以班雅明的書寫理念閱讀〈譯者使命〉中「字」的旅行－以「傳達」為例

Walter Benjamin’s Writing Style － Re-observing the Traveling Words in Benjamin’s ＂Die Aufgabe des Ubersetzers＂

10.29912/CTR.201603_9(1).0002

鄭惠芬(Hui-Fen Cheng)

班雅明 ； 溝通 ； 傳達 ； 語言哲學 ； 翻譯理論 ； Walter Benjamin ； communicate ； mitteilen ； language philosophy ； translation theory

編譯論叢

9卷1期（2016 / 03 / 01）

37 - 74

繁體中文

瓦特‧班雅明(Walter Benjamin) 的〈譯者使命〉(＂Die Aufgabe des Übersetzers＂)是其生前少數發表的語言論述文章之一，也是當前翻譯理論研究經常引用的文章。其中，班雅明提出了許多看似平常的概念與字彙，然因刻意使用辯證式論證的方式，以及其神學、哲學、文學等多方的相互指涉的結果，使得這篇序言引發了不同的解讀，贏得了難解的名聲。難解的原因之一，在於班雅明刻意為之的特殊用字手法及其論證式的論述邏輯。其中，「意象式思考」(Bilddenken) 對語言所產生的並列與辯證的張力，可謂其特殊用字手法的具體展現。本文即試以〈譯者〉中「傳達」(mitteilen) 一詞為例，並藉由其他相關文章的互文觀察，以據此重新檢視文中該字因此特殊手法所展現的無盡多義性。藉著這樣的梳理，筆者發現到，意象式的思考與書寫實踐的確為翻譯帶來很大的困難，這樣的困難亦使得語言的再譯與再詮釋產生了意義的流變。藉著「傳達」一詞的重新檢視，筆者亦試圖從該文的再譯與評論中檢視該字在其「後繼生命」(Fortleben) 中不斷旅行的軌跡，期能從中得到一些啟發，並為〈譯者〉解讀再多添一些可能。

Walter Benjamin’s ＂Die Aufgabe des Übersetzers＂ is one of his most important published articles. Although it was published as an attached preface to his translation of Charles Baudelaire’s poetry, ＂Tableaux parisiens＂, this article was written not primarily to offer ideas on practical translation issues, but to account for his continuous and consistent concerns with language and linguistic-philosophical questions. Yet Benjamin’s unique style in his writings, perhaps more poetic and philosophical than scientific or pragmatic, makes them seem enigmatic. Thus inevitably there are many different interpretations of his essays, including this one. Although to fully understand this essay may be an impossible task, it will surely help to look more closely at his writing process here. This article thus looks at similar writing phenomena in Benjamin’s other texts that bear the same concerns with the philosophy of language. The primary focus will be on the Bilddenken (＂picture thinking＂) － the constant and repeated use of a word root in forming verbs, nouns, adjectives, etc. in order to unravel a concept. One of the most concrete examples of his habitual writerly practice, this tendency or idiosyncrasy gives his writing a foreign sense even to German readers reading them in the original German. Thus obviously Benjamin’s essays will be difficult for readers from any linguistic background, even if reading them in translation, and professional translators will likely be struggling with the possibilities of translatability. Using the verb ＂mitteilen＂ (to inform, to tell something) as a concrete example, and also with the help of intertextual readings in Benjamin’s other linguistic-philosophical works, this article seeks to look once again at the method of Bilddenken employed in ＂Die Aufgabe des Übersetzers＂ with the goal of facing these difficulties that the translators nowadays are still facing.

1. 胡功澤(2009)。班雅明《譯者天職》中文譯文比較研究。編譯論叢，2(1)，189-248。
   連結：
2. Arendt, H.(Ed.)(1968).Illuminations: Essays and refl ections.New York, NY:Harcourt, Brace & World.
3. de Man, P.(Ed.)(1986).The Resistance to theory.Minneapolis, MN:University of Minnesota Press.
4. Goebel, R. J.(Ed.)(2009).A companion to the works of Walter Benjamin.Rochester, NY:Camden House.
5. Graham, J.(Ed.)(1985).Difference in translation.Ithaca, NY:Cornell University Press.
6. Menninghaus, W.(1995).Walter Benjamins Theorie der Sprachmagie.Frankfurt, Germany:Suhrkamp.
7. Niranjana, T.(1992).Siting translation: History, post-structuralism, and the colonial context.Oakland, CA:University of California Press.
8. Rexroth, T.(Ed.)(1991).Gesammelte Schriften IV.I.Frankfurt, Germany:Suhrkamp.
9. Rexroth, T.(Ed.)(1991).Gesammelte Schriften IV.Frankfurt, Germany:Surhkamp.
10. Schöttker, D.(Ed.),Wizisla, E.(Ed.)(2006).Arendt und Benjamin.Frankfurt, Germany:Suhrkamp.
11. Schweppenhäuser, H.(Ed.)(1991).Gesammelte Schriften I.Frankfurt, Germany:Surhkamp.
12. Smith, G.(Ed.)(1989).Benjamin: Philosophy, history, aesthetics.Chicago, IL:University of Chicago Press.
13. Tiedemann, R.(Ed.)(2005).Walter Benjamin: Sprache und Geschichte: Philosophische essays.Stuttgart, Germany:Reclam.
14. Tiedemann, R.(Ed.),Schweppenhäuser, H.(Ed.)(1991).Gesammelte Schriften II.Frankfurt, Germany:Surhkamp.
15. Tiedemann, R.(Ed.),Schweppenhäuser, H.(Ed.)(1999).Gesammelte Schriften Supplement I.Frankfurt, Germany:Suhrkamp.
16. Weidner, D.(Ed.),Wiegel, S.(Ed.)(2008).Benjamin Studien1.München, Germany:Wilhelm Fink Verlag.
17. Weigel, S.(2008).Walter Benjamin: Die Kreatur, das Heilige, die Bilder.Frankfurt, Germany:Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag.
18. 朱劉華譯、Scholem, G.(2009)。一個友誼的故事。上海:上海譯文出版社。
19. 李士勛譯、徐小青譯(2000)。班雅明作品選：單行道• 柏林童年。香港:香港城市大學出版社。
20. 李茂增譯、蘇仲樂譯(2009)。寫作與救贖─本雅明文選。上海:東方出版社。
21. 張旭東譯、Benjamin, W.(2000)。譯者的任務。西方翻譯理論精選，香港:
22. 郭軍編、曹雷雨編(2004)。論瓦爾特• 本雅明現代性、寓言和語言的種子。中國:吉林人民出版社。

1. 古孟玄(2020)。La otra vida de la novela Wa. Estudio de la traducción española de Rana。外國語文研究，32，71-96。
2. 萬壹遵(2022)。見諸相非相：談班雅明翻譯理論的浪漫性。編譯論叢，15(1)，1-28。
3. 鄭惠芬(2021)。從班雅明書寫中的哲學對話重讀班雅明。翻譯學研究集刊，24，103-121。
4. 鄭惠雯,鄭惠雯(2023)。從entropy創譯為「熵」檢視AI時代的譯者任務。臺大文史哲學報，100，143-168。