Research Article
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Year 2020, Volume: 6 Issue: 2, 97 - 124, 01.12.2020

Abstract

The mass arrival of refugees in Turkey from Syria since 2011 has created a growing demand for Turkish and Arabic speaking community interpreters in order to fulfill their health, educational and psycho-social needs and to facilitate their integration into Turkish society.
The district of Sultanbeyli in the periphery of Istanbul has been formed through successive waves of migration and is now home to the third most important Syrian population in Istanbul. National and international NGOs, municipal authorities and public institutions collaborate so that Syrian refugees can benefit from psycho-social assistance and health services. Furthermore, they realize projects aiming their integration into the host society. Community interpreters play a major role in helping Syrian refugees benefit from these services and overcome linguistic and cultural barriers.
Based on Bourdieu’s key concepts in the sociology of translation (habitus, field, capital, illusio, doxa, self-reflexivity), our study focuses on community interpreting practices in Sultanbeyli in order to understand personal histories and linguistic dispositions of community interpreters, their roles and interactions with service providers who work at various NGOs. Ethnographic and qualitative methods were used to reveal the relationship between migration and translation.
This study is an attempt to test the above-mentioned concepts of Bourdieu forged during his experiences in Algeria and developed in France in the dynamism and fluidity of Sultanbeyli.

References

  • Angelelli, C. (2003). “The Interpersonal Role of the Interpreter in Cross-Cultural Comunication”. In: Brunette, Louise; Bastin, Georges; Hemlin, Isabelle; Clarke, Heather (eds). 2003. Critical link, Amsterdam: Benjamins.
  • Antonini, R. Cirillo L. (2017). Non-professional Interpreting and Translation: State of the art and future of an emerging field of research. John Benjamins.
  • Barsky, R. (1996). “The Interpreter as Intercultural Agent in Convention Refugee Hearings”. The translator: Studies in Intercultural Communication 2.1
  • Bogenç Demirel, E. & Bilir Ataseven, F. (2008). “Intégration des immigrés turcs à travers les “médiateurs culturels.” Synergies Turquie, No.1, 15-24.
  • Bogenç Demirel, E. (2012). “Essai d’un cadre réflexif bourdieusien pour le bon sens en traduction en Turquie.” Synergies Turquie, No.5, 165-173.
  • Bogenç Demirel, E. (2014). “Çevirinin Bourdieu Sosyolojisiyle Yapılan Yönü, Çeviri Sosyolojisi”. Cogito : Pierre Bourdieu, Vol. 76.
  • Bourdieu, P. (1972). Outline of a Theory of Practice. Cambridge University Press.
  • Bourdieu, P. (1990). The Logic of Practice. Polity Press.
  • Bourdieu, P. (1993). Sociology in Question. Sage Publications.
  • Bourdieu, P. & Wacquant L. (1992). An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology. University of Chicago Press.
  • Bourdieu, P. (1991). Language and Symbolic Power. Cambridge University Press.
  • Canefe, N. (2017). The Syrian Exodus in Context. Bilgi Üniversitesi Yayınları.
  • Cronin, M. (2006). Translation and Identity. Routledge.
  • Danış, D. & Nazlı, D. (2018). “A Faithful Alliance Between the Civil Society and the State: Actors and Mechanisms of Accommodating Syrian Refugees in Istanbul,” International Migration. Vol. 57, No. 2.
  • Deprez, C. (2002). “La langue comme “épreuve” dans les récits de migration” VALS-ASLA (Association suisse de linguistique appliquée) Vol. 76, 39-52.
  • Eliade, M. (2004). Shamanism. Princeton University Press.
  • Engelhardt, M. (2020). Sığınmacı Devrimi (translated by İlknur Aka). YKY Yayınları.
  • Hale, S. (2015). “Community interpreting” Pöchhacker, F. Ed. Routledge Encyclopedia of Interpreting Studies, 65.
  • Inghillieri, M. (2017). Translation and Migration. Routledge.
  • Işık, O. & Pınarcıoğlu, M. (2009). Nöbetleşe Yoksulluk: Gecekondulaşma ve Kent Yoksulları: Sultanbeyli Örneği. İletişim Yayınları.
  • Simon, S. (2011). Cities in Translation: Intersections of Language and Memory. Routledge.
  • Toury, G. (1995). Descriptive Translation Studies and Beyond. John Benjamins Publishing Company.
  • Tuğal, C. (2015). “The Islamic Making of a Capitalist Habitus” in Comparing European Workers: Part A. 85-112
  • Valero-Garces, C. & Blasi, L.G. (2010). Bourdieu and Public Service Interpreting and Translation: Towards a social theory in PSIT. MonTI 2trans.
  • Wacquant, L. (2008). Urban Outcasts: A Comparative Sociology of Advanced Marginality. Polity Press. Wadensjö, (1998). Interpreting as Interaction. Longman.
  • Syrian Refugees and NGO Network Map, 2015. www//medium.com/@melihcilga/suriyeli-m%C3%BClteciler-ve-stk-lar-12909ae7b121
  • Language barrier in hospital. www//birartibir.org/goc-ve-multecilik/402-hastanede-dil-bariyeri. Turkish Red Crescent. www.kizilay.org.tr/Kurumsal/history.
  • Dani Suzuki in Sultanbeyli. www.haberler.com/brezilyali-unlu-aktris-daniele-suzuki-sultanbeyli-9652165-haberi/
  • Association for Bridging Peoples. www.halklarinkoprusu.org/en/who-are-we/ https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/gundem/2018/08/16/ev-arayan-suriyeliler-soruyor-nereye-gidelim/

