Absolute Universalization

explanation for the ST readers. In addition, the word “sultanate” is an Arabic expression defining the dominance of a sultan which is a foreign or exotic title for the TT readers, and thus they may find it difficult to interpret the expression “our sultanate” as a reference to the Empire. Therefore, translator employs the strategy of limited universalization and makes this CSI clearer for the TT readers by translating it as “the fall of the Ottoman Empire”. Although the name “Ottoman Empire” is still a CSI belonging to the ST culture, it can be easily understood by the TT readers. By clarifying and explaining this CSI, translator domesticates it at the macro-level.

3.5.2.3. Absolute Universalization

and, the cultural reference loaded on the CSI is completely deleted which resulted in strategy of domestication.

Example 19

Source Text Target Text

İki defa yazı geldi, kız mutlaka söylemiştir! Annesi de… Annesi de kocasını bekliyor. Adam duyunca, sabahleyin bana, tuh diyecek. Seni insan sandık da haremimize soktuk.

Meğer sen… (p.162)

Two heads in a row! She was bound to have told! And the mother… Well, she was just waiting for the old man. When he heard about it he would say ‘Shame on you. I treated you like a human being, I let you into my home… And look at how you behaved.’ (p.181)

In the example above an old man who is an old friend of the protagonist’s father and grandfather lets the young man in his house and introduces him to his own family.

However, the protagonist betrays the old man and attempts to molest his daughter who is a widow with her baby. The protagonist imagines how angry the old man could be.

Moreover, the excerpt given above shows the sentences that the old man could utter if he finds out the young man’s betrayal.

The CSI “harem” is a term which means the apartment or other places allocated for women in a palace or mansion in the old times and also refers to the women residing in this secluded part (Türk Dil Kurumu Online, n.d.). “Harem” derives from the Arabic word

“haram” which means illicit or forbidden. In Islam, a woman is allowed to be seen only by her father, brother and her religiously legitimate husband. In other words, except for her father, brother or religiously legitimate husband, it is forbidden, i.e. “haram”, for other males to talk to or see her. In the excerpt given above the utterance “Seni insan sandık da haremimize soktuk” implies that the old man trusts the young man. For the ST readers, it is not difficult to interpret the significance of this trust because of the utterance “harem”.

However, TT readers may not comprehend the CSI “harem” and its reference. In order to provide a smoother reading for the TT reader, translator deploys the strategy of absolute universalization. He replaces the CSI “harem” with a more neutral reference “home” and

translates the utterance as “I treated you like a human being, I let you into my home…”.

While the anger and disappointment of the old man are represented in the TT, the effect of the otherness is completely vanished. In other words, replacing “harem” which belongs to the ST with a neutral reference “home” domesticates the TT at the macro-level.

Example 20

Source Text Target Text

"Ne dineliyon, ne dineliyon, ne dineliyon lan! Yomiye veriyok tekmil!"

Davrandım, nafile. Bunun üzerine ağır bir küfür savurdu. Derhal karşılıkta bulundum ve küreği attım. Herkes güldü. Amele çavuşu yanıma sokuldu:

"Zor geldiyse bey bubanın konağında yanlıyaydın! Bahçe sehrası mı bura?" (p.176)

‘What are you stopping for,eh?

What are you stopping for? We’re paying you to do a day’s work here!’

I tried to move but ton o avail. He cursed me at some length. I swore back and threw down my spade. Everyone laughed.

The foreman came over. ‘Finding it difficult, are we? Why didn’t you just stay in Daddy’s mansion?

Thought you were coming on a picnic, did you? (p.194)

In the example above the clauses “Ne dineliyon, ne dineliyon” and “Zor geldiyse bey bubanın konağında yanlıyaydın! Bahçe sehrası mı bura?” are CSI for they are uttered with a dialect spoken in Çukurova and the region around it. For example, “Ne dineliyon?”

is pronounced as “Neden dikiliyorsun?” in a dialect-free discourse and “Yomiye veriyok”

as “Yevmiye veriyoruz”, and “Bey buba” is pronounced as “Beybaba” in a neutral way of speaking SL. Dialect is a significant part of the language and culture because it is loaded with the assets of the geography, nationality, and culture of the people speaking it. For instance, the ST readers may deduce from the dialect of the foreman that he is a villager from Çukurova valley and a rude man without any education since they probably have this presupposition due to their cultural background. Moreover, dialect is used in the book as a tool to emphasize the people from a lower social class than the protagonist and

his family. Also villagers, foreigners and uneducated people have a distinct dialect revealing their character or nationality while the protagonist, his father, brother and any other educated characters in the book speak in a neutral way with almost no dialect. As the ST readers are familiar with the dialects and their references, they can easily interpret the CSI. However, within the TT readers’ context not only the dialect of people from Çukurova but also any other voices carrying a cultural signifier may be difficult and even impossible to comprehend. Therefore, translator opts for the strategy of absolute universalization. He transfers the excerpt above as What are you stopping for, eh?

What are you stopping for? We’re paying you to do a day’s work here!’ and

‘Finding it difficult, are we? Why didn’t you just stay in Daddy’s mansion? Thought you were coming on a picnic, did you? Although they are uttered in a colloquial language in TT, cultural references implied with the dialect are neutralized for the TT readers’ context. Replacing dialected utterances with neutral voices indicates the strategy of domestication at the macro-level.

3.5.2.4. Naturalization