Diogenes, Ahead of Print. The Tale of Genji is the probably the earliest prose fiction in the world that still lives today as a masterpiece since the first decade of the 11th century. This 1200-page Japanese classic was written by a noble court woman, Murasaki Shikibu, and it spans almost three quarters of a century. The first part has to do with the life and loves of the nobleman known as “The Shining Genji”, and the final chapters follow the fate (...) and fortunes of the characters that survived after Genji’s death. There have been four English translations of the novel: one partial translation by a Japanese translator and three other complete translations by different English native speakers in the 20th century. This paper studies the Turkish translation process of The Tale of Genji from Edward G. Seidensticker’s English version. It points out the plentitude of potential translation choices and tries to explore the reasons of translators for their decisions. It compares the translators’ strategies and assesses their impact on the meanings and functions of the allusions and the connections between the adopted strategies. (shrink)

The Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari) is the probably the earliest prose fiction in the world that still lives today as a masterpiece since the first decade of the 11th century. This 1200-page Japanese classic was written by a noble court woman, Murasaki Shikibu, and it spans almost three quarters of a century. The first part has to do with the life and loves of the nobleman known as “The Shining Genji”, and the final chapters follow the fate and fortunes (...) of the characters that survived after Genji’s death. There have been four English translations of the novel: one partial translation (1882) by a Japanese translator and three other complete translations by different English native speakers in the 20th century. This paper studies the Turkish translation process of The Tale of Genji from Edward G. Seidensticker’s English version. It points out the plentitude of potential translation choices and tries to explore the reasons of translators for their decisions. It compares the translators’ strategies and assesses their impact on the meanings and functions of the allusions and the connections between the adopted strategies. (shrink)

More’s Utopia has been translated a number of times into Turkish and continues to be translated as a classical, significant text. It is taught academically in disciplines such as political science, philosophy, history, sociology, and literature as part of the curriculum for both undergraduate and graduate university levels. In addition to responding to academic demand, different publishing houses continue publishing the novel in the interest of the general reader. Most of the translations are based on English editions such as (...) Ralph Robinson’s translation, Gilbert Burnet’s translation, Paul Turner’s translation, and the Everyman’s Library version. The Turkish translations... (shrink)

This article deals with the areas open to improvement in Turkish translations of Qur'an based on the critique of the study titled Qur'an Translation published by the Presidency of Religious Affairs. The work named Qur'an Translation has been examined in terms of expression disorder. In order to eliminate these problems, it is necessary to establish the sentences correctly in terms of grammar, being understandable, missing words or unnecessary words in the sentence, should be noted. The topics covered (...) are compared with different translations prepared by experts who are academicians in the faculties of theology, and the difficulties that may be encountered in translating the Qur'an into Turkish, the methods by which they can be overcome, are examined, and choices they embark on in the translations and techniques. It is a necessity to translate our supreme book, whose language is Arabic, into Turkish in order to understand the divine will. However, most of the translations are insufficient and some problems are encountered especially in terms of incoherency in expression. In the article, the translation of the Kur’ân Yolu Meâli has been examined in terms of these problems, and it has also been compared with the translations prepared by academicians in theology faculties. We have some preferences among the data obtained, and accordingly, it is deemed appropriate to first determine the addressee audience and choose the method to be used in translation in accordance with the expectations of this audience. For those who do not have an Arabic background, systems such as parentheses or footnotes utilized to provide sufficient explanation about the verse, are not efficient either. Instead of these, it would be a good practice to deal with the surahs on a topic-based basis instead of verse by verse, and to elaborate on the subject with explanatory sentences in the text, not with footnotes. (shrink)

The translation of the Bible into Turkish as a whole was made in Istanbul in 1665-1666 by Wojciech Bobowski (Ali Ufki Bey), who was of Polish origin, spoke 17 different languages, later became a Muslim, served in the Ottoman palace for many years. Among the languages he could speak were mainly Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Polish, English, French, Italian, Arabic, Turkish. He is also known as Albert Bobowski and Albertus Bobovius in European sources. The translation was planned (...) by a group of Dutch Protestants, while Dutch ambassador Levinus Warner followed the work in Istanbul. The translation texts were checked and sent immediately to the Netherlands for printing, but could be printed in Paris in 1827 due to the adverse condition. In this edition, M. Jean Daniel Kieffer has revised some on Ali Ufki Bey's translation. This translation, with some changes and corrections in the Arabic alphabet (Ottoman) in 1878, 1885, 1886, 1901was printed in Latin alphabet in 1941.The style and language properties of the 1941 edition made it difficult to understand the Bible, so it was reprinted in 2001 with the more contemporary words under the name Kutsal Kitap (Yeni Çeviri).The background of the Turkish translations of the Bible, the contributions of the Bible Society (English and Foreign Bible Society) to these studies, the change of the words used in the translations, the translation of Wojciech Bobowski used as the source text and the follow-up of this translation process are important. Because the original text of the translations of the Bible in Turkish is based on the translation of Wojciech Bobowski. (shrink)

In the 2014 issue of this Journal, Noel Malcolm challenged my interpretation of The Alcoran of Mahomet,... newly Englished. My intention here is to respond to his criticism and state more fo...

