A Study Of Walter Benjamin As A Translation Theorist

Walter Benjamin, a German philosopher and literary critic, is regarded as a greattranslator and translation theorist owing to his fruitful achievements in translationfield. His translation view is centered on the notion that a translation does not exist totransfer meanings of the original but coexist and complement with the original,pursuing the attainment of Pure Language. Benjamin's translation thoughts are deeplyrooted in his philosophical thoughts, wherein the philosophy of pure language,theology, ontology and dialectics are the basis of his translation theory, which hasexerted an influence on many later translation theorists.The paper first reviews Benjamin's life and his main achievements in translation,followed by a probe into the philosophy behind Benjamin's translation theory withmethods of deduction and induction. The third chapter, by the methods of influenceresearch and case studies, analyzes the influences of Benjamin as a translation theoriston Derrida and Steiner so as to expound Benjamin's contribution to westerntranslation studies. The conclusion is drawn that despite the limitation of Benjamin'stheory, his translation theory is profound and influential, which is closely related tohis philosophical thoughts. Benjamin's way of translation study from the perspectiveof philosophy has endowed translation itself with philosophical significance.All in all, based on researches on Benjamin domestically and abroad, the papermakes a comprehensive study of Benjamin's translation theory with the hope ofhaving a thorough understanding of Benjamin as a translation theorist.