Yeşim Pırpır (Duzce University, Turkey)
„Is it not more constructive to ask ourselves what we as translators can do to try to contribute to an ever more humane life? What can we do? Must we not refuse to translate such texts? Should we not rather pass them over in silence, preferring to leave a gap, rather than actively helping to fill it?“
Hans J. Vermeer. „No state of the art.“ Paper delivered at the conference Translation and translation – des faux amis. Boğaziçi University Istanbul, Department of Translation and Interpreting Studies, 5-8 April 2007, p. 11.
This study aims at examining the feminist translator as an expert and the feminist publishing houses as the commissioner before and during the feminist translatorial action in Turkey. For this aim, semi-structured interviews were conducted with three founders/editors and four women translators related to two feminist publishing houses recently established in Turkey, Ayizi Books Publishing House and Güldünya Publishing House. The answers to interview questions were analyzed via the descriptive analysis method whose goal is to present the data in an organized way and to interpret them in the light of the relevant theory/theories, for this study, feminist translation theory and skopos theory. In the present study, it is concluded that women translators who identify themselves as feminist translators have a common sense and adequate knowledge of feminism, so they choose certain texts to translate and apply some feminist translation strategies in line with the skopos of translatum, which is to raise consciousness of women at first in terms of patriarchal practices both in Turkey and the world. Accordingly, it is found out that the feminist publishing houses have adopted a feminist ideology about their translation strategies and their choice of translator. They are aware of the fact that their translations serve the purpose of deconstructing the patriarchal language, and consequently, the patriarchy itself and they totally trust feminist translators. Thus, they work collaboratively for the sake of the skopos of the feminist project which is to make the world a better place for women through the power of the pen.
„Is it not more constructive to ask ourselves what we as translators can do to try to contribute to an ever more humane life? What can we do? Must we not refuse to translate such texts? Should we not rather pass them over in silence, preferring to leave a gap, rather than actively helping to fill it?“
Feminist translators and feminist publishing houses work together to deconstruct the patriarchal language, and consequently the patriarchy itself with the aim of providing a more livable world for women. They do not just translate any texts – they deliberately choose the texts which will serve their purpose at most. They try to fill the gap in the history where the voice of women has been ignored for a long time by translating as many books by women writers as possible, even retranslating the ones which were once translated by men in a misogynist way.
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