[HN Gopher] The Value of Differences: Jennifer Lindsay on Notici...
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       The Value of Differences: Jennifer Lindsay on Noticing Translation
        
       Author : Thevet
       Score  : 16 points
       Date   : 2025-04-21 19:44 UTC (3 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (sydneyreviewofbooks.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (sydneyreviewofbooks.com)
        
       | jbjbjbjb wrote:
       | My layman take on this is I don't really want to read a book
       | where "There isn't a paragraph or turn of phrase which feels like
       | it didn't originate in English". I want the original language to
       | punch through a bit and be celebrated especially with idioms.
        
         | kevingadd wrote:
         | Don't you want to appreciate the book at its best, as it was
         | appreciated by readers who read it in its original language?
         | Why demand a compromised work? If you want to soak up
         | untranslated idioms, you can just learn another language.
        
           | readthenotes1 wrote:
           | "just learn another language."
           | 
           | Lol Just learn many other languages _and_ cultural idioms
           | that are sometimes regional and dense with meaning?
        
             | alganet wrote:
             | The reason to do it is precisely because it is hard.
        
             | kevingadd wrote:
             | I sincerely believe everyone should learn at least one
             | other language. At least make the effort, you'll learn a
             | lot in the process and it can be quite fun. It also
             | enriches your understanding of your primary language once
             | you've seen how other languages express particular
             | concepts.
        
           | PaulDavisThe1st wrote:
           | fun fact: Gabriel Garcia Marquez said in public that he
           | believed the english translation of "100 anos de soledad" was
           | better than his spanish original.
        
           | j7ake wrote:
           | Sorry but translated works do not mean compromised work.
           | Don't disrespect translators like that.
           | 
           | Second, Learning a language is not a binary variable. It
           | takes decades to master a language.
           | 
           | Finally, Your ability to appreciate a book is both a function
           | of the text and your ability to comprehend the text. A
           | translated book will give you better experience than the book
           | in a language you are unfamiliar with.
        
             | kevingadd wrote:
             | "I want the original language to punch through a bit and be
             | celebrated especially with idioms." is asking for a
             | compromised, incompletely translated work, no?
        
         | PaulDavisThe1st wrote:
         | fun experience: I've read two english translations of The Glass
         | Bead Game by Hermann Hesse. The first one honored the general
         | vibe of its Germanic ancestor, and made it extremely hard to
         | read. The second one had its own vibe, not uniquely English nor
         | obviously German, and was a masterpiece.
        
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       (page generated 2025-04-21 23:00 UTC)