Programme > Speakers list > Logotheti Amaryllis

Greece is a country that has not remained untouched by the massive export of Turkish series to the Mediterranean world. For the past seven years, Greek TV has been progressively hosting more and more Turkish series, sometimes more than Greek ones. Being myself part of this process, I would like to share my experience as a translator-subtitler of Turkish series for Greek television and explain how and why this process takes place. The axes of my presentation will be the following:

1. Greek TV space and its transformations: as a introduction I will give an overview of the first Turkish series that conquered the Greek audience ("Yabancı Damat"), explain the reasons for its huge success and try to show the snowball effect that caused other series to follow.

2. The production mechanism: my main focus will be on the way series are imported and treated. What are the criteria according to which Greek TV chooses the soap operas that are to be imported? What are all the steps taken between the choice of a TV series and its airing on a private channel?

3. The challenge of translation: At this point I would like to underline the most common problems that a translator encounters when it comes to Turkish series with the help of videos, such as:

3a. The language barrier: all languages have their own expressions which do not always have an equivalent in a different language. The Turkish series vary immensely in linguistic environments (from local Anatolian dialects to highly elaborate Ottoman Turkish). How do we deal with all the differences?

3b. The cultural and religious factor: How do we overcome obstacles in translating expressions that are directly linked to cultural and religious practices which the Greek audience may not be familiar with?

3c. Misinterpreting the meaning: The translating landscape is far from ideal in Greece, since few people are actually qualified to translate from Turkish to Greek. What are the most common mistakes and misperceptions?

4. Final remarks: the Turkish series are very popular in Greece and the abundance of different forms like soap operas, documentaries etc. has led not only to a blooming business but also to a cultural shift. The Greek audience is much less hostile to the Turkish people and tends often to identify with the leading actors, their social or personal dramas and sometimes with the dominant culture that is promoted through these series.