Books Translated From Differetn Language

[theBruiser500]

I don't think this will ever happen but I like tolstoy (and dostoyevsky) so much that i want to learn russian just to read their books in the original language. Whats the difference between reading books in their original form and then translated for another language? How much quality is lost?

[jesusarenque]

It makes all the difference in the world. Obviously, some translations are better than others, but something is always lost. I find this to be particularly true with books that have any humor in them.

[PoBoy321]

I actually think that I have a unique perspective on this issue since I'm both a classics major and taking russian courses, so basically all I do is translate literature, and also have a background in russian specifically.

There is something to be said for reading a book in it's original language. A lot of nuance in the form of the writing is lost in translation. About russian specifically, it's been said that Pushkin can run circles around Shakespeare as far as poetry is concerned, but that he is less respected in the english speaking world, simply because much of the beauty of his poetry is lost when translated to english.

About prose however, it's less important, although having an understanding of the language is always important in understanding a literary work, because there are nuances in other language that can't be translated into english. So a word that has a very specific in one language, may need to be translated into a word with a much more general meaning in another language.

Basically, I think that unless you have a very serious academic interest in studying the works of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, it isn't necessary to have an understanding of the russian language, since you can appreciate the works in translation. However, if you do have a very serious love of their works, you might want to gain an understanding of the russian language and read them in their original form in order to gain a better understanding of the subtle nuance in which the genius of their writing lies.