metinsel Bir Bakış

Abstract

ürkiye’den çıkan edebi ve edebiyat dışı çalışmalar 2000’li yılların başından itibaren Birleşik Krallık pazarında çeviriler yoluyla daha görünür hale gelmiştir. Türkçe eserlere yönelik bu artan ilgiye aynı zamanda yazarların kendi toplulukları için konuşması ve kendi memleketlerini temsil etmesi yönündeki beklenti de eşlik etmiştir. Bu nedenden dolayı, çeviri, Türk yazarların eserlerinin çoğunlukla içinden çıktıkları toplumsal ve siyasi bağlamlara dair sundukları bilgi ve/ya eleştiri temelinde tartışılması bakımından bir politik anlamlandırma alanı olmuştur. Çeviri eserleri yayınlanan Türk yazarların Recontextualising Ece Temelkuran in the UK: A Paratextual Look at the English Translations of Her Works622Litera Volume: 30, Number: 2, 2020tanıtılması ve alımlanmasına yönelik çalışmaların yapıldığı literatürün izinden giderek bu makalede, Ece Temelkuran’ın seçilmiş eserlerinin İngilizce çevirileri, bu çevirilerin Birleşik Krallık’ta nasıl sunulduğu noktasına odaklanılarak incelenmektedir. Spesifik olarak, çalışmada Temelkuran’ın Türkiye: Çılgın ve Hüzünlü ile Düğümlere Üfleyen Kadınlar adlı eserlerinin İngilizce çevirilerinin yan metinsel ögelerinin betimsel analizi sunulacaktır. Bunu yaparken, ağırlıklı olarak, seçilen kitapların ön ve arka kapaklarına, kitap başlıklarının çevirilerine, kullanılan görsellere ve tanıtıcı yazılara odaklanılacaktır. Çalışmada, Türkçe bir eserin çevirisinin, kitabın içerdiği politik yorumun güncelliğinden çok, o kitabın ilk basıldığı ülkedeki edebi başarısından ötürü yapılmış bir çeviri olması durumunda çevirmenin yaptığı işin tanınmasının daha olası olduğu gösterilecektir. Buna paralel olarak, bir yazarın kitaplarının edebi değerine dayalı olarak Birleşik Krallık’ta yayınlanmak üzere seçilmesinin o yazarın, üzerindeki politik anlamlandırma yükünden kurtulması açısından ona daha fazla alan sağladığı savunulmaktadır.

Keywords

Yan metinler, kitap kapakları, çeviri Türk edebiyatı, İngilizceye çeviriler, Ece Temelkuran

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