“Plagiarism Indicating a Rejuvenation Demand” - Muazzez Uslu
Channel: Bibliographical Society of Canada
Date: 2021-06-25

Muazzez Uslu, Translation and Interpreting Studies Department, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University

This study aims to argue the intertwined nature of book history and translation historiography in the frame of (in)direct (re)translations, because the scope of book history comprises of the translations whether direct or indirect. Being a researcher in a bibliographical translation history project entitled A Descriptive and Critical Look at Retranslation: Retranslated Works in the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey (2013-2016), I surveyed the non-fiction leftist books translated into Turkish over the last century. The first spark in that field was a claim of plagiarism which prompted subsequent ideological accusations. An indirect retranslation of Lenin’s What Is To Be Done by Ferit Burak Aydar(2011) was accused of plagiarizing a previous version by Muzaffer Erdost(1968). This case was deviant as the Erdost version was translated from French while the later was done from English. Moreover, the “voices” that became involved in the debate, such as critics, publishers and editors, made it even more blurred. A confrontation in disguise took place over social media blogs helping to the promotion of both translations’ publicity. Surprisingly, the publisher of the first translation confessed the agency of the real translator who was a consecrated figure for the Turkish left. Thus the debate helped to illustrate a concealed historical fact as well as the absence of a direct translation of the book. Eventually, it indicated a market demand for direct translation of the leftist classics and a rejuvenation phase concerning the books in question as the archival work conducted in the project reflected.