There is an inevitable interaction between Arabic and Turkish as word transitions occur in every language. One of the common examples of this exchange between Arabic and Turkish is the word ikhtilāf (conflict).However, it is not possible to say that the bilingual partnership about this word is meaningful. Because this word expresses the meaning of opposition, contradiction, diversity, separation of opinion between two persons or groups, opposing attitude and contradictory attitude in Arabic, all of these meanings are not (...) transferred into Turkish.In other words, the word ikhtilāf’s meaning is narrowed during its transition into Turkish. In fact, the word is almost fixed in Turkish as “the separation of opinion between two persons or groups”. This difference in the meaning of the language between the two languages ​​of the contradiction must not be construed and interpreted as “controversy” or “disagreeing” at every passing moment of the word. Because in some verses this situation can be a wrong choice.Differences in interpretation in tafsir and translation errors are the most obvious indication of this possibility. Therefore, it should be considered that the use and meaning of the word may be changed according to the text. SummaryWords and concepts are the most important tools for people to share with their interlocutors both in oral communication and in writing. Because the meaning of the preferred word and concept directly affects the increase or decrease of the power of the message to be given. So, the choice of word and concept are important in the spoken word and the used word. However, despite this importance, people are not entirely free in word selection. This is because there is no vocabulary to express everything separately. So, the words are limited, and the objects named through them are unlimited. This led people use some words that have more than one meaning, which also explains the emergence of the concept of polysemy.Polysemy is a phenomenon seen in Arabic as well as in many languages. Since the Qur'ān, which contains the messages of Allah to humanity, is in Arabic, there are many words that have two or more meanings. This situation should be taken into account to understand the Qur'ān and its context when determining the meaning of such words. Revealing all potential meanings of qur’ānic expressions is important to convey the intended meaning. In other words, the inability to detect the correct meaning of the word or to ignore the fact that it is very meaningful makes some comprehension problems inevitable.One of the words in this context that have the problem of understanding is the concept ikhtilāf(Conflict). This concept, which is used 51 times in 45 verses in different ways, does not mean the same meaning wherever it is used. It is used in more than one meaning depending on the context in which it is located. The change and diversity that points to the power of Allah, the conflict, the separation of thought and behaviour between the two groups, and the unilateral opposition attitude of a person or group are the meanings of this concept. There is no significant difference in the tafsirs of these meanings regarding the meanings of change, diversity, and contradiction. The differences seen in the exegesis (tafsīr) are in the way that the same meaning is mostly stated in a different way. This situation in the tafsirs was reflected to Turkish translations of the Qur'ān on the meaning of the concept and it was translated correctly in general. This shows that the context of determining the meaning of the concept is taken into account and that the polysemy of the concept is not an important problem in the meaning of “change,” “diversity” and “contradiction.”One of the most important meanings of the concept of ikhtilāf(Conflict) is the difference of thought and behaviour between two people or groups. In this sense, the concept has two subjects and refers to the situation of these two subjects against each other. This meaning, which we see more in the use of the concept as verb, refers to the conflict and contradiction of the different thoughts and attitudes that people have to against others they face because of their personal characteristics and ideology. In this sense, ikhtilāf(Conflict) among the sides reflects a negative situation without the possibility of finding the ground and the middle way. In the verses where the concept is used in this sense, there are also elements that indicate the difference of opinion between the two subjects, such as bayna(between) preposition, the believing-disbeliever comparison. The concept has been translated into Turkish with this sense in the Qur'ān. Its meanings of conflict, conflict and conflict are also used in Turkish. Therefore, it is possible to say that this meaning has a common meaning between Arabic and Turkish. Therefore, meanings of the concept such as conflict, disagreement, etc. in Turkish translations of the Qur'an are enough to reflect the meaning of the verses in this context. So, it is possible to say that in meaning of the concept does not have a problem of understanding and interpreting in general.The concept of ikhtilāf(Conflict) is also used to counter and oppose to a thought or belief in the Qur’an except for the general meaning of the above. With this meaning we encounter in the usage of ikhtalafaand mukhtalifin this sense, it is not only the mutual attitude of the two sides but the dissident, against and opposing attitude of one side towards the other. As such, the concept reflects an action of "one subject". As in the case of conflict between the two sides, there is a negative and undesirable situation in this usage. Because in the verses where the concept is used in this sense, the contradictions, and attitudes of the unbelievers about the faith revealed by Allah, religion, the book, and the prophet are generally explained. However, this meaning of the concept has not been translated into Turkish. In other words, there is no meaning in the word ikhtilāf(Conflict) used in Turkish. Therefore, there is no exact equivalence between Turkish and Arabic regarding this meaning of the word. For this reason, translations in the form of “conflict,” “dispute” for use in this sense are insufficient to reflect the meaning of it. Because, in these translations, the contraction of the concept which was experienced in the transition from Arabic to Turkish was not observed. This causes the misunderstandings of the verses in which this concept exists.The concept of ikhtilāf(Conflict) refers to the differences of tafsir in the verses that express the opposing attitude of a person or group as with other polysemy concepts, this concept also points to the need to be careful. Instead of giving the same meaning in every passage of such polysemy concepts, it is necessary to determine the correct meaning according to the context of the unity of the verse and its context. The same sensitivity should be taken into consideration in translating the concept into Turkish. So, while translating the concept passed in Turkish by narrowing, that accepting it is true in both languages and transferring to Turkish according to it is insufficient to reflect the meaning referred in the verse. (shrink)

