Read in a foreign language

[Mockingbird_z]

Hey, =)
I was just wondering if you read books in foreign languages. if its not a secret what languages?
do you find it difficult?

[kiki1982]

Hello! Nice question you ask there. Do you read in other languages yourself or were you just wondering?

Normally I am a dutchspeaker (so excuse any possible mistakes...), but in Belgium we learn french, german and english at school. And we had to read books in school for all those languages.
Personally I read a lot in french, now I discovered a lot of good authors, in english I haven't really read a whole lot, but it can be done, my last book being Jane Eyre. Reading in german can be done as well. When I'm kicked off of Dumas, I'll maybe start on Thomas Mann...

I think the thing you have to keep in mind is to start with an easy thing to read, so to build up your confidence. Read comic strips, or children's books first and then move on. Personally I started in english with 'Charlie and the chocolate factory', after one year and a half of english class. Then I moved on to 'Winnie the pooh'. In french I started with Asterix, and they made us read very bad books in school, so I got dissapointed and never read anything again until I got the Count of Monte Cristo to read.:) In german my first (I believe) was 'The sorrows of young Werther', german being a lot easier for dutchspeakers than it is to the rest of the world. :D
But no, it isn't difficult. If you can speak a language you should be able to read it, mostly it's even easier to read than it is to speak. Last week I discovered to my great surprise that I could read Isabel Allende's 'El Zorro' in spanish after watching an argentinian soap on tv for about a year. Firstly I tried Cervantes, for fun, but that was just a little too far fetched... :lol:

[aeroport]

This is my first semester reading actual literary texts in French, so I'm still not very good at it. We just read Camus's story "L'hote" ("The Guest"), and will be doing Duras's novel L'Amant pretty soon. Hopefully I'll be somewhat decent at it by then.

[Themis]

Hey, =)
I was just wondering if you read books in foreign languages. if its not a secret what languages?
do you find it difficult?

Foreign to you or foreign to me? ;)

I read most English books in English and try to read books by French speaking authors in French too. (My mother tongue's German.)

English isn't much of a problem to me, I'm pretty good at reading in English. It's harder in french, mainly because I haven't studied it in a long time and most of my vocabulary has disappeared.

[SirRaustusBear]

I speak English and school french (meaning I know how to ask if I can go to the bathroom) but my senior year of high school we read Le Petit Prince in French. It's written basically on a children's level so I was able to understand it but anything more than that and I'm sure I'd be lost.

[superunknown]

I'm fluent in English, Spanish, and French (though my French has been deteriorating a bit since I don't get the chance to practice it too much nowadays) and I read in all 3 languages. I think if you know a foreign language you really should read its literature even if it's easier for you to read it in your native tongue, because all translations by their very nature lose much of the original feeling. Also there's some authors who are absolutely incredible but who are little known outside of their respective language. The best example I can think of of this is Julio Cortazar, one of the best writers of the Latin American boom, on a par with Garcia Marquez, Fuentes, and Llosa, stylistically and philosophically the true disciple of Borges and a giant in 20th century hispanic literature, but hardly anyone who doesn't speak Spanish has ever even heard of him.

I've also been studying Russian for a year and a half and am making an attempt at Chekhov's "Lady with the Dog" since I found an extensively annotated edition specifically for English-speaking students of Russian. It's way beyond my level, but with all the annotations and vocabulary at the back of the book I can struggle with it and make sense of it to a certain extent.

[johann cruyff]

I read books in English,but that's the only foreign language I speak well enough to actually read literature written in it.I've been trying to learn some German,but quickly gave up.

[Mockingbird_z]

thanks for your replies
well i asked because now i read mostly in English (my study requires it) though my native language is Russian so sometimes i find it difficult to read in English just because i dont know many words.
i also dream to learn Spanish, i am sure there are many outstanding writers to read in original

[ClaesGefvenberg]

Hey, =)
I was just wondering if you read books in foreign languages. if its not a secret what languages?
do you find it difficult?

You may want to have a look at this old thread: Is English your first language? (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14464) It contains a poll that reveals that 62% of the respondants thus far do not have English as their 1:st language. I am one of them, and I read more in English than my native Swedish.

English is not a problem. When I read in French or German I have to put more effort into the task: I have had less practice in those languages.

/Claes

[Mockingbird_z]

maybe in european countries you study English as a second language and it is obligatory to know it well, but here it takes years to master english to the level that you can easily speak it and read in it.
i dont know it to tell the truth. but what i know is that reading really helps to improve a foreign language

[downing]

i'm Romanian and I read in English and very little in French...

[manolia]

Hey, =)
I was just wondering if you read books in foreign languages. if its not a secret what languages?
do you find it difficult?

