Walter Benjamin and "The Task of the Translator". An Interpretation based on his Influence by Phenomenology

Seminar paper from the year 2014 in the subject Literature - Comparative Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Tubingen, language: English, abstract: In "The Task of the Translator", Walter Benjamin sets forth what he believes to be the true goal of any work of translation. Instead of conforming to the reader, a translation should conform to the source and target language of the work, the purpose of which is to expose the relationship between the two languages, how each complements the other in its use. But is there more to Benjamins Task than that? Walter Benjamin is commonly thought of as a Neukantianer because of his influence by the Marburger school, especially Cohen. Little is known, however, about his influence by Husserls school of phenomenology. In this paper, we will determine Benjamins influence by phenomenology by first developing a concise conception of intentionality based on a close reading of Husserls principle work Logische Untersuchungen, as intentionality is the key term linking Benjamin to the phenomenological tradition. We will then provide a novel interpretation of Benjamins essay "Die Aufgabe des ـbersetzers" by focusing on his use of the phenomenological term intention and, with help of Benjamins fragments on the philosophy of language-where he also used the term intention in the phenomenological sens, provide a novel understanding of what Benjamin means by "das Gemeinte" and "die Art des Meinens" with respect to his theory of translation.