Research Article

Translating allusions: The case of Dubliners by James Joyce

Number: 18 March 21, 2020
  • Selen Tekalp *
TR EN

Translating allusions: The case of Dubliners by James Joyce

Abstract

Intertextuality refers to the relation of a text to other texts. Although the notion has connections with many fields of art such as painting, sculpture, architecture, cinema and theatre, in this study it is examined as a literary concept within the framework of translation studies. Intertextual devices such as quotations, citations and allusions pose great challenge for translators as they require an extensive cultural knowledge and an awareness of the extratextual relations of the text. These relations can be built by author’s use of allusions, quotations, translation, pastiche, parody and other intertextual elements. However, the analysis of all these elements seems to be compelling for a translator. Therefore, to investigate how intertextuality is treated in the Turkish translations of Dubliners, the scope has been restricted to the allusions. Allusion is described as an indirect reference to a literary work, a person, place or thing that is already known. In Dubliners, Joyce uses multiple allusions dedicated to literary texts, historical and political figures and events. The case study has been carried out by examining the allusions separately in all fifteen stories within the book. After that, the Turkish translations performed by Murat Belge and Merve Tokmakçıoğlu were analysed, and the Turkish counterparts of the detected allusions were listed for each story. The detected items in both texts were compared to reveal the strategies used by the translators in order to solve the problems related to the intertextual aspects of the text. Ritva Leppihalme’s (1997) proposed strategies were adopted for the identification of translation strategies.

Keywords

References

  1. Allen, G (2000). Intertextuality. London and New York: Routledge.
  2. Bakhtin, M. (1984). Problems of Dostoyevsky’s poetics. In C. Emerson (Ed.), Theory and History of Literature (Vol. 8). Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press.
  3. Delahunty, A., Dignen, S., & Stock, P. (2001). The Oxford dictionary of allusions (1st ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
  4. Genette, G. (1997). Palimpsests: Literature in the second degree. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
  5. Gifford, D. (1981). Joyce annotated: Notes for "Dubliners" and "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man”. USA: University of California Press.
  6. Hatim, B., & Mason, I. (1990). Discourse and the translator. London: Longman.
  7. Hatim, B., & Mason, I. (1997). The translator as communicator. London: Routledge.
  8. Hervey, S., & Higgins, I. (1992). Thinking Translation. London & New York: Routledge.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Linguistics , Creative Arts and Writing

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Selen Tekalp * This is me
0000-0002-3050-3835
Türkiye

Publication Date

March 21, 2020

Submission Date

December 13, 2019

Acceptance Date

March 20, 2020

Published in Issue

Year 2020 Number: 18

APA
Tekalp, S. (2020). Translating allusions: The case of Dubliners by James Joyce. RumeliDE Dil Ve Edebiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi, 18, 590-609. https://doi.org/10.29000/rumelide.706407

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