The legal status and the self-images of translators in Turkey : translators at the crossroads : experts or messengers?

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the legal status of translators in Turkey, which is defined in contradicting terms in the two Turkish laws and to account for the factors determining the self-images of translators. The Turkish Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works defines the translator as the ‘owner of the processed work’, whereas the Press Law holds the translator liable with the title of the ‘owner of the work’ in case of a criminal case against the translated work if the author is not a Turkish citizen and/or resides abroad. An analysis of certain cases in Turkey, in which translated books are prosecuted/ banned or even confiscated, reveals that translators base their defensive pleas on the argument that they are merely the “messengers” of the source authors and thus, should not be convicted. This is indicative of a discrepancy between the image of the “rewriter” assigned to the translator by translation scholars and the translator’s self-image under certain conditions. In this thesis, it is argued that the self-images of translators are shaped by not only the present controversial legal status arising from the formulation of the copyright law but also the historical and social factors which have influenced the way laws have been drafted. These historical, social and legal factors have led translators to assume a subservient role rather than acknowledging their own power as cultural agents.