Hacettepe University Graduate School of Social Sciences 

Department of Translation and Interpreting 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ECO-TRANSLATION IN SCIENCE FICTION LITERATURE: 

DUNE BY FRANK HERBERT 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zeynep KORKMAZ PAŞA 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Master's Thesis 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ankara, 2024 



 

 

 



 

ECO-TRANSLATION IN SCIENCE FICTION LITERATURE: 

DUNE BY FRANK HERBERT 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zeynep KORKMAZ PAŞA 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hacettepe University Graduate School of Social Sciences 

Department of Translation and Interpreting 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Master's Thesis 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ankara, 2024 



 

KABUL VE ONAY 
 
 

Zeynep KORKMAZ PAŞA tarafından hazırlanan “Eco-translation in Science Fiction Literature: 

Dune by Frank Herbert” başlıklı bu çalışma, 03.06.2024 tarihinde yapılan savunma sınavı 

sonucunda başarılı bulunarak jürimiz tarafından Yüksek Lisans Tezi olarak kabul edilmiştir. 

 

 

 
Doç. Dr. Gökçen Hastürkoğlu (Başkan) 
 
 
 

 
Doç. Dr. Yeşim Dinçkan (Danışman) 
 
 

 
 
Prof. Dr. Şirin Okyayüz (Üye) 
 
 

 

  

 

Yukarıdaki imzaların adı geçen öğretim üyelerine ait olduğunu onaylarım. 

 

 

Prof.Dr. Uğur ÖMÜRGÖNÜLŞEN 
 

Enstitü Müdürü 
 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

YAYIMLAMA VE FİKRİ MÜLKİYET HAKLARI BEYANI 
 

Enstitü tarafından onaylanan lisansüstü tezimin/raporumun tamamını veya herhangi bir kısmını, 
basılı (kağıt) ve elektronik formatta arşivleme ve aşağıda verilen koşullarla kullanıma açma iznini 
Hacettepe Üniversitesine verdiğimi bildiririm. Bu izinle Üniversiteye verilen kullanım hakları 
dışındaki tüm fikri mülkiyet haklarım bende kalacak, tezimin tamamının ya da bir bölümünün 
gelecekteki çalışmalarda (makale, kitap, lisans ve patent vb.) kullanım hakları bana ait olacaktır. 
Tezin kendi orijinal çalışmam olduğunu, başkalarının haklarını ihlal etmediğimi ve tezimin tek 
yetkili sahibi olduğumu beyan ve taahhüt ederim. Tezimde yer alan telif hakkı bulunan ve 
sahiplerinden yazılı izin alınarak kullanılması zorunlu metinlerin yazılı izin alınarak kullandığımı 
ve istenildiğinde suretlerini Üniversiteye teslim etmeyi taahhüt ederim. 
Yükseköğretim Kurulu tarafından yayınlanan “Lisansüstü Tezlerin Elektronik Ortamda 
Toplanması, Düzenlenmesi ve Erişime Açılmasına İlişkin Yönerge” kapsamında tezim 
aşağıda belirtilen koşullar haricince YÖK Ulusal Tez Merkezi / H.Ü. Kütüphaneleri Açık Erişim 
Sisteminde erişime açılır. 

o Enstitü / Fakülte yönetim kurulu kararı ile tezimin erişime açılması mezuniyet 

tarihimden itibaren 2 yıl ertelenmiştir. (1) 

o Enstitü / Fakülte yönetim kurulunun gerekçeli kararı ile tezimin erişime açılması 

mezuniyet tarihimden itibaren ... ay ertelenmiştir. (2) 

o Tezimle ilgili gizlilik kararı verilmiştir. (3) 

    03/06/2024  

                                                                                                                             [İmza] 
 
 
                                                                                                             Zeynep KORKMAZ PAŞA 
 
 
 
1“Lisansüstü Tezlerin Elektronik Ortamda Toplanması, Düzenlenmesi ve Erişime Açılmasına İlişkin Yönerge”  

(1) Madde 6. 1. Lisansüstü tezle ilgili patent başvurusu yapılması veya patent alma sürecinin devam etmesi 

durumunda, tez danışmanının önerisi ve enstitü anabilim dalının uygun görüşü üzerine enstitü veya fakülte 

yönetim kurulu iki yıl süre ile tezin erişime açılmasının ertelenmesine karar verebilir.   

 

(2) Madde 6. 2. Yeni teknik, materyal ve metotların kullanıldığı, henüz makaleye dönüşmemiş veya patent gibi 

yöntemlerle korunmamış ve internetten paylaşılması durumunda 3. şahıslara veya kurumlara haksız kazanç 

imkanı oluşturabilecek bilgi ve bulguları içeren tezler hakkında tez danışmanının önerisi ve enstitü anabilim 

dalının uygun görüşü üzerine enstitü veya fakülte yönetim kurulunun gerekçeli kararı ile altı ayı aşmamak 

üzere tezin erişime açılması engellenebilir. 

 
 

(3) Madde 7. 1. Ulusal çıkarları veya güvenliği ilgilendiren, emniyet, istihbarat, savunma ve güvenlik, sağlık vb. 

konulara ilişkin lisansüstü tezlerle ilgili gizlilik kararı, tezin yapıldığı kurum tarafından verilir *. Kurum ve 

kuruluşlarla yapılan işbirliği protokolü çerçevesinde hazırlanan lisansüstü tezlere ilişkin gizlilik kararı ise, ilgili 

kurum ve kuruluşun önerisi ile enstitü veya fakültenin uygun görüşü üzerine üniversite yönetim kurulu 

tarafından verilir. Gizlilik kararı verilen tezler Yükseköğretim Kuruluna bildirilir.  

Madde 7.2. Gizlilik kararı verilen tezler gizlilik süresince enstitü veya fakülte tarafından gizlilik kuralları 
çerçevesinde muhafaza edilir, gizlilik kararının kaldırılması halinde Tez Otomasyon Sistemine yüklenir  
 

* Tez danışmanının önerisi ve enstitü anabilim dalının uygun görüşü üzerine enstitü veya fakülte 
yönetim kurulu tarafından karar verilir. 

 

                                                                                                                           



 

ETİK BEYAN 

Bu çalışmadaki bütün bilgi ve belgeleri akademik kurallar çerçevesinde elde ettiğimi, görsel, 

işitsel ve yazılı tüm bilgi ve sonuçları bilimsel ahlak kurallarına uygun olarak sunduğumu, 

kullandığım verilerde herhangi bir tahrifat yapmadığımı, yararlandığım kaynaklara bilimsel 

normlara uygun olarak atıfta bulunduğumu, tezimin kaynak gösterilen durumlar dışında 

özgün olduğunu, Doç. Dr. Yeşim (SÖNMEZ) DİNÇKAN danışmanlığında tarafımdan 

üretildiğini ve Hacettepe Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Tez Yazım Yönergesine göre 

yazıldığını beyan ederim. 

[İmza] 

Zeynep KORKMAZ PAŞA 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

iv 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 

  

First and foremost, I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to my thesis advisor 

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yeşim (SÖNMEZ) DİNÇKAN for her meaningful support, 

encouragement and guidance during the preparation of this thesis. She was always willing 

to communicate clearly and provide me with her invaluable feedback whenever I needed. 

Words cannot express how grateful I am for her contributions in my study. 

I owe special thanks to Asst. Prof. Dr. Alper KUMCU who contributed a lot to find my 

research topic and inspired me to study in the field of Science Fiction Literature in the 

beginning of my thesis. 

I also would like to express my gratitude to my family for their love, support and patience 

during this process. Especially, my heartfelt thanks go to my beloved husband, Emrah 

PAŞA, who always stood by me and pampered me with his coffee service while I was 

studying. I owe a deep gratitude to my mother, Gülseren HASPOLAT, for her 

unconditional love and motivation throughout my life. I would like to thank to my brother, 

Volkan YANIK, who never hesitated to make things easier for me during my both 

Bachelor's and MA degrees. Also, many thanks to my little son, Çınar, for his endless 

patience and tolerance during this academic journey.  

Last but not least, another gratitude goes to my dearest friend Şeyma Nur TOPÇU who 

has always kept me grounded and optimistic throughout this time. 

Without all these people, it would not be possible to complete this thesis. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

v 

ABSTRACT 

 

 

KORKMAZ PAŞA, Zeynep. Eco-translation in Science Fiction Literature: Dune by 

Frank Herbert. Master's Thesis. Ankara, 2024.  

 

Nowadays, any kind of contribution to raise awareness towards environment is deemed 

to be necessary as our planet is fighting against the problems of "global warming", "water 

scarcity" and "climate crisis". In eco-translation, the translator can play a crucial role for 

this aim in a society by being ecologically sensitive during the process of translation. In 

this regard, this study aims to investigate the strategies adopted for the translation of 

ecological items in Science Fiction works, to reveal some of the challenges that the 

translator might have encountered during the act of translation and to give insight into the 

roles of the translator to raise ecological awareness in a society by trying to determine 

whether the translator has been ecologically sensitive or not during this process. To this 

aim, in this study, 173 ecological terms in Frank Herbert's Dune and their Turkish 

translations by Dost Körpe have been comparatively analyzed in compliance with the 

translation strategies of Kansu-Yetkiner et. al (2018) adapted from Venuti, Newmark and 

Aixelà (literal translation, domestication, foreignization). It has been found out that the 

literal translation and the (domesticating) couplets/triplets are the most preferred 

translation strategies. In conclusion, it has been revealed that the translator has been 

ecologically sensitive during the act of translation. 

 

 

Keywords: eco-translation, ecology, science fiction translation, Dune, environment 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

vi 

ÖZET 

 

 

KORKMAZ PAŞA, Zeynep. Bilim Kurgu Edebiyatında Eko-çeviri: Frank Herbert'ın 

Dune adlı eseri. Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Ankara, 2024.  

