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> Learning a foreign language at any decent level means becoming acquainted with the literature written in that language and with the culture of the country whe
by w1ntermute 12y ago
> Learning a foreign language at any decent level means becoming acquainted with the literature written in that language and with the culture of the country where the language is spoken.
When your first language is English, both of these things are often possible without actually knowing other languages.
- Tharkun 12y agoHow do you mean? Translated literature loses a lot of nuance. And it's hard to be immersed into a culture when you don't speak the language.
- TillE 12y agoEven a very good translation is not the original. It's basically a separate work. I mean, I've heard some lovely poetic German translations of Shakespeare. But it's not Shakespeare, not really.
- junto 12y agoFunnily enough, some would argue that Shakespeare in modern English also isn't real Shakespeare! Check out the original prenounciation: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gPlpphT7n9s https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gPlpphT7n9s
- mikeash 12y agoI've seen it argued (IMO pretty convincingly) that people who don't speak English get a more authentic Shakespeare experience than those of us who do. English speakers almost always get Shakespeare in the original language, which is nominally English but in reality is just on the edge of understanding. There's a strong current of "this is really different!" any time you get actual Shakespeare, and it really makes the stuff feel unnatural. Whereas people who speak, say, French get Shakespeare translated into modern, idiomatic French and it's much more natural that way. The original isn't necessarily the best or even the most authentic.
- fidotron 12y agoAlmost all non-native English speakers conflate language and culture to a degree that they would interpret your statement as an inherent impossibility. For example, some notions of nationhood are described in terms like "speakers of the Japanese language".