[YOUR THOUGHTS ] From a literature standpoint, should I study German or French?

[Giuliano]

As the title says, my question is quite simple in principle, but I am well aware that it may not be easy to answer and, of course, impossible to definitively exhaust.

The reason I ask here, and am currently looking to answer this matter in a relatively short time( not that I undervalue the difficulty of it), is that I will be soon going to university to take up a 5 year course on language and literature; other than general linguistics, philology and related subjects and a brief study of italian literature, its focus will be on extensively studying 2 foreign languages, including their relative literary traditions.

Now, due to several reasons, I've chosen English as the first language, and as for the second I've narrowed the field to only 2 languages( out of the many offered) : German and French.

Of course, there are many other aspects to take into consideration, but since I have no well-defined idea about this and am quite interested( obviously) in the literary one, I'll ask you this : could you please share your thoughts and feelings about these two( quite different, I understand) literary traditions and try to express not so much which is the best, as that'd be a tricky matter I believe, but at least your preferences and the reasons you think these are due to?

I understand this may seem a silly question, and I'd better see for myself. But since this is not very feasible in due time, it's relevant to me.
Why would you suggest a friend of yours to take up French literature? Why would you do the same for German literature instead?

(I'd care to stress that my question is strictly about French and German literature, and nothing else; I fully know that's not the whole scope or literature and it may or may not be the best spectrum overall, that's beside the point; also consider I'll mostly study and read in the original languages; finally, I am grateful for any answer, even the very barest one, but I would sincerely prefer, while not a treatise of course, a thoughtfully reasoned opinion)

Thank you in advance for taking your time to read and answer.

[Emil Miller]

As the title says, my question is quite simple in principle, but I am well aware that it may not be easy to answer and, of course, impossible to definitively exhaust.

The reason I ask here, and am currently looking to answer this matter in a relatively short time( not that I undervalue the difficulty of it), is that I will be soon going to university to take up a 5 year course on language and literature; other than general linguistics, philology and related subjects and a brief study of italian literature, its focus will be on extensively studying 2 foreign languages, including their relative literary traditions.

Now, due to several reasons, I've chosen English as the first language, and as for the second I've narrowed the field to only 2 languages( out of the many offered) : German and French.

Of course, there are many other aspects to take into consideration, but since I have no well-defined idea about this and am quite interested( obviously) in the literary one, I'll ask you this : could you please share your thoughts and feelings about these two( quite different, I understand) literary traditions and try to express not so much which is the best, as that'd be a tricky matter I believe, but at least your preferences and the reasons you think these are due to?

I understand this may seem a silly question, and I'd better see for myself. But since this is not very feasible in due time, it's relevant to me.
Why would you suggest a friend of yours to take up French literature? Why would you do the same for German literature instead?

(I'd care to stress that my question is strictly about French and German literature, and nothing else; I fully know that's not the whole scope or literature and it may or may not be the best spectrum overall, that's beside the point; also consider I'll mostly study and read in the original languages; finally, I am grateful for any answer, even the very barest one, but I would sincerely prefer, while not a treatise of course, a thoughtfully reasoned opinion)

Thank you in advance for taking your time to read and answer.

There is nothing silly about the question. It is reasonable to ask members of a literature forum to suggest which of the two languages might be most appropriate as there are a number of contributors who have knowledge of various languages, including those you have given.
From what you have written you appear to be Italian and, having read a good deal in both French and German, I would suggest French would be the best choice. French is part of the same language group as Italian and, although German literature is quite extensive, France has the broader literary heritage of the two.

[Whifflingpin]

While Emil was replying I was thinking that French is part of the same language group as Italian (not that I had any neat explanation like that -I was muddling through the relation of French to Italian via the Provencal trouveres etc.) For that reason I thought it would be better for you to choose German, because then you would be learning more.

[lichtrausch]

It's a dead heat. The most representative canon of Western literature has 12 French works and 10 German works. I myself am hopelessly biased towards German literature since I know German but haven't gotten around to learning French yet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokklubben_World_Library

[ajvenigalla]

As someone learning French, I'd say French

[Giuliano]

At Whifflingpin : Well, the linguistic aspect is a separate issue. I've studied french for 8 years before dropping it, but with a vocabulary at hand I could read just about anything; same would go for spanish really, portuguese even, since the languages are that similar. At best you have to keep an extra eye on verbs and false friends. So I agree with you that I'd be expanding my linguistic landscape by delving in German, it being at the core of the germanic language family tree in Europe, more than I would do were I to study French. I agree with you on that. However the heart of the matter for me is literary, since I plan on refining my French anyway on my own, seeing how easy it would come to me by now.

At Emil Miller : I agree that probably the question is not silly in itself, I guess I'm just not used to frequenting forums and internet community platforms in general, so it seems weird whenever I do.
You're right, I'm Italian, but I'm not sure I understand why would that translate to French being the best choice, other than maybe considerations of linguistic affinity? I don't know a lot about German literature( granted, nor do I know a lot about French literature either, I had never the opportunity to study it in a significant measure), but I do know that it is quantitatively lesser in comparison to the French one.
Is that what you mean? But if so, if you allow me, I can't see how that would in itself qualify as a good enough reason to choose one over the other; or do you mean that overall French literature has a vaster array of *good* literature than German literature does, so that the first should be preferable on a purely statistical level?
Have you any personal preference, and if so why if I may ask?

