Übersetzerforschung in der Türkei II

Abstract

The translation of the Ancient Greek and Latin corpus into the vernacular languages of Europehas been a current problem for translators since the Renaissance. Indeed the root of theproblem can be traced back as far as such Latin orators as Cicero striving to translate AncientGreek works. It can be stated that the strategic decisions taken in the translation of influentialancient texts played a dominant role in the establishment of every relevant scientific discipline.For instance, the philosophical terminology filtered through Cicero’s approaches determinedphilosophical conceptions for long periods, while the translation of Ptolemy played a paramountrole in establishing the modern science of astronomy. That’s why there is a widespread beliefthat both vocabulary preferences and strategies to convey the original style in the sourcesemployed in a certain “scientific translation” would participate in the establishment of a scientificdiscipline. The Thucydides translation of Halil Demircioğlu, who was aware of that delicatebalance, aims to establish a certain discipline of historical methodology within set boundaries bymeans of strategic preferences, as well as to lay the foundations of history as a scientificdiscipline at the university. In this paper I discuss what kind of theoretical discussions werebehind such strategic preferences of Demircioğlu and what sort of consequences thosepreferences caused in the outcome of the translation, with the help of sample passages fromthe analysed translation. In addition, I attempt to lay out the relation between Demircioğlu as ahistorian and his translation strategies, presenting the testimonies of three emeritus professorsof Ancient History who had studied with Demircioğlu in the early stages of their careers.