Turkish and English translations of Annie Ernaux’s Les Années as an “impersonal autobiography”

Authors : Sinem Sancaktaroğlu Bozkurt, Umut Can Gökduman

Pages : 427-441

Doi:10.37999/udekad.1484097

View : 78 | Download : 55

Publication Date : 2024-09-30

Article Type : Research

Abstract :This study conducted at the intersection between literary studies and translation studies, examines the Turkish and English translations of French novel Les Années by Annie Ernaux, which was published in 2008. It is argued that in this “impersonal autobiography”, the author has in a sense transformed, in other words metaphorically self-translated, her own life into a narrative by blending it with social elements and cultural and period-specific references. Then, the novel written by Ernaux as a result of a mental translation process is translated into other languages, and the characteristic features of this “impersonal autobiography” are likely to create translation challenges specific to the genre. In addition, the fact that the novel is considered as a metaphorical translation can contribute to these translation challenges. As a result of the analysis of metaphorical and interlingual translations and an examination of paratexts, it is found that the preferred translation strategies employed in different translations contribute to the repositioning of this impersonal autobiography in English and Turkish.
Keywords : otobiyografik yazım, metaforik çeviri, dillerarası çeviri, Annie Ernaux, Les Années