The First Comparative Literature History in Turkish: Tarih-i Edebî-i Âlem
Hakan SoydaşThe pursuits in the fields of culture and art from the 18th century gained the identity of a literary modernization movement in the late 19th century. During this period, which is known as the Turkish literature of the innovation period, intensive translation activity attracted attention. Mehmed Ali Ayni was one of the well-known names in this period. He came to the forefront with his translations. Histoire des Littératures Comparées: des Origines au XXe Siècle, translated by Mehmed Ali Ayni from Frédéric Loliée under the title Tarih-i Edebî-i Âlem, is the first history of comparative literature to be translated into Turkish on the axis of the aforementioned historical paradigm. In this study, the censorship and attempts to confiscate the work during the publication process will be explained in its historical context. Subsequently, the translation method of the text is emphasized. Mehmed Ali Ayni translated the first part of the work jointly with Mehmed Galib Bey. First, it pointed out how much the translators made while translating the work. In the content analysis section, the rationale for the work in the relevant period of Turkish literature is evaluated in its historical context.
Türkçedeki İlk Karşılaştırmalı Edebiyat Tarihi: Tarih-i Edebî-i Âlem
Hakan SoydaşXVIII. yüzyıl itibarıyla kültür ve sanat alanlarında görülen arayışlar XIX. yüzyılın ikinci yarısında bir edebî yenileşme hareketi olma hüviyeti kazanır. Yenileşme devri Türk edebiyatı olarak adlandırılan bu süreç boyunca yoğun çeviri faaliyeti dikkati çeker. Mehmed Ali Ayni, devrinin iyi yetişmiş isimlerinden biridir. O, telif eserleri kadar çeviri üzerine değerlendirmelerde bulunduğu çalışmaları ve çeviri eserleriyle de öne çıkmıştır. Mehmed Ali Ayni’nin Frédéric Loliée’den Tarih-i Edebî-i Âlem ismiyle çevirdiği Histoire des Littératures Comparées: des Origines au XXe Siècle, bahse konu edilen tarihî paradigma bağlamında Türkçeye kazandırılmış olan ilk karşılaştırmalı edebiyat tarihidir. Çalışmamızda, ismi geçen eserin yayımlanma sürecinde maruz kaldığı sansür ve toplatılma girişimi tarihî bağlamı içinde açıklanacaktır. Ardından metnin çeviri yöntemi üzerinde durulacaktır. Mehmed Ali Ayni eserin ön kısmını Mehmed Galib Bey’le ortaklaşa çevirmiştir. Makalede öncelikle, eser Türkçeye nakledilirken çevirmenlerin ne tür tasarruflarda buluduklarına dikkat çekilecektir. Muhteva analizi kısmında ise eserin Türk edebiyatının ilgili döneminde hangi sebeplerle çevrilmiş olabileceği üzerine tarihî bağlam ekseninde değerlendirmelerde bulunulacak ve içeriğine dair bilgiler verilecektir.
Due to the relationship established with the West, different searches emerged in the field of literature in terms of literary genres and content. Literary genres specific to Western literature have been introduced, and new works with perception and expression characteristics different from those of traditional literature have emerged. The first work cannot fully implement the aesthetic judgments and standards of the imitated literary source. Biographical works and literary histories that introduce the world of Western thought and culture are translated into Turkish. Several translations have been made in the genres of novels, stories, poetry, and theater. Thus, it is observed that essays on modernization emerged under the influence of the West, which is fueled by translations. Itineraries, biographies, histories of literature, letters, discussion documents, and various types of literary translations play an important role in recognizing Western literature. Itineraries are texts that convey the value judgments, technical levels, and daily lifestyles of a foreign civilization to the reader firsthand. The new style works of the writers were influenced by the admiration that developed after their interest was encountered. For comparison studies, the impact stage sum is extremely useful. Studies of comparative literature discussions on this effect. Aesthetic aesthetic phenomena in French and Turkish literature. In these discussions, distortion of the original literature is sometimes criticized, while at other times the relevance of certain aesthetic elements is emphasized. Either way, comparative studies become the first condition for self-expression, regardless of one’s stance.
Interest in foreign literature often seeks to establish limits while satisfying the need for self-expression. Writers who translate their literary preferences into aesthetic measures produce works that are influenced by these measures. Even when comparative literature was not mentioned in our literature after the Tanzimat period, comparative literature discussions and criticisms were made in practice. Tarih-i Edebî-i Âlem discussed in this review, is the first history of comparative literature translated from French to Turkish. This book was published by Mehmed Ali Ayni under the name of Tarih-i Edebî-i Âlem. This is Frédéric Loliée’s Histoire des Littératures Comparées: des Origines au XXe Siècle. Mehmed Ali Ayni states that the work can be considered successful in its current form, despite the challenges he faced in terms of style and arrangement. The first six chapters of this work were translated jointly with Mehmed Galib Bey. When the French original and the Turkish translation of the work were compared in terms of titling the chapters, the omissions and summaries in the translated work attracted attentionin the first place. Mehmed Galib and Mehmed Ali Ayni shortened the work, which contains a detailed explanation of the history of humanity, and translated it into Turkish. Throughout the translation, several footnotes from the original work and references were frequently missing parentheses upon their first mention in the text. Moreover, some proper names and concepts, which were absent in the original version, were introduced as short footnotes.
This translated work should also be evaluated as a textbook and/or reference work. In this way, a source works that people who do not understand foreign languages can get information about human history and literary interactions, which has been brought to the Ottoman press. The fact that both Mehmed Galib and Mehmed Ali Ayni translated works as school books strengthens the possibility that they had this intention for Tarih-i Edebî-i Âlem.
