Negotiating Identity Through Epitexts of Translated Fiction

This study investigates the role of epitexts in Armenian newspapers published in Tiflis (1858–1905) as tools for shaping cultural identity through translated fiction. Drawing on Gérard Genette’s concept of epitexts and José Yuste Frías’s notion of paratranslation, it analyzes paratexts in four major Armenian periodicals—Meghu Hayastani, Mshak, Nor-Dar, and Ardzaganq. Examining 210 news items and articles, the research shows how these texts constructed auto- and hetero-stereotypes by framing cultural identity through the Self/Other binary. This process reflected deep cultural divisions among Armenians, notably between those living in the Russian and Ottoman Empires and Armenians in Western countries. Additional factors complicating Armenian identity included religious differences—between followers of the Armenian Apostolic Church and other denominations—and linguistic divides between Eastern and Western Armenian literary languages, unlike the unified literary language in countries such as Germany and Austria. The study highlights the role of the Armenian press in mediating foreign cultural influences, critiquing translation quality, and fostering debates on national identity, language modernization, and intercultural exchange. The ideological split between liberal and conservative newspapers further reveals contrasting approaches to cultural assimilation, with epitexts serving as platforms for negotiating Armenian identity within a broader socio-political context. This research underscores the importance of epitexts in understanding how Armenian cultural identity was both challenged and reinforced amid shifting political and cultural landscapes

Armenian · Ideology · Negotiation · Newspaper · Politics · Central European national history · Islamic Studies and History · Turkey's Politics and Society

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