The Task of the Translator

by Walter Benjamin

Inês Pinto, 163223

Renata Reis, 163207

Tiago Almeida, 162408

1. Walter Benjamin

2. Essay

4. The Role of the Translator

5. Conclusion

3. Analysis

Walter Benjamin (1892–1940)

• German-Jewish philosopher, cultural critic and essayist.
• Best known: Interdisciplinary approach to intellectual inquiry.
• Strongly influenced by German idealism, Marxism, Jewish mysticism and French philosophy.
• Critical of capitalist consumer culture and bourgeois rationalism.

Essay - “The Task of the Translator”

• First published in 1923.
• Delves into aesthetic and ethical dimensions of the translation process.
• Treats the translation as a philosophical and artistic act.
• Pursuit of a "pure language".
• The afterlife of literary works.
• Art form and a means of cross-cultural communication.

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Essay - Analysis

According to Benjamin:

• A translation is part of the ‘afterlife’ of a text.
• Recreates the value given to the text throughout the ages.
• It conveys a ‘pure language’
• Loss and gain

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The Role of the Translator

• Artistic figure → co-creator of the text
• A “bridge” → replicates and transforms the text in a faithful way and opens the original text to new interpretations and audiences.
• Creates an "echo" → capturing the spirit, literal content and deeper meaning of the original

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The Purpose of the Translation

• make the original work accessible to a wider audience while preserving its intrinsic qualities.
• convey the literal meaning

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• evoke the stylistic and emotional nuances
• fidelity vs. creative liberty
• the original and its translation, share a ‘vital link’ → arises a greater language, a ‘pure language’.

Loss and Gain

Nuances, linguistic aspects, and cultural references might not fully transfer to another language

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Lost in Translation

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Translator brings insights, interpretation, equivalences and other resources to the translation

uncover the kinship between languages and moves closer to the idea of "pure language"

Gain

Gain: Pure Language & Kinship

Pure Language

• transcendent form of communication
• source of all linguistic expression
• released in the translation through literalisms, especially in syntax

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Language A

Language B

Pure

Language

Kinship of Languages

• all languages are interconnected
• share a common origin.
• revealing the underlying unity and shared essence

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“It is the task of the translator to release in his own language that pure language that is under the spell of another, to liberate the language imprisoned in a work in his re-creation of that work.”

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-Walter Benjamin

Conclusion

• Benjamin challenges the traditional view of translation as a mere transposition of words.
• The translator's real task goes beyond literalness. The essence of the text must be captured.
• Translation is a creative process that connects and transforms languages.
• Benjamin's approach emphasizes the role of translation as a mediator between cultures and times.

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Thank you!

Kahoot time!