SavedAdd your journal

Journals / İstanbul Üniversitesi Çeviribilim Dergisi / 2026 / Sayı: 22

A General Overview of Translation History from Ancient Civilizations to the 20th Century

Antik Uygarlıklardan 20. Yüzyıla Kadar Çeviri Tarihine Genel Bir Bakış

Barış Can Aydın(Çağ Üniversitesi, Fen-Edebiyat Fakültesi, İngilizce Mütercim ve Tercümanlık Bölümü)0000-0002-8268-6020
Pages
23–43
Publication Date
2025-07-04
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

This study underscores translation's enduring significance in preserving knowledge, fostering cultural and intellectual exchange, and driving societal development.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:This study provides a historical overview of the development of translation from ancient civilizations to the 20th century with its main outlines by highlighting its critical role in facilitating cultural exchange, promoting intellectual advancement, and contributing to societal progress.
📊
Key Findings & Data:In 19th-century Europe, translation practices and theories evolved significantly, driven by contributions from figures like Schleiermacher and Humboldt.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:This study underscores translation's enduring significance in preserving knowledge, fostering cultural and intellectual exchange, and driving societal development.
🔬Design:Derleme
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Çeviri Kuramları · Çeviri Tarihi · Çevirinin Evrimi

Abstract

This study provides a historical overview of the development of translation from ancient civilizations to the 20th century with its main outlines by highlighting its critical role in facilitating cultural exchange, promoting intellectual advancement, and contributing to societal progress. Beginning with early translation activities in ancient Egypt and Babylon, the narrative emphasizes translation's role in preserving and transmitting religious and administrative texts. This foundation was further expanded by the Greek and Roman civilizations, where philosophers like Cicero and Horace used translation and adopted adaptive translation methods to enrich the Roman culture and intellectual traditions. The study also examines the historical significance of the Bible translation. Jerome’s Latin Vulgate, translated from Hebrew and Greek sources, stands out as one of the most influential milestones in the history of translation. During the Reformation, Martin Luther’s translation of the Bible into German revolutionized access to religious texts by using the vernacular, thus supporting the rise of national languages. Translators like William Tyndale and John Wycliffe further enhanced the Bible’s accessibility, deepening debates on meaning and f idelity in translation theory. In 19th-century Europe, translation practices and theories evolved significantly, driven by contributions from figures like Schleiermacher and Humboldt. British translators such as William Morris and Dante Gabriel Rossetti emphasized the artistic dimensions of translation, balancing faithfulness to the source text with stylistic innovation. Throughout these historical periods, translation emerged as a dynamic process shaped by the cultural, intellectual, and technological contexts of its time. This study underscores translation's enduring significance in preserving knowledge, fostering cultural and intellectual exchange, and driving societal development.

Özet

Bu çalışma, çeviri tarihinin antik uygarlıklardan 20. yüzyıla kadar uzanan gelişimini ana hatlarıyla ele almaktadır. Çalışmada çevirinin, kültürel alışverişi kolaylaştırmadaki, entelektüel ilerlemeyi teşvik etmedeki ve toplumsal gelişime katkı sağlamadaki kritik rolüne dikkat çekilmektedir. Antik Mısır ve Babil'deki erken dönem çeviri etkinliklerini ele alarak başlayan anlatı, çevirinin dini ve idari metinlerin korunup aktarılmasındaki rolünü vurgular. Bu süreç, Yunan ve Roma uygarlıklarının çeviri yoluyla bilgi birikimlerini genişletmesiyle devam eder. Özellikle Cicero ve Horatius gibi filozoflar, Roma kültürünü zenginleştirmek için çeviriyi kullanmışlar ve çeviride uyarlayıcı bir yaklaşımı benimsemişlerdir. Çalışma, Kitâb-ı Mukaddes (İncil) Çevirisinin tarih boyunca çeviriye etkisine de değinir. Aziz Jerome’un, Kitâb-ı Mukaddes’in İbranice ve Yunanca kaynak metinini kullanarak Latince Vulgata çevirisi, çeviri tarihindeki en önemli dönüm noktalarından biri olarak öne çıkar. Reform hareketi sırasında Martin Luther’in Kitâb-ı Mukaddes’i Almancaya çevirerek halk dilini kullanan yaklaşımı, dini metinlerin daha geniş kitlelere ulaşmasını sağlamış ve ulusal dillerin yükselişine katkıda bulunmuştur. William Tyndale ve John Wycliffe gibi çevirmenlerin çalışmaları, Kitâb-ı Mukaddes’in erişilebilirliğini artırmış, aynı zamanda çeviri kuramlarında anlam ve sadakat tartışmalarını derinleştirmiştir, 19. Yüzyıl Avrupası’nda Schleiermacher ve Humboldt gibi düşünürlerin katkılarıyla derinleşmiş; William Morris ve Dante Gabriel Rossetti gibi İngiliz çevirmenler çevirinin edebi ve sanatsal boyutu öne çıkarmıştır. Bu tarihsel dönemler boyunca çeviri, her dönemin kültürel, entelektüel ve teknolojik bağlamları tarafından şekillenen dinamik bir süreç olarak varlığını sürdürmüştür. Çalışma, çevirinin bilginin korunması ve aktarılması, kültürel ve entelektüel alışverişin teşvik edilmesi ve toplumların gelişimi üzerindeki vazgeçilmez etkisini ortaya koymaktadır.

