Arzu Akbatur - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Arzu Akbatur

Research paper thumbnail of A Bibliography of Translated Works of Turkish Literature into English (1882-2023)

The compilation of this bibliography started with Saliha Paker (2001) and continued with Saliha P... more The compilation of this bibliography started with Saliha Paker (2001) and continued with Saliha Paker and Melike Yılmaz (2004). It was further expanded by Paker for the First International Symposium of Translators and Publishers of Turkish Literature (June 1–2, 2007), which was held by Boğaziçi University in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Akbatur (2011) updated the bibliography up to the year 2010 for the purposes of her PhD dissertation. See also Duygu Tekgül and Arzu Akbatur (2013); Şafak Horzum and Başak Ağın (2021).

Research paper thumbnail of The Power and Burden of Self-Translation: Representation of “Turkish Identity” in Elif Shafak’s The Bastard of Istanbul

Elif Shafak has written/self-translated in/to English five of her novels. All of them came out af... more Elif Shafak has written/self-translated in/to English five of her novels. All of them came out after the publication of their Turkish versions/translations, thus allowing her to make changes in the English originals. Moreover, Shafak also contributed to the translations of these novels into Turkish, to the extent of claiming she has “rewritten” them in Turkish. In this chapter I focus on her novel The Bastard of Istanbul (2007), which presents a particularly interesting case in laying bare the paradoxical relationship between self-translation, power and representation. The controversy that the novel triggered about the Armenian issue eventually led Shafak to be tried for violating an article of the Turkish Penal Code. On the other hand, the comparison of the English and Turkish versions demonstrates that the differences between them seem to have been calibrated by the author herself in view of two different readerships, which has been instrumental in the reception of the novel. Acco...

Research paper thumbnail of Exploring Tercüman as a culture-bound concept in Islamic mysticism

Benjamins Translation Library, 2015

Ottoman/Turkish translation tradition is rich with various practices as well as concepts, which h... more Ottoman/Turkish translation tradition is rich with various practices as well as concepts, which have different significations other than their conventional meanings. This article explores one of these concepts, tercüman (the Turkish word for translator; from the Arabic tarjumān), within the tradition of Islamic mysticism. In addition to this signification of the concept, the paper also deals with the relationship between the sufi and the tercüman, presenting a descriptive analysis of examples from the paratexts of Muhyiddin Ibn al-Arabi’s Fusus al-Hikam in the Turkish and English translations. This analysis will demonstrate how tercüman is employed by the mystic to name or present himself as the divinely inspired “translator” of God’s truth. The study aims to contribute to the metaphorics of translation and the role and image of translators across different cultures.

Research paper thumbnail of Turkish Women Writers in English Translation

MONTI: Monografías de traducción e interpretación, 2011

The present paper aims to present a brief survey of Turkish women writers in English translation.... more The present paper aims to present a brief survey of Turkish women writers in English translation. Due to the dominant position of English, Turkey has been rather dependent on translations from this language and the flow of translations into the opposite direction has been quite slow. Yet, there is a considerable increase in the number of translations from Turkish into English especially since the 1980s. This also holds true for the works of women writers, and, of women' s fiction in particular, which is closely related to the bond between writing and women' s increased consciousness. The paper also briefly touches upon issues such as what has not been translated and why, and the role translators play in the recognition and dissemination of works from a 'minor' language. A sample of writers and information about their works in English translation are presented in order to reveal, if not completely, the diverse nature of Turkish women' s writing. Zusammenfassung Die vorliegende Arbeit bietet eine bündige Untersuchung von Werken türkischer Schriftstellerinnen und deren Übersetzungen ins Englische. Abhängend von der dominanten Position der englischen Sprache kann festgestellt werden, dass die Übersetzung vom Türkischen ins Englische weitgehend bevorzugt wird und die Übersetzung in die andere Richtung ziemlich langsam erfolgt. Es wurde jedoch festgestellt, dass ab den 80'er Jahren die Übersetzungen vom Türkischen ins Englische deutlich zugenommen haben. Dies gilt auch für die Werke (insbesondere Romane und Erzählungen) von türkischen Schriftstellerinnen, was auch auf den Zusammenhang zwischen der Emanzipations-Entwicklung der Frauen und der schriftstellerischen Tätigkeit zeigt. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird auch kurz darauf hingewiesen, welche Werke nicht übersetzt wurden und womit das zusammenhängt. Außerdem wird auch kurz auf die Rolle des Übersetzers bei der Bekanntmachung und Verbreitung von Übersetzungen aus "minor" Sprachen eingegangen. Im Anschluss werden einige türkische Schriftstellerinnen vorgestellt, um einen Einblick in Bezug auf die Besonderheiten der Werke von türkischen Schriftstellerinnen zu gewinnen.

