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Depends very much on the writing style. Some authors don't use a lot of fancy, poetic language. For instance, reading a translation of the Da Vinci Code, Hunge
by cptaj 9y ago
Depends very much on the writing style. Some authors don't use a lot of fancy, poetic language.
For instance, reading a translation of the Da Vinci Code, Hunger Games or Harry Potter, you're probably not missing out on anything. Reading translation of pretty much all poetry, you're missing out on everything.
There's a whole spectrum there in between.
- baby 9y agoThis, I can't imagine reading Bukowski in another language as I can't imagine reading a translation of Les Liaisons Dangereuses.
- jakobloekke 9y agoActually, the Danish translation of The Davinci Code is a great example of a translation that just flips the words into the new language, resulting in some very strange sentences that sound unmistakenly American. A lot of translated business literature (and most Netflix subtitles) are the same way. Harry Potter, on the other hand, is beautifully recreated in Danish and thus mimics the effortless reading experience of the original.
- kej 9y agoTangential, but there was actually some interesting work put into the Harry Potter translations. Puns like Diagon Alley need to be turned into something meaningful in the target language, and they have to be careful not to change any of the clues dropped in early books so that they'll still work later on.
- armandososa 9y agoAs an Spanish speaker (from Mexico), I hate reading anything translated in Spain. They make absolutely no effort in translating the idioms, or cultural references. Latin American translations are better IMHO, but I almost always read in english.