At lichtrausch : What would you say is that attracts you about German literature?


I have heard by some people here and there that, in general terms, French literature focuses more on exploring human nature in regards to social themes at large, looking at them from a "big vision" perspective, while German literature tends to be more intimistic and focused on personal self-reflection. I can easily see this description as linked, among other things, to sociocultural factors connected to the history of the two countries, so it may be correct, but would you say that there's some truth to it, as far as general trends go?

[Emil Miller]

At Whifflingpin : Well, the linguistic aspect is a separate issue. I've studied french for 8 years before dropping it, but with a vocabulary at hand I could read just about anything; same would go for spanish really, portuguese even, since the languages are that similar. At best you have to keep an extra eye on verbs and false friends. So I agree with you that I'd be expanding my linguistic landscape by delving in German, it being at the core of the germanic language family tree in Europe, more than I would do were I to study French. I agree with you on that. However the heart of the matter for me is literary, since I plan on refining my French anyway on my own, seeing how easy it would come to me by now.

At Emil Miller : I agree that probably the question is not silly in itself, I guess I'm just not used to frequenting forums and internet community platforms in general, so it seems weird whenever I do.
You're right, I'm Italian, but I'm not sure I understand why would that translate to French being the best choice, other than maybe considerations of linguistic affinity? I don't know a lot about German literature( granted, nor do I know a lot about French literature either, I had never the opportunity to study it in a significant measure), but I do know that it is quantitatively lesser in comparison to the French one.
Is that what you mean? But if so, if you allow me, I can't see how that would in itself qualify as a good enough reason to choose one over the other; or do you mean that overall French literature has a vaster array of *good* literature than German literature does, so that the first should be preferable on a purely statistical level?
Have you any personal preference, and if so why if I may ask?

At lichtrausch : What would you say is that attracts you about German literature?


I have heard by some people here and there that, in general terms, French literature focuses more on exploring human nature in regards to social themes at large, looking at them from a "big vision" perspective, while German literature tends to be more intimistic and focused on personal self-reflection. I can easily see this description as linked, among other things, to sociocultural factors connected to the history of the two countries, so it may be correct, but would you say that there's some truth to it, as far as general trends go?

Yes I do mean that similarities in what's commonly called the Romance languages of Southern Europe would be useful in a study of French literature; which is, as you mention, quantitively greater than German.
I would hesitate to say that France has produced a greater array of 'good' literature but I have found French literature to be more extensive in the kind of writing that appeals to me.
I refer to novels which, in the modern sense, are a relatively recent literary invention but it's not difficult to trace the origins of French and German literature, and German, in the form of epic tales, predates that of France.
With regards to the difference in French and German literary perspectives, there may be some truth in what you say but it is indeed a generalisation that could be as easy to refute as to establish. Sociocultural factors that can be traced back to the 12th century would, however, have impacted on the literature of both countries.

[bounty]

giuliano, I wonder if you have an interest in theology, church history, etc?

if so, that might give a small nod towards german.

[Giuliano]

giuliano, I wonder if you have an interest in theology, church history, etc?

if so, that might give a small nod towards german.


Well yes, I am, even if I can't say to be bound to a particular creed. But I wonder, how is that you thought of that in the first place?

[bounty]

i think from a church history/theology perspective, the reformation is a pretty interesting time and topic. an awful lot of that was grounded in Germany with martin luther and his sidekick philipp melanchthon. .

on another hand, john calvin wrote some in French I believe.

so perhaps it depends on what aspect of church history/theology you like.

[bounty]

for some reason, the website is fond of double posting me! ack!

[Giuliano]

I know, what I wondered about was what was that made you think I could be interested in that in the first place, not why would German literature be related to christian theology and history.

[bounty]

ah, gotcha.

I was teaching a history class some years ago in my discipline and I used an early 19th century English novel in the class. I think the relationship between history and literature is a good one. so when I saw you wonder about german literature, I conversely thought about german history---and the reformation came to mind as a foremost component of it.

at the same time, one of the reasons I respect English teachers so much is how very well rounded they seem to be in the humanities, and with theology being such a large, informative and interesting area, I see it as a really good direction for an English person to go.

[lichtrausch]

At lichtrausch : What would you say is that attracts you about German literature?

In a word, Kafka.

[mande2013]

What do you people think are appropriate texts depending on the level of someone's proficiency in a certain target language? I think there's often a tendency among educators to overestimate the ability of their language students to read certain texts. For instance, having a B2 French speakers read Balzac or Stendhal I think is asking a bit much unless the entire semester is dedicated to 500 pages of text, especially when even native speakers may find these demanding to read. I'd say I'm a very very very strong C1/very very very weak C2 in French and reading Balzac can take a while. I can't get through more than 5-10 pages in one sitting if I'm reading it intensively. Sartre's La Nausee I can read pretty fluidly however, although I may run into a difficult sentence here or there.