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Don't you want to appreciate the book at its best, as it was appreciated by readers who read it in its original language? Why demand a compromised work? If you
by kevingadd 1y ago
Don't you want to appreciate the book at its best, as it was appreciated by readers who read it in its original language? Why demand a compromised work? If you want to soak up untranslated idioms, you can just learn another language.
- PaulDavisThe1st 1y agofun fact: Gabriel Garcia Marquez said in public that he believed the english translation of "100 anos de soledad" was better than his spanish original.
- nemetroid 1y agoA book with that title would surely be very different indeed.
- readthenotes1 1y ago"just learn another language." Lol Just learn many other languages and cultural idioms that are sometimes regional and dense with meaning?
- alganet 1y agoThe reason to do it is precisely because it is hard.
- kevingadd 1y agoI sincerely believe everyone should learn at least one other language. At least make the effort, you'll learn a lot in the process and it can be quite fun. It also enriches your understanding of your primary language once you've seen how other languages express particular concepts.
- readthenotes1 1y agoAbsolutely, but there are good books written in many different languages. Also, as I mentioned, some idioms have regional meaning which raises the complexity greatly
- j7ake 1y agoSorry but translated works do not mean compromised work. Don’t disrespect translators like that. Second, Learning a language is not a binary variable. It takes decades to master a language. Finally, Your ability to appreciate a book is both a function of the text and your ability to comprehend the text. A translated book will give you better experience than the book in a language you are unfamiliar with.
- kevingadd 1y ago"I want the original language to punch through a bit and be celebrated especially with idioms." is asking for a compromised, incompletely translated work, no?
- AlotOfReading 1y agoNot at all. Take the example of the Bible. Most people don't want a Bible with everything translated to perfectly modern English. They have expectations of the work that are better served by using some archaic/historical terms, or even leaving terms like the tetragrammaton intact.
- jbjbjbjb 1y agoWell if I really wanted to appreciate the book at its best I’d learn the language and read the original. But that has its obvious impracticalities. I think it’s a trade off then. I’d prefer authenticity, richness and nuance over accessibility. It is just preference. Did you prefer the modern accessible versions of Shakespeare or the originals in their Elizabethan glory?