This article examines tafsir (interpretation of the Qurʾān) - translation relationship in the example of the translation of verse 184 of the Surat al-Baqara into Turkish. Undoubtedly, when the verses are translated into another language, it is necessary to reflect to translate what the first interlocutors understood from them. The fact that the rules (hukm) in some verses were repealed (naskh) or allocated (takhsis) later does not change this requirement. In verse 184 of surat al-Baqara, those who (...) can afford to fast but choose not to fast are ordered to pay ransom (fidya) for every day, that is, to pay the daily amount to feed a poor person. According to the detailed information and rumors in the tafsir literature; this rule was applied when the fast was made obligatory (fard) for the first time, and then it was abrogated. However, this practice, which was canceled for healthy and unexcused people, remained as a permission (rukhṣa) for those who were too old and sick to fast. Both the narrations conveyed from the companions (sahaba) and the general opinions of the mufassirs confirm the abrogation of this rule and that it remains a rukhṣa. The fact that the situation is described as naskh or takhsis does not make a difference in terms of transferring the verse to Turkish or another language. The verses on the subject were examined in the light of the most basic tafsir sources. To give an example that reflects the general opinion; It is stated in the thirty-five narrations reported by Tabari from the companions and tābiʿūn that the 184th verse expresses the option (takhyir) of not fasting in return for fidya for those who can fast. This option has been canceled in the next verse but it has remained for, -some people with special conditions-, as the elderly who cannot afford to fast, pregnant women and breastfeeding women who worry about harm to themselves or their childrens. According to the qirāʾa that is "وعلى الذين يُطوَّقونه", it is said that the verse is not abrogated, it is meant for old men and women. But as emphasized by Abū Ḥayyān, it is understood that this qirāʾa is not actually a qirāʾa but a kind of interpretation of the expression "وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُ" in terms of rukhṣa. Therefore, the claim that it has not been repealed is probably due to the continued practice of fiqh. On the other hand, also rational evidence shows that the right to choose (takhyir), which was given initially, was later repealed. For example, in verse 184, it is stated that those who are sick and travelers should perform fasting on other days with the expression "فَمَنْ كَانَ مِنْكُمْ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ"; The same issue is stated in verse 185 with the expression "وَمَنْ كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ". The repetition in question shows that the two verses were sent not together but at different times. This state of affairs confirms that the second verse has repealed the right of choosing (takhyir) in first one. In addition, as Imam Māturīdi's determined by hit, if those who cannot endure fasting were meant in verse 184, it would be unwise to call these people at the end of the verse as "However, that you fast is better for you, if you only knew!" In the overwhelming majority of Turkish translations of the Qurʾān, it is seen that there is no emphasis on the meaning of the verse when it was first sent. Even the expression “Upon those who are able to fast...” in the verse is translated as “Upon those who aren’t able to fast...”. Whereas it is more consistent and appropriate to reflect the literal meaning of the verse in the translation and explain the situation with additional notes. In this way, it will be understood that two verses that contain the same words and come one after another are sent different times and about different things, hence the reader will be given accurate information. In the nearly thirty examples of translations in the article, it is seen that the translations belonging to Mehmet Akif and Süleyman Tevfik and the translation of the delegation chaired by Hüseyin Kazım are in full harmony with the data in tafsir literature and the general opinion of mufassirs. Rifat Börekçi, the first president of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, has criticized the translation committee headed by Hüseyin Kazım extremely harshly. Then, with the choice made by Elmalılı Hamdi, almost the direction of the wind changed and the translators could not surpass it. Although there have been some translations in line with the text of the verse, the relevant explanations of these authors reveal that they did not understand the issue in detail and did not make a conscious translation. Meantime the analysis made in the aforementioned verse example shows that reliable translations cannot be made without referring to detailed tafsir information and therefore a correct Qurʾān translation is often not possible without tafsir. (shrink)

This article seeks to explain how Bergson's philosophy was translated into a genuine political position in the Ottoman-Turkish context. I first overview the impact of Bergson's philosophy on continental politics at the beginning of the twentieth century; I then try to explain how Bergson's philosophical claims acquired definite political connotations; and lastly, I aim to display how political Bergsonism became a border language between republican radicals and conservatives in Turkey in the 1920s. I argue that, at the crossroads of (...) all currents of European modernity, political Bergsonism heralded the birth of a new vision of conservative modernity that molded the underlying values and principles of the transformation of Turkey into a modern society. (shrink)

The Hazaras, who are considered among one of the Turkish tribes that have emerged in the region of Afghanistan with the Mongol invasions, have found their place in historical sources and texts ever since the 13th century. Likewise, Hazaras were also mentioned in the Bâburnâma, a memoir penned in Chaghatai Turkic by Babur Shah, one of the most important figures in the history of Islamic states and the founder of the Mughal empire. The Bâburnâma represents the first of its (...) kind, detailing the military activities and events that he lived through, starting with his rise to power at a young age in Fergana to his struggles in Delhi. In addition to being a statesman, Bâbur Shah was a stellar observer and was bestowed with an analytical mind, as seen in the Bâburnâma which included invaluable information regarding the manners and demeanors of Hazaras and where they lived. This work conducts a comparative analysis of the Bâburnâma's Turkish translation by Reşit Rahmet Arat and its English translation by Anette Susannah Beveridge, as well as reviewing the literature regarding the origin and emergence of the Hazaras. There is scant research concerning the tribes referred to in the Bâburnâma and up until today, there has been no consensus on the history of the Hazaras. This work hopes to fill the gap in the literature as it is the first time the Hazaras have been the subject of stand-alone research. (shrink)

Through the comparative study of non-Anglophone translations of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, we can achieve the progressive goals of Emily Apter's “translational transnationalism” and Edward Said's “cosmopolitan humanism.” Both translation and humanism were intrinsic to Chaucer's initial composition of the Tales, and in turn, both shaped Chaucer's later reception, often in ways that did a disservice to his reputation and his verse. In this essay, Candace Barrington argues that comparative translation provides a means whereby new modes of (...) translation, like Apter's, can promote a different version of humanism, like Said's; she demonstrates this process in a brief philological study of Nazmi Ağıl's Turkish translation of The Squire's Tale. While we can see the infusion of Turkish values and perspectives in the new text, we can also see that the Turkish reveals new insights into Chaucer's subtle and nuanced use of language. (shrink)

Translated works emerge in a social, cultural and political environment. Tanslations are handled independently of their social and historical context makes it difficult for us to understand the reasons for their emergence. The subject of the study is the tafsir translations that emerged in the late Ottoman period. In the literature review, it was seen that the Turkish translation tafsirs were generally evaluated in terms of language and style, and the changing social and cultural conditions of the modernization (...) period were not taken into account sufficiently in these evaluations. In this respect, the study aims to reveal the reasons for the emergence and popularity of Turkish translation tafsirs in the late Ottoman period, in particular, in the work of İsmail Ferruh Efendi (d. 1840) named Tefsîr-i Mevâkib. In the final analysis, it was seen that this popularity was mainly related to the institutional, social and political changes of the period. (shrink)

