Preoccupations with the Text Reading, Interpreting, Translating, Understanding
Enhancing a holistic perspective on the relationship between text and reader is possible by moving beyond the misconception that “Reading is a mental activity,” and exploring the multifaceted and infinite possibilities of being a good reader. From the very first moment of encountering a text, reading, interpreting, translating and understanding reveal themselves in a way that gives rise to and calls for each other. Reflecting on these different aspects of engaging with the text makes the reader question the reading habits she has acquired so far. With a dedication to understanding the text, the reader becomes transparent and gets closer to the reading experience in which she recognizes herself. Based on the Anatolian Academy of Divinity’s themed project, “Text”, this work, which has been transformed into a book here entitled Preoccupations with the Text, aims to regain the act of reading in the age of images we are in, by reshaping our approach not only to academic but also to all genres of texts that address us. With the first chapter “Reading a Text” by Abdullah Başaran, the reader becomes transparent to the text, perhaps for the first time, by focusing not on what is read but on the reader herself. In this way, the reader’s engagement with the text is not objectified, but intertwined with it in a locus where infinite possibilities intersect. The second chapter, “Interpreting a Text” by Selami Varlık, asks the reader to make the text her own and enter the world of the text by experiencing its meaning in a particular way while interpreting it. Erman Gören’s chapter, “Translating a Text”, invites the reader to put on the winged sandals of Hermes, the ancient Greek representation of the translator, and trace the nature of translation. Finally, Burhanettin Tatar’s chapter, “Understanding a Text”, shows the different layers of reading and the power of language, leading the reader to understand herself while understanding the text. With this chapter, one learns the art of reading the gaps embedded in the text as well as the art of discerning what is read in a completely different way.
Keywords: Text; Reading; Interpreting; Translating; Understanding; Hermeneutics