Twenty-Five Theses on the Task of the Translator: With, against, and beyond Walter Benjamin

The main purpose of this paper is to reflect on processes of translation. To this end, it is divided into two parts. The first part provides an in-depth analysis of the central claims made by Walter Benjamin in his seminal essay “The Task of the Translator” (1986 1968/1955/1923), also known as “The Translator’s Task” (1997 1923 & 2021 2000/1923), originally published in 1923 under the title “Die Aufgabe des Übersetzers” (1992 1923). The paper argues that these claims can be presented, and partially revised, in the form of twenty-five theses. The second part examines some controversial issues arising from the preceding theses. As demonstrated in this section, the careful evaluation of Benjamin’s perspective permits us to shed new light on key issues faced by philosophical and sociological approaches to translation. The paper concludes by suggesting that the critical engagement with the task of the translator illustrates that “trans-ineffability” (that is, the fact that not everything can be expressed “in” language just as not everything can be rendered intelligible “across” languages) is a challenging, but ultimately enriching and empowering, part of the human condition.