The Use of an Interpretive Scheme in Examining Two Turkish Translations of Doyle’s “speckled Band”

Abstract

This paper descriptively examines two Turkish translations – one published beforeSherlock Holmes was popularized in visual media in the 2000s and one thereafter – ofa Sherlock Holmes story entitled “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” by ArthurConan Doyle to establish how the two translators handled certain aspects of the storydeemed important for a literary interpretation. In determining these importantaspects, it develops and uses an “interpretive scheme” inspired by Damrosch’s (2003)ruminations on “world literature.” The interpretive scheme contains three aspectualcategories, i.e., “referential,” “genre-related” and “stylistic” aspects. The aim of thisexamination is twofold: first, it seeks to find out whether there are differences betweenthe interpretations of these important aspects in the two translations and if so,whether these differences may be a result of the popularization of Sherlock Holmes.Second, it aims to explore the educational implications of translators’ choices intranslating the aforementioned aspects, discussing how the use of an interpretivescheme in the analysis of translations may be helpful in choosing texts for the teachingof English literature to a Turkish-speaking audience.