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Remembered in translation: Retranslators of William Saroyan into Turkish as guardians of erased memories.

Authors :
Demirkol Ertürk, Şule
Source :
Translator: Studies in Intercultural Communication; Jun2024, Vol. 30 Issue 2, p227-248, 22p
Publication Year :
2024

Abstract

This paper examines the Turkish translations of two selected short stories from William Saroyan's My Name is Aram, paying special attention to the strategies used by translators in the transfer of details describing the daily lives of Armenian migrants in the US and their affective connections to their ancestral home. Through textual and paratextual analysis, and situating the translations in their socio-political contexts, the paper foregrounds the potential of (re)translated literature as a site for observing the changing politics of memory in a receiving culture. It concludes that, while earlier translators aligned themselves with the dominant politics of 'silence and denial', weakening the longings of Armenian characters for their 'old country', recent translators have been more meticulous about details related to the Armenian identity of characters. They reinstate the memories and yearnings erased in earlier translations, thereby contributing to newly emerging bottom-up energies challenging the official discourse and offering new channels of discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
13556509
Volume :
30
Issue :
2
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
Translator: Studies in Intercultural Communication
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
177338381
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1080/13556509.2023.2222483