I read all books by british, american authors etc in english..
I have read one or two in german (i plan to read more :blush: ) and now i am about starting my first book in french ;)

[kiki1982]

and now i am about starting my first book in french ;)

And what will it be?:thumbs_up

[Kafka's Crow]

I am reading En Attendant Godot. I once learned Waiting for Godot by heart. The French text is very different from the English version. I will re-start reading Persian literature very soon and I can read Urdu Literature. My favorite poet, Noon Meem Rashid, wrote in Urdu (studied Urdu Literature for my first degree in 1989).

[Mockingbird_z]

wow! incredible!
what a genius you are!
well, i know only english a little, hope to master it but i realise i need to learn another language, perhaps Spanish.

[manolia]

And what will it be?:thumbs_up

Mark suggested "The stranger" by Camus so that will be my first novel in french :)

[loe]

My first language is German but I try to read English and recently also French (e.g. Le Petit Prince isn't very difficult) books because I would like to improve my knowledge of these languages.
Usually I can understand the main content of a book but sometimes I take also the time to look up some words in the dictionary so that I can really understand every word and also learn new vocabulary.

[aabbcc]

English is a foreign language to me. ;) Other than that, I have excellent reading competence in (i.e. passive knowledge of) French, though that is far more due to its lexical similarities with Italian than any real effort from my side. :D I also read in Greek - I can read anything, but with significant difficulties. Technically, I can also read in classics (the wonders of old-fashioned education), but rarely I do on my own - I get enough of that at school.

Hard? Not really... except for Greek. Impossible language (in the best sense possible), I adore it. ;)

[Picasso]

My native language is Arabic, I used to read only Arabic books, but then I have begun learning English, so it is self-taught! I have read for Orwell, Conrad, Lovecraft, Bronte and others! Fascinating this language is, I like it to the most!

Another foreign language is French, I'm French-educated but the schools I studied in weren't that good in foreign languages, so I'm trying to master it also on my own, and I made a good job so far, I have read for Authors such as Hugo, Rambaud, Besson, Nothomb and others!

[valleyjune]

My native language is Greek, but I like reading books by English, American, Canadian or Australian writers in English (I hope I havn't left some nationality out). It's sometimes rather difficult to find a good translation and, anyway, I think no translation is as good as the original.

[John Goodman]

I read quite a bit in French with my favourite authors being Dumas and Hugo as well as various Quebecois authors most people wouldn't have heard of. :P

[Sarasvati21]

I've read Miguel Cervantes' Don Quixote in Spanish. While I can read fluently in French as well, I've yet to attempt a serious work in it.

[Pyrrho]

I read in German, English and Romanian mostly. And a couple of times a year I force myself through some Spanish and French things... and I need very many days (and a dictionary) to finish novels in these languages. But for me reading novels in a foreign language is still the 'nicest' way of not running out of practice.

[sofia82]

It depends on what is your native language!
My mother tongue is Turkish, and first langauge Persian. I mostly read in Persian. But because of my sencond langugae and my field of study (English Literature) I read books in English. It is worth reading a book in its original langaugae.
Unfortunatley I cannot read in French, as i know a little. And it is the same case with Arabic too :D.

[jgweed]

While certainly not fluent in foreign languages, I can read (not speak) French well, and with the help of dictionaries to aid my memory, German, Spanish, Latin and Greek well enough to check translations and do my own when needed.

[cipherdecoy]

Only if I'm forced to for examinations. My mother tongue is Chinese but I'm hopeless at it and it would probably take me ten hours to plough through a sentence.

But then again, Chinese isn't a foreign language to me so I guess it doesn't count.

[Drkshadow03]

Well, I'm teaching myself Hebrew right now, but otherwise I can't speak or read any foreign languages :blush:

I hope to rectify that in the future. I want to learn Hebrew, Arabic, and Spanish.

[Pecksie]

My mother tongue is Spanish. I read books in English, French, Italian and Portuguese. Italian is the one I find most difficult, due to lack of vocabulary (I only studied it for two years). Portuguese I've never studied, but it's so similar to Spanish you can understand everything fairly well.

[Brasil]

But I also read in English, Italian, French and Spanish.

When I read a poem in a foreign language I prefer a bilingual book.

When I read a novel it can be an original version or a translated version.


In fact, Portuguese and Spanish are very similar when written, but spoken is very different.
Spanish structure is not so different from the Portuguese structure (and from other romance languages), but the vocabulary, sometimes is totally strange.
Most of Brazilians can not read in Spanish.
Spanish is a foreign language for us.