The Ottoman physician-poet Nidai of Ankara studied medicine in Crimea and served as a court physician in Istanbul during the reign of Sultan Selim II. Nidai marked the classical period of Ottoman medicine particularly with his acclaimed works and translations in Turkish, among which Manafi al-Nas became widely known. The final chapter of Manafi al-Nas also is known independently under the name Vasiyyetname, which is a remarkable guide on medical ethics. This didactic, sixty-eight-line poem includes Nidai’s moral advice to (...) physicians that they should be well mannered, trustworthy, and competent in their arts and should treat their patients with modesty, honesty, and compassion. Even after 450 years of existence, Vasiyyetname retains its ethical and artistic relevance and still serves as a vehicle for the transmission of humanistic ideals far beyond the time and place it was written. (shrink)

Undoubtedly, religion is the most important element in the life of nations. Arab, Persian and Turkish nations have experience dvery important changes and developments in the socialfield with the acceptance of Islam. Inordertomaketheirlives in accordance with the supreme principles of religion, they gradually gave up their ancient traditions, which did not comply with the orders and prohibitions of the religion of Islam, The Change That Took Place in social life was also reflected in the works produced in the field (...) of literature and art. It is possibletoseethatwiththe acceptance of Islam, newliterarygenresemergedaroundthe life of the Prophet and in this context, literary genres such as Hundred Hadith, Forty Hadith, Regâibiyye, Şefaat-nâme, Esmâ-ı Nebî were written. One of these species is the hilyes that deal with the life and physical characteristics of the Prophet and enable him to reach then extgenerations. They contain important information about the external features of the Hz. prophet at a time when the description was not appropriate, and present them in a visual richness for those who did not see the prophet in later periods. According To Sources, the poet's real name is Bedreddin Ömer Vanî, his birthdate is 1074/1664 and his death date is 1126/1714. Although There is noin form ation about his education life in the sources, he was known as a scholar and a virtuous person during his lifetime. As a person who knows enough Arabic, Persian and Turkish to write poem in these languages, it is mentioned in the sources that he has Works belonging to different disciplines outside the field of literature. In This Study, firstly, general information about the literary genre of hilye is given. Thenamesand Poets of the hilye worksortextswritten in verse whichareseparateorincluded in different works in Turkish Literature Mentioned. Information about the life and works of Bedreddin Ömer, the poet of the work, is given. Detailed Information in terms of form andcontentaboutthis hilye-typeworkwrittenbythepoet is given. Inthelastpart, the hilye text in Arabic wastranscribedan translated into Turkish. (shrink)

This study examined the validity and reliability of a Turkish version of the Modified Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire for Student Nurses. After obtaining permission to adapt the MMSQSN into Turkish, the translation/back-translation method was used with expert opinions to determine content validity. Factor analysis was conducted to examine the construct validity and test–retest was performed on the questionnaire to determine reliability. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were calculated to assess for internal consistency. Participants included 272 baccalaureate degree student nurses (...) who took ethics lessons prior to their clinical internship. The factor analysis revealed that even though the factor structure in the original scale was the same, relevant items were categorized with similar components, and factor loads were sufficient. The correlation coefficient in the analyses of test–retest scores was.66 for the total scale and the Cronbach’s alpha was.73 for the total scale. The translated MMSQSN is a valid and reliable measure of ethical sensitivity in student nurses in Turkey. (shrink)

The iltifāt (reference switching) is one of the arts of high literary value, widely practiced in the Qurʾān. This art takes place in the form of switching to another person, verb mode, number, preposition or sentence type contrary to the necessity of the situation, while continuing the word as a certain person, verb mode, number, preposition or sentence type. The art of iltifāt adds certain meanings to words such as certainty, continuity and movement. It keeps the curiosity, desire, excitement and (...) shiver alive. Similar to those who read the Qurʾān, those who read the translation of the Qurʾān are expected to be able to notice these meanings as much as possible and feel the literary pleasure of this art. There are important structural differences between Arabic and Turkish. In addition, the text that needs to be translated into Turkish is Holy Qurʾān, which has a divine infinite dimension, and it is a limited human mind attempts to translate it. This situation requires an advanced level of caution and diligence in transferring the art of iltifāt to the translations of Qurʾān. The issue of the art of iltifāt and the transfer of this art to the translations of the Qurʾān has also been studied in scientific research in different world languages such as Arabic, English and Indonesian. As far as we can determine, the only study in Turkish that examines the reflection of the iltifāt in the Qurʾān is the article titled "The Translation Problem of the Art of iltifāt in the Translation of the Qurʾān" by Haşim Özdaş. In the mentioned article, five different Qurʾān translations of eight verses from different types of the art of iltifāt were examined. It has been claimed that there is no art of iltifāt in Turkish language and literature, and that the translation of the art of iltifāt in the verses into Turkish is an obstacle to understanding the verses and leads to a wrong or incomplete understanding. As a solution, while the verses are being given and translated, it is suggested that the art of iltifāt in the verses be ignored. In this research article, the cases of the translations of the Qurʾān reflecting the art of iltifāt, as an example of iltifāt between māzī (past tense) and muzāriʻ (present tense) verbs modes in the verses are discussed. In addition, it discusses the opinions that say there is no art of iltifāt in the Turkish language, that the exact transfer of the art of iltifāt found in the Qurʾān to the translations of the Qurʾān causes wrong or incomplete understanding, therefore, the art of iltifāt should be ignored when the verses are being translated. As a result, the present study argues that the art of iltifāt is also a subject of Turkish rhetoric, which should be reflected in the translations of the Qurʾān as much as possible, and the transfer of the art of iltifāt in the translations of the Qurʾān does not constitute an obstacle to understanding the verses, on the contrary, the reference to this art in the verses will contribute to the realization of the divine purpose and wisdom. The data sources of the research were created from 6 verses and their 22 different translations, using various sampling methods. The data collected from these were analysed using the comparative text analysis method on the basis of the inductive approach. Qualitative data was converted into quantitative data, processed in the SPSS application, and the findings were presented as numerical figures in tables. At the end of the research, it was determined that iltifāt between māzī and muzāriʻ verbs modes studied in the science of rhetoric was also a subject of grammar as the phenomenon of time shifts in verbs. It was seen that the art of iltifāt was applied in an average of 800 places in the Qurʾān, and the iltifāt between māzī and muzāriʻ verbs modes accounted for 6.9% (55 pieces) of this amount. Most of these fifty-five iltifāts were iltifāt from the māzī verb mode to the muzāriʻ verb mode (63.6%), while the amount of iltifāt the muzāriʻ verb mode to the māzī verb mode was less (36.4%). In the analysed translations of the Qurʾān, it was determined that the iltifāt between māzī and muzāriʻ verbs modes was not reflected at a rate of 90.9%, and the art of iltifāt was completely abandoned in 14 of the 22 translations. It was concluded that the reason why the art of iltifāt in the verses was not reflected in the translations of the Qurʾān was the belief that this art was not found in Turkish and that the transfer of this art leads to wrong and incomplete understanding. In the research, it was proposed to increase the number of scientific studies in which various translation strategies and techniques were tested in the transfer of the art of iltifāt in the verses in the translations of the Qurʾān. In this respect, this research article is expected to pave the way for more research on the issue of transferring the arts used in the Qurʾān and to be useful for future translations of the Qurʾān. (shrink)

