Jason Goodwin’s ‘Possible Worlds’ Unveiled in Translation (Studies)
The books with a specific cultural theme written in a foreign language stand out as a remarkable type of texts in terms of Translation Studies. In such books, description of a native culture in a foreign language reflects features similar to a translation, and it is called ‘foreign language creation...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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transLogos: Translation Studies Journal
2021-12-01
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| Series: | transLogos: Translation Studies Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/2169391 |
| _version_ | 1797913272584765440 |
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| author | Merve AVŞAROĞLU Ayşe Banu KARADAĞ |
| author_facet | Merve AVŞAROĞLU Ayşe Banu KARADAĞ |
| author_sort | Merve AVŞAROĞLU |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The books with a specific cultural theme written in a foreign language stand out as a remarkable type of texts in terms of Translation Studies. In such books, description of a native culture in a foreign language reflects features similar to a translation, and it is called ‘foreign language creation,’ the product of a translation process ongoing in the writer’s mind. While these books seem to be the translation of a native culture into a foreign language, their translation back into the native language represents a ‘back translation’ in cultural sense without a physically existing ultimate source text, in other words ‘textless back translation.’ Within this context, the present study deals with English author Jason Goodwin’s Ottoman-themed books titled Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire ([1998] 2000), The Janissary Tree (2006a), and The Snake Stone ([2007] 2008) as ‘foreign language creations’ and their Turkish translations as ‘textless back translations.’ Drawing on the portrayal of the Ottoman available in many passages, Goodwin’s texts are approached from the perspective of ‘orientalism’ and the distinction between ‘history’ and ‘fiction’ in the first place. While these focal points offer a better understanding and interpreting of the ‘orientalist’ marks and the ‘possible worlds’ in the texts, an analysis of the translation methods used by the writer in his ‘foreign language creations’ and by the translators in their ‘textless back translations’ provides useful insight into the reasons and the effects of certain translation decisions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T12:10:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a2f5c99dc27448fab6f1686acbab8450 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2667-4629 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T12:10:24Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | transLogos: Translation Studies Journal |
| record_format | Article |
| series | transLogos: Translation Studies Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-a2f5c99dc27448fab6f1686acbab84502023-02-15T16:16:03ZengtransLogos: Translation Studies JournaltransLogos: Translation Studies Journal2667-46292021-12-0142456910.29228/transLogos.37Jason Goodwin’s ‘Possible Worlds’ Unveiled in Translation (Studies)Merve AVŞAROĞLU0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6597-9091Ayşe Banu KARADAĞ1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0974-8053The Republic of Turkey Ministry of National EducationYıldız Technical UniversityThe books with a specific cultural theme written in a foreign language stand out as a remarkable type of texts in terms of Translation Studies. In such books, description of a native culture in a foreign language reflects features similar to a translation, and it is called ‘foreign language creation,’ the product of a translation process ongoing in the writer’s mind. While these books seem to be the translation of a native culture into a foreign language, their translation back into the native language represents a ‘back translation’ in cultural sense without a physically existing ultimate source text, in other words ‘textless back translation.’ Within this context, the present study deals with English author Jason Goodwin’s Ottoman-themed books titled Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire ([1998] 2000), The Janissary Tree (2006a), and The Snake Stone ([2007] 2008) as ‘foreign language creations’ and their Turkish translations as ‘textless back translations.’ Drawing on the portrayal of the Ottoman available in many passages, Goodwin’s texts are approached from the perspective of ‘orientalism’ and the distinction between ‘history’ and ‘fiction’ in the first place. While these focal points offer a better understanding and interpreting of the ‘orientalist’ marks and the ‘possible worlds’ in the texts, an analysis of the translation methods used by the writer in his ‘foreign language creations’ and by the translators in their ‘textless back translations’ provides useful insight into the reasons and the effects of certain translation decisions.https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/2169391foreign language creationback translationtextless back translationorientalismpossible worldshistoryfictionjason goodwin |
| spellingShingle | Merve AVŞAROĞLU Ayşe Banu KARADAĞ Jason Goodwin’s ‘Possible Worlds’ Unveiled in Translation (Studies) transLogos: Translation Studies Journal foreign language creation back translation textless back translation orientalism possible worlds history fiction jason goodwin |
| title | Jason Goodwin’s ‘Possible Worlds’ Unveiled in Translation (Studies) |
| title_full | Jason Goodwin’s ‘Possible Worlds’ Unveiled in Translation (Studies) |
| title_fullStr | Jason Goodwin’s ‘Possible Worlds’ Unveiled in Translation (Studies) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Jason Goodwin’s ‘Possible Worlds’ Unveiled in Translation (Studies) |
| title_short | Jason Goodwin’s ‘Possible Worlds’ Unveiled in Translation (Studies) |
| title_sort | jason goodwin s possible worlds unveiled in translation studies |
| topic | foreign language creation back translation textless back translation orientalism possible worlds history fiction jason goodwin |
| url | https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/2169391 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT merveavsaroglu jasongoodwinspossibleworldsunveiledintranslationstudies AT aysebanukaradag jasongoodwinspossibleworldsunveiledintranslationstudies |