If I were to learn any foriegn language...

[Zeruiah]

... for the sake of reading literature in its original form, what would it be?

I've been contemplating this for a while and I can't come to a decision. I enjoy many different cultural forms of literature from the Russian Dostoevsky and Tolstoy to the French Hugo and Voltaire. There are so many good choices that I only end up with ambivalence! :(

So, if we were to look at it from a economic point of view, which language would give me the most bang for the buck--or, in this case, the most literature per language?

Thanks.

[Nightshade]

Oooh intresting question, latin?, you could read the ancient stuff...or wait are the classics in greek :confused:
latin though would be intresting I think because thenn there all these referances that keep popping up in literature that are such a pain to place unless you recognise them..:D

[Zeruiah]

Oh sorry I forgot to mention that I'm already learning Latin. I have good old Wheelock's Latin textbook and Grote's Companion Guide to it.

Thanks though; and I suggest everyone at least try to learn basic Latin phrases at some point in their life. :)

[Idril]

I would definitely learn Russian, in fact it is on my 'to-do' list, I'm just not all that sure when I'll get around to it. :p I don't know that I could realistically learn it well enough to read War and Peace or anything but it would be nice to read some of Pushkin's poems in the original language and that, I think, is a more doable goal.

[Dori]

Oooh intresting question, latin?, you could read the ancient stuff...or wait are the classics in greek :confused:
latin though would be intresting I think because thenn there all these referances that keep popping up in literature that are such a pain to place unless you recognise them..:D

The "classics" are in both Latin and Ancient Greek.

If you didn't know English, I would say that would give you "the most bang for the buck."

I'm guessing you're trying to decide whether to learn Russian or French. French would be infinately easier, especially with a background in English and Latin. On the other hand, if you were to study Russian, then you would have to learn a new alphabet, not to mention a completely different language. If it weren't for Hugo, I would easily tell you to learn Russian.

Even though French would be easier, I would go with Russian. Russian novels are second to none, I think. However, you will encounter some French in Russian novels, so a little French might be required if you want to read it fully in the original.

[Zeruiah]

Even though French would be easier, I would go with Russian. Russian novels are second to none, I think. However, you will encounter some French in Russian novels, so a little French might be required if you want to read it fully in the original.

Yes, I'm considering this option. It'll probably benefit me the most to try to master Russian and learn very basic French.

Of course I'll have a while to decide since I am going to become acquainted with Latin beforehand.

[annakarina]

Hmm, I'm actually contemplating going in for Russian myself actually...

The thing is though, learning Russian is going to demand an immense amount of time and effort if you really want to be able to read the original texts. I have a friend who studied it for seven years and can speak fluently but still prefers to read in translation... it depends how dedicated you are.
French is a very easy language to pick up, especially if you have the time and money to go and spend a couple of months in France or Québec.

[Tersely]

I like Hugo so its french for me. The simplicity is a better factor...I dont have time to learn a more complex language.

[Zeruiah]

And then there is always the benefit of being able to understand some of the teachers and students at my Russian/Romanian music school I attend and work at...

Now I know for certain: learning Russian is on my top to-do list. I'm not sure how long it will take, but I will persevere until I am finally finished. I have a long life to waste, so time really isn't an issue. Thank God I'm still 15. :p

[Kafka's Crow]

And then there is always the benefit of being able to understand some of the teachers and students at my Russian/Romanian music school I attend and work at...

Now I know for certain: learning Russian is on my top to-do list. I'm not sure how long it will take, but I will persevere until I am finally finished. I have a long life to waste, so time really isn't an issue. Thank God I'm still 15. :p


You are very lucky. I know Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Hindi, French, English and will start Spanish next year sometime. Still I would not touch Russian with a barge pole. A different script makes it much more difficult. It is from a different family of languages (Slavic??) than ours. I would love to read Dostoevsky in original.

