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c/asklemmy by u/schipelblorp 2d ago

Read literature in translation or simplified?

8 upvotes 2 comments
I'm interested in reading Borges. My spanish is good enough for conversation & podcasts, but in my experience, literature often requires an additional vocabulary that I, as an only occasional reader, will gain at high cost but benefit from little.

So the question is: is it better to read a translation that maybe mimics the lexical richness of the original in a different language, or is it better to read a simplified version in the native language? I don't mind grammatical complexity--which can be applied in conversation--it's mostly the vocabulary that's the problem.

Assume an actually advanced book that *can* be simplified.

Edit: Or maybe an e-reader with the original text and a built-in dictionary would be best? I just jailbroke my kindle.
Open discussion