Translation of concepts and terms into Turkish: Directions in sociological discourse in 1930-1940

Abstract

This thesis examines the way concepts and terms of sociology were translated intoTurkish in 1930-1940, and how new directions in the Turkish discourse of sociologywere tormed through translation. Itamar Even-Zohar's hypotheses on `Polysystems ofCulture` and `The Making of a Culture Repertoire` form the theoretical frameworkof this thesis. Applying these, I looked into the making of a repertoire of sociology asan academic discipline in Turkish within the larger repertoire of education in the earlyRepublic.The major 'option' of this repertoire as put forward by planners/power holderswas to translate from Western sources. Other options were 'which source text totranslate from which language, and whether to invent equivalent terms in Ottoman orin pure Turkish'. The 'agents of transfer' drew on other options as well.'Import' occurred through translation, both in translated and original texts.'Import' is considered successful when it is 'transterred', i.e. when it is integrated intothe home repertoire. The existing home repertoire of Turkish discourse of sociologywas modified in hne with the expectations of the new nation --eager to become partof the 'civilized' world--, through 'import' trom the West, predominantly from Franceand Germany. In the years 1930-1940 loan words from French appeared in Turkishorthography showing an attempt to 'transfer', but not a state of integratedimportation. This seems natural as the 1930s were still the early years in the making ofthe Republican educational repertoire.