Translating the Self-Translation: A Study of Selective Turkish Translations of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot

Abstract

Translation is perceived as a process of transferring a message from ST to TT. This process may be written or verbal or even intersemiotic. The general concept is that the creator of the ST and the creator of the TT (the translator) are different, but this may not always be the case. Though quite rare, the creator can be the translator, which leads us to the notion of “self-translation”. In this study, a renowned self-translation, Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, is described and analysed. The life and epoch of the author Samuel Beckett, his unique style and correspondingly drama translation are also included to frame the analysis. After a brief overview of these concepts, the selected examples from the Turkish translations of the book are examined within the framework of the translation theories on drama translation suggested by various translation scholars, particularly by Susan Bassnett and Mary Snell-Hornby and classified according to translation procedures by Peter Newmark. In the Turkish setting, the work referred to was translated several times (retranslations) and the STs differed. Several editions were translated into Turkish from French, several from English and some translators chose to translate the work using both the French and the English versions. This resulted in differences in various editions. In the light of the examples, the effects of the self-translation on the translation process in a third language are discussed.