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Do you read often in foreign languages? | ||
Tags: Foreign Languages | Reading | ||
 Language Learning Forum : Books, Literature & Reading |  | |
| numerodix Trilingual Hexaglot Senior Member Netherlands Joined 6773 days ago 856 posts - 1226 votes  Speaks: EnglishC2*, Norwegian*, Polish*, Italian, Dutch, French Studies: Portuguese, Mandarin | Message 49 of 75 13 October 2010 at 8:18pm | IP Logged | ||
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Just finished my first book in Dutch wooot. Reading is awesome, the language crumbles
before you as you continue the onslaught. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| NotKeepingTrack Triglot Newbie United States Joined 5157 days ago 19 posts - 23 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, French Studies: Portuguese, German | Message 50 of 75 21 October 2010 at 5:39am | IP Logged | ||
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I suppose you could call what I do reading...
I am currently reading 1 page per day of Le Petit Prince. Well, reading and translating it. I can read just enough French right now that I'm able to get the general gist of a section, but still need to look up quite a few words to get exact meanings. So I'm actually writing it in English as I read. Writing it out really cements the new words in my mind. Then I'll go back and read it through again (the French version!) and hopefully need to look up fewer words. I am also doing some minor research in Spanish, which involves reading. Again... just enough to get the general gist of a section, and when I find something that I think may fit my needs I need a dictionary to get exact translations. I spend a significant portion of my (very limited!) free time reading in foreign languages, but this may only be 15-20 minutes a day for each language, since free time comes at a premium. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| NorseRonin Pro Member United States youtube.com/user/NorRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5268 days ago 47 posts - 55 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Icelandic Personal Language Map | Message 51 of 75 28 October 2010 at 4:21am | IP Logged | ||
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Reading is the main reason why I learn foreign languages. I consider myself pretty imaginative, yet I can't grasp
the concept of learning a language (if you don't "need" to) and yet not read it's fiction. There are an infinite number of reasons (trust me I counted) why I like good fiction. Just one reason though is that I get a deep feeling of being one with the author, how he/she presents his/her ideas through the characters and worlds that are created. So with this oneness with the author you get a better view of the culture, from within as oppose to from without (e.g. non-fiction). I'm not saying non-ficiton is bad at all, in fact as of late I've mostly been reading non- ficion, but in English. Imagine a world (full of mayhem, global warming, and paris hiltons as it is) without fiction, without works of art like Siddhartha, Le Petit Prince, the Old Norse sagas, Hamlet, etc. Well, to me that's a much different world, because literature does give color to everyday life through references and the like, and also binds us in a way that non-fiction can't, because at the end of the day we can all relate to well made characters that essentially mirrors ourselves and therefore shows us who we are and what we can be. Edited by NorseRonin on 28 October 2010 at 5:06am 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Gorgoll2 Senior Member Brazil veritassword.blogspo Joined 5136 days ago 159 posts - 192 votes Speaks: Portuguese* | Message 52 of 75 27 November 2010 at 12:30am | IP Logged | ||
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My main interest in foreign languages is reading. I don´t believe well translations.
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| montmorency Diglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4818 days ago 2371 posts - 3676 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Danish, Welsh | Message 53 of 75 17 September 2011 at 5:10am | IP Logged | ||
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I read in German. Have tried in French and Dutch in the past, but I wasn't really up to
it. As for reading in translation, I now believe in reading in translation first, and then in the original unless you already have near 100% comprehension. However, some books, even by well-known authors, are not available in translation, or perhaps they once were, but have fallen out of print, so that's one good reason to get up to reading speed in your target language(s). 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| birthdaysuit Groupie United Kingdom Joined 4807 days ago 48 posts - 101 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish, Swedish | Message 54 of 75 20 December 2011 at 12:32pm | IP Logged | ||
I know what you mean! I used to be obsessed with reading, years ago, then one day my obsession disappeared and I found I could go months and months without picking up a book. It saddened me because I wanted to enjoy new stories, yet I just never felt like reading. So I was over the moon when my language obsession developed. I have a new-found love of reading that will probably never die, so long as I keep learning new languages. Also - and I think this is my greatest benefit - I can now read kids books and young adult novels that I never would have picked up in my native language. This is, as it turns out, the age group I have recently started writing for, so it's win win. For me, reading in a foreign language is like killing THREE birds with one stone. Lol 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Alexander86 Tetraglot Senior Member United Kingdom alanguagediary.blogs Joined 4971 days ago 224 posts - 323 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, German, Catalan Studies: Swedish | Message 55 of 75 20 December 2011 at 3:11pm | IP Logged | ||
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I read all the time in other languages. Every single day! I read El País for my Spanish,
Ara for my Catalan, and Deutsche Welle for my German. I also can't resist looking at Swedish newspapers from time to time... I would lead a much poorer life if I did not have access to these other worlds. 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| WentworthsGal Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4878 days ago 191 posts - 246 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Swedish, Spanish | Message 56 of 75 20 December 2011 at 4:44pm | IP Logged | ||
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I always try to have a novel in my TL next to my bed so I can read a little every day and keep the language at the front of my brain; especially if I've not managed to study the language for a while, I find it helps to stop it disappearing on me. I'm hoping to get an eReader in the new year (crossing fingers for some super sales or the Kindle Touch to come to the UK) and then I can take books of all descriptions everywhere with me so I can make the most of any spare time and read wherever I am without lugging around a huge, heavy bag of books :o) Edited by WentworthsGal on 20 December 2011 at 4:45pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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