The aim of this study is to develop a valid and reliable measurement tool for determining students' spiritual health and life orientation. For this purpose, the Spiritual Health and Life-Orientation Measure (SHALOM) inventory developed by Fisher (2010) is adapted to Turkish. The adaptation study was carried out on 1591 high school students in three study groups studying in Ankara and Muş. The original English measure consisting of four dimensions and twenty items was translated into Turkish, factor analysis, validity (...) and reliability tests were conducted on the sampling data. As a result of the study, the Turkish-adapted inventory consists of four dimensions (personal, social, environmental and transcendental) which resemble the original inventory. In addition, internal consistency coefficients of the inventory dimensions were in perfect harmony with the original inventory and served the purpose of the scale. In Conclusion The Turkish adaptation of the SHALOM Inventory can be used in different disciplines of psychology, educational sciences, and social sciences. Summary: The concept of religion, which is an important dynamic and carrier of the social field, has gone into a double distinction since the second half of the 18th century; the concept of spirituality has begun to be refined from the concept of religion. The concepts of religion and spirituality are very difficult to define; While the concept of religion focuses ideology and rules of belief, spirituality centers on individual experiences and interrelationships that extend religion. For this reason, different spirituality and religion definitions are made from different perspectives and different spirituality scales were developed within this framework. However, the results of these studies differ significantly from each other; this means that spirituality was defined and conceptualized based on the scale that was used. Early period studies on spirituality mostly focus on religion, health, psychology and work life. In these studies, after defining the concept of spirituality; the relationship between the concept and health, religion, psychology and business life or necessity for human life is discussed. In the West, until the 1950s, the concepts of religion and spirituality were used interrelated. However, today these two concepts are almost completely separated from each other.Literature consists of numerous inventory development studies to measure spirituality. The fact that the inventory works based on different conceptual foundations makes it difficult to draw a general, meaningful and consistent conclusion about spiritual health and life orientation. Furthermore, spirituality measurements reflecting the religion and values ​​of a particular culture cannot be comprehensive or universal. At this point, Fisher criticizes the measurement tools developed for the purpose of measuring spirituality: in terms of "mixing religion and spirituality", "relying on the world of values", "not taking into account cultural differences", "and questioning only the mystical/spiritual experience". As a result, it can be said that no measurement developed in the conceptual structure of the West does not take into account the cultural flexibility and accept its spiritual values as universal or prevalent.The SHALOM inventory developed by Fisher, which adapted to the Turkish culture in present study, is based on four basic (individual, social, environmental and transcendent) areas that constitute the world of interpersonal relationship. In this study, spirituality, as in Fisher's work, emphasizes the interaction with certain concepts of different intensities that are considered as independent from religion and above religions. In this context, the concept of spirituality communicates with one's personal space, social position, nature, and transcendental power. This adaptation study will provide useful information and comments on the students' spiritual health levels. This is the most important motive behind the idea of adapting the SHALOM inventory developed by Fisher to the Turkish culture. In addition, by adapting the SHALOM inventory, which is emphasized to have cultural flexibility and adapted to different languages, a new and different measurement tool will be available to understand the nature of the concept of spirituality.This research was carried out to adapt the inventory of Spiritual Health and Life Orientation scale developed for students to Turkish culture. This inventory adaptation study was performed with the data collected from three working groups in Ankara and Muş provinces and 1591 high school students. The first study group was carried out with 414, the second study group with 788, and the third group with 389 high school students. While the data collected from 414 students were used for Exploratory Factor Analysis (AFA) analysis, data collected from 788 students were used for Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). In addition, 389 students were used to determine the criterion validity of the inventory. The original language of the SHALOM inventory, which is intended to be adapted into Turkish, is English, and translation studies are conducted separately by three linguistic experts who know the grammar and semantic characteristics of both languages. After the translation studies, the scale was applied to the sampling group and AFA was performed on the sample data. The AFA results showed that a factor roof resembling the original inventory was formed. Determining factors are given appropriate names (personal, enviromental, social and transcendental) by taking into consideration the theoretical names and the dimension names in the original form of the SHALOM. The structure was confirmed by DFA, and as a result of the DFA, X2/sd (1.72) ratio and IFI (0.96) fit indicator was found to be the appropiate fit for the model tested. As a result, it is understood that the Spiritual Health and Life Orientation Inventory consists of four dimensions as in the original inventory, the internal consistency coefficients of the inventory dimensions are in harmony with the original inventory and serve the purpose of the scale. In conclusion the Turkish adaptation of the SHALOM Inventory can be used in different disciplines of psychology, educational sciences, and social sciences. Spirituality should not only be defined within the framework of Western theories, but the nature and likelihood of the spirituality predicted by Islam should be discussed. Moreover, the types and dimensions of Islamic spirituality should be determined by taking into account the cultural subjectivity of an Islamic character. In the study of spirituality, the human model which modernity presents universally should not be accepted as the only truth. It should be tried to develop human models that come from Islamic culture and history and which are specific to us and define us. This should be taken into account not only in mental health / religious studies, but also in psychology of religion in general. In addition, culture-specificity should be given importance, and the experience gained from the cultural accumulation developed by the Turkish civilization with the Islamic doctrine should lead to the studies of spirituality. In this respect, this study aims to adapt the value and spiritual orientation of a different culture to Turkish culture, but it is problematic to construct the concept with Western values. Although Western values are similar to Islamic values and principles, it is envisaged that it may be difficult to measure the concept of spirituality in practice. (shrink)

