Have you read fiction in language other than English or your native language?

[brooklyn218]

Confession.... I love Harry Potter! I have read them so many times in English (my native language) that I know the gist of them.  So, I purchased the books in two other languages while learning and read them.  It helped that I knew the story line and I look forward to reading different books and branching out. 

[petesede]

Probably doesn´t count, but where I live we get Game of Thrones about 6 hours before it is available in the USA or internet.   But it is dubbed into spanish, and also subtittlled into spanish.  So you don´t hear the actors real voice, but you can read along in spanish because sometimes it is very hard to understand what they are saying.

I stopped watching it though because the translations were done so poorly, they took all nuance out of the dialog.  Characters like Tyrion have completely different personalities because his sarcasm and satire are not translated, so you think he is just depressed.

Although the same is true of comedies.  2 1/2 men, Simpsons and Big Bang Theory are all on tv here in spanish, but the ´funny parts´ are different.  Some of the funniest scenes just do not translate at all.  They laugh more at the obvious, slapstick type humor.

[kimseokjin]

If I could even read a children's book in Korean I would consider myself blessed! Unfortunately, I have still yet to come across one at the library...

[John Snort]

I know three languages and can read books in languages other than English but I'm yet to find really great fiction that I'd want to read. The last time I tried to read a translation of Tom Sawyer it was so horrible that for a while I stopped reading non-English fiction. Occasionally though when I stumble into a good short story written in a language I know, even if it's not English, I'll read it but something longer? No.

[wolfette]

I've read several stories in other languages. Typically ones that I also have an English copy of. This way I already know the general plot and I can use the English copy to help me to fill in any words I really don't understand. I find this works better for me than attempting to read something off the bat in another language. I've got a couple of my favorite books in 2-3 different languages despite not really being particularly fluent in some of the languages I have books in.

[Norm A]

We have eleven official languages in my country and I'm fluent in six of them and semi-fluent in the rest. We get a lot of novels written in each of these languages and I love reading as much as I can because I think that it helps with my overall language learning. The truth is, though, that it never quite 'feels' the same when I read a book that is not in English. I think I've just been too conditioned to read in English that any other language just feels off for me. 

[GingerCat]

A friend of mine was once lucky enough to come across two vintage Agatha Christie novels in French and she snapped them up. She gave one to me and one to my sister, as both of us were learning French. I do believe that I read all of mine, though I found it hard going. It helped that I am hyper Agatha Christie Fan and had already read that one in English, though many years previous.

I highly recommend it. It's fun to notice the differences, and you will definitely learn some new words!

[LeHolic]

On May 17, 2016 at 0:16 PM, brooklyn218 said:

Confession.... I love Harry Potter! I have read them so many times in English (my native language) that I know the gist of them.  So, I purchased the books in two other languages while learning and read them.  It helped that I knew the story line and I look forward to reading different books and branching out. 

Great way to learn another language @brooklyn218. You are passionate about the subject and are familiar with it, which can greatly improve your  understanding. Now, with a good online dictionary and a community just like the one you have here at linguaholic the only thing left to do is learning 

Congratulations on using this way to achieve it.!

[Norm A]

I have just started reading a book by one of our local authors about the modern legend of a woman who died on her wedding day in a car crash, and now haunts a stretch of road on the highway. It's quite an interesting read, and it's really helping me to increase my vocabulary. I still think I would enjoy the story more if it was in english...

[Lingua Franca]

Yes I have, I didn't get to finish the book right to the end but I did get about half way. I was still learning German at the time and tried to read a classic German book. I think I only understood every other word but I did get a good idea of the general story with which I was pleased with.

[LearnFrenchLive]

Just ordered le petit nicolas. anyone else tried it?

[Baburra]

I was forced to learn and read a lot of foreign fiction in school and I have forgotten literally all of them by now, which is why I feel it was such a waste of time because I was never really interested in it then and would rather have just spent that time learning something else. I always thought back then that maybe I'll appreciate it more when I get older but now looking back I just feel even more regretful at the time I wasted on it. 

[lecanard7]

I have done some reading in French. I find reading kid's novels, especially ones I've read before, is good practice for me and if I know the story already I don't get too lost. I also read some Sherlock Holmes stories one time and promised myself I would look up every word I didn't know. It took a lot of effort to stop and look up words when I was all involved in my book, but I was glad I did. It was a pretty good exercise for me and I felt like it helped me learn some new words. 

[VinayaSpeaks]

I am a reader, I read fictions and non fictions in Nepali, my native language and English, my second language. Apart from Nepali and English books, I also read in Hindi. I have read many Hindi fictions and nonfictions. Some of my best writers are the ones who write in Hindi language.

[babelle]

I'm reading Spanish and French short stories as part of my learning path in both languages. You can find a lot of them on the internet and they are even categorized according to one's proficiency. I started reading them after going through the basics of each language and I was really encouraged because I realized that I can actually understand the stories. 

[sillylucy]

I have read some books in Spanish, but half of the time I had to refer back to my Spanish English dictionary and I had no idea what was going on. I am able to read the words and kind of guess what they sound like, but I do not 100% know what they are saying. Does anyone else know what I am talking about? I am trying to make a sincere effort here and read the book, but I get lost.