Postcolonial Understanding of Translation from a Retrospective View of The Colonial Period

Abstract

the question of the definition of translation has become an increasingly complex one. In 1980s, Toury defined translation as '’any target language text which is presented or regarded as such within the target system itself, on whatever grounds’’ (Toury 1982). With such a definition, Toury led the way to a more flexible and exclusive understanding of translation which created the necessity of assessing the meaning of culture. In the history, colonial period has been one of the very critical eras that language as a component of culture was actively used by the colonizers 2 with the translation act. In this context, adopting a new (and probably less biased compared to the Western hegemonic understanding) approach to the culture and civilization seems like a vital point. Civilization and translation are bounded by strict ties even if it is counted as a plain transfer. And after the colonial period ended, the world becoming a small village with the effect of globalization is now perceived as a new and a more subtle way of colonization where a transfer/translation is dominated by certain cultures and languages as well.

İstanbul 29 Mayıs Üniversitesi Senatosunun 22.06.2020 tarihli ve 2020/14-5 sayılı Açık Bilim Politikası gereğince ambargo uygulanmaktadır. Ambargo süresi dolduğunda erişime açılacaktır.