A Study On Wilhelm Von Humboldt's Translation Thought

Wilhelm von Humboldt has won renown as a great philosopher, ideologist and linguistin German Romantic Period. He has a feeling for ancient Greek culture and has translatedmany classic literary works of ancient Greece, including Pindar, Aeschylus, Agamemnon, etc.In the Introduction to his translation of Agamemnon, Humboldt expounds his philosophicalideas on language and translation, which brings enlightenment and innovative insight to thestudy of translation.This thesis, at first, presents the features and connotations of Humboldt's translationtheory, followed by the discussion of the connection and interaction between Humboldt'stranslation theory and its source, the philosophy of language, with the intention of fullyunderstanding his translation thought. In chapter three, the thesis elaborates Humboldt'scontribution to the Western translation studies and the inspiration he gives to Chinesetranslation studies, meanwhile, indicates the limitation of his translation thought. At the endof this thesis, it is concluded that Humboldt's translation thought is unique and profound; thathis translation thought derived from his philosophy of language has laid a solid, logical andrational foundation for the explanation of translation action, and that his academic influencewas a great promotion for the Western translation studies.In brief, this thesis titled A Study on Wilhelm von Humboldt's Translation Thought, hasmade a systematic study of Humboldt's translation theory with the method of induction anddeduction and by the analytical research on the historical documents concerned. The purposeof this thesis is to reveal the spirit and essence of Humboldt's translation thought anddemonstrate his contribution to translation theory in the hope of gaining an in-depthunderstanding of the source, the current state and the relevant issues of Western translationtheory.