Turkish translations ofLolita

Abstract

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