The Inner World of Translation:

 

In All The Violence It May Carry On Its Back, the dark side of the translation industry is revealed within real examples the translators provided. The difficulties of being a translator if you translate from a non-hegemonic or colonizing language are still present to this day when we all focus or try to focus on diversity. I know what that feels like- or at least can imagine it. When I wanted to do a master’s on translation, finding a school that provided Turkish courses was a challenge and BU was one of the few schools. Trying to translate from a language -Turkish- puts me through a cycle that the translators, Gitanjali Patel and Nariman Youssef went through. 

 

The pressure of not translating to the mother tongue maintains an oppression on translators who can actually translate and bring forth amazing translations. Rather than focusing merely on who does the translation and where the translator originally comes from, we need to focus on the quality of the outcome. If the translators from other cultures and languages are not provided a chance to show their talent and skills, how can we know that they can actually translate as good as the native speakers? Translation is not just about finding and sustaining equivalence in the target text, it is the transmission of culture. Therefore, translating as an outsider can enhance the quality and content of the translation bringing along various aspects. 

 

Additionally, Pilar Godayol’s article on Metaphors, women and translation shed light upon a different side of translation where identity was put aside and gender was the primary focus. Discriminating and labeling every concrete or tangible presence in the translation industry or field complicates the processes and bring up two sides: powerful and powerless. And, the example of Pandora destroys this discrimination and show us a way that we can actually be on the same side, on the same level of power and enhance our passion- which is translation.  After reading this week’s articles and witnessing different approaches, my final take away was, let’s judge the quality, the equivalence of the translation not the translators for who they are. If we can trust the process and translators ‘’even if they are women or non-native speakers’’, we will have the best translations circulating around the world. 

Ece Celikkol