Question:
Which of the following is not true about Walter Benjamin's essay “The Task of the Translator”?
Which of the following is not true about Walter Benjamin's essay “The Task of the Translator”?
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Benjamin's “The Task of the Translator” is associated with the idea of pure language, not with simple formal equivalence.
Updated On: Jul 17, 2026
- It is translated by Harry Zohn.
- It is an introduction to the translation of Baudelaire's Tableux Parisiens.
- It states that good translation should focus on formal equivalence of the source language.
- Benjamin discourses about the idea of ‘pure language'.
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The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
Step 1 : Understanding the Question:
This question asks us to identify the incorrect statement among four given claims regarding the themes, publication history, and translators of Walter Benjamin's essay "The Task of the Translator".
Step 2 : Key Formulas and Approach:
The approach involves reviewing the core theoretical and philosophical arguments in Benjamin's essay, contrasting his mystical views on language and translatability with common translation concepts like "formal equivalence".
Step 3 : Detailed Explanation:
• Walter Benjamin's essay "The Task of the Translator" (originally "Die Aufgabe des Übersetzers", 1923) is a foundational text in twentieth-century translation philosophy.
• Statement A is correct because the essay was famously translated into English by Harry Zohn and published in the collection Illuminations.
• Statement B is correct because the essay was written as a philosophical introduction to Benjamin's German translation of Charles Baudelaire's collection of poems, Tableaux Parisiens.
• Statement D is correct because Benjamin uses the essay to discuss his mystical, philosophical concept of "pure language" (reine Sprache), which underlies all human languages.
• Statement C is incorrect because Benjamin does not argue that a good translation should focus on formal or literal equivalence. Instead, he rejects the idea that translation is a mere tool for communication or reproduction, arguing that a translation must liberate the "pure language" imprisoned in the original text by allowing the target language to be transformed by the foreign source language.
Step 4 : Final Answer:
The statement that is not true about Benjamin's essay is option (C).
The correct option is (C) It states that good translation should focus on formal equivalence of the source language.
This question asks us to identify the incorrect statement among four given claims regarding the themes, publication history, and translators of Walter Benjamin's essay "The Task of the Translator".
Step 2 : Key Formulas and Approach:
The approach involves reviewing the core theoretical and philosophical arguments in Benjamin's essay, contrasting his mystical views on language and translatability with common translation concepts like "formal equivalence".
Step 3 : Detailed Explanation:
• Walter Benjamin's essay "The Task of the Translator" (originally "Die Aufgabe des Übersetzers", 1923) is a foundational text in twentieth-century translation philosophy.
• Statement A is correct because the essay was famously translated into English by Harry Zohn and published in the collection Illuminations.
• Statement B is correct because the essay was written as a philosophical introduction to Benjamin's German translation of Charles Baudelaire's collection of poems, Tableaux Parisiens.
• Statement D is correct because Benjamin uses the essay to discuss his mystical, philosophical concept of "pure language" (reine Sprache), which underlies all human languages.
• Statement C is incorrect because Benjamin does not argue that a good translation should focus on formal or literal equivalence. Instead, he rejects the idea that translation is a mere tool for communication or reproduction, arguing that a translation must liberate the "pure language" imprisoned in the original text by allowing the target language to be transformed by the foreign source language.
Step 4 : Final Answer:
The statement that is not true about Benjamin's essay is option (C).
The correct option is (C) It states that good translation should focus on formal equivalence of the source language.
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