Tracing discourse in prefaces to Turkish translations of fiction by Remzi publishing huose in the 1930s and 1940s

Abstract

Regarding translation not only as a linguistic transfer but as part of a complex sociocultural context this study focuses on the discourse in translators' prefaces to find out what facts their analysis can reveal about the translation in a wider context. I argue in this study that translators assume a mediating role between the socio-cultural context and the translated text in their prefaces. This thesis brings together thee significant components, the paratext, the translator and the publisher which can be considered to occupy the same space metaphorically. The corpus of the study consists of prefaces written by translators to their translations published in "Dünya Muharrirlerinden Tercümeler Serisi" (Translations fiom World Authors) published by Remzi publishing house which can be considered as the biggest and the first significant attempt to translate Western classics into Turkish before the state-sponsored Translation Bureau. The study offers a picture of the period when the series was published and reveals that '"Dünya Muhmirlerinden Tercümeler Serisi" with its supporting journal, Kalem set an example for The Translation Bureau and its journal Tercüme, which lent it a distinctive status in the period under study. When the discourse in the prefaces is analyzed in the light of critical discourse analysis and described within the framework of polysystem theory it became obvious that translators sf Remzi played an active role not only in the translation system but also the other systems of culture. This confirmed that translators using spaces allotted to them in prefaces can bring together the translated text and the socio-cultural context. The study also revealed that the publisher Rernzi Bengi, the advisory boards of the publishing house and its translators can be considered as idea-makers, culture-entrepreneurs and 'carriers of life-images' because of the significant roles they played in the period under study, The analysis of translators' prefaces also suggests that paratexts widen the scope of translation research by incorporating translation into a wider network.