Analysis of English translations of Nâzım Hikmet Ran's poetry

Abstract

This thesis focuses on English translations of poetry of Nâzım Hikmet Ran, an important poet of the 20th century. The aim of this thesis is to present how different translators approach the translation of his poetry into English and what their translation decisions reveal about their intentions, ideological framework and target audience. The research is based on an analysis of five selected poems that have been translated by at least three different translators. Methodologically, the thesis is based on James S. Holmes' three-level model (textual, metatextual and contextual levels), further supported by Hans Vermeer's skopos theory and the concepts of domestication and foreignization as defined by Lawrence Venuti. The thesis shows that the translation of poetry is not merely a linguistic transfer but a culturally and ideologically conditioned interpretation that fundamentally influences the perception of the original work in a new linguistic and cultural context. The result is a systematic comparison that contributes to a deeper understanding of the ways in which Hikmet's poetry is interpreted and transformed in the English-speaking world. Keywords Nâzım Hikmet Ran, Turkish poetry, English translation, translation analysis, domestication and foreignization, purpose of translation

This thesis focuses on English translations of poetry of Nâzım Hikmet Ran, an important poet of the 20th century. The aim of this thesis is to present how different translators approach the translation of his poetry into English and what their translation decisions reveal about their intentions, ideological framework and target audience. The research is based on an analysis of five selected poems that have been translated by at least three different translators. Methodologically, the thesis is based on James S. Holmes' three-level model (textual, metatextual and contextual levels), further supported by Hans Vermeer's skopos theory and the concepts of domestication and foreignization as defined by Lawrence Venuti. The thesis shows that the translation of poetry is not merely a linguistic transfer but a culturally and ideologically conditioned interpretation that fundamentally influences the perception of the original work in a new linguistic and cultural context. The result is a systematic comparison that contributes to a deeper understanding of the ways in which Hikmet's poetry is interpreted and transformed in the English-speaking world. Keywords Nâzım Hikmet Ran, Turkish poetry, English translation, translation analysis, domestication and foreignization, purpose of translation