Turkey’s reading (R)evolution: a study on books, readers and translation (1840-1940)

Abstract

This study explores the pioneering role of translation in the reading revolution the Ottoman-Turkish society went through in the period between 1840 and 1940. The rapid popularization of the novel shortly following its entry into Turkey via translation and the impetus this provided for the formation of a readership are the main reasons for choosing novels as the case in point. By attempting to discover what the readers in the period 1840 and 1940 were reading and how they could have selected, viewed and read, this study is designed to answer specific questions on readers and their reading habits based on a tripartite research structure consisting of production, marketing and consumption phases. For the production phase, a catalogue of translated and indigenous novels published in 1840 and 1940 is established. The bibliographical analysis reveals that a high proportion (46%) of the novels consisted of translated titles. This predominance is the first striking evidence of the formative role of translation in the reading revolution. The advertisements published in catalogues, newspapers and journals are studied as an intermediary between production and consumption phases. They serve as primary sources to reflect the historical context and reveal the characteristics of the strategies that were used while marketing translated and indigenous titles both synchronically and diachronically. The high frequency of the advertisements for translated titles, moreover, contributes to the main argument of the dissertation, i.e. the popularity of the translations among the readers. The consumption phase is studied through readers’ letters, biographical accounts and visual representations. These materials are important to illustrate readers’ active involvement in the process and how their participation shaped and was shaped by the production and marketing phases.