 

"Küresel ısınma", "su kıtlığı" ve "iklim krizi" gibi gerçeklerle yüzleştiğimiz bu günlerde, 

şüphesiz, toplumda doğa ve çevre bilincini uyandırmaya yönelik atılacak her türlü adıma 

ihtiyaç vardır. Eko-çeviride çevirmen, ekolojik unsurların aktarılması konusunda hassas 

davranarak bu bilincin arttırılmasında etkin bir rol oynayabilir. Bu bağlamda, çalışmanın 

amacı, bilim kurgu eserlerindeki ekolojik terimlerin çevirisinde kullanılan çeviri 

stratejilerini incelemek, çevirmenin karşılaşmış olabileceği zorlukları değerlendirerek, 

çeviri sürecinde çevirmenin ekolojik anlamda hassas olup olmadığını tespit etmeye 

çalışarak toplumda ekolojik bilincin arttırılmasındaki rolünü saptamaktır. Bu amaçlar 

doğrultusunda dünyada ekolojik anlamda önemli bir kitap olarak bilinen Frank Herbert'ın 

Dune adlı eserinde geçen toplam 173 ekolojik terim, çevirmen Dost Körpe'nin Türkçeye 

aktardığı terimler ile karşılaştırmalı olarak incelenmiştir. Ekolojik terimler, Kansu-

Yetkiner ve diğerlerinin (2018) Venuti, Newmark ve Aixelà'dan çalışmalarına uyarladığı 

çeviri stratejileri (sözcüğü sözcüğüne çeviri, yerlileştirme, yabancılaştırma) 

doğrultusunda analiz edilmiştir. Analiz sonucunda en çok tercih edilen stratejinin sözcüğü 

sözcüğüne çeviri ve ikili/üçlü stratejiler (yerlileştirme) olduğu belirlenmiştir. Sonuç 

bölümünde de çevirmenin ekolojik anlamda hassas bir tutum sergilediği sonucuna 

varılmıştır. 

 

Anahtar Sözcükler: bilim kurgu, eko-çeviri, ekoloji, Dune, bilim kurgu çevirisi, çevre 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

vii 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

 

KABUL VE ONAY ..........................................................................................................i 

YAYIMLAMA VE FİKRİ MÜLKİYET HAKLARI BEYANI ..................................ii  

ETİK BEYAN ................................................................................................................iii  

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..............................................................................................iv  

ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................v   

ÖZET ..............................................................................................................................vi   

TABLE OF CONTENTS..............................................................................................vii   

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.........................................................................................x 

LIST OF TABLES..........................................................................................................xi  

LIST OF FIGURES.......................................................................................................xii 

INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................1  

CHAPTER 1. THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK..............................................5  

 1.1. ECOLOGICAL THOUGHT AND ENVIRONMENTALISM ...............5 

 1.2. ECO-WRITING............................................................................................6  

 1.3. ECO-CRITICISM........................................................................................8  

 1.4. TRANSLATION AND ECOLOGY..........................................................10  

  1.4.1. Eco-Translatology..........................................................................10  

  1.4.2. Eco-Translation..............................................................................11 

  1.4.3. The Development of Eco-Translation in Türkiye..........................14   

CHAPTER 2. THE SCIENCE FICTION LITERATURE........................................16 

 2.1. THE DEFINITION OF SCIENCE FICTION ........................................16 

 2.2. THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE FICTION...............................................17 

 2.3. ECOLOGY IN SCIENCE FICTION LITERATURE............................22 



 

 

 

viii 

 2.4. SCIENCE FICTION AND ITS TRANSLATION IN TÜRKİYE..........23 

CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY...............................................................................26 

 3.1. ECOLOGICAL ITEMS AS A SUBCATEGORY OF CULTURAL 

 WORDS..............................................................................................................26 

 3.2. THE TRANSLATION STRATEGIES FOR THE ECOLOGICAL 

 ITEMS................................................................................................................29 

  3.2.1. Literal Translation..........................................................................31 

  3.2.2. Domestication Strategies...............................................................31 

   3.2.2.1. Synonymy.......................................................................31 

   3.2.2.2. Hyponymy.......................................................................31 

   3.2.2.3. Limited Universalism......................................................31 

   3.2.2.4. Absolute Universalism....................................................32 

   3.2.2.5. Adaptation.......................................................................32 

   3.2.2.6. Explicitation....................................................................32 

   3.2.2.7. Paraphrasing....................................................................32 

   3.2.2.8. Componential Analysis...................................................32 

   3.2.2.9. Omission.........................................................................32 

   3.2.2.10. (Domesticating) Couplets/Triplets................................33 

   3.2.3. Foreignization Strategies....................................................33 

   3.2.3.1. Calque.............................................................................33 

   3.2.3.2. Orthographic Adaptation.................................................33 

   3.2.3.3. Repetition........................................................................33 

   3.2.3.4. (Foreignizing) Couplets/Triplets.....................................34 

CHAPTER 4. ANALYSIS............................................................................................35 

 4.1. ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND THE TRANSLATOR............................35 



 

 

 

ix 

  4.1.1. The Author: Frank Herbert............................................................35 

  4.1.2. The Translator: Dost Körpe...........................................................38 

 4.2. DUNE...........................................................................................................39 

  4.2.1. Dune Series and Its Ecological Importance...................................39 

  4.2.2. The Summary of Dune...................................................................42 

  4.2.3. The Translation Analysis of Ecological Items in Dune.................44 

   4.2.3.1. Flora................................................................................44 

   4.2.3.2. Fauna...............................................................................51 

   4.2.3.3. Natural Formations..........................................................56 

   4.2.3.4. Land Forms.....................................................................65 

   4.2.3.5. Names of the Places........................................................72 

   4.2.3.6. Climate and Weather Conditions....................................76 

   4.2.3.7. Ecological Protective Outerwear and Gears...................82 

   4.2.3.8. Titles of People Related to the Ecology..........................89 

   4.2.3.9. Figures of Speech Inspired by the Ecology.....................90 

CHAPTER 5. RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION...................................95 

CONCLUSION............................................................................................................116 

BIBLIOGRAPHY.......................................................................................................121 

APPENDIX I. Originality Report……........................................................................130 

APPENDIX II. Ethics Commission Form...................................................................132 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

x 

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 

 

Science Fiction: SF 

Source Text: ST 

Target Text: TT 

Source Language: SL 

Target Language: TL 

Merriam-Webster Dictionary: MWD 

Cambridge Dictionary: CD 

Türk Dil Kurumu: TDK 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

xi 

LIST OF TABLES  

 

Table 1: The ecological terms and  translation strategies in the category of flora............96 

Table 2: The ecological terms and  translation strategies in the category of fauna..........99 

Table 3: The ecological terms and  translation strategies in the category of natural 

formations......................................................................................................................101 

Table 4: The ecological terms and  translation strategies in the category of land 

forms............................................................................................................................. 104 

Table 5: The ecological terms and  translation strategies in the category of the names of 

the places........................................................................................................................106 

Table 6: The ecological terms and  translation strategies in the category of the climate 

and weather conditions...................................................................................................108 

Table 7: The ecological terms and  translation strategies in the category of the geological 

/ ecological protective outerwear and gears....................................................................110 

Table 8: The ecological terms and  translation strategies in the category of the titles of 

people related to the ecology..........................................................................................112 

Table 9: The ecological terms and  translation strategies in the category of figures of 

speech inspired by the ecology.......................................................................................113 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

xii 

LIST OF FIGURES 

 

Figure 1: Front cover of Dune by Hodderbooks..............................................................41 

Figure 2: Front cover of Dune by İthaki Publishing........................................................41  

Figure 3: The distribution of translation methods for the flora........................................98 

Figure 4: The distribution of translation methods for the fauna.....................................100 

Figure 5: The distribution of translation methods for the the natural formations.........103 

Figure 6: The distribution of translation methods for the land forms............................105 

Figure 7: The distribution of translation methods for the names of the places...............107 

Figure 8: The distribution of translation methods for the climate and weather 

conditions......................................................................................................................109 

Figure 9: The distribution of translation methods for the ecological protective outerwear 

and gears........................................................................................................................111 

Figure 10: The distribution of translation methods for the titles of the people related to 

the ecology.....................................................................................................................112 

Figure 11: The distribution of translation methods for the figures of speech inspired by 

the ecology.....................................................................................................................114 

Figure 12: The Distribution of the Translation Strategies Adopted for the Ecological 

Terms in Dune................................................................................................................115 

Figure 13: The Overall Distribution of the Translation Methods for the Ecological Terms 

in Dune...........................................................................................................................115 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

1 

INTRODUCTION 

 

Since the beginning of the history, human beings have destroyed the environment for 

various reasons. They have deteriorated the nature intentionally or unintentionally in 

order to provide their basic needs such as shelter, food and protection against challenging 

conditions. This destruction was recoverable in the early times as the earth has an 

enormous power to renew itself. However, with the increase in the population and the 

development of civilisations, the human impact on the environment has multiplied 

dramatically in time. The advancements in industry have resulted in permanent 

destruction on eco-systems and made it nearly impossible to be recovered. 

 

The twentieth century is distinctive on account of the alteration pace on the ecosystems 

with such an intensity when it is compared to the previous centuries. There have been 

many reasons of this from cutting timber to mining ores, from generating wastes to 

growing crops and hunting animals for a long time (McNeill, 2000, p.4). Eventually, this 

irresponsible and ungrateful attitude of people have caused global warming and climate 

crisis which threaten all the living organisms on earth.  

 

Nowadays people on different parts of the world suffer from flood, drought, famine and 

various diseases due to the human-induced climate crisis. What is more, recent studies 

show that the future generations will face much more severe conditions caused by our 

actions today. This situation can be described by the term “hyperobject” which was first 

used by Timothy Morton referring to the "things that are massively distributed in space 

and time relative to humans" (Cronin, 2017, p. 2). Cronin also uses this term for the 

notions of “climate change” or “global warming” and explains that we will encounter 

only some of the results of these hyperobjects in our lifetime while the next generations 

will have to resist to the circumstances which we induce today (Cronin, 2017, p. 3). 

 

There is a close relationship between the increasing number of the people and their 

footprints on the planet. Whereas most of the people do not intend to destroy the planet 

deliberately, the results of their economic decisions and benefits may lead to serious 

threats to the environment (Speth&Haas, 2006, p.1). Most of the people are aware of the 



 

 

 

2 

environmental problems as well as the climate crisis and their possible outcomes. 

However, they tend to ignore the reality and their own responsibility about the issue and 

keep maintaining their lives in the same way. People expect the big companies, policy 

makers and governments to take action against climate crisis while they are making the 

most of their benefits. People ignore the need to change the systems which make the crisis 

inevitable. Regarding this subject, Klein stresses on the necessity of confronting the 

scientific reality of the climate crisis and suggests that the urgency of this issue could 

constitute a “mass movement”. This means that anyone who maintains his normal life 

can do something to shoulder his responsibility to fight the climate crisis just as Klein has 

written her book, This Changes Everything (2014, p. 6). 

 

After the publication of Silent Spring in 1962, environmental movements started all 

around the world particularly in industrialized countries. Starting with the harmful effects 

of pesticides, demonstrations were carried out against various problems from 

deforestration to nuclear energy. The consequences of the environmental movement have 

been felt in many fields of political, economic and social life.  

