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 Language Learning Forum : Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies |  | |
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6382 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 33 of 44 09 October 2014 at 8:09pm | IP Logged | ||
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I guess it's a case of "is the glass half-full or half-empty?" :) For me extensive reading is what takes care of the hardest parts.
It probably also depends on the personality. Some people seem to categorize everything they come across, so it makes sense if they'd rather have a proper definition asap. And the tolerance for ambiguity (or lack thereof) can also contribute, of course. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Lemberg1963 Bilingual Diglot Groupie United States zamishka.blogspot.coRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4024 days ago 41 posts - 82 votes Speaks: English*, Ukrainian* Studies: French, German, Spanish, Polish | Message 34 of 44 10 October 2014 at 3:50am | IP Logged | ||
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I recommend manga scanlations as the stepping stone between learner textbooks and literature. It's colloquial language so the vocabulary is both useful and easy, and there's so much of it out there that you're likely to find something that interests you. There's also contextual images for your Anki cards, which is excellent for retention.
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| Icaria909 Senior Member United States Joined 5376 days ago 201 posts - 346 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 35 of 44 10 October 2014 at 11:09pm | IP Logged | ||
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I really like this method. Truth be told, I have not focused on reading nearly as much as I
should. However,I must disagree with your assertion that books translated into our L2 can serve to be valuable learning tools. Unless the writing is very clear and straightforward, the translations into your L2 can become very strange. I work at a book store and I was helping a friend find children's books that can be found in both English and Spanish (they were a gift for his cousin, who speaks only Spanish). Some of the easiest books were well translated, but the longer or more poetic the original English book, the more bizarre the Spanish translation. I find the choices many translators make in regards to the Harry Potter series to be equally problematic. I would argue we would all be better off finding easier reading materials from the cultures using our L2. I recognize the difficulty of this for those brave souls tackling languages with fewer resources, but whenever possible, I know I would prefer to use a book that was originally written in my L2. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| patrickwilken Senior Member Germany radiant-flux.net Joined 4318 days ago 1546 posts - 3200 votes Studies: German | Message 36 of 44 11 October 2014 at 12:48am | IP Logged | ||
Perhaps this is something idiosyncratic for Spanish translations? I can only really judge books in my L1, but I have never had any trouble with English translations of books from Spanish, Japanese, German etc. Perhaps they lose something in the translation, but the translations read well in my L1. I have been using a lot of translations in my L2 (German) and have asked native speakers if they read well, and they say they read just like normal German. I have nothing against reading books originally written in my L2, but I see this as a preference, not as some sort of strong rule. So long as a translation reads well in your L2, it shouldn't matter if it a translation or a native text from a learning point of view. Edited by patrickwilken on 11 October 2014 at 12:50am 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6382 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 37 of 44 11 October 2014 at 4:25am | IP Logged | ||
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Twilight might be better in translation than in the original...
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| eyðimörk Triglot Senior Member France goo.gl/aT4FY7 Joined 3884 days ago 490 posts - 1158 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English, French Studies: Breton, Italian | Message 38 of 44 11 October 2014 at 9:35am | IP Logged | ||
While I agree that translations can be poorly executed, and I certainly (very very very strongly) prefer to read native materials for the same reasons you mentioned, I don't think that we should completely discredit translations just because there are bad ones. In every media, there are products that are less useful for learners (e.g. subtitles that don't match the spoken word, sound recorded with an accent, language courses with old orthographies and outdated grammar, etc). If translations worry you (like they do me), you might spend some time researching the quality of a translation before using it if you're not yet to the level where you can tell on your own. That is how I came to read Harry Potter in Breton, even going as far as reading it side-by-side with the English original in the beginning. Everyone who had written about the translation quality were raving about it, and unlike the French translation (which it is of course compared to frequently) it was supposed to be very true to the original (which you want if you're doing a side-by-side reading). As it turns out, in addition to being very close to the English (albeit not necessarily linguistically since Breton and English are rather different) it was peppered with Breton idioms. Characters didn't just drop their jaw, they "had their mouths open to nine o'clock" etc. If you don't know if a source is decent because not all sources are, get a recommendation instead of giving up on the entire medium. 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| rdearman Senior Member United Kingdom rdearman.orgRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5021 days ago 881 posts - 1812 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, French, Mandarin | Message 39 of 44 11 October 2014 at 11:42am | IP Logged | ||
The only way to make that book better is to burn it. :) 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6382 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 40 of 44 11 October 2014 at 2:36pm | IP Logged | ||
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I'm speaking purely of the language quality here. At least then it would make sense why the SC'ers didn't actually hate it.
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