Research paper thumbnail of A Bibliography of Translated Works of Turkish Literature into English (1882-2023)

The compilation of this bibliography started with Saliha Paker (2001) and continued with Saliha P... more The compilation of this bibliography started with Saliha Paker (2001) and continued with Saliha Paker and Melike Yılmaz (2004). It was further expanded by Paker for the First International Symposium of Translators and Publishers of Turkish Literature (June 1–2, 2007), which was held by Boğaziçi University in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Akbatur (2011) updated the bibliography up to the year 2010 for the purposes of her PhD dissertation. See also Duygu Tekgül and Arzu Akbatur (2013); Şafak Horzum and Başak Ağın (2021).

Research paper thumbnail of The Power and Burden of Self-Translation: Representation of “Turkish Identity” in Elif Shafak’s The Bastard of Istanbul

Elif Shafak has written/self-translated in/to English five of her novels. All of them came out af... more Elif Shafak has written/self-translated in/to English five of her novels. All of them came out after the publication of their Turkish versions/translations, thus allowing her to make changes in the English originals. Moreover, Shafak also contributed to the translations of these novels into Turkish, to the extent of claiming she has “rewritten” them in Turkish. In this chapter I focus on her novel The Bastard of Istanbul (2007), which presents a particularly interesting case in laying bare the paradoxical relationship between self-translation, power and representation. The controversy that the novel triggered about the Armenian issue eventually led Shafak to be tried for violating an article of the Turkish Penal Code. On the other hand, the comparison of the English and Turkish versions demonstrates that the differences between them seem to have been calibrated by the author herself in view of two different readerships, which has been instrumental in the reception of the novel. Acco...

Research paper thumbnail of Exploring Tercüman as a culture-bound concept in Islamic mysticism

Benjamins Translation Library, 2015

Ottoman/Turkish translation tradition is rich with various practices as well as concepts, which h... more Ottoman/Turkish translation tradition is rich with various practices as well as concepts, which have different significations other than their conventional meanings. This article explores one of these concepts, tercüman (the Turkish word for translator; from the Arabic tarjumān), within the tradition of Islamic mysticism. In addition to this signification of the concept, the paper also deals with the relationship between the sufi and the tercüman, presenting a descriptive analysis of examples from the paratexts of Muhyiddin Ibn al-Arabi’s Fusus al-Hikam in the Turkish and English translations. This analysis will demonstrate how tercüman is employed by the mystic to name or present himself as the divinely inspired “translator” of God’s truth. The study aims to contribute to the metaphorics of translation and the role and image of translators across different cultures.

Research paper thumbnail of Turkish Women Writers in English Translation

MONTI: Monografías de traducción e interpretación, 2011

The present paper aims to present a brief survey of Turkish women writers in English translation.... more The present paper aims to present a brief survey of Turkish women writers in English translation. Due to the dominant position of English, Turkey has been rather dependent on translations from this language and the flow of translations into the opposite direction has been quite slow. Yet, there is a considerable increase in the number of translations from Turkish into English especially since the 1980s. This also holds true for the works of women writers, and, of women' s fiction in particular, which is closely related to the bond between writing and women' s increased consciousness. The paper also briefly touches upon issues such as what has not been translated and why, and the role translators play in the recognition and dissemination of works from a 'minor' language. A sample of writers and information about their works in English translation are presented in order to reveal, if not completely, the diverse nature of Turkish women' s writing. Zusammenfassung Die vorliegende Arbeit bietet eine bündige Untersuchung von Werken türkischer Schriftstellerinnen und deren Übersetzungen ins Englische. Abhängend von der dominanten Position der englischen Sprache kann festgestellt werden, dass die Übersetzung vom Türkischen ins Englische weitgehend bevorzugt wird und die Übersetzung in die andere Richtung ziemlich langsam erfolgt. Es wurde jedoch festgestellt, dass ab den 80'er Jahren die Übersetzungen vom Türkischen ins Englische deutlich zugenommen haben. Dies gilt auch für die Werke (insbesondere Romane und Erzählungen) von türkischen Schriftstellerinnen, was auch auf den Zusammenhang zwischen der Emanzipations-Entwicklung der Frauen und der schriftstellerischen Tätigkeit zeigt. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird auch kurz darauf hingewiesen, welche Werke nicht übersetzt wurden und womit das zusammenhängt. Außerdem wird auch kurz auf die Rolle des Übersetzers bei der Bekanntmachung und Verbreitung von Übersetzungen aus "minor" Sprachen eingegangen. Im Anschluss werden einige türkische Schriftstellerinnen vorgestellt, um einen Einblick in Bezug auf die Besonderheiten der Werke von türkischen Schriftstellerinnen zu gewinnen.