 

It is beyond any doubt that the literature is one of the most powerful tools regarding the 

dissemination of ideas in the societies. With the increase in the number of printed 

materials, the individuals could reach their favourite books easily. As a natural 

consequence of this, literature has had the key role in the environmental movement. 

Although nature writing has a long history, the themes such as the environmental 

problems and deterioration of the eco-systems have gained momentum after the 

publication of Silent Spring.  

  

As a genre, SF has always been noteable for thinking about the environmental future of 

the world throughout the history. Although it was not until the 21st century that the climate 

change was discussed as being the most prominent natural problem in literary works, 

science fiction (SF) books had already predicted the planet’s future by considering the 

conditions of the previous centuries. Frank Herbert's Dune series is one of the best 

examples of this.  



 

 

 

3 

According to Cronin, in consideration of the human activities “at the age of human-

induced climate change” -Anthropocene- and the power of literary works on general 

public, it is inevitable to mention about translation (Cronin, 2017, p.3). The term “eco-

translation” was first used by Clive Scott and referred to “ the translation of any text into 

eco-consciousness”, then, it is used to refer to “all kinds of translation practices and 

thinking about human-induced climate change”(Scott, 2015; Cronin, 2017, p.2). 

 

Although there have been a wide range of translated literary works engaging in ecological 

problems for the past decades, it is surprising to see that ecology has recently started to 

be discussed among the scholars in Translation Studies. Eco-translation is a new field and 

there are very few academic studies on this topic. Some of the prominent ones will be 

named in the coming chapters. 

 

THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY 

 

This study aims to examine how the nature is recreated in Turkish translation of Dune  

and decide whether the translator, Dost Körpe, has been ecologically sensitive or non-

sensitive during the act of translation. The challenges of translating the ecological items 

in SF literature and the role of the translator to raise ecological awareness in the target 

culture are also investigated. In this study, Dost Körpe’s Turkish translation of Dune by 

İthaki Publishing House has been analyzed within the framework of eco-translation. 

Mixed method (qualitative§quantitative) is used for the analysis of the data. Firstly, 

Turkish translations of the ecological items are investigated in comparison with the ones 

used in the source text to determine whether the translator has used the literal translation, 

foreignization or domestication strategies in the TT. Secondly, the results of the analysis 

are presented quantitavely through figures and tables. This part of the analysis reveals 

whether the translator is ecologically sensitive or non-sensitive during the act of 

translation. 

 

 



 

 

 

4 

TEXT CHOICE 

 

Dune has become a bestseller and sold more than twelve million copies since 1965. As 

the story takes place in a far future when the hostile weather conditions and water crisis 

make the imaginary planet Dune, too hard to survive for its residents, it is an influential 

work in both SF and ecological literature. The novel is so popular worldwide that it has 

been filmed many times and the last film was released in March 2024. Among the reasons 

why Dune is chosen for this thesis are that the novel has always been bestseller since its 

first publication, the novel has a large number of ecological terms some of which are also 

neologisms and it has been considered as a milestone in both the ecological and SF 

literature.  

 

THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS 

 

The research questions of this thesis are: 

1-What might be the challenges of translating ecological terms in Dune? 

2-Which translation strategies does the translator adopt for the ecological terms in Dune? 

3-Is the translator ecologically sensitive during his act of translation? At what extent does 

the translator could transfer Herbert's depiction of the nature?  

4-What might be the roles of the translator to raise ecological awareness in the SF works? 

 

LIMITATIONS 

 

Dune is a novel which densely includes ecological terminology to describe the natural 

surrounding of the fictive desert planet, Arrakis. The ecological terms to be analyzed in 

this SF novel is chosen randomly. The number of the examples in this study is not enough 

to make generalizations about the whole field but may set an example and provide 

information about the subject. 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

5 

CHAPTER 1 

 THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 

 

1.1. ECOLOGICAL THOUGHT AND ENVIRONMENTALISM 

 

Before 1970s only a small number of people concerned about environmental issues. 

Although there had been few attempts to save the planet, they were insufficent. One of 

the examples of this was the emergence of the national parks in Australia and the North 

America. These parks became popular in many countries, however they were too small 

and they had to retain their economic activities. Therefore, these developments were not 

enough for the environmental change (McNeill, 2000, p. 336).  

 

In 1960s, the world experienced fierce circumstances and those resulted in the emergence 

of various ideas and movements all around the world. Woman’s equality and 

environmentalism were two of the most successful of them. McNeill explains that the 

reason behind the success of environmentalism lies in the fact that the citizens of wealthy 

industrial countries could afford to worry for the issues -such as pollution and harmful 

chemicals- other than money (2000, p. 336-340).  

 

In 1962, Rachel Carson, an American marine biologist, published her book Silent Spring 

and it became the symbol of modern environmental movement in the following years. 

The book is about the harmful effects of DDT and other pesticides, focusing on its impact 

on the bird population in particular. After the publication of Silent Spring, demonstrations 

against pesticides took place in many countries and DDT was finally banned in the USA 

in 1972 (Boslaugh, 2024). The impact of Silent Spring has been felt in various fields of 

political, economic and social life. Ecological turn has been experienced in nearly every 

field. This has paved the way for interdisciplinarity in environmental studies. Since 1970, 

the Earth Day has drawn the attention of more and more people from over 190 countries 

(https://www.earthday.org/history/). Moreover, many countries have launched their 

research programs for global change (McNeill, 2000, p. 336-341).  

 



 

 

 

6 

There are different definitions of environmentalists and one of them is: 

 

“The very broad range of people who are concerned about environmental issues such as 

global warming and pollution, but who wish to maintain or improve their standard of living 

as conventionally defined, and who would not welcome radical social change.” (Garrard, 

2004, p 18) 

 

Buell also highlights  the impact of environmentalism on the global culture and states that 

the environmentalism will have a significant effect on the discussions of setting the limits 

to technoeconomic growth on a global scale (Buell, 1995, p.3). 

Arne Naess, a Norwegian philosopher, divides ecological thought and practices into two 

categories: Shallow ecology and deep ecology. The shallow ecology is “Fight against 

pollution and resource depletion”. Its main concern is the health and wealth of people in 

developed countries (Naess, 1973). As it can be understood, this approach is limited to 

the benefits of small group of people and it is anthropocentric. However, the deep ecology 

is biocentric total-field model and considers the individuals as a part of the environment 

and focuses on the intrinsic relations of them (Naess, 1973). 

 

1.2. ECO-WRITING 

 

Although the terms such as eco-writing, eco-fiction, eco-literature etc. emerged not until 

the 1970s, nature writing has a long history in literature. The history of nature writing 

dates back to the 1700s and it has an important place, particularly, in American literature.   

Henry Thoreau’s Walden (1854) is viewed prominent as an influential work of nature 

writing and green American thinking (Buell,1995, p.3). Also, the authors' of nineteenth 

century such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, John 

Burroughs and John Muir have significant works which have an impact on modern 

ecological thought and environmentalism (Dwyer, 2010, p.2) and Aldo Leopold’s A Sand 

County Almanac (1949) is regarded as one of the earliest influential works in eco-writing.  

In order to clarify the difference between the nature writing and eco-writing, it can be 

said that throughout the history, many authors were amazed by the beauty of the nature 



 

 

 

7 

and used lots of adjectives to describe it. Nonetheless, by the late 20th century, with the 

impact of environmental problems, not only their literary style but also their description 

for the world changed to a great extent. The world was depicted as a place where new 

generations suffered due to the actions of the previous generations (Badenes&Coisson, 

2015). 

According to Buell there are four criteria to be considered as an “environmentally 

oriented work”. These are; “1. The nonhuman environment is present not merely as a 

framing device but as a presence that begins to suggest that human history is implicated 

in natural history, 2. The human interest is not understood to be the only legitimate 

interest, 3. Human accountability to the environment is part of the text's ethical orientation 

and 4. Some sense of the environment as a process rather than as a constant or a given is 

at least implicit in the text.”(Buell,1995, p.7-8) 

Environmentally oriented works have gained momentum after the publication of Silent 

Spring by Rachel Carson in 1962. Levin implies that Americans did not worry about the 

“unintended consequences of progress on the environment” before “the controversies 

over the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River” and the publication 

of “Silent Spring” (2011). He emphasizes their impact on the language by asserting that: 

“Both generated widespread media coverage, bringing complex and urgent environmental 

issues and the ecological vocabularies that helped explain them into the American lexicon.” 

(Levin, 2011) 

 

Ecologically oriented works can be in the form of “poetry, fiction, literary or 

philosophical essays, environmental activism or natural history” (Dwyer, 2010, p.3). 

Dwyer compares the effect of “fiction” and “non-fiction” works by concluding that fiction 

which is less didactic and delivers the messages by implication. Thereby it is more 

powerful than non-fiction and have a greater effect on environmental activists (Dwyer, 

2010, p.7). 

The term “ecofiction”  emerged shortly after  the ecology had been considered as a 

scientific paradigm and Levin defines it as “the variety of fictional works that adress the 

relationship between natural settings and human communities that dwell within them” 

(Levin, 2011). There are also discussions about the “true” -based on the reality-and 

“false” -based on the fears for the outcomes of the current situations- ecofictions. 



 

 

 

8 

However, this distinction is not so clear and Dwyer offers to consider the author’s agenda 

and his intended effect on readers as methods to determine if a book is “true ecofiction” 

(Dwyer, 2010, p.7). The terms related to eco-fiction such as climate fiction, climate 

change fiction and Anthropocene fiction will also be discussed in the following chapters. 

 

1.3. ECO-CRITICISM 

 

The term was first used in by Rueckert in an article called “Literature and Ecology An  

Experiment in Eco-criticism”. As Rueckert states, he investigates the application of 

ecology and ecological concepts to the study of literature and tries to develop an 

ecological poetics (Rueckert, 1978). 

Dwyer also defines eco-criticism as “a critical perspective on the relationship between 

literature and the natural world, and the place of humanity within—not separate from—

nature” and goes on saying that: 

“Eco-criticism arose from the development of a greater understanding of ecological 

processes, concern over the intensification of global environmental degradation, deep 

ecological philosophy, the green movement, ecofeminism, and the emergence of scholars 

whose formative years occurred during a time of great political, social, and environmental 

ferment in the 1960s and 1970s.” (Dwyer, 2010, p.1) 

 

Glotfelty highlights the connection between the physical world and the human culture 

and states that the interconnections between the nature and the culture is the subject of 

ecocriticism while negotiating between the human and the non-human (Glotfelty,1996, 

p. xix). Badenes and Coisson have also confirmed the relationship between ecocriticism 

and culture and they point out that: 

“Ecocriticism researches the cultural effects of green literary texts, be they canonical or not, 

on society, the interdisciplinary relationships these texts produce and the ideas that spring 

from these relationships in the Humanities.” (Badenes&Coisson, 2015) 

Glen A. Love believes that the lost social role of literary criticism could be recovered by 

the works in ecocriticism through “recognizing the primacy of nature and the necessity 

for a new ethic and aesthetic embracing the human and the natural” (1990).  



