TRANSLATING “OTHERNESS” IN POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE: AN EXAMINATION OF THE TURKISH TRANSLATION OF CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE’S HALF OF A YELLOW SUN

Abstract

This study aims to identify the approach adopted towards translating “otherness” in postcolonial literature. To this end, Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun is examined, with a special emphasis on translation strategies for cultural items in the novel. In the study, “otherness” is used as a postcolonial concept to define culture-bound references. The term “culture-specific items” (CSIs) proposed by Aixelá (1996) is employed for cultural elements. Identification of CSIs in the novel is based on Newmark’s (2010) six-item classification, including the categories of ecology, public life, social life, personal life, customs and pursuits, and private passions. Several representative examples in each category are used to investigate translation procedures implemented to CSIs, which are overall examined in light of Venuti’s (1995, 2001) discussion of domestication and foreignization. The procedures leading to domestication and/or foreignization are investigated through Davies’ (2003) taxonomy. The analysis demonstrated a greater tendency for foreignization of the CSIs, realized particularly through the procedures of preservation and addition. Domestication strategies, specifically localization, were followed on a rather small scale in rendering non-idiomatic English expressions rather than elements specific to Nigerian culture. Overall, it can be argued that by keeping most of the CSIs untranslated, the translator strove to preserve the cultural content and foreground cultural differences and “otherness” in the novel, which is an approach in line with discussions revolving around postcolonial translation.