Theory of Translation

Abstract

Herder’s theory of translation not only ultimately inspired but is also superior to the most important current theories of translation, those of Berman and Venuti. It is superior to them largely because it continues a traditional conception that faithfully re-expressing the meaning of the source text is a central criterion of success in translation. Like his hermeneutics, Herder’s translation theory rests on his philosophy of language and his principle of radical mental difference. He develops a number of important principles here, including a principle that the way to achieve semantic faithfulness in the face of conceptual differences is to “bend” word-usages in the target language in order to reproduce those in the source language, and a principle that translation must also strive for musical faithfulness. His translation theory not only inspired Schleiermacher’s but also made possible the extraordinary improvements in translation practice that occurred in the generation after him.