Archived threads in /lit/ - Literature - 1844. page

i dont speak german but knew this was heidegger. Lucky guess? I think not

Why do you retards marvel at everything

>>9111648
>you retards
JUST

>>9111468
Pee pee poo poo

honestly, in this case, the translation meme is true. Every translation of Dante is ugly and loses a great deal of the music of his poetry. Dante is the greatest Italian writer of all time, and The Comedy is one of the greatest works, if not the greatest work, stylistically speaking, but only in the original Italian. I'm not trying to be pretentious, it's just true. The only reason to read it in English is to say that you've read it so that you can check it off your list of "classic books to read to make me look smart"

>>9111516
sell me on learning italian instead please.

Start with the Greeks.

>>9111368
Greeks are white

truth doesn't exist kiddo

http://imgur.com/a/887Qn

>im not making this clear
>does that make sense?
>thats not clear
>i know this isnt clear
>thats not what i wanted to say
>im really not making myself clear here
>im struggling to be clear
>does that make any sense at all?
>sorry this isnt clear
>im not putting this well
>maybe none of that makes any sense

occupation: writer

>>9111401
Reads exactly like The Pale King

>>9112264
>Should translations be faithful to the original or Should they adapt the meaning only and try to fit the work in the language.

A reasonable compromise is possible.

>>9112267
Elaborate.

I like translations that strike a balance between being faithful and being pleasant to read, but which err in favor of pleasantness. Too faithful, and the result is likely awkward; too interested in readability, and you lose what the author wrote.

Some examples. The translations of Homer by Richard Lattimore and Robert Fitzgerald, the two translators who are often put head-to-head. Lattimore is more literal, and sometimes awkward, he's been called "turgid," but he remains faithful to Homer's words and uses a long line (not as long as Homer's, but long for English) to kind of give you a sense of Homer's sound. Fitzgerald, on the other hand, is less literal, and is more interested in giving the reader a good English poem. He proceeds from the question, "What would Homer have written if he'd been born an English poet?" He uses a short line, iambic pentameter, because it's a better meter for an English poem. Lattimore's opening of the Iliad goes, "Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus' son Achilleus / and its devastation," etc.; Fitzgerald's opening goes, "Anger be now your song, immortal one / Akhilleus' anger, doomed and ruinous," etc. — less literal, but in Fitzgerald's opinion, better poetry. Whereas Fitzgerald brings Homer to English, Lattimore attempts to get English to sound like Homer. I prefer Lattimore.

But then when I'm reading the Russians, I'm not as concerned with literalness. The Russian translations of Pevear & Volokhonsky are faithful, but very awkward. In their Crime and Punishment, they have Marmeladov ask Raskolnikov if he can engage him in a "conversation of decency." Other translators have "polite conversation." So for Russian translations, I go to a host of other people, not them. That's my preference.

A translator like Burton Raffel is the other extreme: his translations are known for being readable, but they're readable because they're looser. Scholars, I think, don't like him.

Basically, my ideal is: pretty literal, but dialed back to the point where it sounds like natural English.

>>9111325
>Il y a plusieurs catégorie de personnes
is this correct? would it not be ils y sont plusiers categories des personnes?

>>9111325
>ces règles, tout cela n'est qu'une farce, du vent, une illusion pour maintenir un semblant de cohérence et vivre ensemble. Mais à quel prix? Celles de nos vies... je brûle de l'intérieur, j'ai besoin que tout aille plus vite, plus haut, plus fort, toujours plus de vitesse, je veux apprendre plus vite, réaliser plus de choses plus vite!

i like this bit btw. Not gonna google but im assuming its auto-biographical b/c 22 y/o. It's a bit trite but its honest and relatable. The wind metaphor rings of Ecclesiastes, and I'm a big sucker for a well-placed Biblical allusion.

Pas mal Mon Frere. Peut-etre trop in ventio.

>>9112010
why isn't there anything new there? Has no progression been made in political theory?

why do I have to read the Merchant of Venice before Gramsci?

>>9112025
rawls, marcuse, huntington, hooks, weber, and gramsci are all fairly recent.

also
>progression
i personally don't believe in this.

>>9111321

it mirrors the cacophony that is the voice of the ghosts which itself mirrors a greek chorus.

>>9111321
>carefully pieces together different historical documents
>also writes original content
>calls it his new novel
>I buy it
>it's good
I don't see the problem.

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>>9111327

you're too stupid

>>9111317
Dang.

>>9111311

it settles, but you'll probably keep flipping to the family tree in the beginning. the story isnt supposed to proceed in a strictly linear fashion and youll get used to it soon.

it gets good.

>>9111442
If you aren't going to read it, don't. But don't look for us to justify your premade decision.

>>9111482
I said because of the edition, I'm not sure which are the ones with typos

>>9111442
Yes, Penguin Classics sucks

>>9111273

jim shepard.

hes got a new one coming out and i loved like you'd understand, anyway.

then, barthelme, saunders, carver, dubus jr, and tobias wolff.

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>>9111273

also, check backlogs of literary magazines like mcsweeney's and american short fiction for a shotgun approach.

and how could i forget alice munro?

Bradbury's Martian Chronicles
Anton Chekhov - About Love And Other Stories (Oxford, trans Bartlett)
Lovecraft - Call Of Cthulhu and Other Weird Tales (Penguin)
Any Conan Doyle Sherlock volume

>>9111216
*unzips dick*

>>9111233
kek

The study of thought, now go to bed.

tae kim is good. Im studying Japanese currently.
1) learn hiragana and katana
2) read tae kim + do core 2k/6k anki deck daily
3) add reading basic manga/visual novels with the help of a dictionary/translator, and keeping a basic diary to your routine
4) find a penpal/conversation partner when you get good enough

current path im on tbqhf

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>>9111179
>katana
I meant katakana, obviously. Please do not laugh at me.

There should be a daily Japanese thread, or whatever they call it, on /jp/. Use the catalog.

Great blog post.

>introduced causality into Kant's transcendental aesthetic
>greatest philosopher of all time

Literally nothing without Kant. Try again.

Schopenhauer was to smart to be happy.

>>9111057
Orson Welles directed, wrote, and stared in Citizen Kane when he was 24

Reads like it.

>a meme author published a shitty pomo novel at 26
really made me think