🔖

Cite This Article

Aydın, B. C. (2025). A General Overview of Translation History from Ancient Civilizations to the 20th Century. İstanbul Üniversitesi Çeviribilim Dergisi, Sayı: 22, 23–43. https://doi.org/10.26650/iujts.2025.1606627

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

References (76)

  1. Aksoy, N. B. (2002). Geçmişten günümüze yazın çevirisi. İmge Kitabevi. google scholar
  2. Al-Ali, K. K. and Majid, L. R. (2015). St. Jerome’s approach to word-for-word and sense-for-sense translation. Journal of the College of google scholar
  3. Arts / University of Basrah, 0(74), 49-74. https://iasj.net/iasj/download/e354df916ecd3d12 google scholar
  4. Aristoteles. (2007). Poetika (S. Rifat Trans.). Can Yayınları. (First Published 335 B.C.) google scholar
  5. Arnold, M. (1993). The professor of poetry and literary critic, 1857-67. In C. Machann & F. D. Burt (Eds.) Selected Letters of Matthew Arnold. (pp. 104- 203). The Macmillan Press. (First Published 1860) google scholar
  6. Arnold, M. (2008). On translating Homer: Last words: A lecture given at Oxford. Kessinger Publishing. (First Published 1860) google scholar
  7. Arrowsmith, W. (1975). Jerome on translation: A breviary. Arion: A Journal of Humanities and the Classics, 2(3), 358-367. http://www.jstor. org/stable/20163384 google scholar
  8. Aydın, B. C. (2024). Toledo School of Translators and its importance in the history of translation in the West. Abant Çeviribilim Dergisi, 2(2), 38-44. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/ajtis/issue/86753/1538569 google scholar
  9. Bassnett, S. (2002). Translation studies. Routledge Taylor & Francis. (First Published 1980) google scholar
  10. Bechtel, J. L. (1973). The modern application of Martin Luther's "Open letter on translating". Andrews University Seminary Studies, 11(2), 145-51. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1226&context=auss google scholar
  11. Berk, Ö. (2005). Açıklamalı çeviribilim terimcesi. Multilingual Yayınları. google scholar
  12. Bernofsky S. (1997). Schleiermacher’s translation theory and varieties of foreignization. The Translator, 3(2). 175-192. https://doi.org/10. 1080/13556509.1997.10798997 google scholar
  13. Biguenet J. and Schulte R. (1992). Theories of Translation: An Anthology of Essays from Dryden to Derrida. University of Chicago Press. google scholar
  14. Butt, J. E. (2025, March 13). Alexander Pope. In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexander-Pope-English-author:contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6} google scholar
  15. Chavalas, M. W. (2006). The ancient Near East: Historical sources in translation. Blackwell Publishing. google scholar
  16. Cicero, M. T. (1949). On Invention. The best kind of orator. Topics. (H. M. Hubbell, Trans.). Harvard University Press. google scholar
  17. Cooper Cole, E. C. (2015). Interpretation and authority: The social functions of translation in ancient Egypt. EScholarship. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7j29g3qg google scholar
  18. Çokövün, A. (2023). Çeviri tarihi ışığında çeviribilim. Disiplinlerarası Dil ve Kültür Çalışmaları Dergisi, 1(1), 12-22. https://dilkulturcalismalari.com/index.php/pub/article/view/5 google scholar
  19. Demircioğlu, C. (2016). Çeviribilimde tarih ve tarihyazımı: Doğu-Batı ekseninde bir karşılaştırma. Boğaziçi Üniversitesi Yayınevi google scholar
  20. Dryden, J. (1680). Ovid’s epistles. In E. N. Hooker & H. T. Swedenberg (Eds.) The Works of John Dryden, Volume I: Poems, 1649-1680. (pp. 109-120). University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/actrade/9780520003583.book.1, google scholar
  21. Ertaş, A. S. (2017). A comprehensive approach to translation theories. (Master’s Thesis, Atılım University, Ankara, Turkey) http://acikarsiv. atilim.edu.tr/browse/ google scholar Eruz, S. F. (2003). Çeviriden Çeviribilime. Multilingual Yayınları. google scholar
  22. Eruz, S. F. (2010). Çokkültürlülük ve çeviri: Osmanlı Devleti’nde çeviri etkinliği ve çevirmenler. Multilingual Yayınları google scholar
  23. Faulkner, P. (1973). William Morris: The critical heritage. Routledge and Kegan Paul. google scholar
  24. Gjesdal. K. (2011). Hermeneutics. Oxford Bibliographies in Philosophy. https://doi.org/10.1093/obo/9780195396577-0054 google scholar
