Literarische Namen Als Übersetzungsproblem. Eine Übersetzungskritische Analyse Zur Deutschen Übersetzung Von Ahmet Mithat Efendis Roman Felâtun Bey İle Rakim Efendi

Abstract

The names of literary figures are of particular interest to literary scholars. They become a challenge for the translator, especially if the names in a literary work function as a literary technique for guiding the readers’ reception. Just like metaphors, wordplays or realia, character names in a literary work constitute translation problems for which the translator needs to choose a translation procedure. This is why they are of interest to literary translations studies scholars, too. This study focuses on the translation of character names, taking Ahmet Mithat Efendi's novel Felâtun Bey İle Rakım Efendi and its translation into German under the title Felatun Bey und Rakım Efendi by Beatrix Caner as a case in point, with a view to contributing to a specific problem in literary translation. This work is selected as it is a novel well-known for the symbolism of names. The aim of this study is to deduce the translator’s translation strategy by analyzing the transfer of character names and then determine the extent to which ‘functionality’ and ‘loyalty’, as defined by Nord’s functional theory, are considered in the translation. In the analysis, the first step has been to find out the purpose (skopos) of the translation given that the intended skopos of the target text determines the choice of the translator’s strategy. Then the translation procedures used by the translator have been analyzed in more detail based on selected names of the literary figures in the novel. The analysis has shown that Caner adopted different procedures for the translation of character names. The procedures used by Caner in the translation of character names conform to Nord’s concepts of ‘function’ and ‘loyalty’ throughout the novel. Caner’s translation is compatible with the skopos, which was announced in the paratexts of the translation, as well as with the intention of the source text author.

The names of literary figures are of particular interest to literary scholars. They become a challenge for the translator, especially if the names in a literary work function as a literary technique for guiding the readers’ reception. Just like metaphors, wordplays or realia, character names in a literary work constitute translation problems for which the translator needs to choose a translation procedure. This is why they are of interest to literary translations studies scholars, too. This study focuses on the translation of character names, taking Ahmet Mithat Efendi's novel Felâtun Bey İle Rakım Efendi and its translation into German under the title Felatun Bey und Rakım Efendi by Beatrix Caner as a case in point, with a view to contributing to a specific problem in literary translation. This work is selected as it is a novel well-known for the symbolism of names. The aim of this study is to deduce the translator’s translation strategy by analyzing the transfer of character names and then determine the extent to which ‘functionality’ and ‘loyalty’, as defined by Nord’s functional theory, are considered in the translation. In the analysis, the first step has been to find out the purpose (skopos) of the translation given that the intended skopos of the target text determines the choice of the translator’s strategy. Then the translation procedures used by the translator have been analyzed in more detail based on selected names of the literary figures in the novel. The analysis has shown that Caner adopted different procedures for the translation of character names. The procedures used by Caner in the translation of character names conform to Nord’s concepts of ‘function’ and ‘loyalty’ throughout the novel. Caner’s translation is compatible with the skopos, which was announced in the paratexts of the translation, as well as with the intention of the source text author.