Sociopolitical realities in translation for children: the Thousand and One Nights at the current bend of a century-old journey in the Republic of Türkiye

Dinçkan Y. S., OKYAYUZ A. Ş.

Middle Eastern Literatures, 2026 (AHCI, Scopus) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Publication Date: 2026
  • Doi Number: 10.1080/1475262x.2026.2645635
  • Journal Name: Middle Eastern Literatures
  • Journal Indexes: Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), Scopus, IBZ Online, Index Islamicus, Jewish Studies Source, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Religion and Philosophy Collection
  • Keywords: appropriation, children’s literature, politics of translation, The Thousand and One Nights, translation
  • Hacettepe University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

The article examines the Turkish translations of the Thousand and One Nights for children in the post-2002 era. It focuses on the shift in national policies and how this shift shaped the translation of children’s literature. Beginning with an overview of the historical trajectory of the translations of the work into Turkish against the sociopolitical backdrop of the time, the study compiles and analyses post-2002 translations. The analysis exposes both a disregard for current translation studies literature as well as a state-led national transformation policy. Policy makers have effectively utilized the Thousand and One Nights (as a work deeply rooted in the older Eastern cultures) as a tool for political change, making its post-2002 translations a fertile ground for analysis.