Translating Multilingualism into National Languages: The Case of German Turkish Author Emine Sevgi Özdamar's Mutterzunge

The work of one of the most prominent German Turkish authors, Emine Sevgi Özdamar, is well known for its multilingual strategies. Her collection of short stories Mutterzunge (1990) is praised for its strategic use of literal translation to convey the linguistic hybridity of cultures that emerged following twentieth century migration from Turkey to Germany. Özdamar points to the impossibility of a homogenous language by creating bilingual neologisms and by referencing Turkish language reforms. While Mutterzunge's use of translation has been well researched, the actual practices shaping the work's translations into other languages and the reception of these translations have remained underexplored. This thesis considers how Mutterzunge’s multilingual qualities are treated in English- and Turkish-language translations, and how the receiving cultures' relationship to migration and multiculturality impact their reception. This project argues that while the English translation sacrifices many of Mutterzunge's creative neologisms to introduce Turkish German cultures to English-speaking audiences through analogy to migration from Mexico, the Turkish translation reiterates the Turkish language reform’s attempt to create a "purer" language, while successfully rendering Özdamar’s neologisms in a context where Turkey is becoming an immigrant-receiving country. As the two translations aim to acquaint their audiences with a multilingual text and the migrant culture it references, they are shaped by experiences of migration and ideas about national identity in the host nations. The thesis concludes that both translations signal a reluctance to fully represent Özdamar’s multilingualism, which points to the need for further conversations on the practices of translation of literary texts that incorporate multilingual strategies.