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Translation MA, International Affairs, Turkish


I became fully convinced that Translation Studies at XXXX University was my first choice for graduate school when I learned that your curriculum includes a class in Turkish. English is my second best of 4 languages after my native Turkish; translation is my field. A young woman from Istanbul, my parents are well-educated and have always been most keen to talk about Turkish affairs and interests, especially international business. Thus, I grew up thinking of myself as an advocate for my country, seeking to promote its interests on the world stage. By adulthood, I came to focus on translation as the best way to achieve this goal, ready to travel, increasingly coming to see myself as a global citizen as well as a woman from Turkey. Most recently, struck by the horrors happening across the border in Syria for more than three years now, I have become interested in issues of peacemaking and conflict resolution, especially insofar as translation and interpretation studies might be useful in these areas.

Russia has long been a very important trading partner for Turkey. My father encouraged me to learn Russian and it came easily since I began as a child, learning from the children of Russians living in Turkey who were friends of my family. Excelling in my undergraduate work in Translation and Interpreting Studies in Russian at University of XXXX resulted in my being awarded a scholarship from the Russian Federation to attend XXXX University for one year of full immersion in Russian in St. Petersburg (where I have recently arrived), so that I will be nearing fluency in Russian by the time I enroll at Edinburgh University next fall. My Russian may never become as good as my English, however, since I spent six months in Houston Texas as a teenager which did wonders for my English, which I have also worked very hard since childhood. In Houston, I also began learning Spanish, something that I look forward to taking advantage of as we celebrate international diversity at the University of Edinburgh.

I also want very much to develop my thinking about translation and language interpretation from a multidisciplinary perspective in a way that is relevant to addressing the human issues of our day, especially migration. Turkey is full of desperate refugees fleeing violence in neighboring Syria and Iraq—all trying to get to Europe and many dying in the process. The International Relations Department at XXXX University has a central focus on these kinds of international humanitarian issues and I look forward to attending as many lectures in these areas as well.

In August this year I visited Scotland and spent time in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Balloter (to see the Highland games), and finally Edinburgh. I was fortunate to be there while the fringe festival was on and I really fell in love with the city. There is nothing quite like walking down the royal mile catching some street acts performed in front of beautiful and historical stone buildings.

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