Syrian Refugees and Community Interpreting: An Attempt at a Sociology of Translation in the Example of Sultanbeyli

Year 2020, Volume: 6 Issue: 2, 97 - 124, 01.12.2020

Abstract

The mass arrival of refugees in Turkey from Syria since 2011 has created a growing demand for Turkish and Arabic speaking community interpreters in order to fulfill their health, educational and psycho-social needs and to facilitate their integration into Turkish society.
The district of Sultanbeyli in the periphery of Istanbul has been formed through successive waves of migration and is now home to the most important Syrian population on the Asian side of Istanbul. National and international NGOs, municipal authorities and public institutions collaborate so that Syrian refugees can benefit from psycho-social assistance and health services. Furthermore, they realize projects aiming their integration into the host society. Community interpreters play a major role in helping Syrian refugees benefit from these services and overcome linguistic and cultural barriers.
Based on Bourdieu’s key concepts in the sociology of translation (habitus, field, capital, illusio, doxa, self-reflexivity), our study focuses on community interpreting practices in Sultanbeyli in order to understand personal histories and linguistic dispositions of community interpreters, their roles and interactions with service providers who work at various NGOs. Ethnographic and qualitative methods were used to reveal the relationship between migration and translation.
This study is an attempt to test the above-mentioned concepts of Bourdieu forged during his experiences in Algeria and developed in France in the dynamism and fluidity of Sultanbeyli.

