All the non-native English speakers here: how did you start reading the greats...

All the non-native English speakers here: how did you start reading the greats? Did you read them translated to your language, in English or in their original languages(assuming they weren't English speakers themselves)?

Prefer Ænglisch in 99% of cases unless I can read it in the original language 2bh

Did you start like that? What is your native language?

why is the robot from metropolis watching a slav protestor assault a guard with a swiffer handle while another guard stands completely at ease unnaffected by the whole situation?

what is it happening on the pic anyway?

the other guard is a policeman so i suppose he doesn't think he should interrupt yet while the local security handles it

>Did you start like that?
No, at first I read whatever my parents had or that I could get at the library, which usually did not offer foreign language editions.

When I started getting my own books, I began to prefer english translations, as it's a less spartan language than Norwegian. Of course, if it's a translation to Norwegian by an author I like I'll read that too.

But of course, whatever I can read in its original language I will.

I didn't read English book till I was 17 (last year), I started reading English with Anne Frank's diary.
Then I tended to read on E-readers and thanks to their built in dictionary it's lot easier to read English and currently I read most of foreign lit in English and only tend to read some perfect translations or Persian classics in Persian.
I prefer English books for some reason: Some translations are shitty in my own language, there is government censorship, and I download English books for free.

Have yoy studied any arabic? I am interested in learning Persian, any advice? I do think government censorship has helped your film industry.

I'm 19, my native language is Spanish and I'll start reading more books in English by summer. I'm currently finishing Joyce's Portrait untranslated and I've been fine, although I read slower.

They teach us Arabic in school, but in the worst way possible. I can grasp meaning of sentences but I can't write or speak.
Persian is very easy, I think the hardest part would be learning alphabet. Persian grammar doesn't have masculine feminine thing and it's easy as pie. Engles told in a letter that he learnt Persian in 14 days!
I do think some kind of censorship is necessary, but they've taking it too far. before revolution lots of shitty films produced but in 90's our cinema was great, now they do produce good things but still we got the shitty movies.

I remember reading 1984 at age 16 in my native language. The translation was so horrid that it made me stop reading books in my own language .
Also books in my country cost twice as much as in bookdiposetory .

>Also books in my country cost twice as much as in bookdiposetory .
Oh, this is also definitely a factor for me (I'm ), it is incredibly difficult to find some things in the first place, and if you do it's never for a reasonable price.

I prefer to read them in english, Norwegian isn't quite as rich as already pointed out. If I stumble over a translated work by an author I don't particulary care for, but would like to expose myself for, I usually pick it up. Except when the author is english, then I avoid all translations.

In my youth I read Harry Potter and some King books in english, but my first classic, Crime and Punishment(need to read it again, went over my head) was a translation.

quite as rich as English*

That's not what I said, it's a more blunt and spartan language, which makes translating awkward from most other languages, not that the language itself can't be extremely expressive.

>They teach us Arabic in school, but in the worst way possible. I can grasp meaning of sentences but I can't write or speak.

Hue, that's how they teach in Arab countries too. That's interesting, I didn't know they taught it in Iran. Do they do it to understand the Quran and older religious texts mainly?

It seems graspable but also very foreign compared to European languages. I studied Arabic pretty intensively overseas and know a few european languages (mainly romance). The alphabet would be the least of my problems.

Engles probably exaggerated. Thomas Jefferson said he learnt spanish in two weeks with a grammar book and Don Quijote. Although yeah the grammar does seem easy.

Necessary how? Films and older poetry are the two biggest reasons I want to learn Farsi. But learning Persian seems like so much work.

>Do they do it to understand the Quran and older religious texts mainly?
indeed, but it also necessary for understanding Persian lit, because Arabic and Persian influenced each other excessively. For example in Gulistan of Sa'adi you will find Arabic idioms and poems in between Persian (though they're annotated versions available and you can go through without knowing Arabic.)
> Films and older poetry are the two biggest reasons I want to learn Farsi.
They're very good reasons to learn it. If I wasn't Persian I would've learn it to read Rumi, Hafez and Ferdowsi (today is his anniversary) and lots of other classic giants.
Also may I ask where are you from?

Yeah, I see your point now, and I agree with the sentiment. And it wasn't really the expressiveness I find lacking, but the sheer amount of words in English compared to Norwegian. I often find the use of loanwords in Norwegian to be jarring, but not in English. It's shows my lack of intimacy with English since English probably has the most loanwords of any language.

I do enjoy reading in Norwegian, but I find it to be quite a different experience than reading in English.

I'm Mexican ethnically, but born and raised in the U S of A. I studied Arabic because I converted to Islam. I was in Egypt and even though I'm Sunni, I think Persians are pretty cool. They're like the ancient Greeks of the Islamic world.

Hungarian translations are okay most of the time.

Oh, how did you convert with all these rants about Islam?
Thomas Carlayle once said that Persians are French of the orient ;)

It was like three or four year ago. The rants weren't as bad back then. Plus they never have depth. I wouldn't have listened to them anyways. And I just read about it and found myself agreeing with everything I learned. It is a very natural theology, i think.

I know. I read a hadith, maybe spurious God knows, that says if there was a piece of knowledge in the sky, a Persian would go and bring it down.

Both.

Yes that hadith is actually printed on our banknotes :)

Well as all the true Greats wrote in German I was able to read the originals.

>reading the greats
>English
no sorry you fucking anglo we have plenty of great authors so I don't need to bother with your barbaric crap

I'm not an anglo you mongoloid

I didn't.

Last two book I've read were the Killing Fields and the Damage Done because I found them in a trashcan and figured terrible things happening in South East Asia was a good read while in conscription.

I learned one thing though, don't smuggle drugs out of Thailand or the like. The money ain't worth it.

Haha, أحسن الناس

Same, but I speak taco. I'd rather read a book in its original language than with translations. So much meaning and context gets lost because there's not an accurate translation in the target language.

as a native english speaker i make an effort to appreciate most of the greats in their original language even if that's more work

subs is better than dubs
abridged is shit
translations are bad
amen