what are some works that should absolutely be read in the original language and the translations make the entire book lose its soul?
>>25281993mysticism books I say
The Quran I guess
>>25281993why are all the good books in foreign languages i have to learn in order for me to fully experience the book
Poetry in generalGenji MonogatariChinese Classics
Notice how English will have no works in this category
>>25282045Mug Shakespeare, Chaucer, Milton and Joyce come to mind. Twain and Carrol also lose their soul in translation
>>25281993worthless books
>>25282067Carrol is a pedophile and Twain is a creepy cultist. Chaucer is a plagiarist and Shakespeare was monolingual. Milton's only claim to fame is the first half of one poem.
>>25282074And you are a moron who drools and won't amount to anything. You write like a menstrating woman. I can smell your reek from the keyboard. It stinks up the board. Take a shower.
>>25282091But aren't I right though? And you're the one who interpreted those things as negative insults.
>>25282074Painfully obvious bait but will get probably a dozen (You)s anyway
>>25282099I really don't mean it like that. Is there some I can go ahead and embrass myself so there is no smug shitposter element to this?
>>25282115I could maybe buy this story for the first four claims, but there is not a chance in hell you wrote "Milton's only claim to fame is the first half of one poem" without incendiary intent. Don't try to backpedal on your bait, anon.
>>25282139I just couldn't get into the latter half of paradise lost at all and I've never seen anyone give a shit about his other work. I've read that it's common to find the back half of paradise lost weaker
Ulysses, Finnegans Wake, Grande Sertão: Veredas.
>>25281993does anyone know how much better it is to read dostoevsky in russian as opposed to english..? id really like to know the full extent
>>25281993dr seuss books
>>25282067cant forget Tolkien!>>25281993The Neverending Story, which is superior in the original German. The Manheim translation is serviceable, but it really loses something. Worse yet, he had this terrible habit of leaving out lines that he seemed to think were superfluous, but were in fact very important, and related to the central thesis (the relation between reality & fantasy). tbf he did well in some areas, like naming things (Falcor being a good adaptation of Fuchur), but it doesn't capture the original.
>>25282096>negative insultsThey are positive insults?
>>25281993Reverend Insanity.
faust
>>25281993Most poems in Latin.
>>25281993Anything with poetry
Old Norse sagas and the poetic eddaClassical ChineseMallarmé (I assume, he filters me completely)Probably Classical Japanese
delete this board already
>>25285555I'm thinking of buying the Saga of the Icelanders. Will I be able to enjoy it if I read it in English?
>>25285566Well most people find the Sagas of Icelanders to be boring so I wouldn't assume you'll enjoy them but yeah give them a tryI just think the original(ish) language enhances my enjoyment as the grammar, style and vocabulary perfectly suit the content
I'm not sure what lose soul in translation even means. When I look at translations of English works into another language I know i don't see anything wrong. Maybe a drastically different language would harm the text but going from the various western European languages doesn't seem inherently destructive at all and more a matter of translater skill
>>25281993Kritik der reinen Vernunft
Lost in translation is a meme. A decent translation does everything and can even surpass the original. Nothing is beyond the ability to translate.
