This Week's Question:
Have you ever read a book written in a foreign language you might be fluent in, and then read the same book in English? (submitted by Maria @ A Night's Dream of Books)
My Answer:
Unfortunately no I haven't. I am conversationally fluent in a foreign language of which my parents are native speakers - I picked it up from them growing up. However, my reading and writing in the language is very much lacking. I don't think I would be capable of reading a whole book in the language! Though, I'd like to someday be able to, I think it would be a very interesting experience to read a book in English plus another language, and then compare the two. I'm really curious as to whether a reader's experience differs depending on the language they are reading it in.
Unfortunately no I haven't. I am conversationally fluent in a foreign language of which my parents are native speakers - I picked it up from them growing up. However, my reading and writing in the language is very much lacking. I don't think I would be capable of reading a whole book in the language! Though, I'd like to someday be able to, I think it would be a very interesting experience to read a book in English plus another language, and then compare the two. I'm really curious as to whether a reader's experience differs depending on the language they are reading it in.
I've often wondered about the difference in translation, but unfortunately I am only fluent in English and so I will likely never be able to compare versions. I enjoy reading books that have been translated from time to time. But they are always ones that have been translated into English.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a great weekend, Tas. Thank you for sharing!
I've actually not read many books that have been translated from another language into English. Off the top of my head, the only books I can think of would be The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (the millennium series) which I loved - it was originally written in Swedish, so I do wonder if any differences arose with translating the book into English. Hope you have a lovely weekend too <3
DeleteOhh great blog hop answer! I only read English books even though I am bilingual in Spanish, but there is a reason why I don't read Spanish books which I explain on my blog hop post. Thank you so much for the awesome post have a great weekend and here is my blog hop link.
ReplyDeletehttp://katisbookaholicramblingreviews.blogspot.com/2017/08/book-blogger-hop-55.html
I really enjoyed reading your explanation! It was an interesting insight, and one that I can relate to quite a bit. Thank you so much for stopping by :)
DeleteI hope you'll be able to do so one day. It's always a great experience to read something in the original language.
ReplyDeleteI hope so too! It will be very exciting if I ever reach that point.
DeleteI also haven't read any books in other languages since I can barely remember the languages I studied.
ReplyDeleteHere’s my Book Blogger Hop!
Ronyell @ Rabbit Ears Book Blog
I can completely understand - I am even more amazed when people are confident in speaking/reading/writing in a number of languages!
DeleteI also think it would be really interesting to read the same book in two different languages. I am stuck only knowing English though, so I'll have to depend on others to tell me if there are any huge differences.
ReplyDeleteI am definitely curious too! I think I might look around for posts or articles that may highlight some of the differences.
DeleteWhen I was a teenager I vowed I'd learn German well enough to read All Quiet on the Western Front in it's native language as it blowed me away in English. Needless to say I'm no where closer to that goal than I was ten years ago but I've got time! 🙂
ReplyDeleteTotally, there is always time to try and pick up a language, and even better if you have past experience with it. If the book was awesome in English, I can only imagine how cool it is in German - but also props to the translator maybe?
DeleteThat's so cool that you can speak another language!! I wish I could.
ReplyDeleteI can only thank my parents for that since they always spoke it to me at home. If you're feeling super motivated, you can always give a language of your choice a go sometime in the future!
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