 

 

 

9 

Garces defines the eco-criticism as “the study of literature and environment from an 

interdisciplinary point of view” and focuses on the relationship between the language and 

“the environment which surrounds us” (2011). Garces shows this by explaining the 

characteristics of the “bioregion” which has a strong influence on our culture and 

language. It is understod that each word may have different connotations in each 

geographical region and namely, in each culture. Moreover, whereas a language has a 

special vocabulary for a specific ecological situation, other one could be lack of it. Before 

the emergence of the term “eco-translation”, Garces examines the position of the 

translator while translating this ecological reality. Her analysis points out the challenges 

of translators while recreating the landscapes portrayed in the ST. Thereby, taking the 

attention of ecocritics on translation, she calls for building a new area of research (Garces, 

2011). 

 

It can be said that whereas the ecological issues go beyond political boundaries, it has 

been predominantly a white movement and it is more developed in the USA than the UK 

(Love, 1990; Mishra, 2016; Glotfelty, 1996). However, in the future, the ecocritical 

scholars are expected to be more multicultural, international and interdisciplinary 

(Glotfelty, 1996, p.xxv). 

 

Turkish scholars have started to study in the field since 2000s. In this regard Ergin 

emphasizes the importance of the conferences held by Doğuş University (2005) and 

Hacettepe&Ankara University (2009) about the ecocriticism. Oppermann, Özdağ, Özkan 

and Slovic co-edited the book, The Future of Ecocriticism: New Horizons (2011), after 

the conference held by Hacettepe&Ankara University with the same title. In 2012, 

Oppermann's Ekoeleştiri: Çevre ve Edebiyat (2012) was also published. Moreover, the 

digital journal called Ecocene: Cappadocia Journal of Environmental Humanities 

published by the Environmental Humanities Center, co-directed by Oppermann and 

Akıllı, makes great contributions to the field with an interdisciplinary perspective. 

Recently, there have been many other important studies in the field in Türkiye (Ergin, 

2020). 

 

 



 

 

 

10 

1.4. TRANSLATION AND ECOLOGY 

 

As it has been mentioned in the previous chapter, we need to think about and focus on all 

the human activities which may be related to the new era called Anthropocene (the age 

of human induced climate change) (Cronin, 2017, p.3). The power of the translated 

materials in the dissemination of environmental movements cannot be underestimated. 

Therefore, the translator can be considered as a dominator for raising the environmental 

awareness in the target culture.  

 

According to Aksoy, the multidisciplinary nature of Translation Studies has made it a 

field where environmental issues are discussed and the relationship between the 

translation and eco-criticism is the result of translation’s connectedness with the culture 

(2020). Despite the importance of the subject, there are very few studies about the 

translation analysis of ecological components. In this part of the study, new approaches 

about “the translation of ecology” and the emerging concepts in the field will be 

explained.  

 

1.4.1. Eco-Translatology  

 

In 2001, in a lecture, Hu mentioned about the Darwinian notions of “adaptation” and 

“selection” in the field of translation. In the following years, he developed the concept of 

“eco-translatology” which is an ecological approach to translation, and became popular 

among the translation scholars, especially in China (Yu, 2016). 

 

In his “Translation as Adaptation and Selection” Hu focuses on the terms “adaptation”, 

“selection” and “translational eco-environment” in particular (2003). He attributes the 

“translational eco-environment” to almost every component in the translation process. 

His list includes “worlds of the source text, the source and target languages, the linguistic, 

communicative, cultural, and social aspects of translating, the author, client, and readers”. 

Hu defines the translation as “a selection activity of the translator's adaptation to fit the 

translational eco-environment” with regard to “translational eco-environment” (Hu, 



 

 

 

11 

2003). He also suggests a simple formula in order to provide a more understandable 

explanation of this:   

“Process of Translation = Translator's Adaptation + Translator's Selection” (Hu, 2003) 

 

According to Hu, there are two stages of translating process. The first stage is the fact 

that "the translational environment selects the translator" whereas the second stage is that 

the translator selects the form of the TT or makes decisions on it (2003). Translator’s this 

activity of “selection” is also linked to “Darwin’s principle of natural selection” as we are 

part of the world. If the translators fail to adapt to the translational eco-environment, “they 

are likely to be elliminated” (Hu, 2003).  

 

1.4.2. Eco-Translation 

 

The term “eco-translation” was first used by Clive Scott in 2015 in a lecture. In the 

following years some translation scholars have also contributed to the development of the 

eco-translation as a subdiscipline in Translation Studies. As it is a new field, the number 

of the related works is rather limited.  

By the term “eco-translation”, Scott refers to the “the translation of any text into eco-

consciousness” and state that eco-translation requires the “psycho-physiological 

involvement of the translator” (Scott, 2015). According to Scott while reading is “an 

environmental activity”, translation is “an ecological enterprise” which can foster the 

ecological consciousness and even create “further ecologies” out of the ST (2015). Scott 

explains it by his following remarks: 

“Translation is an ecological enterprise in three senses: in the sense that translation is the way 

in which we feel our way into the environment embodied in the ST; in the sense that the text 

of the ST itself, in its very textuality, is an environment of which reading is the act of 

inhabitation; and in the sense that the text is a material object in the environment of reading.”  
(Scott, 2015) 

 

Scott associates “reading” to the notion of “living space” which is also described as the 

“domestic interior” and translation is associated to renewing the living space or 



 

 

 

12 

constructing a new one. He suggests “multiplication of the versions” which refers to the 

modification of some components in the ST in eco-translation (Scott, 2015). 

 

Cronin implies that he has extended the term by proposing that “eco-translation” covers 

every kind of translation process which is about the “challenges of human-induced 

environmental change” (2017, p. 2). Drawing attention to the increasing impact of 

humans on the environment in the last decades, Cronin reminds the shift -in the status of 

the humans- from “being a biological agent to becoming a geological force” (2017, p.9). 

Accordingly, he also argues that the long existing distinction between the Human&Social 

Sciences and the Natural&Physical Sciences should be no longer acceptable. As the 

Translation Studies is a part of Human and Social Sciences, it is not possible for it to 

remain indifferent to this shift (2017, p.3).  

 

Cronin describes three principles “in the formulation of a new political ecology of 

translation” (Cronin, 2017, p.3-15). These are place, resilience and relatedness. The first 

principle, “place” is similar to the importance of the locally produced things in ecology 

in order to save the future of the planet. This principle can also be described as avoiding 

“McDonaldisation” of the words and providing local references instead, while translating. 

That is a way to proliferate the creativity in a language (2017, p.16). Second principle is 

the “resilience” which is described by the examples of untranslatability. The 

untranslatability of language is related to the nature of the language to survive over time, 

which requires “new ways of rendering”( 2017, p.19). However the examples show that 

the more the language resists to be translated, it is more likely to be translated. Therefore, 

this cycle can fuel the advancement of the language itself. The last principle is 

“relatedness”. Cronin aims to attribute this principle in ecology to “the relatedness to the 

non-human” instead of “the relatedness to the historical contexts, languages and cultures” 

which has already been confirmed before. At this point, intersemiotic communication has 

been highligthed (2017, p.19). 

 

Cronin also draws an attention on the ecological results of excessive information which 

has resulted “a shift from production to promotion in economy”. As the information 

providers need to take the attention of people all around the world, there is no surprise 



 

 

 

13 

that the amount of translated materials increase dramatically as a result of this situation. 

The increase in the demand of translation has also caused the involvement of the 

technology more than ever before (2017, p.22). Nonetheless, it can be understood that 

even when the technology is used, information is not something immaterial, it is 

something occupying a place (hard drives, computers etc) indeed. Cronin tries to remind 

the role of the translators at the age of anthropocene with those remarks (p. 22). 

 

Badenes and Coisson examine the effect of the ecology, an interdisciplinary aspect of 

environmental studies, on culture and describe its relationship with the translation, the 

crucial element of the transference of that culture (2015). They state that combining 

ecology and translation could constitute a new approach, attract attention on ecology and 

raise ecological awareness. Their study reveals the points where the translation silenced 

or discovered the voice of nature (2015). In eco-translation, Badenes and Coisson offers 

3 different approaches for translators;  

“In order for translators to effect such systemic changes, ecotranslation puts forth the 

adoption of three different approaches: Rereading and retranslating literary works where 

nature, having its own voice in the source text, was silenced in translation; translating works 

that present an ecological cosmovision and have not yet been translated; and translating via 

manipulation works that do not originally present an ecological vision with the aim of 

creating a new, now ecological, text.” (2015) 

It is understood that in the first approach, the translator can recreate the TT by revealing 

the voice of nature while retaining the figures of speech and semantic components of the 

ST. In the second approach it is creating the first translation of the ST which has already 

carried an ecological dimension in the source culture. The translator is expected to reveal 

this dimension in the TT and contribute to the ecological consciousness in the target 

culture. The third approach is about the manipulation of the texts through translation with 

an ecological view (Badenes&Coisson, 2015).  

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

14 

1.4.3. The Development of Eco-translation in Türkiye 

Although there is no current academic thesis published so far in the field of Eco-

translation, there are some significant articles published by translation scholars in 

Türkiye. In this part of the study, a brief information is provided about the development 

of the field in Türkiye. 

Aksoy’s work which focuses on “the reflection and recreation of the physical landscape 

in literary texts and in their translations” examines the English translation of Yaşar 

Kemal’s Ortadirek and reveal the preferences of the translator to recreate the author’s 

ecological vision in the TT. At the end of the paper, the translator’s preferences are 

evaluated in order to determine whether the translator has complied with the Hu 

Genshen’s concept of “adapting the textual ecology” (Aksoy, 2020). 

Tekalp discusses  “how an ecocritical text is recreated in a new cultural and ecological 

environment” by analyzing the translation of Elif Şafak’s Bit Palas. The translations of 

some ecological terms “çöp (garbage), koku(smell), böcek (insect) and bit (louse)” are 

examined and their frequency analysis has been carried out to give insight into the 

transference of the ecological terms in the TT (Tekalp, 2021). 

Kansu-Yetkiner et al. examined 10 English classics of children’s literature about “the 

adventure in nature, human-nature struggle, human-animal friendship” and their Turkish 

translations between 1923 and 2013. Their study reveals the translation methods used for 

“the transfer of environment/nature information as a culture bound element”. They have 

found out that whereas the literal translation was the most used method in the Republican 

period, domestication was used mostly in the other periods (2018). 