  25. Göktaş, N. & Kaptan, S. B. (2024). Türkiye Cumhuriyeti’nin 100 yıllık çeviri serüveni: Dergiler, projeler ve çeviri eğitimi. HUMANITAS - Uluslararası Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 12(Cumhuriyet’in 100. Yılı Özel Sayısı), 125-141. https://doi.org/10.20304/humanitas.1430212 google scholar
  26. Göktürk, A. (1994). Çeviri: dillerin dili. Yapı Kredi Yayınları. google scholar
  27. Gutas, D. (2001). Greek thought, Arabic culture: The Graeco-Arabic translation movement in Baghdad and early Abbasid society (2nd-4th/8th-10th centuries). Routledge. google scholar
  28. Gündüz, Ş. (2015). Hıristiyanlık, İsam Yayınları. google scholar
  29. Haikal, F. (2020). Translating ancient Egyptian literary texts. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/365629021_Translating_Ancient_Egyptian_Literary_Texts google scholar
  30. Hatipoğlu, R. (2021). Antik dönemde yapılan çeviri faaliyetleri: Çevirilerin niteliği ve çevirmenlerin konumu üzerine bir inceleme. RumeliDE Dil ve Edebiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi (25), 1258-1280. https://doi.org/10.29000/rumelide.1032587 google scholar
  31. Horace. (2016). Ars poetica – şiir sanatı. (C. Çevik, Trans.) Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları. (First Published 19 BC) google scholar
  32. Humboldt, W. (1997). The more faithful, the more divergent from introduction to translation of Aeschylus’ Agamemnon. In D. Robinson (Ed.) Western translation theory from Herodotus to Nietzsche (p. 239-240) New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis. (First Published 1816) google scholar
  33. Hung, E. (2005). Translation and cultural change. John Benjamins Publishing. google scholar
  34. Jerome (2004). Letter to Pammachius. (K. Davis, Trans.) In L. Venuti (Ed.) The translation studies reader. (pp. 21-30) Routledge Taylor & Francis. (First Published 395) google scholar
  35. Vural-Kara, S. (2011). Tarihsel değerlendirmeler ışığında Türkiye’de çeviri etkinliği. Mersin Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 6(1), 94-101. https://doi.org/10.17860/efd.11384. google scholar
  36. Kızıltan, R. (2000). Tarihte çeviri: Antik çağdan 19. yüzyıl sonuna kadar edebi çeviri kuramları -1. Antik çağdan Barok çağın sonuna kadar. Ankara Üniversitesi, Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Dergisi, 40(1-2), 71-86. https://doi.org/10.1501/Dtcfder_0000000587 google scholar
  37. Köstenberger, A. J., & Kruger, M. J. (2012). The heresy of orthodoxy: How contemporary culture's fascination with diversity has reshaped our understanding of early Christianity. Crossway. google scholar
  38. Kristal, E. (2002). Invisible work: Borges and translation. Vanderbilt University Press. google scholar
  39. Language on the Move. (2019). The interpreting profession in ancient Egypt. https://www.languageonthemove.com/the-interpreting- profession-in-ancient-egypt/ google scholar
  40. Law, T. M. (2010). When God spoke Greek: The septuagint and the making of the Christian Bible. Oxford University Press. google scholar
  41. Lefevere, A. (1992). Translation, history, culture. Routledge Taylor & Francis. google scholar
  42. Lewis, B. (1982). The Muslim discovery of Europe. W. W. Northon Company. google scholar
  43. Long, L. (2007). History and translation. In P. Kuhiwczak & K. Littau (Eds.), A companion to translation studies (pp. 63-76). Multilingual Matters. google scholar
  44. Metzger, B. M., & Coogan, M. D. (2001). The Oxford companion to the Bible. Oxford University Press. google scholar
  45. Montgomery, R. (2000). The role of translation in medieval Arabic literary culture. Journal of Arabic Literature, 31(2), 201-220. google scholar
  46. Munday, J. (2001). Introduction to translation studies. Routledge Taylor & Francis. google scholar
  47. Newman, F. W. (2006). Homeric translation in theory and practice: A reply to Matthew Arnold, esq., professor of poetry, Oxford. In Weissbort D. and Eysteinsson A. (Eds) Translation: Theory and Practice: A Historical Reader. (pp. 225-232) Oxford University Press. (First Published 1861) google scholar
  48. Nord, C. (2013). Functionalism in translation theories. In Millán, C. and Bartrina, F. (Eds) The Routledge handbook of translation studies. (pp. 201-209). Routledge Taylor & Francis. google scholar
