FEATURED NEOLOGISM:

One of my favourite neologisms is “toplumsal cinsiyet” in Turkish, which translates to “gender as a social construct”, distinguishing it from biyolojik cinsiyet (biological sex).The term entered Turkish feminist, academic, and activist discourse in the 1990s, following the global influence of gender studies, particularly through translations and adaptations of works by theorists such as Judith Butler and Gayle Rubin. It was used to fill a conceptual gap in Turkish, emphasizing that gender roles and identities are shaped by society, not just biology.

It marked a critical shift in Turkish public and scholarly debates, especially in women’s studies, translation studies, education, and human rights activism. Today, it is widely used in academic, NGO, and policy-related contexts.

Dr. Kübra Çelik is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English Translation and Interpreting at Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University (Turkey). She holds a PhD in Translation Studies from Yıldız Technical University, where she focused on the intersections
of translation, ideology, and gender. She also earned a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction and a BA in Translation and Interpreting Studies. Her research interests include feminist translation, ecofeminism, intertextuality, translation criticism,
and the semiotics of translation. She has over a decade of experience teaching English and translation at various higher education institutions, including the Middle East Technical University. Currently, her work explores how feminist translators utilize strategies
such as neologism and grammatical shifts to challenge dominant discourse and promote alternative epistemologies.