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/lit/ - Literature

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12518341 No.12518341 [Reply] [Original]

How true is that statement of ''No, don't read that book translated, you have to read it in it's native tongue, because tons of things get lost on the passage to a foreign language''?

Can I have a concrete example on that? Why is it better reading Goethe in German, Dostoievski in Russian or Góngora in Spanish than reading them in English?

>> No.12518352

>>12518341
>Why is it better reading Goethe in German, Dostoievski in Russian or Góngora in Spanish than reading them in English?
Why it's better is obvious. But that's not to say you shouldn't read translated books.

>> No.12518359

>>12518341
It's BETTER to read a book in It's native tongue. For instance the Divine comedy in english is fucking ridiculous, and I challenge anyone to say the contrary.
However there's no shame in reading translations If That's all you can read.
Don't let people wanting to appear smart ruin your enjoyment of literature.

>> No.12518362

It's a meme. Truly great stories transcend language. Ignore linguistics-obsessed pseuds like Joyce and you'll be fine.

>> No.12518364

>>12518341
Shakespeare in French is an abomination

>> No.12518372

Reading translations is like listening to coverbands.

>> No.12518381

>he didn't learn ancient Greek to read the classics.

>> No.12518693

it's impossible to read translated prose (unless it changes the original to fit the language like fray luis' virgil or pope's homer). So that limits you to novels, some of which are impossible to translate as well (I can attest that Baltasar de Gracián is impossible to translate).

>> No.12518701

>>12518693
>it's impossible to read translated prose
i meant verse my bad

>> No.12518708

>>12518341
lbr clownfrog you’re not going to learn a language to read a book when there’s plenty of other books to choose

>> No.12518846

I think I've seen this post before.

>> No.12520442

>>12518341
There are plenty of good translations out there. Douglas Hofstadter wrote a wonderful book on literary translation titled Le Ton beau de Marot.

>> No.12520571
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12520571

Pic related

>> No.12520594 [SPOILER] 
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12520594

>>12518341
When I started reading I read classic authors translated, then I read something modern in my native tongue and it felt so much more stylish than anything I had read before. Then I read more authors in my native tongue and I noted everyone had such a personal style, while translations, even if the content is good, feel more bland in general (lenguage-wise).

That said, I don’t give a shit and just continue reading translations. I think the most important part of the books doesn’t get lost.

>> No.12520604

>>12518341
To Amerimutts, Homer, Virgil, Dante, Shakespeare, Goethe belong to everyone or to “civilization.” But this was not the view of Greeks, Romans, Italians, Englishmen and Germans, or of the Jews with their book that belonged to them, that told their story, and embodied, so to speak, their instinct.

.

>> No.12520622

>>12518341
Most writers in older lands despaired of being understood by those who had not lived their language. Heidegger, who desperately tried to maintain and revitalize this view, thought that “Language is the house of Being,” that it is the height of superficiality to suppose that translation is even possible.

>> No.12520706

>>12518341
Better or not is subjective and also depends on things such as one's fluency in the original written language. A translation which strays a bit too far from the original can still be good, similar to how a film remake is good.
So if you're able to read a book in its native tongue, then by all means do so and compare yourself. Although I understand that this could prove difficult if you're an American.

>> No.12520752

I don't care. I only have so little time on this rock to give a fuck when the pursuit of literature is not my #1 goal in life. I'm not gonna spend years learning Nahuatl just so I can read about the Aztecs. I also really don't give two shits about prose 99% of the time I just want the content, must be why I very rarely read fiction in the first place. There is so many works of art in English already that it'll fill up my life no doubt. Maybe I'll learn Spanish and Italian for a few books I want to read but other than that, I'm fine

>> No.12520762

>>12518341
honk honk