Translation as a Diplomatic Negotiation: Insights on Türkiye-Africa Partnership Summit Declaration (2021)

Abstract

: This paper delves into how translation functions as a discursive instrument in shaping Türkiye-Africa relations addressing the 2021 partnership summit declaration as a case study. Specifically, the study sheds light on the translation of ideological underpinnings and lexical choices in the declaration texts to reveal the vision and engagement of Türkiye towards the African continent through translation-based discourse analysis. In order to analyze recurrent discursive and lexical patterns, a corpus software program called Antconc (2022) was benefitted and frequency and concordance analyses across Turkish, English and French texts were uncovered. In addition to corpus-oriented analysis, Fairclough’s (1992) three-dimensional model was applied as a tool for critical discourse analysis at micro, meso and macro levels through the integration of translation strategies. According to the results of lexical and discursive patterns of analysis, diplomatic discourse could be reproduced for different audiences through translation within the context of Türkiye-Africa relations. Results of the study also elucidate that translation strategies might be adopted either to reinforce the presence of Türkiye in Africa or soften the discourse to avoid politically sensitive notions for different target audiences in line with the purpose of 2021 declaration text. As a result, this study reveals how translation can operate as an effective form of diplomatic negotiation which shape the image of Türkiye as a “key player” in South-South Cooperation across Africa. It is anticipated that the research will contribute to the fields of translation studies, discourse analysis and international studies by bringing them into an interdisciplinary collaboration.

Keywords

• Translation
• Türkiye
• Africa
• International relations
• diplomatic discourse

Diplomatik müzakere olarak çeviri: 2021 Türkiye-Afrika Ortaklık Zirvesi Bildirisi üzerine bir inceleme

Abstract

Bu araştırma, çevirinin Türkiye- Afrika ilişkilerinin şekillenmesinde söylemsel bir araç olarak nasıl işlev gördüğünü 2021 Türkiye-Afrika Ortaklık Zirvesi Bildirisi örneği üzerinden incelemektedir. Çalışma, bu bağlamda, bildirideki ideolojik temellerin ve sözcük seçimlerinin nasıl aktarıldığına odaklanarak, Türkiye’nin Afrika kıtasına yönelik vizyonunu çeviri temelli söylem çözümlemisyle ortaya çıkarmayı amaçlar. Araştırmada, tekrar eden söylemsel ve sözcüksel örüntüleri açığa çıkarmak amacıyla Antconc (2022) isimli derlem yazılımından yararlanılarak bildiri metninin Türkçe, İngilizce ve Fransızca dillerinde sıklık ve eşdizim analizleri gerçekleştirilmiştir. Derlem temelli incelemeye ek olarak, Fairclough’un (1992) üç boyutlu modeli çeviri stratejilerinin de analize dahil edilmesiyle mikro, mezo ve makro düzeylerde eleştirel söylem analizi aracı olarak kullanılmıştır. Söylemsel ve sözcüksel örüntülerin analiz sonuçları Türkiye- Afrika ilişkileri bağlamında diplomatik söylemin farklı hedef kitlelere göre yeniden üretilebildiğini göstermektedir. Bu sonuca ek olarak, araştırma sonuçları, çeviri stratejilerinin, 2021 bildiri metni amaçları dahilinde Türkiye’nin Afrika’daki varlığını güçlendirmek ya da söylemi yumuşatarak politik hassasiyetlerden kaçınmak için faydalanabileceğini ortaya çıkarmıştır. Sonuç olarak bu çalışma, Güney Güney İşbirliği kapsamında Türkiye’nin Afrika’daki “kilit aktör” imajını şekillendiren etkili bir diplomatik müzakere aracı olarak nasıl işlediğini ortaya koymaktadır. Bu araştırmanın , çeviribilim, söylem araştırmaları ve uluslaraarsı ilişkiler alanlarına katkı sağlayacağı düşünülmektedir.

Keywords

• çeviri
• Türkiye
• Afrika
• Uluslaraarsı ilişkiler
• diplomatik söylem

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