Translating Paratextual Elements in an Ecofeminist Work

Abstract

This study intends to explore the concepts of ecosophy and ecolinguistic equivalence in the field of translation studies, highlighting the significance of recreating cognitively equivalent translations of ecolinguistic constituents in a target text and also adopting and transferring the author’s ecosophy in the translation process. The study specifically focuses on the paratextual elements, fulfilling crucial communicative functions, present in Buket Uzuner’s ecofeminist work, Toprak, and its English translation, Earth, to evaluate the translator’s preferences in reestablishing the author’s ecosophy at the paratextual level. The paratextual elements analyzed particularly encompass the peritexts, namely the dedication, epigraphs, foreword, footnotes, and illustrations, with a comparative analysis. The findings illustrate instances where ecolinguistic equivalence was successfully achieved, but also highlight significant losses, as certain important eco-cultural aspects were omitted by the translator in the target text. © 2023 Ovidius University. All rights reserved.