In her descriptive study, Hastürkoğlu examines the Turkish translations of To A God 

Unknown by John Steinbeck (2020). She shows the diachronic distribution of the  

methods in the translation of “culture-specific items related to ecology” through semantic 

categories of “flora, fauna, names of the places, land forms, weather conditions, and 

natural formations” (2020). According to Hastürkoğlu literal translation method is used 

mostly in the translation of ecology-related items and three translations of the novel ( with 



 

 

 

15 

an emphasis on the latest one) have been carried out with an “ecological sensitivity” 

(Hastürkoğlu, 2020). 

Marmara and Demirel have investigated the role of the eco-translation in the age of 

Anthropocene (2020). They emphasize the need to locate human-beings biodemocraticly 

in the system and understand it in order to overcome the problems of Anthropocene. They 

focus on particularly translating animals which refers to the intersemiotic communication 

of Cronin,  and offer a concept of  “engaged translation” for which they have been inspired 

by Carol J. Adams’ “Engaged Theory”. According to them, the translator can be the 

mediator in the interconnectedness of the species through eco-translation (2020). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

16 

CHAPTER 2 

 SCIENCE-FICTION LITERATURE 

 

2.1. THE DEFINITION OF SCIENCE FICTION  

 

Many scholars have tried to define and classify the genre of SF. This is a hard task because 

there is not a general consensus on the definition of the term. D’Ammassa describes 

science-fiction as being a subdivision of fantastic literature. He also adds that although 

being the youngest, science-fiction is more popular than the other two subdivisions which 

are fantasy fiction and supernatural horror (D’Ammassa, 2005, p.iv). 

On the other hand, Aldiss describes science-fiction as a new sub-species of Gothic which 

was formed around suspense, mystery and few ominous elements in the eighteenth 

century (Aldiss, 1988, p.17). According to Aldiss: 

“Science fiction is the search for a definition of mankind and his status in the universe which 

will stand in our advanced hut confused state of knowledge (science), and is characteristically 

cast in the Gothic or post- Gothic mode.” (Aldiss, 1988, p.30) 

Aldiss also highlights the flexibility of the SF by telling about the fact that SF can be both 

conventional and innovative. SF is a mode; it is flexible and changes by time (Aldiss, 

1988, p. 15). Another point Aldiss suggests is the fact that there is no obligatory for SF 

to be real, except making it clearer to the people (1988, p.14).  

Just like Aldiss, Mendlesohn thinks that SF is not a genre; it is a discussion or a mode 

instead. In order to explain this, Mendlesohn demonstrates the samples taken from Egan’s 

Schild’s Ladder. Despite being a SF, the Schild’s Ladder has examples of romance, 

horror, thriller and mystery as well (Mendlesohn, 2003, p.2-3). 

As can be seen, there are no clear judgements about the definition of SF. Robert also 

draws attention to this disagreement among the thinkers and define the SF as ‘a form of 



 

 

 

17 

cultural discourse involving a world-view differentiated from the actual world in which 

its readers live’ (Roberts, 2006, p.2). 

 

2.2. THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE FICTION 

 

After this brief information about what SF is, now a short history of SF will be given in 

order to understand the genre better. It is known that the origins of the SF works go back 

to the ancient times and early examples are from the outside of the United States. 

Nonetheless, thanks to the technological developments and the power status of the USA, 

now, it is seen as a popular art form there (Aldiss, 1988, p.14 ). 

It can be said that there is no consensus among the scholars and authors about the first SF 

work just like the definition of the term itself. However, Lucian of Samosata’s 

Ikaromenippos, Thomas More’s Utopia and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein are seen as the 

most suggested precursors in the field. 

Roberts marks that Lucian of Samosata is considered to be “the father of the SF”. His 

Ikaromenippos and Alethes Historia are the most prominent of his works contributing to 

this reputation of him (Roberts, 2006, p. 27). In his Ikaromenippos, the journey starting 

from the Moon and ending up at the Heaven means a journey moving from Science to 

Theological Fiction. On the other hand, Alethes Historia which is about a sea voyage 

across the Atlantic, has been a matter of debate among critics as having an unserious 

discourse while narrating the “sky island”, namely the Moon. Roberts argues that instead 

of being the proto-SF, Lucian is anti-SF which also emphasizes his engagement to the SF 

(p.25-30). 

Roberts considers the Copernican revolution significant in the development of SF as it 

led the Catholican Church to lose its control over the science. However, he points out that 

Bruno is more appropriate for a symbolic starting point in SF history than Copernicus 

(Roberts, 2006, p. 36).  



 

 

 

18 

According to Stableford, in the seventeenth century, the speculative fictions of the 

writers, which were about the new discoveries and technologies, had been made in the 

form of the existing genres before the SF gained recognition (Stableford, 2003). Also, he 

indicates that the utopian fantasies in the form of imaginary voyage, paved the way to the 

SF works in the following years. However, most of the subsequent works centered around 

the religious, social and political matters while placing the scientific and technological 

advancements behind (2003). 

In the eighteenth century the effect of “Enlightenment” on SF is inevitable since “the 

importance of experimental and evidential science” surpassed the “former religious 

myths and superstitions” (Roberts, 2006, p.64). Moreover, as a natural consequence of 

the dominance of the French philosophers in the era, most of the SF works were in French 

as well (p. 64). 

Aldiss states that both the evolutionary revolution and the Industrial revolution occured 

during the eighteenth century and some important cultural events such as the "American 

Declaration of Independence, French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the abolition 

of slavery" accompanied them. It was the time that the SF emerged (Aldiss, 1988, p.34-

35). In spite of the fact that the Gothic novel was the precursor of the SF, it started to lose 

its popularity in the early nineteenth century. However, the elements such as horror, terror 

and mystery have found favor in SF novels so far (p. 44). It can be understood that despite 

having the precedessors in the field, Mary Shelley and Edgar Allan Poe were the leading 

SF writers in the early nineteenth century.  

At this juncture it is necessary to mention Jules Verne, who is considered to be one of the 

most prominent novelists of SF adventure story (D’Ammassa, 2005, p.iv). Verne wanted 

to combine scientific fact with adventure fiction and his Voyages extraordinaires 

(Extraordinary journeys) which was published by Hetzel became a best-seller SF novel 

around the world. This collaboration of the writer and the publisher lasted for more than 

forty years and they published over sixty works during those years (Evans, 2024). 

Another important name to be mentioned in the late nineteenth century is the English 

novelist H.G.Wells who produced his SF masterpieces between 1895-1905 (Roberts, 

2006, p.144). According to D’Ammassa, H. G. Wells popularized many of the major 



 

 

 

19 

themes in SF. His novels involve predictions about the future or people’s possible 

reactions to the situations such as time travels and invaders from other planets 

(D’Ammassa, 2005, p.iv). Wells’ The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds are 

among the SF classics today (Nicholson, 2024). 

When we consider SF magazines in the history, Attebery states that the first English SF 

magazine was Amazing Stories by Hugo Gernsback which was founded in 1926 and 

describes the period between 1926-1960 as the Magazine era (2003). The form and the 

subject of the SF works were influenced considerably by the magazines and those 

magazines, Astounding Science Fiction in particular, played a significant role in “creating 

a sense of SF as a distinctive genre” (2003). Attebery also underlines the relationship 

between the SF and American culture by indicating the fact that most of the publishers of 

those magazines locate in the USA (2003). 

According to D’Ammassa Pulp Fiction magazines which were popular during 1920s and 

1930s in the United States had badly written scientific romance stories and mostly 

targeted the adolescent males. It was not until the 1940s that the readers of those 

magazines could also find finely written SF stories (D’Ammassa, 2005, p.iv-v). Some of 

those writers continued their writings on paperback books in the 1950s (p.iv-v).  

It can be said that the second era of the SF magazines started with Astounding by 

Campbell since Gernsback stood for the first (Attebery, 2003). The period between the 

1930s and 1950s is called as the “Golden Age” in SF. Attebery highlights that most of 

the well-known SF writers took part in Astounding at that time (2003). 

Roberts also implies the impact of John W. Campbell, in particular, by referring to the 

Golden Age in SF as follows “that period when the genre was domi- nated by the sorts of 

stories that appeared in Campbell’s Astounding from the late 1930s into the 1950s” 

(Roberts, 2006, p.195). 

Atterbery underlines another topic which has been less mentioned in the field that readers 

of those magazines had chance to shape the form of the genre via fan letters and fan clubs. 

As a result of these informal associations Science Fiction League was formed in 1934 

(Attebery, 2003). Although the League brook up in a short time, its impact along with the 



 

 

 

20 

fans’ contributions afterwards, played an important role in the transformation of the genre 

(2003). Another important step was the application of the scientific principles to the 

society which was examplified in the stories about Heri Seldon by Isaac Asimov. This 

application focusing on social dynamics in the stories encouraged writers to include 

religion, politics and other collective activities in their works which resulted in a richer 

form of the genre (Attebery, 2003). 

Roberts cites that the term “New Wave” which had originated in the French cinema was 

used to describe the “loose affiliation of the writers from the 1960s and 1970s” in the 

field. Associated with the New Worlds magazine in the beginning, “New Wave” 

movement was a reaction against the conventions of traditional SF. J. G. Ballard, E. C. 

Tubb, Brian Aldiss, John Brunner, Samuel R. Delany, Thomas M. Disch and John Sladek 

were the significant writers in this era (2006, p. 231). It can be inferred that the aim of the 

New Wave was to move towards avant-garde literary techniques in terms of form, style 

and aesthetics in order to improve the stylistic qualities of SF (2006, p. 231). According 

to Roberts Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land, Frank Herbert’s Dune, John Barth’s 

Giles Goat Boy, or the Revised New Syllabus of George Giles Our Grand Tutor, Michael 

Moorcock’s Jerry Cornelius sequence, Philip K. Dick’s The Three Stigmata of Palmer 

Eldritch, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and Ubik were the most influential SF 

works in the 1960s. Furthermore, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien which was 

published in 1950s had also an important impact in 1960s (Roberts, 2006, p.230-232). 

According to Roberts super-hero comics were popular in SF literature in the last decades 

of twentieth century (2006, p.326). Miracleman, also known as Marvelman is considered 

to be the first British superhero comic character. It was created by Mick Anglo in 1954 

in Britain and also became famous in the USA in the following years 

(Sanderson&Mangels, 2013). “Watchmen” by Moore and Gibson was the most 

significant of the graphic novels in 1980s and “superhero” character is seen as a world’s 

saviour who has the role of a messiah trying to prevent the apocalypse in the novel 

(Roberts, 2006, p. 326). 



