Translations

[RicMisc]

I recently bought three Italian books while I was on holiday in Italy. These are Divina Commedia by Dante, Il Nome Della Rosa by Umberto Eco and Decameron by Boccaccio. I intend to read these to improve my Italian, and these will definitely present a challenge.

I could have read these in Dutch or English as translations but I chose to buy them in the original language because I wanted to try it and because I feel like when possible books should be read in their original language. Would you have read these three books in English because it's a lot of work for little gain or are you like me? And how do you feel about translations in general?

[JBI]

I read in two languages fluently, and read classical Chinese quite well, and some Italian, and biblical Hebrew. I would say that I prefer the original, but the Comedia is still such a hard work.

The language is so removed - it's like trying to read Chaucer before learning to read something modern. That is not to say it is a bad book - it is probably the single most perfect work in the world, but damn is it difficult for a non-Italian to just pick up.

On the other hand, Eco is quite accessible prose. I found that whenever teachers of Italian try to move in primary sources, they go straight for Eco and Calvino almost instinctively. Good choices, but still, half the jokes in Eco are written for a very small community of knowledgeable historians, readers and philosophers. His less famous works even more so (I didn't realize what was going on in Baudalino over a year after reading it, while reading numerous Medieval books and histories - all the figures mentioned are obscure medieval personages, which makes the joke and plot). Still, the Name of the Rose is a good pick for starters.

As for the Decameron, I am yet to find a good English translation that is readable. I haven't gotten through it as a result (also because I just don't read that much prose in Italian), but I would like to take it up in Italian this year if I get the time.

As for translation in general, I try to avoid it if I can. But I know that before I really got better at classical Chinese, translation was so necessary. I still rely on contemporary Chinese paraphrase a lot. Still, slowly I just got it, without even having to think to much.

I think everything needs to be gradual and "graded". So start with short stories, things that are easy, and then move to harder stove, meanwhile writing down every new word and memorizing it. Once the grammatical skeleton of a language is more or less in one's head, the thing becomes easier.

Still, if you have the choice, work through it. That's supposedly how Eliot read Dante, working at night with a dictionary.

[RicMisc]

Thanks for your reply JBI, impressive that you've read in so many languages! As for my three books. I was already planning on starting in Eco's novel because on first sight that seemed easiest. As for the other two books, I've picked versions of the books that feature an introduction and commentary as to understand better what is meant in some places.

For as far as my Italian goes, I am able to understand most conversations on radio and television (due to combined knowledge of Latin, French and Italian). Speaking still presents some challenges since you have to form your own sentences instead of trying to understand those of others. My goal is to be able to speak, read and understand Italian a lot better. I want to get to level B1/2.

I know it's going to present a challenge but I'm up for it. I've spent the last six years translating Latin text after Latin text so I'm sure this'll work out as well.