Abstract:

This paper intends to explore retranslations from Western languages to Ottoman Turkish, between Tanzimat Period and Second Constitutional Era. Retranslation examples found in bibliographic works constitute the subject matter of analysis. Telemak, which is regarded as the first novel translated into Ottoman Turkish, is also among retranslated works listed. Fénelon’s Telemaque was first translated by Yusuf Kamil Paşa, and retranslated by Ahmet Vefik Paşa. Other novels in the list which had been translated more than once are; İki Kadın (Deux Femmes), Jeneviyev (Geneviève), Rafael (Raphael), Pol ve Virjini (Paul et Virginie), Robenson ( Robinson Crusoe), La Dam o Kamelya (La Dame Aux Camelias), Urani (Uranie), Kontes Sera (La Comtesse Sarah), Manon Lesko (Manon Lescaut) and Güliver’in Seyahatleri’dir (Gulliver’s Travels). Retranslations which are listed will then be explored through extratextual analysis in order to understand the reason behind retranslating certain works from the Western literature in a short time span. Given the fact that novels were a novelty in Ottoman literary system, certain works which had already been translated were retranslated by different translators at short intervals. “Retranslation hypothesis” constitutes the conceptual framework of this paper.

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