 

 

 

21 

Between 1980-2000 the number of SF magazines declined and the paperbooks became 

popular mostly among adolescent males. However, the tendency towards SF via mass-

media, surpassed the popularity of the books in the following years (Clute, 2003). 

As can be deduced what has been said, the SF has transformed into a genre that has been 

dominated by the visual-media since then (Roberts, 2006, p.264). Roberts touches upon 

two different observations about the written SF works in the last decades of the twentieth 

century. The first observation is the fact that the number of the SF novels and stories 

increased at a huge number and many outstanding works were published in those years. 

As a result, SF novels became “one of the most successful branches of publishing” 

(Roberts, 2006, p. 295). On the other hand, the second observation shows the fact that it 

was no longer the “novel” which was the prime mode of SF, visual SF works dominated 

in the field (p.295). 

Regarding the twenty-first century SF literature, Roberts emphasizes the power of 

“fandom” on the determination of “good” and “bad” SF among wide range of books. This 

business is unelaborate as the fans look down on some of the good authors or sometimes 

praise the weaker ones more than the successful authors (Roberts, 2006, p.344).  

The Hugo and Nebula Awards are known as the most prestigious awards given in the 

field. The Hugo Awards have been presented annually by the members of the World 

Science Fiction Society since 1955 while the latter has been presented by the Science 

Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The Nebula Awards are given only for the best 

works published in the USA. Frank Herbert’s Dune received the first Nebula Award and 

shared the Hugo Award with Roger Zelazny’s This Immortal (The Editors of 

Encyclopedia Britannica 2009, 2014; Kevin, 2024). 

Geoff Ryman, Roger Levy, Paul McAuley, Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Eric Brown, Neil 

Gaiman, Peter F. Hamilton, Neal Asher, Michael Chabon, Richard Morgan, James 

Lovegrove, Liz Williams, Alistair Reynolds, Justina Robson, and Steph Swainston can 

be regarded as the most outstanding SF writers today (Roberts, 2006, p. 344). 

 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Science-Fiction-and-Fantasy-Writers-of-America
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Science-Fiction-and-Fantasy-Writers-of-America


 

 

 

22 

2.3. ECOLOGY IN SCIENCE-FICTION LITERATURE 

Since the global warming and the climate change are unavoidable facts for the world, 

authors have started to engage in writing about the future of the world more than ever 

before. Especially, SF writers have been interested in the topic in the last decades. 

Nonetheless, there are different definitions of these fiction works dealing with the ecology 

and climate change. They are called by various names such as climate fiction, climate 

change fiction, eco-fiction and Anthropocene fiction. Some of these fiction books are also 

listed under the title of  “post-apocalyptic fiction” which is a subgenre of SF setting in a 

world after the tremendous disasters. Therefore, there is no consensus among the authors 

on whether those are distinct genres or subgenres of SF literature.  

Climate fiction (cli-fi) is the most popular of these terms mentioned above. It is used for 

the literary works dealing with the climate change. The term was first used by Dan Bloom 

in 2007 as a sub-genre of SF (Glass, 2021). In the following years the term took place in 

NPR, the Christian Science Monitor, the Guardian, the Financial Times, Vice, and the 

New Yorker (Trexler, 2015, p.8).  

Mehnert also defines climate change fiction as “literature dealing explicitly with 

anthropogenic climate change”. Climate change fiction not only shows the consequences 

of the environmental crisis to the people, it also has an influential role in “shaping the 

conception of climate change” (Mehnert, 2016, p.4).  

Trexler and Clarke suggest that the climate fiction existed before the awareness for the 

global warming or climate crisis. Clarke highlights the “climatological approach” adopted 

by Ballard in The Drowned World (1962) and The Crystal World (1966) even before the 

term “global warming” was coined in 1975 (Clarke, 2013). It is beyond any doubt that 

although they are considered as post-apocalyptic fiction works by many authors and 

critics, Herbert’s Dune and Ballard’s The Drowned World are the early examples of this 

subgenre (Clarke, 2013; Trexler, 2015, p. 8). Moreover, in her Imagining the Future of 

Climate Change, Streeby emphasizes the influence of Dune on the fiction works of 

Octavia E. Butler and Bacigalupi (2018, p. 23). 

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/may/31/global-warning-rise-cli-fi


 

 

 

23 

As it can be concluded, there are different views on this new genre among the 

scholars. While some of  them insist that these (cli-fi or the others mentioned above) 

are distinct genres, Pawel Frelik helps us to illuminate the situation: 

“Whether labeled climate fiction, fiction of the Anthropocene, eco-fiction, or any other of a 

handful names in circulation, the prominent majority of texts dealing with climate change, 

anthropogenic warming, and catastrophic weather are really science fiction (SF). Certainly 

not all the texts quite fit this taxonomic qualification, and one can always find exceptions, 

but, by and large, climate fiction is science fiction.” (Frelik, 2017) 

Frelik also associates the reasons behind some authors’ denying the fact that climate 

fiction is SF to the political motivations as the term SF was used to refer to the stories of 

the “1930s pulps or 1950s B-movies”. According to him, the authors writing about the 

climate crisis are afraid that their connection with the SF will devitalize their seriousness 

(Frelik, 2017). 

 

2.4. SCIENCE FICTION LITERATURE IN TÜRKİYE AND ITS 

TRANSLATION 

 

The history of SF literature in Türkiye, dates back to the Ottoman era, however, it is 

notable that this genre which has its origins in Anglo Saxon culture, was introduced in 

the Turkish literature via translations (Mollamustafaoğlu, 1991). In their study, Koçak 

and Aydın also agree that SF has survived through translations, retranslations and reprints 

in Turkish culture. Although there are some well-known Turkish SF novels such as Son 

Güneş'in Çocukları (Bucak, 1994) and Dönüşüm (Çatallar, 1996), the number of the SF 

translations in Türkiye has always been more than them (Koçak&Aydın, 2017). 

It is known that the earliest SF translations in Türkiye were published in the Tanzimat 

Reform Era of Ottoman Empire and the first examples were the translations of Jules 

Verne in the 19th century (Koçak&Aydın, 2017). The first modern SF series were 

published in 1950s and they were listed among the works of children's literature most of 

which were the translations (Küpçü, 2011). It can be said that the SF works has gained 



 

 

 

24 

momentum since then and the academic studies about this genre started to appear in 

1970s. The name of the genre, Science Fiction, which was first used by Hugo Gernsback 

in 1927 was translated as "Bilim Kurgu" by Orhan Duru in 1973. There were also 

different suggestions such as "hayal-bilim" (imaginitive science) or  "kurgu-bilim" 

(fictive science) to name this genre but "bilim kurgu" gained recognition over them 

through the years and it was approved by TDK (Mollamustafaoğlu, 1991).  

As the number of the translated SF works has increased, the scholars in the field of 

Translation Studies have started to pay attention to the topic as well. Focusing on the SF 

translations in Türkiye and its challenges, Mollamustafaoğlu complains about the 

mistranslations and omissions which occur more frequently in the works of SF than the 

other genres. He touches upon the reasons which can cause these problems and puts an 

emphasis on the scientific terminology of SF works. Moreover, the worlds and 

circumstances in SF works can be different from the ones in the real world and the SF 

authors may invent idioms and linguistic units in their works which sometimes may cause 

translation errors (Mollamustafaoğlu, 1991). These new words and expressions are 

known as neologisms that make the readers to be adapted to the invented, alien worlds of 

the novels.  

In the field of Translation Studies, there are many scholars who focus on translation of 

these neologisms (Ay, 2019; Apaydın, 2020; Aksoy&Söylemez, 2023). The neologisms 

are deemed necessary for the SF readers for the persuasiveness of the texts, thus, it would 

not be wrong to say that they should be conserved by the translators in the TT whenever 

possible. However, sometimes translating them can be a hard task for the translators as 

the existing neologisms in the TL sometimes do not correspond to the same thing 

concerned. Hence, the translators can also resort to source-oriented strategies to make 

them understandable for their readers in the SF literature (Aksoy&Söylemez, 2023). 

Newmark's classifies the neologisms in twelve categories. These categories are:  

1)Existing lexical items with new senses include words and collocations, 2)New forms 

include new coinages, derived words, abbreviations, collocations, eponyms, phrasal 

words, transferred words, acronyms, pseudo-neologisms and internationalisms (1988, p. 

140).  



 

 

 

25 

Newmark further suggests that there are other translation possibilities of a SL neologism 

and puts forward following translation procedures for the neologisms: transference, TL 

neologism, TL derived word, naturalisation, recognized TL translation, functional term, 

descriptive term, literal translation, translation procedure combinations (couplets, triplets 

etc.), through-translation, internationalism (1988, p. 150). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

26 

CHAPTER 3 

 METHODOLOGY 

 

3.1. ECOLOGICAL ITEMS AS A SUBCATEGORY OF CULTURAL 

WORDS 

 

The concept of “eco-translation” is a new issue, however, the translation of “ecological 

items” has been analyzed as a subcategory of cultural words for decades. The scholars of 

Translation Studies have used different terms for the culture related words such as 

“realia”, “cultural terms/words”, “culture specific elements/items” and “culturally bound 

items”, etc. Furthermore, various classification of cultural words are provided by different 

scholars. In this part of the study, some examples of the classification of ecological items 

in Translation Studies will be discussed and the categorization used in this study will be 

explained further. 

The term “realia” has been used as a lexical unit referring to the elements which denote 

to the social, cultural and historical things specific to the source culture (Vlahov & Florin, 

1980, s. 47; Kharina, 2018). These elements does not have equivalent in the TL and they 

are considered to be the main reasons for the translation problems or the mistranslations 

by many scholars. Vhalov and Florin classify “realia” into three categories: geographic, 

ethnographic and social and political realia. The first category, geographic realia, is 

related to the ecological items and it includes “physical geography, meteorology, 

geographical objects associated with human activity and endemic species” (as cited in 

Kansu-Yetkiner, 2018; Kharina, 2018). 

Newmark defines culture “as the way of life and its manifestations that are peculiar to a 

community that uses a particular language as its means of expression” and highlights the 

importance of cultural similarity between the source and the TL in order for a problem-

free translation (1988, p.94). Another determinant of the translation problems is the 

cultural focus on a particular subject which causes a great number of words or 



 

 

 

27 

terminology. Newmark classifies the cultural words into five categories: 1) Ecology: 

flora, fauna, winds, plains, hills, 2) Material culture: food, clothes, houses and towns, 3) 

Social culture: work and leisure, 4) Organisations, customs, activities, procedures, 

concepts, 5) Gestures and habits (Newmark, 1988, p. 95). 