The advantages and disadvantages of machine translation have been the subject of increasing debate among human translators lately because of the growing strides made in the last year by the newest major entrant in the field, Google Translate. The progress and potential of machine translation has been debated much through its history. But this debate actually began with the birth of machine translation itself. Behind this simple procedure lies a complex cognitive operation. To decode the meaning of (...) the source text in its entirety, the translator must interpret and analyze all the features of the text. The success of encoding of war rivals texts during WWII pushed the language experts to believe that translation of foreign languages could be realized based on these encoding principles. The cold war coincided with the invention of computers, and “cracking Russian” was one of the first tasks these machines were set. The competition towards establishing more business with different parts of the world incited advanced countries in technology to look for easy and quick ways for communication. Nevertheless, machine translation has proved helpful in more urgent situations as well. But, in my opinion, although computer scientists have toiled for decades to produce machine translation comparable to that rendered by humans, they have yet to succeed. (shrink)

This article contributes to the study of the globalization of science through an analysis of Ahmed Cevdet's nineteenth-century translation of the sixth chapter of Ibn Khaldun's (d. 1406) Muqaddimah, which deals with the nature and history of science. Cevdet's translation and Ottomanization of that text demonstrate that science did not simply originate in Europe to be subsequently distributed to the rest of the world. Instead, knowledge transmitted from Europe was actively engaged with and appropriated by scholars, who sought (...) to put that material within their own cultural context in a manner that could serve their own intellectual and practical needs. Cevdet's case is particularly interesting because it demonstrates that (1) Islamic conceptions of human nature, the soul and the nature of knowledge provided particularly fertile soil in which empiricist and positivist traditions could take root, and (2) aspects of modern science – specifically its ostensive separation from metaphysical debates – made it more attractive to Islamic theologians than was, for example, the work of Aristotelian philosophers. Through an exploration of Cevdet's career and a close analysis of his historiographical treatment of Ibn Khaldun's account of sciences, this article foregrounds the agency of non-Europeans in the late nineteenth-century circulation of scientific knowledge. (shrink)

Every text, in addition to its main idea and notional framework, has a context that reflects the background of the milieu in which it was written. In this respect, it would be paid attention in the identity of the text, which waiting to be discovered like a hidden treasure within lines and reflecting its time, as much as giving importance to the sentences of the text. Adopting such an approach, in a sense, could contribute to a better understanding of the (...) spirit of the text. In addition, this approach is of great importance in bringing the treatises that built our civilization, especially the stories of many manuscripts waiting to be revealed, to modern scholarship. Therefore, each step on this path of discovery makes an outstanding contribution to the understanding of the ultimate extent of our civilization’s history. This paper aims to take a step on this path by examining a manuscript that depicts the Ottoman scholarly environment in the 18th century. Both the critical edition of the treatise, Ilzām al-muʿānidīn wa-ibṭāl zaʿm al-ḥāsidīn, and its translation constitute the scope and focus of this paper. The paper also aims to have a general view of the historical context of the treatise and a concise analysis in light of this information. Later, it is aimed to let the reader be alone with the edited Arabic text and its Turkish translation by leaving her/him alone in this intellectual journey. Another reason for choosing the treatise is that it is related to ʿiṣmah al anbiyā (the infallibility of the Messengers of Allah), which is a highly sensitive issue of kalām in terms of both thematically and methodologically. Moreover, this subject is extremely meaningful in terms of the revelation-centered structure of kalam, the nature of the concept of Messenger of Allah, and the understanding of the issues formed around being a Messenger of Allah. Following both etymological and discursive evaluation based on classical sources (especially related to fiqh), the treatise discusses whether the Messengers of Allah are protected from the faint (ighmāʾ) or not. Its main question is whether the faint be considered in the context of ʿiṣmah al anbiyā or not. First of all, the author explains the reasons for writing the treatise in the introduction and then, underlines prominently the results in the conclusion. Both chapters may be the most significant parts in respect of reflecting the identity of the text. The given messages by determining the causal relations in these chapters provide significant clues about the conflict between the Kadizādeli and the Sivasī, which adversely affected the history of Ottoman thought, and emerged trends as a consequence of that. The most prominent theme is that it is highly recommended to adopt a moderate way to overcome the negative effects of the conflict that polarized many people. Ultimately, the treatise is an extremely important text in terms of being the first witness of a time period, in which one of the greatest turning points emerged in our intellectual history. (shrink)

