Abstracts
Abstract
Although translated books and readers are visibly and inextricably linked, readers, readers’ expectations, attitudes and habits have only been partially analysed in translation research. In a similar vein, the relationship between translation and reader was rather left undiscovered by scholars studying translation/book/reading history. The aim of this paper is to present the findings of my comprehensive doctoral research on the pioneering role translation played in the history of reading and readers in Turkey between 1840 and 1940 by problematizing the relationship between translation, readers and their reading habits. This hundred year period is characterized by an apparent transformation in the literary production (especially in the number of translated works) and the publishing industry, which created an expansion in the number of readers and the development of new forms to suit the needs and tastes of this new readership. Data from a variety of sources including readers’ letters and auto/biographical accounts will be used in this article to investigate readers, their reading habits and the transformative process they experienced through this reading (r)evolution. In the absence of library records and marginalia due to the inherent characteristics of the period under study, these letters and auto/biographical accounts are of primary importance in providing evidence of what and how the readers were actually reading. Their active involvement in the process (of selection and consumption of translated and/or indigeneous works) is also reflected through the views, experiences and perceptions that are present in these letters and accounts.
Résumé
Bien que les oeuvres en traduction soient visiblement et inextricablement liées à leur lectorat, la recherche en traduction n’a offert jusqu’à présent qu’une analyse partielle de ces lecteurs, de leurs attentes, attitudes et habitudes de lecture. De même, les chercheurs en histoire de la traduction, du livre et de la lecture se sont assez peu intéressés à la relation entre la traduction et le lecteur. Cet article présente les résultats de mes recherches doctorales sur le rôle primordial joué par la traduction dans l’histoire de la lecture et des lecteurs en Turquie entre 1840 et 1940, et problématise le lien qui unit la traduction aux lecteurs et à leurs habitudes de lecture. Cette période de 100 ans se caractérise par une transformation manifeste de la production littéraire (en particulier quant au nombre d’oeuvres traduites) et de l’industrie de l’édition, qui engendra une expansion du lectorat et le développement de nouvelles formes répondant aux besoins et aux goûts de celui-ci. Des données de sources diverses, dont des lettres et des récits (auto)biographiques de lecteurs, seront utilisées dans cet article pour révéler les caractéristiques du lectorat et des habitudes de lecture, ainsi que les changements qu’ils connurent durant cette (r)évolution de la lecture. En l’absence d’archives de bibliothèques et de notes marginales, absence inhérente à la période à l’étude, les lettres et les récits (auto)biographiques revêtent une importance primordiale si l’on souhaite établir ce que les lecteurs de l’époque lisaient réellement ainsi que la manière dont ils le faisaient. Leur participation au processus (de sélection et de consommation d’oeuvres traduites ou indigènes) se reflète également dans les points de vue, les expériences et les perceptions consignés dans ces lettres et récits.
Appendices
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