According to Kansu-Yetkiner et al., despite many scholars’ consideration of the 

ecological elements such as geographical formations, climate, fauna and flora as 

subcomponents of culture, solely, the evaluation of these ecological elements’ role in the 

intercultural transfer is neglected (2018). In an attempt to draw attention on the 

intercultural transfer of environmental awareness through translation, they define eight 

semantic categories:             

1) Fauna such as animals and their body parts,                 

2) Flora such as plants, vegetables, fruits and everything about greenery and plant cover,                 

3) Land forms: The places that can be seen on the map such as mountains, hills, seas, 

rivers; the places that are not on the map such as cliffs, fjords, seaside cliffs, ridges, caves, 

beaches, shores; human-made or animal-made land forms such as barrages, dams, ponds 

and dam reservoirs,                            

4) Names of the places: The proper and common names of the places such as towns, 

villages and cities,                                             

5) Natural habitats of animals: The places where animals live such as nests, dens, hollows, 

farms, holes,                                    

6) Climate and weather conditions: Types of precipitation such as rime, dew, frost, hail, 

snow, rain; movements of air such as wind and storm; types of winds such as breeze, 

northeaster and northwester,                     

7) Natural Formations: The concrete materials found in nature such as sand, rocks, stones, 

water, soil, wood,                              

8) Natural disasters such as hurricane, avalanche, earthquake, lanslide, flood, sluice 

(Kansu-Yetkiner,2018).  

Hastürkoğlu (2020), has used a similar categorization in her thesis while  investigating 

the translation strategies used for the translation of the ecology-related culture specific 



 

 

 

28 

items in the Turkish translation of To A God Unknown . Her categories are namely; flora, 

fauna, names of the places, land forms, weather conditions, and natural formations. 

Within this framework, as Herbert’s Dune is rich in terms of ecological items and it is a 

SF work, it is considered necessary to add new titles (geological protective outerwear and 

gears, figures of speech inspired by ecology, the titles of people related to the ecology) to 

the above-mentioned classifications. In this study, with an aim to investigate the 

transference of ecological awareness through the translation of SF books, following 

categorization is used for studying the ecological items: 

 

CATEGORIES: CONTENT: 

1-Flora Plants, vegetables and fruits etc. 

2-Fauna Animals, the words related to animals. 

3-Natural Formations a)Water related items,                                                     

b)Sand/rock related items,                                                       

c) Celestrial objects. 

4-Land Forms Hills, mountains, deserts, basins, crevasses etc. 

5-Names of the Places The proper and common names of the places 

such as  planets, cities, basins etc. 

6-Climate and Weather Conditions Types of precipitation and winds 

7-Ecological Protective Outerwear 

And Gears 

Stillsuits, desert boots, seals, sandcrawlers etc. 

8- Titles of People Related to the 

Ecology  

Sandwalkers, spice drivers, weather scanners, 

dune men etc. 

9- Figures of Speech Inspired by the 

Ecology 

Ecological items that are used to form 

onomatopoeias, metaphors, similes etc. 



 

 

 

29 

3.2. THE STRATEGIES USED FOR THE TRANSLATION OF 

ECOLOGICAL ITEMS 

 

As it is mentioned above ecological items in literary texts have been treated as a subtype 

of cultural elements in Translation Studies. Focusing on the transference of the cultural 

and social values of the ST to the TL, Venuti defines translation as follows: 

“Translation is a process by which the chain of signifiers that constitutes the source-language 

text is replaced by a chain of signifiers in the target language which the translator provides 

on the strength of an interpretation.” (1995, p. 17)  

 

According to Venuti, the foreign text has its own cultural and linguistic materials, 

however, the translation replaces them forcibly while creating an intelligible text for the 

reader. This is due to domesticating most of the foreign text on the purpose of making it 

familiar to the TT readers. On the other hand, Venuti implies that foreignizing translation 

strategy puts an emphasis on the difference of the foreign text but it, solely, spoils “the 

cultural codes” in the TL (1995, p. 18-20).  

 

Aixelà also examined the strategies for the translation of culture specific items and 

offered two main groups; conservation and substitution. According to Aixelà 

conservation strategies include repetition, orthographic adaptation, linguistic translation, 

extratextual gloss and intratextual gloss and the substitution strategies include synonymy, 

limited universalization, absolute universalization, naturalization, deletion, autonomous 

creation (1996, p. 61-64). It can be inferred that Aixelà’s “conservation” is similar to 

Venuti’s “foreignization” while “substitution” is also similar to the “domestication.” 

 

Classifiying the ecology under the categorization of cultural words, Newmark suggests 

twelve translation procedures for them. These translation procedures are: transference, 

cultural equivalent, neutralisation, literal translation, label, naturalisation, componential 

analysis, deletion, couplet, accepted standard translation, paraphrase, gloss, notes etc. and 

classifier (1988, p. 103). According to Newmark target culture will be more/less familiar 

with an ecological term depending on its geographical and political closeness to the 



 

 

 

30 

source country. He states that all of these ecological words can be transferred in the TT, 

however, in case of a need, a culture-free term can be added to it (1988, p. 96). 

In their study, Kansu-Yetkiner et al. (2018) investigate the translation strategies adopted 

while the intercultural transfer of the words having nature-environment information. 

Adopting the foreignization and domestication strategies of Venuti (1995) along with the 

translation strategies proposed by Newmark (1988) and Aixelà (1996, p. 60-65) for the 

translation of culture specific items, they classified the translation strategies into 3 main 

groups: literal translation, domestication and foreignization. Their first category, literal 

translation, includes the words translated by their denotational meanings in the TL, the 

second category, domestication, consists of the strategies of synonym, limited 

universalism, absolute universalism, paraphrase, adaptation, omission, explicitation, 

componential analysis and the third category, foreignization, consists of extratextual 

gloss, intratextual gloss, orthographic adaptation/transcription, repetition, calque, 

couplets-triplets and loan words (2018). Examining the strategies used for the translation 

of “ecology-related cultural terms” Hastürkoğlu (2020), also, adopts the same strategies 

(literal translation, domestication, foreignization) in her study.  

Inspired by the above-mentioned studies of Turkish scholars (Kansu-Yetkiner et al., 

2018; Hastürkoğlu, 2020) the same translation strategies (literal translation, 

domestication and foreignization) will be adopted for the translation analysis of 

ecological terms in this study. However, the strategies of intratextual/extratextual gloss 

and loan words in the subcategory of foreignization are excluded as there are no explicit 

examples of them in the study. Additionally, it is deemed necessary to add the strategy of 

hyponymy (Chesterman, 1992, p. 102) as the translator resorts to using ecological terms 

(hyponyms) which have more specific meaning than the original terms in some of the 

examples. Moreover, the strategy of couplets/triplets is divided into two categories as 

foreignizing couplets and domesticating couplets to be more specific since there are 

various examples of them in both of the categories. 

In this respect following strategies will be adopted for the examination of Turkish 

translation of ecological items in Dune:  

 



 

 

 

31 

3.2.1. Literal Translation 

The translator uses the closest denotational meaning of the original term. It is generally 

the first meaning written in the dictionaries (For example: storm→ fırtına). 

                                       

3.2.2. Domestication Strategies 

The translator uses these strategies to bring the term closer to the target culture.  

 

3.2.2.1. Synonymy 

 The translator uses the synonym of the word which has the same or the closest denotation 

to the original term in order to avoid repeating the same word (For example: wasteland→ 

çöl). 

 

3.2.2.2. Hyponymy   

Adopted from the Chesterman's semantic strategy of hyponymy (1997, p. 102), it refers 

to replacing the superordinate term with its specific kind (hyponym) in the TL (For 

example: flowers→ papatyalar). 

 

3.2.2.3. Limited Universalization 

The translator replaces the original term, which is less known in the target culture, with a 

similar and better known word (For example: cranberry→ kızılcık).     

               

 



 

 

 

32 

3.2.2.4. Absolute universalization 

 The translator uses a more comprehensive and neutral term, instead of the specific 

ecological item which is not known in the target culture (For example: daisy→çiçek). 

       

3.2.2.5. Adaptation 

 The translator uses a word which is culturally equivalent to the original term in the TL 

(For example: maker→ yaradan).   

    

3.2.2.6. Explicitation 

The translator uses a non-existent ecological item in the TT (For example: it→ rain). 

 

 3.2.2.7. Paraphrase 

 The translator reflects the same or the similar content by explaining the term in a different 

form (For example: geriatric spice→ yaşlanmayı geciktirici baharat).   

 

3.2.2.8. Componential analysis 

 The translator replaces the original word with the one which is not the exact equivalent 

of it, but, its meaning is close to the original word. This new word’s denotation can be 

found in the semantic field of the original one (For example: smoke tree→ sarı ağaç).  

  

3.2.2.9. Omission 



 

 

 

33 

 The translator does not translate the ecological item and deletes it in the TT (For example: 

bug-hustling sound→ böcek sesleri).     

  

3.2.2.10. Domesticating couplets/triplets 

 The translator adopts more than one domestication strategy or its combination with literal 

translation to translate the original term (For example: spiked paintbush→ dikenli fırça 

çalıları). 

 

3.2.3. Foreignization Strategies 

The translator uses foreignization strategies to make the text closer to the source culture. 

       

3.2.3.1. Calque 

The translator translates every component of the original word literally. In other words, 

s/he borrows the term through word-for-word translation (For example: burro 

bush→eşekçalısı).  

     

3.2.3.2. Orthographic Adaptation 

The translator does not translate the word into the TL and transcribes it with the alphabet 

of the TL instead (For example: mish mish→mişmiş). 

  

 3.2.3.3. Repetition 

The translator transfers the original term to the TL without making any change (For 

example: Chusuk→Chusuk).  



 

 

 

34 

 3.2.3.4. Foreignizing couplets/ triplets 

The translator adopts more than one foreignization strategy or its combination with literal 

translation to translate the original term (For example: Harg Pass→Harg Geçidi) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

35 

CHAPTER 4 

 ANALYSIS 

 

4.1. ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND THE TURKISH TRANSLATOR  

                   

4.1.1. The Author: Frank Herbert 

 

The American author Frank Herbert, Jr. was born on October 8, 1920 in Takoma, 

Washington. He grew up in Takoma and Burley where his extended family lived. His 

father was Frank Herbert, Sr. and his mother was Eileen Marie Herbert who was Irish. 

