Dante in Italian

[Anonymous No.12260373]

alright, how long will it take to learn Italian to be able to read Dante? can I do it on my own?
where do I start?

[Anonymous No.12260380]

2-3 weeks

Just keep reading Dante in Italian and eventually it will start to make sense

[Anonymous No.12260849]

>>12260380
This, just keep reading it over and over again until you can understand it

[Anonymous No.12260919]

Uh... it took me like three or four months of watching anime dubbed on italian to understand it. Non ho la fluidezza per parlarne giusto, ancora. Ma capisco tutto che letto

[Anonymous No.12260920]

>>12260380
>>12260849
>>12260919
you're all liars. Languages take years to learn

[Anonymous No.12260938]

>>12260920
Basic, plain vocabulary can be learned very quickly; regardless of the language. You envious faggot

[Anonymous No.12260951]

>>12260849
This. Reading him in the original is a highly aesthetic experience because of the terza rima even if you can’t understand the language. And if you’re not a brainlet and you work hard and start with grammar you can grasp the language surprisingly quickly. I learned Italian in about two weeks.

[Anonymous No.12260955]

>>12260920
They're not lying entirely. Languages are easy to learn, but you should first learn how the grammar is structured. After that, you can consume the language for a while and things will make sense if you get excellent context for it (e.g. télé, picture books, etc.). Though just reading Dante will most likely not help unless you're fluent in another, closely-related language. I'd say that you can learn Italian in under a year if you're dedicated (or have a really good memory).

[Anonymous No.12260996]

A lot, it's not a matter of understanding the language, it's a matter of meaning. And that is very hard even for Italian native speakers, as it often quotes events or characters who you might not know at all. Let me say this: Paradise's language is completely different compared to that in Hell, we're talking about a different beast.
I studied the Divine Comedy for three years in Highschool, I liked it but you definitely need a guide even if you're reading it in English.

>>12260951
>I learned Italian in about two weeks

Bullshit. The way Italian works makes it impossible to learn in 14 days, and again: The Divine Comedy is hard even for those whi natively speak Italian.

[Anonymous No.12261000]

>>12260373
If you know Spanish, it’s literally a mather of learning nea vocabulary. Same for Latin except even more so.

[Anonymous No.12261007]

>>12260996
>I studied the Divine Comedy for three years in Highschool

Really? I finished in just a few days.

[Anonymous No.12261013]

>>12260373
It really depends on your mother tongue. If you know a Romance language already, like say, Spanish, then it'll be a walk in the park. If you're Anglophone, it'll be harder, but of course, not impossible.

[Anonymous No.12261026]

Learning a latin rooted language when your native tongue is also latin based is next to trivial.
Only brainlets could struggle with something as simple.

[Anonymous No.12261044]

>>12261007
>in just a few days

It's not a book you read in a few days and forget. Take Purgatory or, better, Paradise. It gets very complicated once you leave Hell behind, not only the language shifts completely, but even metaphors and concept border on the obscure sometimes. Again, some of the verses are simply too convoluted to be understood even with notes explaining what he meant or who is who and how he related to Dante. There's a reason you study The Divine Comedy for years in Italy.

[Anonymous No.12261057]

I understand learning ancient Greek since there were plenty of great works but Italian? What's the point for just one book? Anyway, it would take you anywhere from 1 to 4 years depending on your mother tongue.

[Anonymous No.12261151]

>>12261057
Leopardi, too.

[Anonymous No.12261167]

>>12261044
any editions that do this well enough?

[Anonymous No.12261194]

>>12261167
I'm not sure myself. I read one in Italian that had extensive notes containing not only information about the characters and the events described, but sometimes even suggestions on how to interpret entire sets of verses (again, those who say you can read the Divine Comedy in Italian without those are full of shit), apart from containing plenty of comments from literature critics at the end of each chant. I can't remember the exact name of the publisher, but almost all the edition used in High Schools/Universities are structured like that. Also: you'll need to buy each book separately.

Once I get to my parents home I'll look for my exact edition, but again, don't go for something like Penguin or similar, get an edition used by students.

[Anonymous No.12261199]

>>12261194
Is this one okay?

[Anonymous No.12261347]

>>12261199
Newton Compton doesn't have a great reputation to be fair, they mostly publish books whose copyright is expired and make some quick bucks by making their editions way cheaper than the others. They tend to skim on quality more than I would recommend.
I don't know anything about this specific edition but according to the cover it does seem to have some form of commentary, not sure if that's the usual stuff at the beginning or if does contain footnotes like it should. If you can see a preview check if it has footnotes. If it has and you don't want to spend too much then go for it, otherwise I'd wait.

[Anonymous No.12261576]

>>12260938
say that in italian

[Anonymous No.12261609]

>how long will it take to learn Italian to be able to read Dante?
Dante doesn't write in Italian, he's starting the project, he's inventing it.

Also here's the free Yale course on the Divine Comedy:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD1450DFDA859F694
>>12260919
>Non ho ancora la fluidità per parlarlo correttamente. Ma capisco tutto ciò che leggo.
>>12261199
Newton Compton editions aren't worth the paper they're printed on. The best edition I know of is the UTET one but I suspect it is difficult to acquire on paper, it is on libgen though.

[Anonymous No.12261665]

>>12261576
not that guy but I'll try. Never studied italian but can speak spanish:
>il voccabolario basico e simple piu essere apprenduto rapidamente; sin importare la lengua. Tu invidioso faggot

[Anonymous No.12261689]

>>12261665
well done but you've kind of defeated the purpose

[Anonymous No.12261696]

>>12261665
How is faggot in italian? In spanish it's maricon, right?

[Anonymous No.12261706]

>imagine being anglo-saxon and unable to read Real Dante in a real language.

Thank god I speak a romance language.

[Anonymous No.12261716]

All the life
Native speakers without a good scholarization level need reading support tools

[Anonymous No.12261902]

>>12260373
I bought all his writtings and most had it in english on the left side and italian on the right, helped a lot.

[Anonymous No.12262056]

>>12260373
Get the version where it has the original Italian text on the adjacent page as the translation.

[Anonymous No.12262134]

>>12261167
The cheapo Barnes & Noble classics use the Longfellow translation, which I have no strong opinions on, but the endnotes section by Bondanella was great. Longer than the poem its self and lots of short blurbs explaining the contemporary references, the Virgil/Ovid fanboying, and relevant Christian theology.

Ive heard the Ciardi translation is better, but I haven't read that yet.

[Anonymous No.12262823]

>>12260380
>>12260849
>>12261007
>>12260938
oh wow, i didn't know /lit/ was so fucking stupid

[Anonymous No.12262857]

>>12260380
>>12260849

Bullshit

>>12260938
useless

>>12260951
That shit won't help with Dante

>>12260955
Realistic but still not enough

>>12261000
Again useless

>>12261057
American know nothing

>>12261199
Absolutely not

>>12261706

lmao


>t.Italian