Literary translation, Relationship between source and target language, German Romantic philosophy, Walter Benjamin, Franz Rosenzweig
Abstract
Within the conceptual framework of creativity, the article addresses the vast and complex topic of literary translation, and traces a brief philosophical and cultural-historical line of development from Luther to Walter Benjamin and Franz Rosenzweig. Starting with Luther's Sendbrief vom Dolmetschen (Open Letter on Translating), the concept of translation in German-speaking countries has always moved between the two opposing poles of fidelity to the original and adaptation to the characteristics of the target language. From the Romantic Age onwards, with the most radical expression in the early writings of Walter Benjamin, the idea of creativity connected with translation has often been combined with the need to manipulate the target language in order to match the characteristics of the source language as closely as possible, thus intersecting the concepts of metamorphosis, transformation, regeneration and, in the Hebrew-German context, of messianic redemption.
