Do you read books in more than one language?

ficbot · 02-07-2010, 12:58 PM

Just curious how many multi-lingual readers we have here. Does anyone read books in more than one language? If so, what is your reason---books not available in your native language, trying to improve your second language, have to for business, something else? What is your native language and what other languages do you read in?

I am a native English speaker and primarily read books in English, but I read in French as well, both for work purposes (I teach French) and for fun because I am trying to develop my fluency (I am a better speaker than a reader). One of the primary reasons I upgraded from a Sony reader to a Kindle was the dictionary look-up feature. When I heard there was a French-English dictionary available which could be used with this feature, it was the first time I considered upgrading from the Sony.

So, how about you---any second languages you read in? What languages? And why?

HarryT · 02-07-2010, 01:00 PM

Latin and (ancient) Greek for me. Just for fun. The nice thing is that the whole of "classical" literature in these languages is available for download on the web.

jcf · 02-07-2010, 01:09 PM

I'm Filipino and I am fluent in Ilocano (hometown dialect), Tagalog (national language), and English. English was our medium of instruction in school so it is like a first language to me.

I am now in Canada so I am reading mostly in English. But lately, I read a Tagalog short story written by one of my country's award-winning journalists and I found out that Tagalog stimulates my brain in a different way. I find the experience/stimulation so pleasant such that I am now looking for more Tagalog and Ilocano stuff to read.

omk3 · 02-07-2010, 01:35 PM

I like reading books in the language they were written in, when possible. I have been known to try and learn new languages just because I liked a specific author that writes in that language. That said, I am only really comfortable with greek and english books, but I have read books in german, french and portuguese, and hope to someday be able to read in japanese (in a few hundred years from now or something

)

kacir · 02-07-2010, 01:45 PM

Nowadays I read the vast majority of books in English. I started reading in English in order to improve my foreign language skills.
I have started learning English when I was 20 years old.

Before that I was reading in two different slavonic languages.
I can read in even more languages, but I have only read significant number of books in three languages.

aceflor · 02-07-2010, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by omk3

I like reading books in the language they were written in, when possible.

Ditto. I am a native French speaker, from a bi-national french/british family (we spoke french with our mother and english with our father), and I have been living in Germany for almost 20 years now. So in those 3 languages, reading books is no problem at all. The most enjoyable experience for me is reading in english though, God knows why.
We will be moving to Spain in 5 months so I am starting now to read in spanish, but mostly magazines for now since I found out 20 odd years ago that it was the best way for me to get at ease with a new language. I call it "rubbish reading with a purpose"

.

eimert · 02-07-2010, 01:50 PM

I am with omk3 on this one. I just prefer to read the original, if I can. In my experience the translations almost always loose something in the process. Unfortunately, that means only German, English and Russian for me. Never got around to learn enough French or Spanish :-(

netseeker · 02-07-2010, 01:54 PM

From time to time i read books in foreign languages. Mostly in english, sometimes in russian. For work reasons as well as because some ebooks are just not available in german (my native language).

KarenH · 02-07-2010, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ficbot

One of the primary reasons I upgraded from a Sony reader to a Kindle was the dictionary look-up feature. When I heard there was a French-English dictionary available which could be used with this feature, it was the first time I considered upgrading from the Sony.

That's something that I didn't know, and might nudge me into changing over to a Kindle also. Right now I read only in English, and it's been long enough since I used any of the French or Spanish that I learned in school that I don't remember very much of it. I really would like to improve my foreign language skills (especially the Spanish - the area where I live has quite a large Spanish-speaking community). I'm sure that if I started reading in French and Spanish it would come back quickly (I remember the grammar rules and usage, it's just the vocabulary that's missing).

pietvo · 02-07-2010, 02:38 PM

I read boox in Dutch (my native language) and in English. Mostly because they are not available in the other language. I think it is about 50/50%. Occasionally I also read books in German, Spanish and French, mostly to practice these languages. For that I also read passages from the bible, the same passage both in Dutch and in one of these language.

dmaul1114 · 02-07-2010, 03:02 PM

Nope. English is my only language, so no option to read in another.

scoff · 02-07-2010, 03:05 PM

I read in English (native) and in Chinese. I read in Chinese for work (research interests in China) and for pleasure in an attempt to become more familiar with popular Chinese lit. There wasn't an option to choose both so I had to choose 'other'

Idoine · 02-07-2010, 07:04 PM

I voted Other because this pool doesn't have multiple choices !
My native language is french, and I restarted reading in english (after school) for work : I needed to read books and publications that were in english only.
So to improve my english I began to read books in that language when they were written initially in english.

Now I wouldn't purchase a book in english if it's a french one initially, but I purchased some others in english because they weren't available in french on ebook format for a reasonable price (or at all !)

Then with a multiple choices pool I would have voted, 2+3+4...

Ben Thornton · 02-07-2010, 07:31 PM

I voted no ... unless you count "parlez-vous franglais?"

theducks · 02-07-2010, 07:48 PM

I read American, British, Canadian (en) and a few others.

They are not the same language, only close.

Sometimes the words go swoosh (right over my head).

