Storytelling Motif, Self-Reflexive Tone and Metanarrative Mode in the Translations of Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar’s The Time Regulation Institute

Mustafa Zeki Çıraklı

doi:10.59045/nalans.2025.85

Authors

Mustafa Zeki Çıraklı Karadeniz Technical University Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1760-3209

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59045/nalans.2025.85

Keywords:

Tanpınar, The Time Regulation Institute, generic modality, metanarrative mode, supertext

Abstract

Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar’s The Time Regulation Institute (1961) is a narrative of narration, punctuated by recurring elements of storytelling. Considering the English versions of the novel (Gürol, 2001; Freely & Dawe, 2013) from a narratological perspective, this study analyses the transfer, or reproduction, of higher-order narrative signs, namely, supertexts, in the target discourses. Initially drawing on Sketch Engine as a launching pad for further qualitative analysis within Chesterman’s causal model, the study discusses the shifts in informative range, abstraction or explicitation, cultural filtering, and modal transfer. The findings indicate that both translations emphasise adherence to language, structure, and cultural nuances, with minimal omissions or manipulations of the text and context, and that the narrative mode is consistent across both versions. Nevertheless, a detailed examination reveals that the translation of supertexts produces different fictional, metafictional, and performative effects on the texts. Modal transfer is efficient when strategies extend beyond syntactic or semantic shifts, focusing instead on how tone, voice, interpersonal stance, narrative gestures, and cultural references are negotiated. The study contends that narratives generate ‘supertexts’ that synthesise many narrative layers and that the act of translation cannot be reduced to mere textual and contextual components; rather, supertexts require narratologically informed attention to capture generic modality.

Author Biography

Mustafa Zeki Çıraklı, Karadeniz Technical University

Mustafa Zeki Çıraklı
Karadeniz Technical University, Türkiye
mzcirakli@gmail.com
0000-0002-1760-3209

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