Intertextuality and Translation Evaluation of the Intertextual References in the Play Julius Caesar by Shakespeare from Semiotics of Translation Perspective
Çeviri Göstergebilimi Bakış Açısıyla Shakespeare’in Julius Caesar Adlı Oyununda Metinlerarasılık İlişkileri ve Çeviri Değerlendirmesi

Author : Mesut KULELİ
Number of pages : 419-454

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyze the signs that create intertextual references in the play Julius Caesar by Shakespeare and determine the hypogram of this text besides evaluating Turkish translations of the contexts with intertextuality. Öztürk Kasar (2009) adopted text analysis steps of Paris School of Semiotics for semiotics of translation and stated that analyzing intertextual references in a literary text could be one of those steps. In determining intertextual references, the intertextuality theory by Riffaterre (1978; 1983; 1990) was adopted in this study. It was found that the play Julius Caesar by Shakespeare is based on the historical and biographical account by Plutarch, who wrote the book entitled The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans. Therefore, the “hypogram” (Riffaterre, 1978) of this play was found to be Plutarch’s historical and biographical book. The signs creating intertextual references in the play were analyzed based on Riffaterre’s (1978) term “ungrammaticalities”, which were solved out and signified through “retro-active reading” (Riffaterre, 1978) in the source text. It was found that Shakespeare frequently made use of mythological and iconographic references innarrating this play. In translation evaluation, Systematics of Designificative Tendencies in Translation by Öztürk Kasar (Öztürk Kasar and Tuna, 2015) was used. In 16 contexts with intertextual references in the target text, 24 designificative tendencies were determined as a result of translation evaluation of three target texts in Turkish, published in 1942, 1966 and 2002. Nine (37.5%) of these designificative tendencies were found to be over-interpretation of the meaning; eight (33.33%) of them were found to be alteration of the meaning; four (16.67%) of them were found to be under-interpretation of the meaning; three (12.5%) of them were found to be darkening of the meaning. Therefore, 16 (66.67%) out of a total of 24 designificative tendencies were determined as within the boundaries of the signification of the sign while eight (33.33%) of those tendencies were determined as in the limits of the signification of the sign, reproducing proximate meaning. It is worthwhile that translators attempt to translate Shakespeare’s work into Turkish. Designificative tendencies in Turkish translations of Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar do not underestimate the value of such an extensive endevaour. It is proposed in this study that semiotics of translation could help prospective literary translators minimize designificative tendencies in the act of translation, thereby rendering literary satisfaction to target text readers. Surrounded by narrative techniques, literary translation bears a significant risk for loss of meaning. One of the potential guides to overcoming that risk could be semiotics of translation as proposed by Öztürk Kasar (2012) as it could be of great benefit not only for literary translators but also for litarary translation scholars.

Keywords

Semiotics of translation, translation, intertextuality, systematics of designificative tendencies, literary translation.

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