In the footsteps of a translator: A translation criticism of Manga Shakespeare

Translation is an action with a purpose and also a process. Actual translating is just a phase of this process. It is always situationally embedded and there are actors and factors shaping every translation. For this reason, without a consideration of its context, any judgment on a translation product will be incomplete. These are the main postulates reached with the critique of Kuru Gürültü, Turkish translation of Much Ado About Nothing from Manga Shakespeare Series, by Sabri Gürses, a prominent literary translator in Turkish translation scene. Building on the findings of this case study, the thesis tests the hypothesis that the quality of a translation is dependent on the quality of its process. Within this scope, translating is not conceived as the single activity of a translation process but rather as a part of a whole business. From the conception of the idea to the sales campaigns, publication of a translation is a process. Thus, translation is a decision making process itself and under the influence of other decisions taken by various agents at different stages. In this regard, this translation criticism model will uncover norms and functions of the translation using the tools of target-oriented descriptive and functionalist approaches in textual analysis. Textual, personal and business-related factors are all deemed relevant for the process and taken into consideration with an aim to discover possible motives and constraints behind translator's decisions and make an educated judgment about the quality of the product. Two more translations in the series, Macbeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream are also analyzed to compare with the findings. In this light, this thesis takes on a journey in the footsteps of a translator trying to understand what has shaped the translation and how and why it has come to be as it is.