  49. Platon. (2015). Kratylos (Çev. F. Akderin Trans.). Say Yayınları. (First Published 360 BC) google scholar
  50. Pym. A. (2010). Exploring translation theories. Routledge Taylor & Francis. google scholar
  51. Quintilian (1997). On what we should employ ourselves when we write from Institutiones Oratoriae. (J. S. Watson, trans.) In D. Robinson (Ed.) Western translation theory from Herodotus to Nietzsche (p. 19) Routledge Taylor & Francis. (First Published AD 96) google scholar
  52. Qvale, P. (2003). From St. Jerome to hypertext: Translation in theory and practice.(N. R. Spencer, Trans.) St. Jerome Publishing. (First Published 1998) google scholar
  53. Ren, X. (2008). A study of principles of Bible translation from the perspective of Martin Luther’s Bible translation. Canadian Social Science. 4(3) 74-79 https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/236295847.pdf google scholar
  54. Robinson, D. (1997). What is translation: Centrifugal theories, critical interventions. The Kent State University Press. google scholar
  55. Robinson, D. (2014). Western translation theory: from Herodotus to Nietzsche. Routledge Taylor & Francis. (First published 1997). google scholar
  56. Schlegel, A. W. (1803). Extract from geschichte der romantischen literatur (“History of romantic literature”), 1803. In A. Lefevere, (Ed.) Translation, history, culture. (p. 17) Routledge Taylor & Francis. google scholar
  57. Schleiermacher, F. (2004). On the different methods of translating. In L. Venuti (Ed.) The translation studies reader. (pp. 43–63) Routledge Taylor & Francis. (First Published 1813) google scholar
  58. Scorgie, G. G., Strauss, M. L. & Voth, S. M. (2003). The challenge of bible translation: Communicating god's word to the world. Zondervan. google scholar
  59. Snell-Hornby, M. (2006). The turns of translation studies. John Benjamins. google scholar
  60. Steiner, G. (1975). After Babel: Aspects of language and translation. Oxford University Press. google scholar
  61. Swiss National Science Foundation. (2020). Sumerian-Akkadian literary bilingualism in the Old Babylonian period. https://data.snf.ch/ grants/grant/201939 google scholar
  62. Tahir-Gürçağlar, Ş. (2005). Kapılar: Çeviri tarihine yaklaşımlar. Scala Yayıncılık google scholar
  63. Tahir-Gürçağlar, Ş. (2016). Çevirinin ABC’si. Say Yayınları. (First Published 2011) google scholar
  64. Tunç, M. (2021). Çeviri tarihine genel bir bakış. Dil ve Edebiyat Araştırmaları, 23, 273–288. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article- file/2115667 google scholar
  65. Tytler, A. F. (1907). Essay on the principles of translation. J. M. Dent & Sons Limited. google scholar
  66. Vega, M. (1990). Wilhelm von Humboldt, translator and translation theorist. La traduction dans le monde hispanolusophone, 35(3), 489–493. https://doi.org/10.7202/004558ar google scholar
  67. Veldhuis, N. (2020). Babylonian theories of language. In J. Haubold & G. Hays (Eds.), Language and cosmos in Greece and Mesopotamia (pp. 15–35). Cambridge University Press. google scholar
  68. Venuti, L. (1995). The translator’s invisibility: A history of translation. Routledge Taylor & Francis. google scholar
  69. Venuti, L. (2004). The translation studies reader. Routledge Taylor & Francis. (First Published 2000) google scholar
  70. Weissbort, D. and Eysteinsson, Oxford: A. (2006). Translation: theory and practice: A historical reader. Oxford University Press. google scholar
  71. Wilde, O. (2018). Reviews. Musson Books Co. (First Published 1886) google scholar
  72. Wycliffe J. (2009). The Wycliffe Bible: John Wycliffe's translation of the holy scriptures from the Latin Vulgate. Lamp Post Inc. (First Published 1384) google scholar
  73. Yalçın, P. (2015). Çeviri stratejileri: Kuram ve uygulama. Grafiker Yayınları. google scholar
  74. Yazıcı, M. (2010). Çeviribilimin temel kavram ve kuramları. Multilingual Yayınları (First Published 2005) google scholar
  75. Yücel, F. (2007). Tarihsel ve kuramsal açıdan çeviri edimi. Dost Kitabevi Yayınları. google scholar
  76. Dryden, J. (1680). Ovid’s epistles. In E. N. Hooker & H. T. Swedenberg (Eds.) The Works of John Dryden, Volume I: Poems, 1649-1680. (pp. 109-120). University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/actrade/9780520003583.book.1, google scholar