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Article published In:
Babel
Vol. 66:3 (2020) ► pp.420–433

Turkish translations of Lolita

A search in the mist

| Anadolu University

This paper presents the results of research on translations of Nabokov’s Lolita into Turkish. Two of the translations were published under different names, but a closer look reveals that these target texts are identical, except for a difference in the character Lolita’s age; she is shown to be twelve in one translation and fourteen in the other. Apart from this, images of body and sex in the text are, to a certain degree, expurgated. Based on the data, I discuss the issues of authorship and (self) censorship in translation, as well as traditional cultural norms and the position of translator when she chooses to adapt to those norms or to question them.

Keywords: Nabokov, Lolita , translation and culture, censorship in translation
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The preliminary data and the purpose of the research
  • 3.The translatress of Lolita
  • 4.Textual data
    • 4.1Part one / Chapter 1
    • 4.2Part one / Chapter 4
    • 4.3Part one / Chapter 8
    • 4.4Part one / Chapter 8
    • 4.5Part one / Chapter 11
    • 4.6Part one / Chapter 13
    • 4.7Part one / Chapter 15
  • 5.Discussion and conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 8 April 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.00165.den
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