Absolute Universalization

enable the TT readers to understand the CSIs easily while they still come across with the references belonging to the SL culture such as “washing parts” and “a good clean Muslim boy”. Nevertheless, it can be suggested that these expressions used instead of the CSIs in the ST cannot reflect the foreign effect and cultural references to the TT readers.

Therefore, applying the strategy of limited universalization, translator decreases the foreign effect of the ST culture within the TT readers for the sake of meaning; and thus domesticates the excerpt given above at the macro-level.

Example 17

Source Text Target Text

Gramofona çiftetelli plağı kondu.

Camgöz parmaklarını usta bir kadın çengi gibi şıkırdata, göbek çalkalıya çiftetelliye başladı. (p.145)

Lively folk music filled the shop.

Glass-eye Sadik started to snap his fingers and wiggle his hips like an experienced belly dancer. (p.167)

In the example above the CSI “çiftetelli” is a type of traditional dance which is common in the SL culture. The other CSI is “çengi” is a name given to woman whose profession is to dance to the traditional folk music. Translator applies the strategy of absolute universalization for the translation of “çiftetelli” and renders it as “lively folk music”.

As “folk music” is a neutral term that can be understood by the TT readers, it deletes the cultural connotations of the SL resulting in a domestication. On the other hand, “çengi”

is transferred through the term “belly dancer”. Although belly dancing is not done within the TL culture, it is widely known as an Arabic type of dance. Moreover, a woman who performs belly dancing is called as “belly dancer”. Therefore, replacing “çengi” with

“belly dancer” which is not only another CSI from the SL culture but also familiar to the TT readers indicates the use of limited universalization strategy. Deploying the strategy of limited universalization, translator enables TT readers to comprehend the term easily and domesticates the TT at the macro-level.

3.7.2.3. Absolute Universalization

Source Text Target Text Balyacıların kantara koydukları pamuk

balyalarını tartıp numaralarıyla kilolarını önündeki deftere kaydetmekte olan kâtip, gözlüğünün üstünden Çopur Halil'e baktı, lahavle çekti.

Deveci Çopur Halil, “Ne lahavle çekiyorsun lan? diye horozlandı.

Kâtip:

- Ben lan değilim, dedi, efendiyim ben! (p.11)

Bales of cotton were being placed on the nearby scales by the workmen, and the clerk was busy writing down their weights in his large book. He looked up over his glasses at Pockmark Halil, and muttered a small prayer.

“What are you muttering about now, man?” snapped Halil.

“You keep a civil tongue in your head,”

retorted the clerk, “ and it’s not ‘man’, it’s ‘sir’ to you” (p.13)

In the example above the utterance “lahavle çekti” is a CSI which refers to a prayer in Islam and an idiomatic expression used in daily speech. The complete version of this prayer is “La havle vela kuvvete illa billahil aliyyil azim” which can be translated as “All the power and strength comes from Allah”. While this is originally a prayer in Arabic, it is also used as an idiomatic expression “lahavle çekmek” meaning “to recite lahavle”. It is uttered when someone wants to imply that they are faced with a challenging or annoying situation and about to lose their temper or patience. In the excerpt given above the old clerk recites “lahavle” to show that he is mad at Deveci Çopur Halil and holding his temper. As both an Arabic verse and prayer belonging to Islam, it is difficult or even may be impossible to understand for the TT readers. Therefore, translator renders this expressions as “He looked up over his glasses at Pockmark Halil, and muttered a small prayer.” Since “muttering a prayer” does not demonstrate any particular relation to Islamic culture and is a neutral expression for the TT readers’ context, the strategy of absolute universalization can be observed in the example above. In the second occurrence of the CSI as “Ne lahavle çekiyorsun lan?”, cultural references are deleted again; and it is translated as “What are you muttering about now, man?”. Once again the translator employs the absolute universalization with the use of a culture-free and neutral term.Therefore, deleting the cultural reference in the excerpt above, translator also domesticates the TT at the macro-level.

Example 19

Source Text Target Text

Başta Dokumacı Musa'nın sarı oğluyla, alayla çocuk çelik çomak oynamaktaydılar. (p.78)

A whole gang of children were playing around, led by weaver Musa’s son.

