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The Turkish literary scene is full of people that have nothing to do with translation or who have not studied the subject in school yet are still being entrusted to translate books and texts and “others” in the headline refers to them.
This is one of the most important problems for Turkish literature. There are wrong translations, mistakes in the sentences, semantic shifts in the texts and much more.
It is impossible to trust a translated book because most of the publishers prefer to translate the books on low budgets. That’s why they are always searching for non-translator graduates because they know that people who have been graduated from translation and interpretation departments will want the money that the job deserves.
Unfortunately, being a translator, especially a literary translator, has no value in Turkey. Anyone who knows English Turkish, French, Italian or a French or English person who knows Turkish can be a literary translator in Turkey. The background of the translator is not important for anyone.
As a translator from French and English to Turkish, I studied translation and interpretation for six years. Still, if someone asks me if I know English or French, I would say I am still learning.
It is impossible to complete the study of a language. Language is something that evolves and develops within time. While most people think that it is not a must to practice or study translation to translate, the theory of translation and interpretation and language can only be understood by studying the theory of translation.
It is a must to know how a language evolves and it renews itself while translating a text.
As a result, a person who knows and writes very good English, French or Turkish cannot be the best translator. Translating is also reinterpreting the text and constructing it again and also understanding how it evolves in the text.
But of course no one seems to care about it and we continue to read really bad translations in books.
Translators are also criticizing this situation, as many go to read the original pieces to not bother reading the translations in Turkish.
When the illiteracy in translation and interpretation stops, everything might be better in Turkey.