References

  • Angelelli, C. (2003). “The Interpersonal Role of the Interpreter in Cross-Cultural Comunication”. In: Brunette, Louise; Bastin, Georges; Hemlin, Isabelle; Clarke, Heather (eds). 2003. Critical link, Amsterdam: Benjamins.
  • Antonini, R. Cirillo L. (2017). Non-professional Interpreting and Translation: State of the art and future of an emerging field of research. John Benjamins.
  • Barsky, R. (1996). “The Interpreter as Intercultural Agent in Convention Refugee Hearings”. The translator: Studies in Intercultural Communication 2.1
  • Bogenç Demirel, E. & Bilir Ataseven, F. (2008). “Intégration des immigrés turcs à travers les “médiateurs culturels.” Synergies Turquie, No.1, 15-24.
  • Bogenç Demirel, E. (2012). “Essai d’un cadre réflexif bourdieusien pour le bon sens en traduction en Turquie.” Synergies Turquie, No.5, 165-173.
  • Bogenç Demirel, E. (2014). “Çevirinin Bourdieu Sosyolojisiyle Yapılan Yönü, Çeviri Sosyolojisi”. Cogito : Pierre Bourdieu, Vol. 76.
  • Bourdieu, P. (1972). Outline of a Theory of Practice. Cambridge University Press.
  • Bourdieu, P. (1990). The Logic of Practice. Polity Press.
  • Bourdieu, P. (1993). Sociology in Question. Sage Publications.
  • Bourdieu, P. & Wacquant L. (1992). An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology. University of Chicago Press.
  • Bourdieu, P. (1991). Language and Symbolic Power. Cambridge University Press.
  • Canefe, N. (2017). The Syrian Exodus in Context. Bilgi Üniversitesi Yayınları.
  • Cronin, M. (2006). Translation and Identity. Routledge.
  • Danış, D. & Nazlı, D. (2018). “A Faithful Alliance Between the Civil Society and the State: Actors and Mechanisms of Accommodating Syrian Refugees in Istanbul,” International Migration. Vol. 57, No. 2.
  • Deprez, C. (2002). “La langue comme “épreuve” dans les récits de migration” VALS-ASLA (Association suisse de linguistique appliquée) Vol. 76, 39-52.
  • Eliade, M. (2004). Shamanism. Princeton University Press.
  • Engelhardt, M. (2020). Sığınmacı Devrimi (translated by İlknur Aka). YKY Yayınları.
  • Hale, S. (2015). “Community interpreting” Pöchhacker, F. Ed. Routledge Encyclopedia of Interpreting Studies, 65.
  • Inghillieri, M. (2017). Translation and Migration. Routledge.
  • Işık, O. & Pınarcıoğlu, M. (2009). Nöbetleşe Yoksulluk: Gecekondulaşma ve Kent Yoksulları: Sultanbeyli Örneği. İletişim Yayınları.
  • Simon, S. (2011). Cities in Translation: Intersections of Language and Memory. Routledge.
  • Toury, G. (1995). Descriptive Translation Studies and Beyond. John Benjamins Publishing Company.
  • Tuğal, C. (2015). “The Islamic Making of a Capitalist Habitus” in Comparing European Workers: Part A. 85-112
  • Valero-Garces, C. & Blasi, L.G. (2010). Bourdieu and Public Service Interpreting and Translation: Towards a social theory in PSIT. MonTI 2trans.
  • Wacquant, L. (2008). Urban Outcasts: A Comparative Sociology of Advanced Marginality. Polity Press. Wadensjö, (1998). Interpreting as Interaction. Longman.
  • Syrian Refugees and NGO Network Map, 2015. www//medium.com/@melihcilga/suriyeli-m%C3%BClteciler-ve-stk-lar-12909ae7b121
  • Language barrier in hospital. www//birartibir.org/goc-ve-multecilik/402-hastanede-dil-bariyeri. Turkish Red Crescent. www.kizilay.org.tr/Kurumsal/history.
  • Dani Suzuki in Sultanbeyli. www.haberler.com/brezilyali-unlu-aktris-daniele-suzuki-sultanbeyli-9652165-haberi/
  • Association for Bridging Peoples. www.halklarinkoprusu.org/en/who-are-we/ https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/gundem/2018/08/16/ev-arayan-suriyeliler-soruyor-nereye-gidelim/
There are 29 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Özgür Bülent Erdoğan 0000-0003-4949-4841

Emine Demirel 0000-0001-6995-2198

Publication Date December 1, 2020
Acceptance Date October 30, 2020
Published in Issue Year 2020 Volume: 6 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Erdoğan, Ö. B., & Demirel, E. (2020). Syrian Refugees and Community Interpreting: An Attempt at a Sociology of Translation in the Example of Sultanbeyli. International Journal of Media Culture and Literature, 6(2), 97-124.


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