After School - Week 3

Hello! This week’s post is delayed a little bit :’). I was busy with catching up my readings on the weekend (ended up failing to do so :’)) Anyway! Let get into this week's insights!

Course Insights

I want to start some insights from one of my favorite (yet, ehem intimidating) courses—court interpreting!

• There’s still a big shortage of interpreters in courts, especially since they haven’t been fully integrated into the law system. Remember last week’s case? The interpreter was attacked, and because he was the only one for that language, the case was delayed several times.
• Translators and interpreters need to be aware of more than just words—non-linguistic clues matter too!
• Humanity has always sought a universal language, but solutions like Esperanto never took off. Interestingly, when deaf people from different countries meet, they often develop shared signs to communicate!
• We think we perceive people from the inside out, but actually, how we present ourselves influences both others and our own behavior. It’s like actors putting on costumes. After all, aren’t we all performers on life’s stage?

This week, we had our first Spanish-Turkish translation class! I learned that:

• to mean to give education of something regularly “impartir” is used. Also, the education/training translates to “formación”.
• and the Spanish proverb “Don Juan español”!

Let’s move on to two of my courses related to history!

• In the late 19th century, the Ottoman Empire finally allowed the construction of churches in İstanbul, lifting previous strict regulations.
• Sultan Selim III was known for his gentle nature, while Sultan Mahmud II was far more ruthless, possibly due to witnessing Selim’s tragic death. Mahmud II is infamous for abolishing the Janissaries by tricking them with the creation of the Eşkinci Corps, leading to their violent purge.
• Fener and Balat were once home to significant Rum and Jewish populations. Our professor mentioned many of the Jewish population there migrated to Israel in the past century.
• I recently learned that after the 1922 population exchange, Fethiye’s Karaköy was left mostly empty. The houses didn’t suit the lifestyle of the incoming Turks from Greece, so the village remained abandoned for years. It looks like a ghost town! Check it out!
• Thessaloniki, like Edirne, was part of the Ottoman Empire’s provincial system, referring to a region, not just the city. This explains why many people in Türkiye today say their ancestors came from Thessaloniki, even if they weren’t from the city itself.
• Throughout history, names often signified different regions. For example, “Andalusia” used to refer to all Muslim-ruled lands, later narrowing to specific areas under nominal rule, and now, just a region in Spain.
• Migration also shaped histories, like Italians moving to South America, or more Portuguese settling in Brazil than in Portugal. After all, cities in the Americas were founded through waves of migration!
• A text doesn't have to be in a written form.

Shall we now combine interpreting and history now?

• I found it fascinating that the earliest mention of a translator dates back to 2600 BC in Sumer, using the symbol of a head with a mouth to represent sound. The word “Eme-bal” meant “to turn”! Check the Week 1 Etymological fun facts section to see how it relates to today’s word for translation!
• Did you know that ancient Chinese interpreters were called “tongue men”? People thought they were physically different because they spoke foreign languages. I liked it!
• I was also intrigued by the Turkish phrase eşik bekçisi for “gatekeeper.” It literally means “threshold guardian,” who has the role of controlling who comes in or stays out and acts like an interpreter in the presence of foreign guests (if I remember it correctly).

Etymological Fun Facts

• The old name for “cumhuriyet savcısı (public prosecutor)” was müdde-i umum meaning the someone who protects (müdafaa) the public (umum).
• Some words were invented in Turkish derived from the Arabic language, such as hürriyet, cumhuriyet, milliyet.
• La Malinche, an indigenous interpreter for Hernán Cortés, is often viewed as a traitor for aiding the Spanish during the conquest of the Aztec Empire. The terms “Malinchismo” and “malinchista” are the words that have emerged from her name to denote negative connotation. I found it quite tragic and unfortunate.

WTR

I barely have read a chapter from The Language Myth. It was on the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis and how it was received wrong by some researchers. Simultaneously, I am reading “Ayasofya’nın Gizli Tarihi (A Secret History of Hagia Sophia)”. It’s easy to read and informs you well about some issues you probably may have never thought of. I would love to translate this book into English for my foreign friends to read!

WTW

I recently watched “Bir Zamanlar Anadolu’da (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia)” by the acclaimed Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan, a Cannes award winner. My professor for Court Interpreting recommended this film, encouraging us to pay close attention to the language use of different characters. This exercise prompted me to consider whether the speech patterns, as well as the power dynamics presented in the film could pose challenges in interpreting during a real court case.

Anything New?

I started to crochet something new! I won’t share what it is until I finish it inshallah.

7-13 Oct, 2024