Herbert was such a talented child that he learnt reading and started writing stories at an 

early age. He was also interested in taking photographs, camping, hiking, hunting, 

fishing, sailing and swimming. Herbert read the works of Shakespeare, Ezra Pound, Guy 

De Maupassant, Marcel Proust, Herman Melville and many others in his childhood and 

he was influenced by Shakespeare most. He started to type his stories at the age of 14. 

His childhood memories always took part in Herbert’s stories (Herbert, 2004). 

He graduated from Stewart Intermediate School in 1935. He studied at Lincoln High 

School and also worked for the successful school newspaper called The Lincoln News. In 

the following years he improved himself more and more in journalism. However, due to 

the workload and family problems he dropped his classes and moved to Salem. Herbert 

graduated from Salem High School in 1939. After that, he moved to California and 

became a copy editor at Glendale Star. He moved back to Salem in 1940 and could finally 

work at The Oregon Statesman after all his efforts. While writing feature stories he learnt 

about the importance of defining the characters which helped him in his future novels. 

He was also interested in flying and he took aerial photographs while flying (Herbert, 

2004). 



 

 

 

36 

Herbert married to Flora Parkinson in 1941 in Tacoma and had his first child in 1942. He 

also joined the U.S. Navy and served as "a Photographer Second Class V-6 in the U.S. 

Naval Reserve" in Virginia (Herbert, 2004). He had an accident and left the army. At the 

same time, Herbert and Flora got divorced in 1943. Then, Herbert worked at the Oregon 

Journal for two years. While working there, he also made money by selling his short 

stories. In August 1945, he started to work at Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Herbert started 

to study at the University of Washington while working for the newspaper. He met his 

second wife Beverly Forbes there. They both liked reading and they wrote several stories. 

Beverly wrote romances and Frank wrote pulp adventures. Herbert dropped out of college 

in 1946 and married to Beverly. They had two sons: Brian and Bruce. They moved to 

California in 1949 and Herbert started to work at Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Herbert 

was influenced by the views of his friends, Dr. Ralph Slattery and Irene Slattery. Ralph 

and Irene were interested in Carl Gustav Jung, Freud, Alfred Adler and Zen Buddhism. 

Their effect on the author can be seen in different parts of his novels, especially in Dune 

series (Herbert, 2004). 

Herbert worked as a reporter and news announcer in 1950s. His short story Looking for 

Something, which was published in the Startling Stories in 1952, was his first SF sale. 

Survival and the Atom published by Press Democrat in 1952, was comprised of Herbert’s 

articles about the nuclear energy. He worked as a speech writer for Guy Cordon who was 

a US Senator from Oregon and joined his staff. This position enabled him to access to the 

Legislative Reference Service and use any books or documents in the library. He did 

much research and studied a lot. He also wrote SF stories. Pack Rat Planet (1954) and 

Rat Race (1955) were published in Astounding Science.  Occupation Force was published 

in Fantastic in 1955. His Under Pressure was serialized in Astounding Science Fiction 

(from November 1955 to January 1956). The novel was also published as a book with the 

new title “The Dragon in the Sea”. He worked as a speech writer for the Phil Hitchcock 

(who was a state senator) and a public information officer for Phil Roth (the Republican 

candidate for the US Congress) in 1950s. At the same time he wrote his A Game of 

Authors. His SF short stories: Old Rambling House, You Take the High Road and A 

Matter of Traces were published in 1958 and, Missing Link and Operation Haystack were 

also published in the following year. He had financially hard times. In 1960, he worked 

as a night picture editor for San Francisco Examiner (Herbert, 2004). 



 

 

 

37 

Finally, in 1963 he completed his trilogy: Dune World, Muad’Dib and The Prophet. 

Before Dune was published as a book, it was serialized in Analog. Analog won Hugo 

Award for the best SF magazine in 1964. First, in 1965,  Dune (comprised of Dune World, 

Muad’Dib and The Prophet) was published by the Chilton Publishing House in 

hardcover. A year later, Ace books published it in paperback. Dune won the Nebula 

Award for Best Novel (shared with Roger Zelazny’s…And Call Me Conrad) in 1965 and 

the Hugo Award for the best SF novel of the year in 1966. It was the first novel to win 

the both of the awards (Herbert, 2004). 

Do I Wake or Dream?, his story about artificial intelligence, was serialized in Galaxy in 

1965. Its expanded version Destination: Void, was published as a book in 1966. His 

second SF book about the ecology, The Green Brain (Greenslaves) was published in 

Amazing as a short story and Ace Books published it in 1966. His novel Heisenberg’s 

Eyes was also published in 1966. His novel The Santaroga Barrier was serialized in 

Amazing from October 1967 to February 1968. Finally, it was published in paperback in 

1968. The Heaven Makers was published in 1968 too, a year after its serialization in 

Amazing. The following year, Dune Messiah was also published (Herbert, 2004). 

Frank Herbert became “one of the principal speakers at Earth Day ceremonies” in 1970. 

He also contributed to the environmental book called “New World or No World”. Dune 

became best seller SF novel in 1970s. Whipping Star was published in 1970 and Soul 

Catcher was published in 1972. Hellstrom’s Hive (Project 40) was serialized in Galaxy 

from November 1972 to March 1973 and it was finally published as a book in 1973. After 

its French edition, it won the Prix Apollo award in 1978.  While being a successful author, 

Herbert also became a visiting professor in the University of Washington in 1971 and 

worked there for a year. The God Makers (The novel version of The Priests of Psi) was 

published in 1972. Herbert and his friend Roy Prosterman travelled to Pakistan, India, 

Bengal, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam in 1972. He wrote and filmed a documentary 

film called The Tillers based on this travel and it appeared on TV. Meantime, The Worlds 

of Frank Herbert (1971) and The Book of Frank Herbert (1973) which were the collection 

of his stories were also published (Herbert, 2004). 



 

 

 

38 

Children of Dune was published in 1976 (after the serialization in Analog) and became a 

bestseller. Also, The Dosadi Experiment was serialized in Galaxy and published in 1977. 

Similar to the previous books in the series, God Emperor of Dune became best seller as 

soon as it was released in 1981. Heretics of Dune was published in 1984 and the last book 

of the series, Chapterhouse: Dune, followed it in 1985. With the success of Dune series 

in 1980s, Herbert appeared on TV shows and gave interviews on radio programmes. 

Moreover, many articles were written about him and Dune series. Meanwhile, he also 

completed his colloborative novels (Pandora Sequence) with Bill Ramsom. The Jesus 

Incident was released in 1979, after its serialization in Analog. The Lazarus Effect was 

also published in 1983. The final book of this sequence was The Ascension Factor (1988) 

(Herbert, 2004). 

Some of his other SF books published in the 1980s are Direct Descent (1980), The White 

Plague (1982), Eye (1985), Man of Two Worlds (1986). And some of his short stories are: 

The Priests of Psi (1960), Egg And Ashes (1960), A-W-F Unlimited (1961), Mating Call 

(1961), Try To Remember! (1961), Mindfield (1962), The Mary Celeste Move 

(Analag,1964), The Tactful Saboteur (Galaxy, 1964), Committee of the Whole (Galaxy, 

1965), The GM Effect (Analog, 1965), Escape Felicity (Analog, 1966), By the Book 

(Analog, 1966), The Primitives (Galaxy,1966), The Featherbedders (Analog, 1967), The 

Mind Bomb (If, 1969), Seed Stock (Analog, 1970), Murder Will In (Five Fates Anthology, 

1971), and Death of a City, (Future City Anthology, 1973) (Herbert, 2004). 

Herbert’s wife, Beverly, died in 1984. Frank Herbert got married to Theresa Shackelford 

who was Putnam book representative. Herbert suffered from cancer. He passed away on 

February 11, 1986 (Herbert, 2004). 

 

4.1.2. The Turkish Translator: Dost Körpe 

 

Dost Körpe was born on March 9, 1972 in İstanbul. He graduated from Nişantaşı 

Anatolian High School and studied at the Department of Business Administration at 



 

 

 

39 

Boğaziçi University. He also studied English Language and Literature at İstanbul 

University. He is a writer, poet and translator. He won Yunus Nadi Unpublished Short 

Story Award in 1991. His first book, Zaman Sona Ermeli was published in 1993. His 

other books are: Günah Yiyen (1997), Kıyı (1998) and Nötralizör (2010). Furthermore, 

his stories were published in various Turkish magazines (Yalçın, 2010, p. 652). 

Körpe translated the works of many acclaimed authors into Turkish. Some of his 

translations are: Gotik Öyküler (Lovecraft, 1994), Edgar Alan Poe Bütün Hikayeleri 

(2000), Cthulhu’nun Çağrısı (Lovecraft, 2000), Bridget Jones’ın Günlüğü (Fielding, 

2000), Bridget Jones’ın Günlüğü II (Fielding, 2000), Barbarları Beklerken (Coetzee, 

2001), Kutsanma Ayini (Barker, 2001), Antilop ve Flurya (Atwood, 2005), Cehennem 

Kulübü (Straub, 2005), Kan Kitapları 1(2004), Bir Baş Yapıtın Öyküsü (James, 2008), 

Aşk ve Gurur ve Zombiler (Austen, 2009), Koko (Straub, 2009), Film Kulübü (Gilmour, 

2010), Su Geçirmez İncil (Kaufman, 2011) Barbarları Beklerken (Coetzee, 2010), Gibi 

(Smith, 2010), Aşk Yaşamdan Önce Gelir (Dickinson, 2011), Bir Evliliğin Öyküsü (Greer, 

2011), Sıcak Bedenler (Marion, 2011), İşgal Altındaki Şehir (Peace, 2011), Sapphique -

Incarceron (Fisher, 2012),  Kızıl Ölümün Maskesi (Poe, 2013), Tatlı Perşembe 

(Steinbeck, 2013), Dune Mesihi (Herbert, 2016), Dune Çocukları (Herbert, 2016), 

Otomatik Portakal (Burgess, 2016), Hayalet (Nesbo, 2017), Kurtarıcı (Nesbo, 2017), 

Dune Tanrı İmparatorluğu (Herbert, 2017), Steve Jobs (Isaacson, 2018), Dune Sapkınları 

(Herbert, 2020), Dune Rahibeler Meclisi  (Herbert, 2020), Bir Başyapıtın Öyküsü (James, 

2020), Görünmez Adam (Wells, 2021), Güneş de Doğar (Hemingway, 2021), Ölülerle 

Uzlaşmak (Atwood, 2021), Kendine Ait Bir Oda (Woolf, 2022), Vahşetin Çağrısı 

(London, 2023), Şeytan Çıkaran  (Blatty, 2023), Yüksek Şatodaki Adam (Dick, 2023). 

 

4.2. DUNE  

 

4.2.1. Dune Serie