Justus Raphelengius, a Leiden printer and orientalist scholar, translated into Latin a sixteenth-century manuscript compilation of Turkish folk tales associated with the famous Anatolian comic figure Nasreddin Hoca. This article considers the role of Raphelengius’s translation within the framework of the manuscript circulation and print production of Nasreddin Hoca tales in Europe from the first dated manuscript to twentieth-century printed editions Raphelengius’s editorial choices for his intended publication, the style of his Latin translation, and his excision of (...) bawdy or sacrilegious passages from the original text come under scrutiny. (shrink)

The present study examined the ethical judgements of Turkish counselors using a translation of the Gibson and Pope ethical judgements survey. Items predominantly judged as ethical and unethical, and group differences regarding gender, taking ethics as a course, professional affiliation, and level of academic degree, were investigated. Chi-square analysis, Fishers’s exact test, and Fisher–Freeman–Halton tests were used in statistical analysis. Results revealed that participants predominantly judged breach of confidentiality in cases of child abuse and potential harm toward oneself (...) or others as ethical. Items concerning sexual dual relationships were predominantly perceived as unethical, and male participants were more likely to judge items regarding sexual and nonsexual dual relationships as ethical. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. (shrink)

This is the first academic paper concerned with the description of intertranslational appropriations across non-literary works and to discuss this phenomenon from a novel conceptual perspective by suggesting the term “pseudo-retranslation”. “Drmrod”, a misspelling of Ormrod, served as the benchmark of the preliminary analysis to judge on the existence of pseudo-retranslations across the works. The corpus consists of one unreviewed article, two dissertations, five master’s theses, and seven articles. To identify the initial Turkish translation, Patient Zero, to detect (...) the pseudo-retranslations and to arrange them chronologically, “textual overlap” was operationalized as the primary parameter, while “erroneous referencing”, “typographical errors”, “publication year”, “publication media”, and “relationships between authors” to triangulate the findings concerning the primary parameter. A program, WCopyFind, was used to detect intertextual similarities and to harvest quantitative data by percentage and word count. A textual similarity of 70%, 1–26, 2004) was set as the threshold of significance. The author suggested a threshold of 30% to describe pseudo-retranslations in academic works and of 20% in Turkish academic papers. The unreviewed online article was revealed to be the first to misspell “Ormrod” as “Drmrod” and to translate Ormrod’s six metacognitive skills and the other 14 works to include its pseudo-retranslations. (shrink)

The Turkish-language release of Hanne Blank's Virgin: The Untouched History is a politically engaged translation aimed at disrupting Turkey's heteropatriarchal virginity codes. In Virgin Crossing Borders, Emek Ergun maps how she crafted her rendering of the text and draws on her experience and the book's impact to investigate the interventionist power of feminist translation. Ergun's comparative framework reveals translation's potential to facilitate cross-border flows of feminist theories, empower feminist interventions, connect feminist activists across differences and divides, (...) and forge transnational feminist solidarities. As she considers hopeful and woeful pictures of border crossings, Ergun invites readers to revise their views of translation's role in transnational feminism and examine their own potential as ethically and politically responsible agents willing to search for new meanings. Sophisticated and compelling, Virgin Crossing Borders reveals translation's vital role in exchanges of feminist theories, stories, and knowledge. (shrink)

AimThis study aims to translate the Compassionate Engagement and Action Scales into Turkish and to test their subsequent validity, reliability, and psychometric properties. Turkey is one of the blended cultures with eastern and western elements under the influence of traditional religion. This cultural diversity brings about a rich context to study compassion and its relationship to mental health. The scales assess the ability to be sensitive to suffering and engage and then take helpful actions in compassion. The motivation for (...) compassionate engagement and action is measured at three ‘flows’ as follows: compassion for others; compassion from others; and compassion for self.MethodsThe sample consists of 525 college students aged 18 years or older. The participants completed the CEAS Turkish Form for Others, Self and from Others, Self-Compassion Scale Short Form, Compassionate Love Scale, and Self-Criticism Scale.ResultsThe confirmatory factor analyses were conducted using AMOS version 27 to examine the validity of the three scales with two different factor structures each. All the three models show good fits to the data. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the CEAS for Others and for Self and from Others are good to excellent. Compassion for self, compassion for others, and compassion from others correlated modestly.ConclusionIt can be concluded that the Turkish version of the Compassionate Engagement and Action Scales for Others and Self and from Others has sufficient psychometric properties and can be used as a reliable and valid measure to assess compassionate engagement and action. (shrink)

Despite the fact that Islam is the second largest religion in the world, empirical studies on Muslim religiosity have been very rare. The reason for this is seen in the lack of measurements applicable to Muslim samples. Nonetheless, the few empirical studies about Muslims, the role of Islam in terms of physical and psychological well-being, and comparative studies give rise to hope. The problems of application, adaptation and translation of religiosity and spirituality scales developed for Christian traditions is an (...) issue that the psychology of religion in Turkey is facing but has not yet solved. This article shall provide an overview of the religious landscape in Turkey that has to be considered when applying Turkish or Western measures of religiosity to Turkish samples. Further problems in cross-cultural/religious studies due to inappropriate measures are illustrated. Finally religiosity scales developed and/or applied within the psychology of religion research in Turkey are listed. (shrink)

