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Borges is totally recommended, of course, but after reading him in the original language I think his English translations lack the poetry and music of his writi
by 101008 2y ago
Borges is totally recommended, of course, but after reading him in the original language I think his English translations lack the poetry and music of his writings. For once I am happy Spanish is my first language.
- theshaper 2y agoHey! Opino lo mismo! (I agree!)
- jtmoulia 2y agoThe last few months I've been picking up Spanish language editions of Borges's short stories and poems from used book stores. Two decades ago during school I took two years of Spanish, so reading native Borges would be way beyond my comprehension. With AI tools, though, I can "read" Borges in his native language: with my phone + OCR + translate I have an English language companion. Or, using the voice interface I can try narrating the Spanish text and ask clarifying questions whenever I'm confused. An author like Borges makes it well worth the extra effort. And, his puzzles often involve language, so the extra layer of mental translation can mirror the work itself, e.g. in his poem La luna [1]. (though, I envy your native Spanish) 1. https://www.gaceta.unam.mx/la-luna-un-poema-de-borges/ https://www.gaceta.unam.mx/la-luna-un-poema-de-borges/
- tgv 2y agoMy Spanish is more advanced (I was fluent in everyday Spanish, not so much in the more formal use), and I'm reading El Aleph now. It sure takes quite some effort. So many unknown words. And he can turn a phrase quite concisely. But worthwhile.
- 101008 2y agoCongrats on both of you for putting the effort! I am from Buenos Aires, Argentina, so 100% same language as Borges. However, as both of you already said, it isn't even easy for us to read Borges. He has a complex sentence structure, and uses a lot of not-so-common words, so you have to read it really carefully, paying extra attention (not as I'd read any other text). But in the end is really worthwile, everytime I read something by Borges (new or not), I found it fascinating.
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- Izikiel43 2y agoI had the same issue with Stephen King, reading it in English after reading Spanish translations is a different world.
- anthk 2y agoWhich editions? The Iberian Spanish ones are not that different in tone/speech to the original English ones.
- Izikiel43 2y agoYes, Iberian spanish. The issue is that I'm from Latam, so the slang used in Iberian spanish, and some conjugations still sound foreign to me. In english, King's words flow better, the intent and the idea are much clearer, and since I've been much more exposed to American culture than Iberian culture, it feels much more familiar.
- anthk 2y agoAh, I'd guess the Latam Spanish has more traits in common with the American English. Similar to Iberian Spanish novels being compared to the British English ones since Cervantes/Hamlet. On these conjugations, compound verbs are not hard at all.
- Izikiel43 2y agoThey are not hard, I agree, but they sound weird/foreign to me when in my version of Spanish we barely use them.