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Harry Potter alternatives? | ||
 Language Learning Forum : Books, Literature & Reading |  | |
| blackverve Senior Member Canada Joined 4722 days ago 40 posts - 46 votes Studies: German | Message 25 of 31 30 January 2012 at 7:41pm | IP Logged | ||
But I'm not too clear as to why translations are easier...? If I always read the English version first of a book that was orginally in German isn't it the same as the opposite if I'm not familiar with book through either language. I will only read books that are available in both. So much language-learning theory to learn! Ahhh...! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Cabaire Senior Member Germany Joined 5589 days ago 725 posts - 1352 votes  | Message 26 of 31 30 January 2012 at 11:31pm | IP Logged | ||
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Books become easier when translated, because the translator uses less quirky, bold expressions and more standardized ways of speaking simply because he is not creating his own ideas. That is one of the reasons, why translations are said to fall short of the original.
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| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 4999 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 27 of 31 31 January 2012 at 2:29am | IP Logged | ||
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It is true. The author is playing with the language as much as he or she pleases while
the translator tries to find balance between staying true to the original content and the original language style at the same time. Not an easy task sometimes. And most of translators, no offense meant, are worse writers than the original authors. There are only a few who create translation as enjoyable as the original. For example Mr Kantůrek who translates Terry Prattchet to Czech is wonderful. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
 songlines Pro Member Canada flickr.com/photos/cp Joined 5199 days ago 729 posts - 1056 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French Personal Language Map | Message 28 of 31 31 January 2012 at 4:14am | IP Logged | ||
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I'm not sure what non-fiction subject areas you enjoy, but our own Farley Mowat has been translated into
German: Never Cry Wolf is Ein Sommer mit Wolfen. Older children's/YA titles: I haven't read the following in German, but can certainly recommend them in English. You may find Sutcliff in the children's department of your local library, but don't let that fact put you off them; I discovered -and enjoyed- her work as an adult. Try historical fiction, such as Rosemary Sutcliff. I recommend her Eagle of the Ninth series, set in Roman Britain. The first three are in Amazon.de as: Der Adler der Neunten Legion, Der silberne Zweig, and Die Fackelträger. And, with a more recent setting, Markus Zusak's The Book Thief. An award winner and international bestseller. A young adult novel, set in Germany during the Second World War. German title: Die Bücherdiebin. I'm still having trouble posting some external links on the forum, but have checked Amazon Germany for the above authors. - Hope this post helps. As an aside, what is it that you don't like about children's books? - There's a lot of wonderful children's literature that transcends all age boundaries, and stands on its own as just good literature: not "childish", cutsey, twee, or fantastical at all. - Have you perhaps tried asking a librarian at your local library for suggestions? I'm thinking, for example, of someone like Philippa Pearce, whose Tom's Midnight Garden (German: Als die Uhr dreizehn schlug) was a Carnegie Medal winner. Edited by songlines on 31 January 2012 at 5:43am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| blackverve Senior Member Canada Joined 4722 days ago 40 posts - 46 votes Studies: German | Message 29 of 31 02 February 2012 at 11:37pm | IP Logged | ||
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Thank you songlines for those ideas.
And thanks to Cabaire and Cavesa: do translators generally stick to the same time period of the language as the orginal? For instance Le Petit Prince was written in 1946 but in has been translated into English around 6x. I presume since the Woods' translation was published at the same time it would be a more accurate translation for a language learner as opposed to the 2000 Howard translation? Is it better for a language learner to stick with translators that write in the the same "old" language as the original or are modern translations better? Hmm...should start a new thread...perhaps... Edited by blackverve on 02 February 2012 at 11:40pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6587 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 30 of 31 03 February 2012 at 1:37am | IP Logged | ||
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I'd choose a modern one, it's closer to what you want to sound like.
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| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 4999 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 31 of 31 03 February 2012 at 8:47am | IP Logged | ||
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Blacverve, they often don't stick to the original registers of language even in
contemporary books. For exemple one detective story by Fred Vargas. I first got my hands on it in Czech and later in French. I was really surprised that the original language is full of "merde, emmerder, emmerdeur, ..." which is language appropriate for the characters' personalities (three historians and a former cop in troubles). The translator was obviously afraid to use the true equivalents, which in this case, was not making the book better (as if "correcting" the author could ever make a book better). I'd say it is in general better to choose contemporary books or translations. They are not free but they don't give you archaic language instead of the one you will use and they give you another and more contemporary insight in the culture as well. The classics can wait until you can distinguish language still used, at least in formal language, from the language you'll be laughed at for. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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