발터 벤야민(W. Benjamin)의 번역론에 관한 소고

Abstract

A Study on W. Benjamin's Theory of Translation Yun, Seong Woo(Hankuk University of Foreign Studies) The aim of this paper is to reveal some implications of Benjamin's theory of the translation, focusing on "The Task of the Translator". His conceptions of translation are more complex than they appear. Although some commentaries of Benjamin's works try to develop his point of views of translation, his arguments remain dense and always contain a thought that proceeds by means of logical discordance. We propose that his idea of translation is fundamentally based on that of language. Accordingly, it is necessary to understand primarily Benjamin's concepts of language. Benjamin translated a part of Tableaux Parisiens of Baudelaire into german. "The Task of the Translator" appears as a preface of his translation. In this essay he argues that the true essence of language is not a simple linguistic sign by which the human beings designate things of the world, but a real media in which the language transfers itself.According to this idea of language, Benjamin's theory of translation is not simply to translate a meaning of the phrase or the sentence, but to assimilate a singular form of the source language. It naturally accompanied with the sense of image, expression, tone of the source texts. Finally it leads to the way to surpass a meaning oriented translation by assuming the becoming and variation of the target language as acceptable frame of the creative linguistic characteristics. Through the criticism of a meaning oriented translation, Benjamin requires that a third language ,called 'pure language', harmonize a source text with a target text. But as far as used in a theologico-metaphysical mode, the concept of pure language remains doubtful.