A comparative study of Turkish translations of David Copperfield

In this thesis, five different Turkish translations of David Copperfield is examined in the context of children's literature. Zohar Shavit's systemic affiliation and Lawrence Venuti's concepts of domestication and foreignization constitutes main focus of this thesis. These concepts are defined and examined. The target texts are examined considering the years in which they are translated and adapted. Considering the years in which the works included in the examination were published, historical background information regarding the period in which the translated works were produced was provided. As a result of this examination, it was determined that omissions were made in the target texts and the texts were shortened to be more understandable for child readers. On the other hand, complex and long sentences were also encountered in some parts of these translations. The mentioned parts show that including these books in the scope of children's literature may not be suitable since they can be incomprehensible for children. It is also seen that domestication and foreignization strategies are used frequently. When the translated texts were examined in the context of the usage of domestication and foreignization strategies, considering the dates of their publication, it was revealed that the domestication strategy was used more frequently in translations published between 1965 and 1985. Based on the findings obtained from this historical and descriptive study, it is possible to say that adult agents have maintained their "decision-making" role in the historical process, and that the acts of translating for adults and translating for children bring about different translation strategies.