/Thetaskofthetranslator

Walter Benjamin, "The Task of the Translator"

In the appreciation of a work of art or an art form, consideration of the receiver never proves fruitful. Not only is any reference to a certain public or its representativesmisleading, but even the concept of an "ideal" receiver is detrimental in the theoreticalconsideration of art

Is a translation meant for readers who do not understand the original

If the original does not exist for the reader's sake,how could the translation be understood on the basis of this premise?

Translation is a mode. To comprehend it as mode one must go back to the original, for that contains the law governing the translation: its translatability.Translatability is an essential quality of certain works, which is not to say that it isessential that they be translated; it means rather that a specific significance inherent inthe original manifest itself in its translatability. It is plausible that no translation,however good it may be, can have any significance as regards the original

For a translation comes later than the original, andsince the important works of world literature never find their chosen translators at thetime of their origin, their translation marks their stag of continues life.