Turks through the eyes of the other: Translation journey of images

This thesis studies the transfer of the images of the Turk, found in a historical narrative written from the perspective of the Other, into Turkish within an imagological framework. The source text examined in this study, Turkey in Europe, was authored in 1908 by British diplomat Sir Charles Eliot. Besides providing an account of historical events, the work produces representations of Turkish identity through images shaped by a European gaze. The target text, published in 1977 under the title Avrupa'daki Türkiye, was translated by Adnan Sınar and Şevket Serdar Türet and published within the 1001 Essential Works Project (1001 Temel Eser Projesi) of Turkish newspaper titled Tercüman, which is known for its nationalist orientation. In this study, Pageaux's three-level model (word, hierarchical relation, and scenario) was employed to identify the transformations that the Turkish images in Eliot's text underwent during the translation process. The images identified in both the source and target texts were comparatively analyzed through thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke). Additionally, the factors guiding translation decisions were discussed, considering the socio-political context in which the translation was produced and the ideological tendencies of the target system. The comparative analysis revealed that the images of Turks were transformed during the translation process along four main tendencies: (a) the softening, neutralization or positive transformation of negative images, (b) the reinforcement of positive images, (c) the omission of certain images, and (d) the preservation of certain others. These findings demonstrate that the translation in question constitutes a process of ideological rewriting (Lefevere). In conclusion, the case of Avrupa'daki Türkiye shows that images constructed through the eyes of the Other are adapted in accordance with the social, cultural, and ideological expectations of the target culture and transformed in ways that contribute to the (re)construction of national identity. Situated at the intersection of imagology and translation studies, this research makes visible the identity and representation building processes enacted through translation.