The widespread use of Persian in the Ottoman Empire as part of the larger multilingual region of the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond during the early modern to modern periods has been highlighted by scholars from various disciplines. Concepts such as the “Persophonie” (Bert G. Fragner) or the “Persianate world” (Nile Green) have pointed out the significant influence of Persian in the fields of literature, education and, to some extent, administration and diplomacy (e.g. as a lingua franca) in much of the eastern Islamic world from the 11th to the 19th centuries, especially in the Ottoman Empire. However, these discussions still lack adequate contextualisation and a multidisciplinary approach that allows for an analytical understanding of the phenomenon of translation as a particular mechanism of knowledge transmission and exchange in these contexts. The notion of translation as a concept, process, and product of transregional and intercultural entanglements in the broader Transottoman sphere thus poses an ongoing challenge to contemporary scholarship, especially with regard to the discussion of the Persian language and its role and significance in various cultural, literary, and political realms.
The aim of the conference is to bring together scholars with expertise in Persian and Ottoman Turkish language contacts who are interested in the fields of language, literature, and history, and to explore the role of multilingual practices – especially translation – which are an essential part of knowledge production in the respective traditions. In addition, the conference seeks to provide a forum for discussion and collaboration between scholars of Ottoman, Iranian and Arabic studies and beyond who are concerned with the interactions of the three languages in the Ottoman Empire (elsine-i s̱elās̱e) and examine their functions as well as the interrelationships between languages, (literary) genres, and disciplines.
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