Student(s) Faculty Member(s)

ABSTRACT

Turkish Translations of Aesop’s Fables

Fatma Nur ÖztürkOnur Bal

Mehmet Kuru

It is commonly believed that the great reforms in the

Tanzimat era (1839-76) played a significant role in the

development of translation activities in Ottoman Empire, which

showed an increase through the establishment of Tercüme

Odaları (Translation Chambers). However, it is very possible to

come across the Turkish translations of Aesop’s Fables written

before this period on the dusty shelf.

Based on the relevant sources collected from the extensive

archives of various libraries, the purpose of this project was to

ascertain the significance of these old translations in the

Ottoman Empire by analyzing their place in the life of the

orientalists and dragomans, who had an important role in the

international relations of the Empire. Accordingly, the collected

data on the intellectual and educational backgrounds of these

people show that these translations were among the primary

sources used to improve their language skills in Ottoman

Turkish, which could be found in the shelves of Ecole des

Enfants de langue (Hitzel, 1995, p. 95).

Based on this information, the project aimed to evaluate and

examine these literary works within the framework of current

language learning theories and methods. The use of the bilingual

(parallel) texts to introduce these fables in Ottoman Turkish is

Grammar-Translation Method, also known as the Prussian Method, is one of the

traditional approaches to foreign language teaching, which was originally used to teach

classical languages in the belief that they would increase intellectual and mental capacity

(Richards & Rodgers, 1986, p. 2). In the later years, as the curriculum of bilingual and

multilingual schools in Europe began to include modern languages, they were also taught by

using the principles of the same method such as bilingual dictionaries and deductive

grammar teaching. However, the collected data on the early manuscripts of Turkish

translations of Aesop’s fables in Ottoman Empire show that orientalists and dragomans

benefited from the major characteristics of the Grammar-Translation Method in order to

learn and read Ottoman Turkish. Since this method primarily puts emphasis on the written

expression rather than oral communication, it seems appropriate to their needs and purposes,

which were to help to maintain the international relations between Ottoman Empire and

other countries through translations.

• To find out the purpose and establish the significance of Turkish translations of Aesop’s

fables, especially in the context of the life of the orientalists and dragomans.

• To figure out the sources of the newly discovered translations, where they come from

and whether they were fabricated by the translators, and also analyze the ways in which

they did their translations

• To draw a link between modern learning theories and the use of these translations as a

language learning method

• Ultimately, to make these materials accessible to the general public and academicians,

contributing to the pool of knowledge and stimulating further research

Anonymous. (1489). Fabulas de Esopo. Retrieved from

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aesop_woodcut_Spain_1489.jpg

Gibbs, L. (2008). Introduction to Aesop's Fables. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Hitzel, F. (1995). Enfants de langue et Drogmans: Dil Oğlanları ve Tercümanlar (M. Sert, Trans.).

Istanbul, Yapı Kredi Publications

Letellier, L.V. (1826). Choix de Fables. Retrieved from

https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k9714079d/f250.item.zoom

Li, X. (2018). Language enhancement for translation undergraduates: an evaluation of students’ reactions

to and effectiveness of a comparable and parallel text analysis course. Journal of Multilingual

and Multicultural Development

Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2001). Approaches and methods in language teaching. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press

Schmidt, J. (2012). Catalogue of Turkish Manuscripts in the Library of Leiden University and Other

Collections in the Netherlands: Minor Collections. Retrieved from

https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1163/j.ctt1w8h3fb

Van den Boogert, M. H. (2017). Learning Oriental Languages in the Ottoman Empire: Johannes

Heyman (1667–1737) between Izmir and Damascus. In J. Loop, A. Hamilton & C. Burnett

(Eds.), The Teaching and Learning of Arabic in Early Modern Europe. Brill Publishers

• Evaluating these fables within the framework of the current language learning theories

has given us a clue about the purpose and significance of them in the school curriculum

of the Ottoman Empire.

• Analyzing these translations has provided a set of guidelines about how to build an

effective language learning classroom by using effectively the pedagogical method of

translation.