The words used in the languages generally have an original/basic meaning. However, these words gain new and special meanings over time apart from their basic meaning. These emerging meanings are not completely independent of the basic meaning. Because new and special meanings emerge on the axis of basic meaning. In the Qurʾān, naturally, many words are used in connotations other than their original meaning. Therefore, it is not possible to give a correct meaning to the verse without determining the meaning (...) of the words in the verses. In this study, it was investigated whether the conjunction ev in the verses was translated into Turkish correctly. For this purpose, firstly, the most accurate meanings of the conjunction ev in the verses discussed were tried to be determined from the vucūh and nezāir and tafsīr books, then these meanings were compared according to meāls and translation errors were pointed out. Accurate translations are emphasized; alternative translations are also presented when necessary. The conjunction ev in its basic meaning in Arabic indicates that the speaker is in doubt and hesitation in sentences expressing proposition and judgment In sentences such as orders and demands, it indicates that the addressee can choose between the options. However, this conjunction is sometimes used instead of conjunctions/prepositions such as and, even, to, until and except. In the vucūh and nezāir books, which are accepted as the Qurʾānic dictionary, it is agreed that the conjunction ev is used instead of and and even in the Qurʾān. In many tafsīrs much more meanings are given to the conjunction ev and it is stated that this conjunction is used instead of conjunctions such as until, to, except. In addition, it is stated in the some tafsīrs that conjunction ev adds various meanings to the expression such as elaboration, diversity, division and concealment. Where the conjunction ev is used in its basic meaning, translation errors were not made in the majority of the translations, except in very rare cases. Translation errors related to the conjunction ev mostly occurred when this conjunction was used out of its own meaning. Most of these errors are related to the words attributed to Almighty Allah by stating propositions and judgments. Because the conjunction ev used in these sentences indicates that the speaker is in doubt. However, this cannot be the case for Almighty Allah. Because Almighty Allah never doubts the matters He informs. Therefore, it is clear and certain that the conjunction ev is not used in the basic sense in such verses. It is determined that in the meāls we examined, this detail was generally not paid attention to. Although it is certain that the conjunction ev in these expressions attributed to Allah is not in the basic sense, it cannot always be clearly understood from the context in what sense it is used. Therefore, different opinions have been asserted in the sources on this issue. As a result, a scholar has taken the conjunction ev in any verse that comes in such a form to mean and, one to even, and another to except. The author of meāl usually prefers one of these meanings and tries to transfer it to the target language. However, it may not be possible to transfer every preferred meaning to meāl. For example, while it is possible to translate the meaning of and and even of the conjunction ev into Turkish, it doesn’t seem possible to transfer the meaning of ibhām/hide from the interlocutor. Therefore, a meāl writer who prefers the meaning of ibhām should translate this verse adhering to the words, and explain the meaning in the additional explanation section. Because in such a case, it is not possible to transfer the meaning to Turkish only through translation. Another reason why some verses in which the conjunction ev is used are translated incorrectly into Turkish is the attempt to convey the forms of expression particular to Arabic through literal translation. In such cases, the correct meaning should be determined first, and then the translation should be made without depending on the words. Because the purpose of translation is to convey the meaning, not the words. This study has confirmed that the author of the translation should have knowledge of the subtleties of the source and target language, and that he should make maximum use of the works written on vucūh and nezāir and the sources of tafsīr. However, it is also emphasized that every information contained in these works should not be accepted as essential without being subject to criticism. (shrink)

The thesis deals with a section of the major philosophical summa by Avicenna (Ibn Sīnā, d. 1037), namely the Book of the Healing (Kitāb al-Šifāʾ). The summa is structured into four parts, devoted to Logic, Natural Philosophy, Mathematics and Metaphysics; the section at stake is Avicenna’s reworking of Porphyry’s Isagoge (Kitāb al-Madḫal, i.e. “Book of the Introduction”) opening the section of Logic of the Šifāʾ. The thesis is articulated into three main parts, namely (i) an edition of the Arabic text (...) of Avicenna’s Madḫal, (ii) an English translation and (iii) a systematic commentary; these three main parts are preceded by an Introduction (0) divided into two halves: (0a) a General Introduction focused on the doctrinal major innovations of the work and (0b) an Introduction to the Edition of the text, which offers a first comprehensive study of its direct and early indirect tradition and explains the criteria of the edition. (i) The only previous edition of Avicenna’s Madḫal was the one printed in Cairo in 1952 (then reprinted in Tehran in 1983 and in Beirut in 1993), based on ten manuscripts. The huge manuscript tradition of Avicenna’s Madḫal – and, more in general, of Avicenna’s Book of the Healing – is still a matter of investigation. According to the provisional results of the bibliographical research conducted in the present work, it can be estimated that the manuscript tradition of the Madḫal amounts to at least 119 certain witnesses and 14 possible additional witnesses (as explained in the Introduction to the edition, 0b). The text of the Cairo edition, far from being representative of the whole textual tradition, was reconstructed on the basis of ten manuscripts that were not selected on the basis of philological criteria and whose reciprocal stemmatic relations were not clear. Although a critical edition based on all the 119 certain witnesses of the work exceeds the scope of the present work, the edition provided in the thesis takes into account a larger number of manuscripts than the Cairo edition did and, most importantly, selects them by means of a preliminary collation made on portions of the text. The purpose of this preliminary collation is making the selection of the manuscripts employed less arbitrary and providing a reconstruction of their stemmatic relations (in the Introduction, 0b). Overall, 32 manuscripts among the 68 inspected were employed in the edition here proposed, 21 of which were systematically collated and 11 were eliminated as codices descripti. The present edition also assumes as a witness the twelfth-century Latin translation of the work, which is, at the present moment, among the earliest extant witnesses of the text. Hopefully, this editorial work allowed us to improve the text of the Cairo edition in a number of points that are crucial to the correct understanding of Avicenna’s argumentation. (ii) As this project started, complete translations of Avicenna’s Madḫal in modern languages were only available in Turkish and Russian. Chapters of the work had also been translated in other languages, but an English translation of the whole work was still a desideratum. A complete English translation is provided in the thesis, based on the newly-established Arabic text of the work and aiming at preserving the major possible consistency in rendering the relevant philosophical terms. As a complement to the translation, an apparatus of notes is offered to facilitate the immediate understanding of the text. (iii) The third section of the thesis consists in a systematic commentary on Avicenna’s Madḫal, which is meant to support a deeper understanding of the text in its entirety. The commentary deals with both historical and philosophical aspects; more in detail, it includes an analysis and an identification, when possible, of Avicenna’s sources, and underlines the points of major philosophical interest of the work, which are dealt in a more comprehensive manner in the General Introduction (0a). (shrink)