nauru Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 And do you feel that it makes a difference worthy of the effort? Just a random thought, wondering what others think about this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axialpac Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 I don't. And I don't think there's any point. Although translations . . . I'm not always so fond of. I would love to read books like Being and Time in their original German, but realistically it would take me five plus years to master the German language and even then I would never be able to speak it like a native. Trying to wrap my mind around philosophy written in English can be a challenge, in German.. it would be another story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clever Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 I don't. And I don't think there's any point. Although translations . . . I'm not always so fond of. I would love to read books like Being and Time in their original German, but realistically it would take me five plus years to master the German language and even then I would never be able to speak it like a native. Trying to wrap my mind around philosophy written in English can be a challenge, in German.. it would be another story. Being and Time would take me 5 years to read in the english translation.. Even then, I probably wouldn't really understand it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nauru Posted January 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Well you wouldn't need to know how to speak German; only how to read it. In my experience learning to read a language is much, much easier than learning to speak it (not sure if other people feel the other way about it?). And anyway I was thinking of people's natural second and third languages. That is the ones they learned years ago and are able to function in but don't use as often as their main language. So they are already able to read in those other languages, but it is slower than in their everyday main language and takes more effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdy Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 If it is a language I can read comfortably, yes. If not, I'll seek out an English version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axialpac Posted January 31, 2013 Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 Being and Time would take me 5 years to read in the english translation.. Even then, I probably wouldn't really understand it. Yeah it's supposed to be a really difficult book to read, even in its original German. I haven't read it yet, but hopefully in the near future. Well you wouldn't need to know how to speak German; only how to read it. In my experience learning to read a language is much, much easier than learning to speak it (not sure if other people feel the other way about it?). I can read German--I just wouldn't understand what I'm reading. I do agree that it is easier to learn to read a new language vs. learning to speak it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrenchToast Posted January 31, 2013 Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 I find that sometimes things get sooo lost in translation. I find the Bible especially to be very, very different in English. I've always wanted to read Blindness in Portuguese but that is unfortunately not in the cards.. if anyone knows Portuguese, please do it and let me know how it is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capucine Posted January 31, 2013 Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 I'm a francophone but I always try to buy books from english writers in their original language. I find that some author have a bit of poetry about how they write and that is often lost in translation. Sometimes I read translated book with poems, songs, etc in it and I always wonder what they were like in the original book... Plus reading in english helps me understand it better. English books are also cheaper! Recently I bought an english book for 15$, in french it was separated in two 40$ books... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apache Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 omg, i'd love to read some phil in the original german, but learning german, sorta hard, and i'm too busy... i wish tho, prob learn when im older And do you feel that it makes a difference worthy of the effort? Just a random thought, wondering what others think about this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apache Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 god, it's honestly just, ****ing impossible, it's the only book i ever coles noted in university, being this as result of the essence of being, **** you heidegger, if sarte can be seminal in 90 pages... and **** that, if wittgenstein can change philosophy, period, in 70 pages... so can you, lol Yeah it's supposed to be a really difficult book to read, even in its original German. I haven't read it yet, but hopefully in the near future. I can read German--I just wouldn't understand what I'm reading. I do agree that it is easier to learn to read a new language vs. learning to speak it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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