Abstract:

In the translation of a literary text with the signs that constitue its universe of meaning into a target language, a semiotic analysis applied to the text may have a significant contribution to make. The analysis made by the translator may help her/him to read and convert the text to the target language, together with its signs. Furthermore, when a short story is in question, semiotic analysis may be particularly useful because, in a short story, the number of signs that constitue the universe of meaning and that lead to the conclusion is limited. Many things are meant in a few words, and this is why it is important not to leave out any of the signs. In this study, Sunday in the Park, a short story by an American author, Bell Kaufman, which was not previously translated into Turkish will be treated with some of the methods of analysis developped by the Paris School of Semiotics. First, the text will be segmented and veridictory modalities (seeming/being) will be evaluated. Then, isotopies and contracts in the text and combinatory modalities of the actants will be studied. Finally, how the signs that are read with these methods and that have a specific importance for the story can be transmitted into Turkish will be discussed, specifying how different translations can have different influences on meaning and in what ways semiotics could contribute to translation.

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