Cypriot and Turkish literatures and cultures

• Main Author: Yashin, Mehmet
• Published: Middlesex University 2006
• Subjects: 894
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.568463

Because I am a specialist on Cypriot literature, in particular Turkish- Cypriot literature, this has direct implications for the study of Turkish and Greek language literatures, as well as European minor literatures (as defined by Deleuze and Guattari: 1994). Due to the positionality of the Turkish and Greek literary traditions vis-a-vis European literary establishments, and that of Cypriot literature within the Turkish and Greek literary canons, I have studied literary polysystems theory (especially Even-Zohar: 1978 and 1979) and the relations between central and peripheral literatures. One of the central contributions of my work and research is to study the Turkish and Greek languages and literary traditions in the context and framework of 'contact languages' (Weinreich: 1953), in other words, as linguistic-cultural forms which have developed under co-habitation and mutual influence. I also studied 'othering, processes in Greek, Turkish, Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot literary traditions within the broader context of orientalism and Eurocentricism in the system of European literatures. My work has brought to the fore the plurality of traditions within the domain of Turkish literature as well as the ancient and ongoing multilingual literary traditions of Cyprus. On the one hand, it enabled the study of different traditions within the same linguistic domain (Turkish) to be studied through different categories, such as Turkish literature and Turkish-Cypriot literature. On the other hand, it also allowed for the study of different language literatures under the same roof, such as the Greek, Turkish, and English language literatures of Cyprus as Cypriot literature.