For people who dont speak english as their first language: Which

>>9083596
It depends really - whatever is most accesible. If I see a book I want to read in a bookstore that's in my own language, I'll read it in my own language, but considering that most literature is translated in English I end up reading it more often in English.

english translations are typically better and easier to find for works that are less than very well-known

>>9083596
i read it in my own language or in english if it isnt translated to my language

>>9083610
Pretty much this.

In my own language because it is better than english

Generally english because it's easier to pirate epubs.

>>9083596
In my own language (Serbian) first. Our language is so beautifull and we have some great great books from our own writers.

Since I don't buy books I just download PDFs I am looking for Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian version and if there is none I read in English without trouble, it's just that I would rather pick my own language.

Native translation, just to refresh it in my memory. I've been on 4chins for close to 10 years and at this point I basically think in english.

>>9083596
I tend to prefer an english translation over a swedish.

>>9083745
Me too (Croatian). Most books I own are written in Serbian. Also, Croatian / Serbian literature is underrated.

>>9084175
I'm from Montenegro actually. And yes our literature is very much underrated. I don't know if there is English versions of Mesa Selimovic, Mihailo Lalic, Laza Kostic books.

Not even for poems from Tin Ujevic, Vladislav Petkovic DIS and Jovan Ducic. I swear /lit/ would fall in love with these three.

The Soviet school of translation was damn good: many talented authors during Stalin chose to become translators instead of pursuing their own literature career as translating classics was safer and demanded no compromise with conscience. Boris Pasternak, one of the best Russian poets of the 20th century, for instance, translated much of Shakespeare and those translations are considered by many as etalons of how translation should be done.

So yes, I mostly read in Russian, and even though I have read something in English (still, no translation can compare with the original), I'm simply not fluent in English enough to enjoy a book written in a language not native to me.

>>9084296
I didn't know so many Slavs were on lit
I was born in America but both my parents were Bosnian so I can speak Serbo-Croatian, but I can't read very well
Any advice/books on learning to read a bit better in my ancestral language

>>9083596
First, I check who translated the book to my own language. I know all good translators, and also many classical books were translated by some of the best writers from my country, so I enjoy this versions if avaliable. If I don't know the translator or know that he's bad I will choose an english translation.

>>9083745
>>9084175
Death and the Dervish was pretty nice. I wonder, is the book very popular and considered a classic in your parts? What else would you recommend?

Usually an English translation as they tend to be of a higher level than other ones.
I try to read in the original language, but life is short.

>>9083641
this, my language being Polish

>>9084296
I'm pretty sure that Selimović and Ujević have been translated. Krleža and Andrić definitely have. (Though their availability is probably questionable.)

>>9083596
There are some great translators in my language, so I'll definitely pick those over an english version. If however the translator isn't that highly regarded, I tend to choose the English one.

>>9084333
>etalons
кeк

>>9083596
english ftw
The vocabulary is much larger than my native tongue.

>>9084350
Well considering how many good pieces of literature we have in such a small space (Balkan) we are brought up and taught since childhood to read. I know that many farmers and village people have surely read more books than average person. It's just in our tradition.

My best advice is to just power through one or two books. The learning curve is pretty hard since, as you probably know, our language is kind of mixed up with a lot of foreign words form Turkish, German, Russian and Italian origin. Mostly Turkish words though.

The good thing is, when you learn to read one of the books, and completely understand it, you are prepared for them all.

>>9084372
Death and the Dervish is taught in highschool. I would say it is definitely a classic.

My recommendations are "Prokleta Avlija" by Ivo Andric, and "Lelejska Gora" by Mihailo Lalic.

Prokleta Avlija is a great book which can be read by anyone and anyone can symphatize with characters in it.

Lelejska Gora is basically the book about a soldier coming back home and searching for his friend, he finds out his friend has gone and now he is all alone. The book follows through our main guy and his facings with solitude. Translation of Lelejska Gora is Mountain of Cries and it's a metaphore about our country that is relevant today, the whole book has 2 meanings. If you read it like a psychological novel about war, it's good. If you read it like a metaphore about Montenegro it's also good. When you realise that it's both at once, you will know this book is a masterpiece.

I mostly read classics, so German translations are usually on par with the english ones.

>>9083610
This.

what a nice little thread

>>9084591
Go die

Depends on what is available, what is accessible and which one is deemed a good translation.

I prefer to read my own language, if the translation is rated well enough.

>>9084633
I don't like Murakami, but he is a great example of a horrible translation into my native language.

Why? Because all but the most recent translations of his works aren't actually Japanese -> my language, they're made from the English translation. This sometimes happens, so one has to look out for bullshit.

Anything from the past century, I try to find in English.
Everything else I read in french because it is the superior /lit/ language

>>9083596
Italy has probably the greatest schools of translation in the world, and almost every book that has a minimum of importance gets a translation. So I only read in Italian.

>>9084699
Even philosophy?

>>9084849
Yeah

>>9083596
I'm from Finland and English books I'll read in English. Some books don't have that good translations to Finnish so I'll read them in English but if it's something like war and peace I'll just read it in Finnish because I know that stuff like that has good translations.

Depends on which is more accessible.
For philosophy I sometimes read both to get more perspectives.
Hungarian books are dirt cheap second hand.

>>9083596
I read it in the language that is most similar to the original, ie:

French, Italian, Portugese : I read in Spanish (main language)

German, and others I guess, I'd read in English

>>9086263
>For philosophy I sometimes read both to get more perspectives.
said the pseud

>>9083596
A translation to my own language, since English translation are often very poor for some reason.

>>9086435
You are just a lazy cunt.

>>9086452
>for some reason
Because English itself is poor. How can you render the wealth and the complexity of Greek, Latin, every Romance language... in English? Please

>>9084372
Andrić, Krleža, Davičo, Kiš, Marinković, Popa, Božić, Šenoa, Cesarec, Nazor, Ujević, Matoš, Cesarić, Kaštelan, Pupačić, Ilić, Šantić, Župančić, Racin, Gjalski.

>>9084398
polish is (chujowy) shit though

>>9084464
True, but most older people in Balkan read thing like Jack London and Italian comic books such as Alan Ford and Zagor.

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If there's an Icelandic translation readily available that's what I prefer
otherwise just English since it's generally much easier to fin'

some works like the Illiad and the Odyssey I can't imagine in English though after trying the Icelandic and the Tintin translation is such a work of art I even doubt the original French is better

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>>9083596
Spanish native speaker.

We have great translators for German philosophy (since it was trendy going to Germany, learn philosophy and come back, still happens these days) and Russian (many people were refugees in the Soviet Union, and they worked for the Soviet publishers, and also for Latinamerican publishers).

Greek, Latin, French and Italian are closer to Spanish. So I only choose English when is something that it was not translated from the original language (like Japanese).

If I can get a translation I read in my mother tongue, if I can't then I go for the English.
I plan to write using my first language anyway, the English market is saturated as fuck.

>>9087243
what's the language?

for me while the Icelandic market is a lot more open it's also so small it's very hard to make a living off it

>>9087253
>>9087253
Hungarian. I don't plan to live off my writings only, you have to be in the lucky 0.0001% whatever anyway and even then it takes years to make a name for yourself. The market is still easier to get into than English.
I like Hungarian a lot more anyway compared to English but I might translate my own work if I feel like it.

>>9083985
Du ar vad som forstor varat fina land din ackliga ballsate las svenska din mupp