View Poll Results: Do you read inmore than one language? What and why?
No, I only read in my native language	65	25.39%
Yes, I read in another language---for work reasons	8	3.13%
Yes, I read in another language---some books are not available in my native language	44	17.19%
Yes, I read in another language---to improve my language skills in that language	60	23.44%
Yes, I read in another language---for another reason not mentioned (please explain)	71	27.73%
Other	8	3.13%
Voters: 256. You may not vote on this poll

02-07-2010, 12:58 PM	#1
ficbot Wizard Posts: 2,409 Karma: 4132096 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite/iOS Kindle App	Do you read books in more than one language? Just curious how many multi-lingual readers we have here. Does anyone read books in more than one language? If so, what is your reason---books not available in your native language, trying to improve your second language, have to for business, something else? What is your native language and what other languages do you read in? I am a native English speaker and primarily read books in English, but I read in French as well, both for work purposes (I teach French) and for fun because I am trying to develop my fluency (I am a better speaker than a reader). One of the primary reasons I upgraded from a Sony reader to a Kindle was the dictionary look-up feature. When I heard there was a French-English dictionary available which could be used with this feature, it was the first time I considered upgrading from the Sony. So, how about you---any second languages you read in? What languages? And why?

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02-07-2010, 01:00 PM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Latin and (ancient) Greek for me. Just for fun. The nice thing is that the whole of "classical" literature in these languages is available for download on the web.

02-07-2010, 01:09 PM	#3
jcf Enthusiast Posts: 30 Karma: 24 Join Date: May 2009 Device: Sony PRS-505, Kobo Aura H2O, Kobo Sage	I'm Filipino and I am fluent in Ilocano (hometown dialect), Tagalog (national language), and English. English was our medium of instruction in school so it is like a first language to me. I am now in Canada so I am reading mostly in English. But lately, I read a Tagalog short story written by one of my country's award-winning journalists and I found out that Tagalog stimulates my brain in a different way. I find the experience/stimulation so pleasant such that I am now looking for more Tagalog and Ilocano stuff to read.

02-07-2010, 01:35 PM	#4
omk3 Wizard Posts: 1,454 Karma: 37243 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Europe Device: pocketbook 360, kindle 4	I like reading books in the language they were written in, when possible. I have been known to try and learn new languages just because I liked a specific author that writes in that language. That said, I am only really comfortable with greek and english books, but I have read books in german, french and portuguese, and hope to someday be able to read in japanese (in a few hundred years from now or something )

02-07-2010, 01:45 PM	#5
kacir Wizard Posts: 3,450 Karma: 10484861 Join Date: May 2006 Device: PocketBook 360, before it was Sony Reader, cassiopeia A-20	Nowadays I read the vast majority of books in English. I started reading in English in order to improve my foreign language skills. I have started learning English when I was 20 years old. Before that I was reading in two different slavonic languages. I can read in even more languages, but I have only read significant number of books in three languages.

02-07-2010, 01:50 PM	#7
eimert Connoisseur Posts: 58 Karma: 140 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Germany Device: Dell Axim X50v	I am with omk3 on this one. I just prefer to read the original, if I can. In my experience the translations almost always loose something in the process. Unfortunately, that means only German, English and Russian for me. Never got around to learn enough French or Spanish :-(

02-07-2010, 01:54 PM	#8
netseeker sleepless reader Posts: 4,763 Karma: 615547 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Germany, near Stuttgart Device: Sony PRS-505, PB 360° & 302, nook wi-fi, Kindle 3	From time to time i read books in foreign languages. Mostly in english, sometimes in russian. For work reasons as well as because some ebooks are just not available in german (my native language).

02-07-2010, 02:38 PM	#10
pietvo Reader Posts: 519 Karma: 24612 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Utrecht, NL Device: Kobo Aura 2, iPhone, iPad	I read boox in Dutch (my native language) and in English. Mostly because they are not available in the other language. I think it is about 50/50%. Occasionally I also read books in German, Spanish and French, mostly to practice these languages. For that I also read passages from the bible, the same passage both in Dutch and in one of these language.

02-07-2010, 03:02 PM	#11
dmaul1114 Wizard Posts: 2,300 Karma: 1121709 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Amazon Kindle 1	Nope. English is my only language, so no option to read in another.

02-07-2010, 03:05 PM	#12
scoff Enthusiast Posts: 26 Karma: 20 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: DC Device: Kindle Keyboard	I read in English (native) and in Chinese. I read in Chinese for work (research interests in China) and for pleasure in an attempt to become more familiar with popular Chinese lit. There wasn't an option to choose both so I had to choose 'other'

02-07-2010, 07:04 PM	#13
Idoine Which book will be next ? Posts: 661 Karma: 2172 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: France Device: Cybook Gen3 1.5, Sony PRS 600 RC, Samsung Omnia...	I voted Other because this pool doesn't have multiple choices ! My native language is french, and I restarted reading in english (after school) for work : I needed to read books and publications that were in english only. So to improve my english I began to read books in that language when they were written initially in english. Now I wouldn't purchase a book in english if it's a french one initially, but I purchased some others in english because they weren't available in french on ebook format for a reasonable price (or at all !) Then with a multiple choices pool I would have voted, 2+3+4...

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02-07-2010, 07:31 PM	#14
Ben Thornton Guru Posts: 900 Karma: 779635 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: UK Device: Kindle 3, iPad 2 (but not for e-books)	I voted no ... unless you count "parlez-vous franglais?"

02-07-2010, 07:48 PM	#15
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 29,782 Karma: 54830978 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	I read American, British, Canadian (en) and a few others. They are not the same language, only close. Sometimes the words go swoosh (right over my head).