It's like: "vater" (German) and "father" (English). Some words are similar, but the languages are very different. A similar thing happens between Portuguese and Spanish.
However, the differences between German and English are bigger than the differences between Portuguese and Spanish.
We can say: German and English are cousins. Portuguese and Spanish are brothers.

[Brasil]

Portuguese: A menina está grávida. (it means: The girl is pregnant)
Spanish: La niña está embarazada. (it means: The girl is pregnant)

Portuguese: A menina está embaraçada. (it means: The girl is embarrassed)
Spanish: La niña está avergonzada. (it means: The girl is embarrassed)


Portuguese: Eu quero um copo de água. (it means: I want a glass of water)
Spanish: Yo quiero un vaso de agua. (it means: I want a glass of water)

Portuguese: Eu quero um vaso de flores.(it means: I want a vase of flowers.)
Spanish: Yo quiero un jarrón de flores. (it means: I want a vase of flowers.)


Similarities between English and German:

English: My brother is good
German: Mein Bruder ist gut

The way it is written is very different, but spoken are very similar sentences.

Antiquarian:
See this: http://www.etudes-litteraires.com/forum/sujet-12266-litterature-bresilienne

et aussi:
"La Divine Comédie" (thread)
"Haïku japonaise" (thread)

and this: http://www.etudes-litteraires.com/forum/sujet-12046-pense-donc-absurde

[Brasil]

You told me that you lived in German Switzerland and now you live in U.S.
Is that right?

I'd like to ask you what is your native language and where are you from (your homebirth)?

[amalia1985]

I can read and speak English, French, Italian (thanks to my Italian grandmother), and recently, Spanish. A friend of mine who plays basketball in Moscow tried to teach me some Russian, but he failed!

[Virgil]

I can read and speak English, French, Italian (thanks to my Italian grandmother), and recently, Spanish.

That's outstanding. :thumbs_up How do you keep the different languages straight in your head? I couldn't do it.

[amalia1985]

Both my parents speak languages. It runs in the family, I suppose.

[JBI]

I speak Hebrew, English, and am learning Italian. I figure I'll go Spanish French Portuguese after I'm done, then try German, and if that works, maybe go on to Japanese.

[aabbcc]

I speak Hebrew
God I envy you. You have no idea how much. :( :D I trade my French for your Hebrew? :D

[JBI]

Done, you'll be disappointed. French literature is 10x+ as potent. Only plus to Hebrew is being a Old Testament authority since anyone who doesn't speak Hebrew cannot actually comment on it.

[JuLe]

My mother tongue is Hebrew and Russian, but I can hardly deal with Russian literature (my parents are both Russian, thus this is the language which is heard around the house). I read mostly in English and Hebrew, actually even more in English, but it is still easier for me to do so in Hebrew.

[Nossa]

English and Arabic, these are the only two languages I know. I know French, but I don't think I can read literature in French, I'm not that good :p

[jedimisu]

If it is foreign to the others, I read in Romanian a lot. English is my second language and I understand Spanish and Italian. And you know what, I speak another foreign language without even learn it. Can you imagine that? Yes, here, in Romania, we all do that. It’s Moldavian language, which is in fact Romanian, but the government there, does not agree. It is strange not because of the political aspect, but because of the linguistic one.

[Saladin]

Most of what i read is in english, but a big part is also in norwegian. I havent read somali books in ages. I can read and speak norwegian (fluently), somali (mother tongue, fluently), english and some french. I am currently learning arabic also.

[romantic novel]

My native language is Arabic. But I master English well because I have learned it since I was 7 years old. So I read in both languages and i find very interesting that I have determined to prepare my M.A in comparative literature.

[kandaurov]

I speak Portuguese (mother tongue), english (fluently), german (getting better, but not good enough yet), and a bit of Spanish (but all Portuguese can do that) and French (most of which I've forgotten. Damn german!). But this thread is about reading in foreign languages, and I must admit that the only foreign language I can read decently in is English. Sure, I understand a good deal in German, but I'm just kidding myself if I say that I can actually be a critical reader in that language.

[slobone]

I love to read books in foreign languages, but it's a lot of work for me, because I'm too compulsive to skip over words I don't know. So I spend a lot of time leafing through the dictionary, especially in Balzac, who uses a huge vocabulary.

I've read a few books in French : Cousine Bette, Madame Bovary, a mystery by Simenon, Gide's L'immoraliste, Colette's La vagabonde and Chéri, and some others I read in school a long time ago.

And in Italian: A ciascuno il suo by Sciascia, Caro Michele by Natalia Ginzburg, and Maledetto ferragosto by Renato Olivieri. And another one that I forget.

And of course I've started books that I haven't gotten around to finishing yet: Proust, Le père Goriot, Il gattopardo, and Il disprezzo by Moravia. But I really want to finish them eventually!