(In) direct (Re) translations of leftist non-fiction in Turkish (1921-2016): Actors and networks

Abstract

This study surveys the retranslations of the leftist non-fiction books in Turkish from 1921 to 2016 and scrutinizes the reasons for the second wave retranslations. As The Communist Manifesto was the most frequently translated work, with 38 translations, six translations of the work were analyzed in the framework of an eclectic method based on actor network theory, critical discourse analysis, and an adapted version of Antoine Berman’s translation criticism path. An ideological clash between the first wave indirect and second direct translations was detected in the “voices” rising from paratextual elements. The predominant leftist ideology of the 1960s and the translations its actors produced were being challenged with criticisms and alternative readings and an increasing accumulation of knowledge of Marxism. As a case in point, the corpus of The Communist Manifesto indicated a rejuvenation movement in the Marxist oeuvre because the direct retranslations outnumbered the relay translations in the market in the second wave. Moreover, Turkish leftist discourse was evolving, with reiterations and inculcations.