/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.1118659]

Is it bad to read English books in your native language or should you only ever read them in English?

[Anonymous No.1118660]

French-Australian here.
Even though English was my first language and that I mostly grew up and schooled in France, I always read them in English.
I don't know why though, french seems harder to me.

[Anonymous No.1118661]

90% of translators are shitheads who think it's their job to improve on what the original author wrote. A lot of books come out very different tonally when translated.

If you're in it sheerly for entertainment value, don;t worry, but if you're trying to develop as a literary scholar/critic on any level, it's a bad idea. And it never hurts to work on your English.

[Anonymous No.1118662]

>>1118660
Bonjour cher ami francophone !

[Anonymous No.1118663]

No, of course not. Native english speakers read Kafka, Dostoyevsky, Camus etc. as translated versions. The only thing to make sure of is that you get a decent translated copy, maybe read some different translations of the text to get a feel of the quality of the translation. If you're a bit more concerned, read a bit about the authors writing style such as sentence structure and prose to get a better feel for the translation.

[Anonymous No.1118665]

>>1118661
Well I've got a bunch of books to read for my 2010-2011 literature course and it's taking me too much time (I have a lot of books to read just for pleasure). I understand English but I have to concentrate more so it takes me longer

[Anonymous No.1118669]

bump

[Anonymous No.1118685]

>>1118662
Salutations !

[Anonymous No.1118713]

Reading something in the original is always better than reading it in translation, but reading it in translation is better than not reading it at all.

[Anonymous No.1118760]

>>1118713
Except when the translator improves the book.