Shards And Différance: Re-examination Of Benjamin’s Ideas On Translation

Translation ideas or thoughts of the translator or the translation theorist are animportant part of translation theories. German philosopher, literary critic andtranslation theorist Walter Benjamin’s ideas on translation have received more andmore attention in recent decades for his unique angle of view and lingering influenceon the development of translation theories. At present, studies around Benjamin’sideas on translation are common occurrences but far from comprehensive andthorough, especially lacking those based on historical contexts and Benjamin’sselective translation activities.This thesis adopted methods of inductive reasoning and comparative study, toreview the current situations of Benjamin’s ideas on translation in the West and inChina, followed by a reorganization of main issues of constant debate fromBenjamin’s translation ideas, to expound miscellaneous contexts for his ideas ontranslation, to discuss the relevance of Benjamin’s ideas and deconstruction theory ontranslation and disagreements between the two, and to summarize the distinctivecontributions to translation theories and practical instruction for translation activities.The thesis consists of four chapters. Chapter One is an introductory presentationof the background, purpose, significance and approaches of the research. Chapter Twois the literature review, in which researches on current situations of Benjamin’s ideason translation in the West and in China and main issues of constant debate aresummarized and achievements and deficiencies of those researches are demonstratedas well. Chapter Three expounds the miscellaneous contexts, especially his selectivetranslation activities for his ideas on translation, explores the relation betweenBenjamin’s ideas and deconstruction theory on translation, and summarizes thedistinctive contributions to theoretical studies and practical instruction for translationactivities. Chapter Four is the conclusion which summarizes the findings andlimitations of this research and also puts forward some issues open to further study. This thesis is an attempt of intensive study based on findings of currentresearches on Benjamin’s ideas on translation, to point out that miscellaneous contextsfor his ideas on translation and his selective translation practice should be taken intoconsideration, and that the relevance of Benjamin’s ideas and deconstruction theoryon translation and the disagreements between the two should be sorted out. The authorof the thesis appeals that more scholars of translation theories pay close attention toand commit themselves to the researches and studies needed to be done so as to pushforward studies of translation theories and translation practice.