(p.91)

In the example above the CSI “çelik çomak” is a type of children game in the ST culture.

It is played with sticks. A short stick “çelik” is placed on two separate stones like a bridge connecting them, and children try to hit this stick with a longer one called “çomak” and make “çelik” go up as high as they can. It can be difficult for TT readers to comprehend this game, and translator may have thought that it would be redundant to explain with a footnote. Therefore, he applies the strategy of absolute universalization and translates it as “A whole gang of children were playing around”. As a result of absolute universalization, the cultural reference on the CSI “çelik çomak” is deleted, and with a neutral expression “playing around” TT is domesticated at the macro-level.

Example 20

Source Text Target Text

İki odalı bir huğ damı çakacağım, kendi elimle çocuklarımı kurtaracam buralardan… (p.74)

“I’d build us a little two room hut, and rescue my children from this awful place…” (p.86)

In the example above the CSI “huğ” is a type of house built out of mud and covered with thatch as a roof. The fact that turns this terms into CSI is its general use in Çukurova valley and regions around it as these regions have a hot climate. Translator transfers this term by “hut” which means “A small, simple, single-storey house or shelter” (Lexico powered by Oxford Online Dictionary, n.d.). Although in both phonological and denotative means “huğ” and “hut” may resemble each other, “huğ” is a local term which can also be unfamiliar for some of the ST readers. It especially refers to the shelter used in hot climate of Çukurova valley and generally by nomadic or working class people.

Translator’s preference for “hut” deletes the cultural references loaded on the CSI “huğ”

and provides a neutral utterance for the TT readers. Therefore, the strategy of absolute universalization can be observed in the example above. Deploying this strategy and removing the cultural references, the translator domesticates the TT at the macro-level.

Example 21

Source Text Target Text

Kızının gündüzki tenbihini hatırlayan ihtiyar Malik:

- Yağmur yağıyor mu? diye sordu.

Bir bacağı topal, ufacık bir ihtiyar olan Muy'un bir gözüde kördü. Bu gözü sanki oyarak çıkarmışlar ve sanki bu iş yapılırken ihtiyar o kadar bağırmıştı ki... Yüzü bir çığlık gibi kuruydu.

- Tek-tük atıyor! dedi.

- Hızlı gelecek rahmet... Ben toplayım çamaşırları. (p.88)

Remembering his daughter’s earlier warning, old Malik turned to his friend.

“Is it raining out?” he asked.

Old Muy was tiny old man with a limp in one leg, and was also blind in one eye. The pained, wrinkled expression on his face rather suggested that they’d gouged his eye while he was still aware of it, and his face had stucki frozen in an expression of agony.

“Just the odd drop…” he said.

“I bet it pours down any minute. I’d better get our laundry in.” (p.102)

In the example above the CSI “rahmet” derives from Arabic and means mercy in English.

Old Malik, Cemile’s father, utters “rahmet” to refer to rain which is about to pour in the book since rain is perceived as Allah’s mercy and grace on humans. As it gives life to nature and thus human beings, it is believed that the rain is the embodiment of Allah’s gift and kindness for the people on earth. In the Great Turkish Dictionary of Turkish Language Council (TDK), the second definition given for “rahmet” is “rain” (Türk Dil Kurumu Online, n.d.). Although as a natural phenomenon rain is welcomed in most cultures and countries due to helping the nature grow, TT readers may not be familiar with this connotation of it. Therefore, transferring it as “mercy will pour down in a minute”, i.e. in a word-for-word way, may not make any sense within the TT readers’

context. Translator employs the strategy of absolute universalization and translates it in a neutral sense as “I bet it pours down any minute.” “Pour down” is a phrasal verb which refers to rapid flow of rain in a steady steam (Lexico powered by Oxford Online Dictionary, n.d) and does not bear any cultural reference. While the translator provides TT readers with a neutral and easy to compreherend TT, he also domesticates the text by deleting a connotation of the phenomenon rain as it is in the ST culture.

3.7.2.4. Naturalization