[mmanuelap]

I understand a little of latin :B
so I guess it would be russian. or french.
can't make up my mind, there are so many different books I would like to read in the original :lol: hahahaha

[mmanuelap]

I know Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Hindi, French, English and will start Spanish next year sometime. Still I would not touch Russian with a barge pole. A different script makes it much more difficult. It is from a different family of languages (Slavic??) than ours. I would love to read Dostoevsky in original.

wow, that's amazing! I wish I knew that much :( But I only know Portuguese, English, Spanish and a little French and Latin :bawling:

[aeroport]

I chose French for myself, because of Flaubert, Balzac, the Goncourts, Hugo, etc. The French, I think, were the ones who first began obsessing over perfection of novel form, so that seems to me a good choice. But I would have taken Russian instead, had my uni offered it. Either of these will be very useful in literary study.

[Abs]

Oh my, this is something I've been thinking about recently as well!
I thought French would be a good idea, it's most convenient. Too many people speak it anyway, it makes me feel left out !
I speak Arabic and English, I speak a little bit of Urdu (or what I think is Urdu, it's most likely a mixture of Urdu and Hindi), and I understand a Persian dialect spoken in the south of Iran.
I'd like to learn Turkish first though, I'm in love with Turkey and I'd like to go there regularly over the years, so I need to be able to speak their language and fit in !
I might end up learning French first, as I said it's more convenient.

This is my first post in this forum! I've been reading for a month now!

[Igetanotion]

If you took up Latin, it would not only allow you to read many classics like someone else had said, but also would be a fantastic springboard to reading other languages as well.

Personally, I'm learning Spanish. I speak just enough to get by in most situations but reading is difficult. I read Pablo Neruda's "The Captains Verses" in Spanish and have been reading "Memorias De Mis Putas Tristes" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (my FAVORITE) And I have to say, its well worth the effort. Translation is great, but there is some magic lost I think. Neruda particularly is sooo much better in Spanish I think.

Good luck with whatever language you choose!

[biscuits]

I'd go for either French. Tough Russian is a beautiful language, French is more useful. The moment you get French, you also get Italian and Spanish.
If you're not into french, I think German is an option as well.
I'd wait with Russian till i'm done with Latin.

[ntropyincarnate]

For myself, I'd go for Welsh, so I could read Y Gododdin!
I've also been trying to learn Old English, so I can read Beowulf, and all that wonderful stuff.

[KyleBennett]

For me it'd have to be Swedish or one of the Scandinavian languages. The only Swedish book i've read is The Emigrants by Vilhelm Moberg, but the language is such a good sounding one, and they don't use any unnecessary letters. perfect! Hm yeah so I'd go that..

[stlukesguild]

After English, I would have to put French as the language with the largest body of classic literature... although Spanish might be close considering especially all the Latin-American writers. Certainly, Russian novels are magnificent... but Russian literature does not enter onto the international stage until the 19th century with Pushkin. Classic literature in France dates from the middle ages until the present. In spite of the towering achievements of the Russian novelists I would think twice before suggesting that they easily eclipse the French. One shouldn't forget Rabelais, Rousseau (Julie, or the New Héloise), Madame Lafayette, Diderot, Voltaire, Hugo, Balzac, Flaubert, Zola, Dumas, Stendhal, Gautier, George Sand, Celine, Jean Genet, Proust, Camus, Jean Giono, Georges Perec, Robbe-Grillet, etc... Of course this but scratches the surface of French literary contributions. In theater we have Cornielle, Racine, Marivaux, Moliere, Alfred Jarry, Rostand, Genet (again), Ionesco, Samuel Beckett, Sartre, etc... In essays and letters we have Montaigne, Pascal, Rousseau, Montesque, Diderot, Chateaubriand, de Tocqueville, Voltaire, Baudelaire, de Gourmont, Andre Breton, Sartre, Gide, Cioran, Andre Malraux, etc... In poetry... where translation is the most difficult... the French absolutely tower over almost any other language but English: The Song of Roland, Francois Villon, du Bellay, Ronsard, Jean de la Fontaine, Lamartine, Victor Hugo, Nerval, Gautier, Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Verlaine, Mallarme, Vallery, Jose-Maria de Heredia, Jules Laforgue, Apollinaire, Vallery Larbaud, Pierre Reverdy, Andre Breton, Paul Eluard, Paul Claudel, Victor Segalen, Edmund Jabes, Yves Bonnefoy, etc...

While I would probably first home up on my German having taken that in school many years ago and thus having a bit of a head start on that language... I know that if I were to learn another language with the notion of being able to read the largest body of great literature in the original the choice would be quite clear: French.