• Indexing the newly discovered fables has helped us, and will help future researchers to

come, fit them into the greater body of literature on Aesop’s tales.

• Publishing these tales and our findings would also be of interest to the general reading

audience, as well as scholars.

OBJECTIVES

INDEXES FOR DIFFERENT SOURCES

AESOP’S FABLES IN LANGUAGE LEARNING

CONCLUSIONS

REFERENCES

Figure 1: "Aesop woodcut" (Anonymous,

1489)

reminiscent of the "Grammar-Translation Method", which was used to learn the classical

languages in the same period. Furthermore, it seems that these works consist of bilingual word-to-

word dictionaries and grammatical explanations of the sentence structures in the translation of

Aesop’s fables, which makes the argument of the project stronger and plausible. Thus, the project

gives us a valuable clue about how to use the pedagogical method of translation more effectively

and Aesop’s fables in today’s language classrooms.

Finally, we looked into the sources of these fables by reading and matching them to those

found in English sources, and from there matching them with the Perry and Chambry indexes

most importantly, along with all the other sources of the fables which are currently known. This

will help us, and researchers to come, designate these fables, perhaps looking into the ways in

which they came to be found in the Ottoman Empire, and perhaps looking into the translation

methods and the discourse.

Figure 2: "Hikayat-i Esepos" (n.d., 1703)

Figure 3: "Choix de Fables" (Letellier, L.V., 1826)

AESOP’S FABLES IN LANGUAGE LEARNING

Figure 4: "Index for Hikayat-i Esepos"

It is generally accepted that vocabulary items are taught in the form of isolated word lists

by means of bilingual dictionaries. In the example above, we see an anonymous dictionary-

type manuscript of Aesop’s fables in Ottoman Turkish, which has been found in the historical

archives of Leiden University and written in 1703. At the beginning of the 18th century, a

passionate orientalist, Johannes Heyman, used this work to develop his vocabulary skills in

Ottoman Turkish through transcriptions and translations in Latin and Italian on the left or right

pages by creating a bilingual glossary (Van den Boogert, 2017, p. 298).

As per one of our project objectives, we also read the various fables found in the newly

discovered manuscripts, dating back to the very beginning of the 17th century, then traced

them back to all the major indexes and sources we could find. Some of the most important

ones are the Perry and Chambry indexes, along with Gibbs’ modern translations into English.

Briefly, Perry was a 20th-century professor who published an edition of all Aesop fables

known to him at the time, with the fables in the order of their language (Greek then Latin),

date, source, and the alphabet (Gibbs, 2008, p. xxix) Chambry likewise was a 20th-century

scholar, who made a compilation of Aesopic fables for the Belles Lettres series (Gibbs, 2008,

p. xxx), whose order of the fables is followed in many modern Turkish translations, and Gibbs

is the most important Aesop scholar alive today. The other sources are Greek, Latin, and

English, most of which date back to the antiquity, while some to the Medieval Ages and 17th

to 18th century.

Textbooks also consist of bilingual (parallel) texts, which result in a marked increase in

the learners’ metalinguistic awareness and knowledge (Li, 2018, p. 476). Accordingly, some

philologists in the 18th century like William Jones argued that these bilingual translations of

Aesop’s fables were one of the most excellent ways to acquire different languages, including

Ottoman Turkish, Armenian, and Bulgarian, etc.

Finally, in the Grammar-Translation method, grammar rules are generally taught through

a memorization technique, referred to as "rote learning". Therefore, it is possible to come

across long and elaborated explanations about sentence structures and word forms in the

textbooks. In the example above, which has been taken from Choix de Fables written by L.V.

Letellier in 1826, we can see comprehensive explanations about the voice and tense of verbs in

Ottoman Turkish, as they can be seen in the Turkish translations of Aesop’s fables. Also, in the

preface of the book, Letellier claimed that other grammar books such as Meninski’s Thesaurus

Linguarum Orientalium were not suitable for the beginner level learners. On the other hand, as

Aesop’s fables were simple and enjoyable tools for learners, his book, which includes a

bilingual glossary and basic structural rules, provided a useful guideline for language learning.