A Bourdieusian perspective on translators in Turkey : examining the role of the socio-economic,cultural and political environment

• Main Author: Kayhan, Selin
• Other Authors: Rogers, Margaret ; Asimakoulas, Dimitris ; Constance, Bantman
• Published: University of Surrey 2016
• Subjects: 418
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.683807

This study examines the translation field in Turkey by examining social, cultural, economic and political factors that impact on translators and translation. It is an attempt to contribute to the literature on the sociology of translation by adopting a Bourdieusian perspective whilst looking at how the translation field, along with various forms of translator capital and (dis)positions can be studied, in a contemporary and Turkish context. At the same time, the study elaborates on Lefevere’s concept of patronage and analyses the forces and control mechanisms which influence the field of translation and literary (fiction and other genres) translators in Turkey. The prosecution of a considerable number of translators in Turkey after they were held responsible for the content of their translations, particularly when these included “insulting Turkishness”, and the lack of research in the field of prosecution of translators in the Turkish context as well as the desire to know Turkish translational culture better by looking at this particular issue led to the carrying out of this study. Yet, neither the scope nor the expected contribution is limited to this. The contribution of the project to Translation Studies will result from its multi-layered, multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinary approach to investigating the translator as one of the main agents of the act of translating, before positioning him/her within a wider system of translation, and to uncovering the perceived influence of control factors on the field of translation and translational behaviour in Turkey. While the historical dimension will help us in identifying the developments in translation studies in Turkey, the sociological, cultural, economic, and political perspectives will solidify our understanding of the translator as an individual, with the legal perspective foregrounding the link of this individual, not only with the society in which s/he lives, but also with the political apparatus. The research used a qualitative and exploratory approach for the 16 in-depth interviews conducted. Since the motivation for this study was to understand, in the sociological sense, rather than explain, it mainly attempted to document the world from the point of view of the people studied. The dynamics of the field of translation and the power structures within the field in the context of Turkey were uncovered through a thematic analysis method, where various aspects of the translation world in Turkey were explored under different themes, and political/ ideological, economic and social control factors were found to impact significantly on the field of translation and translational behaviour in Turkey.