Toward an empirical methodology for identifying plagiarism in retranslation

Abstract

Plagiarism in translation has increased at an alarming rate in Turkey in the last two decades, urging translation scholars to find ways to prevent it. The need for producing empirical evidence to be used in legal settings is evident, and this seems to be the only strong tool to deter plagiarists from stealing others’ painstaking and genuine works. The scientific project funded by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (Grant No: 112K388) took an important step to create a tentative model for analyzing retranslations and identifying plagiarism. The analysis of 28 translations of Madame Bovary into Turkish using qualitative and quantitative methods suggested that plagiarism in translation is ubiquitous, and it has become a systematic tool that “translators” and publishing houses harness for creating profit. The results from electronic document comparison were used as a starting point and then supported and corroborated by a qualitative analysis involving coding of text samples and a paratextual analysis. The model proposed in this chapter provides a solid ground for declaring most of the retranslations illegal, and thus unjust and unacceptable. The chapter concludes with suggestions for steps to be taken to stop plagiarism in translation. © 2019 Taylor & Francis.