Unfortunately i’m not from a English speaking country, but i know it well enough that i could read a whole book in (although requiring more mental power than my main language). But my question is, is that actually worth it? How much it’s lost in translation? Talking about mainly fantasy/fiction stuff
by EntropiaZero
7 Comments
The real answer to how much of a difference it makes varies, author to author, and translator to translator. But for the most part, I would say picking whichever language works best for you will lead to the best experience.
Its important to read a book in the language you understand fluently. Losing small bits in translation isn’t as big of a deal as losing huge chunks because you’re not fluent enough to understand the cultural and idiomatic intricacies of two languages.
I think it is especially when it comes to jokes or poems (take Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones with their songs as an example). You said you like Fantasy if the translation of fictional names doesnˋt bother you I think your fine with a translation. It also depends on what you consider important.
It depends on the language. Some languages really don’t translate well into English. Scandinavian literature seems for example seems curt and quite prosaic in translation. At least what I have read. I imagine English doesn’t translate well into certain other languages.
I am a non native speaker and I learned a TON of English trying to read Pratchett’s Discworld as kid. I basically approached it as “if I don’t get something, it is probably a joke or a reference”
English is the only language in which I could realistically read a book. I’ve read a lot of translated books, and I’ve noticed a pattern for me: Books translated from Swedish authors seem to lose little (Fredrick Backman, Steig Larsson, Jonas Jonasson), but books translated from Asian authors usually fall flat with me (Cixin Liu, Min Jin Lee.) There’s little chance that I’ll learn Swedish or Chinese to re-read those books in the original language, but I’ve always been curious why some language translations succeed and others fail.
well, it kinda depends on what you’re after. if you’re all about getting the vibes and nuances the author originally intended, then yeah, diving into the original language is the way to go.