Literary translation as cultural interaction: Different perspectives to Feridun Zaimoğlu's " Koppstoff" (1999)

Abstract

This study analyzes how cultural contents affect literary translation and "how this can be interpreted by foreign language philology. With this aim Koppstoff. Kanaka Sprak vom Rande der Gesellschaft (1999) written in German by Feridun Zaimoğlu, a German author of Turkish origin, and its Turkish translation Kafa Örtüsü (2000) are examined. In this study first the importance of cultural competence and its relation to translation is brought to the foreground, then the concept of literary translation is discussed within the context of literature and cultural studies, and then the word culture is analyzed in relation to language and literature. In the next step, in order to emphasize the relation of culture to language and translation, how questions about culture that might be encountered during the translation activity can affect the translated material is discussed from a theoretical perspective referring, in this context, to some translation theories. The last section of the study focuses on the book entitled Koppstoff by Zaimoğlu. In this book, as in Kanaka Sprak. Mifköne vom Rande der Gesellschaft which he wrote earlier, Zaimoğlu attempts to portray German society from the perspective of a marginalized group. In the book 26 women of Turkish origin and with different professions are the speakers, and they talk on their lives and their position as well as those of other Turkish people in German society in the form of monologue. In this study examples are given from the German original and Turkish translation (Zaimoğlu, 2000); the importance of culture in translation is emphasized, and direct quotations from the book that require the interpretation of cultural symbols are given. These quotations involve the languages (Pidgin, Kreol) spoken by non-native speakers of German. By translating Turkish idioms and expressions, sometimes word for word, Zaimoğlu creates a hybrid German and Turkish language. This quality of the source text often brings out social and cultural contents in Germany and in Turkey in the process of reading and translating. In order to emphasize the importance of such contents in translation, the translating activity of the students of foreign language philology departments are examined. In-this study the focus in on the source text which is analyzed by the above mentioned student group in translation course. Whether the students learned German in a German speaking country or not should be taken into consideration. In the philology departments in Turkey there are students who learnt a foreign language abroad, using it effectively as a native speaker, as there are others who learnt it in schools in Turkey. Therefore, there are some problems concerning the translation of the work in question: How is the source text perceived and interpreted by students who had an experience abroad and by those who did not? Are there any differences between the translations of those who learnt German abroad and can speak German almost as a native speaker and the ones who learnt German as a second language in Turkey? How should these differences be interpreted? What are the conclusions that can be drawn in relation to the differences in understanding?The aim of this study is to emphasize the meaning of intercultural communication and the importance of having the competence to understand the symbols of a different language, a different culture, and the "other" in a globalized world. Above all, in the act of translation a translator should be able to establish a dialogue between cultures.