Lois’s answer to “Not to be one of those annoying fans who asks when the next book is due when the last is scarcely o…” > Likes and Comments
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Squee! I love the title, and I'm so eager to see the novel as well as the collection. Worth waiting for!
If we ever get Penric in Spanish, I can try introducing my wife to him. She speaks English well, but reads fiction only in Spanish.
If she speaks English well, she shouldn't have that much of a trouble reading in English. And it's good to be able to read one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, so why not practice her reading English.
It's not unusual for mult-lingual people to prefer reading (fiction especially) in only one of their languages. I'm bilingual but my English is a bit stronger than my Spanish and I *much* prefer reading fiction in English. Some people I know prefer reading in their second language because they'd lived abroad for years and they've got used to it. I do force myself to read Spanish fiction sometimes. It's something I'm working on! When it comes to newspapers/magazines and other non-fiction I don't default to English as much.
Reading fiction is about enjoyment and relaxation, so even if it's 'not much trouble' to read in your second language you are aware that you're missing some nuances at times and that it just requires that bit more effort. Obviously this is a kind of viscious circle you get into. The less you read in your second language the harder it is, which is why I'm trying to challenge myself.
@Nick, there's also the question of special terms such as uphill/downhill magic, "Learned" as a title, and all the slightly archaic terms to fit with the setting as well as (in some cases) lots of naval terminology that might be confusing.
While practicing a language by reading is great, depending on your level, it might be more frustrating than enjoyable.
Nick: Decades ago, when I was living in Italy, I tried reading a novel in Italian, and quickly realized that the vocabulary of written fiction has plenty of stuff on every page that you don't encounter in conversation. My wife is fluent in spoken English (and French), but we live in Spain, and she has no need of more than a conversational vocabulary. If I want to persuade her to read some fiction she knows nothing about, offering it in a foreign language isn't a good start. 🙂
I wonder how English language audiobooks would work for those with good spoken English but less comfortable with reading fiction in English? I don't know the answer. Probably for some people it would be a help, but one still has the specialized vocabulary, etc.
I know as a person limited to one language, I do get a different experience reading and listening to the same book. I own both print or eBook and also audiobook versions of the same title, for many of my favorite works. This trend started with The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, but now included most of Bujold's works, most of Heyer's, and a number of other authors.
It boils down to exposure - the more you immerse youself in the foreign language and environment (i.e. culture), the better you'd learn to use it fluently. If you are so inclined, of course. For some people learning a language is a dreadful chore, for others it's the greatest pleasure. Since reading came first for me (before audiobooks), I'm an example for those who prefer the act of reading (whatever the language, reading would come first). I am just recently pushed towards audiobooks by factors totally unrelated to personal preference - availability, ease of access, the fact that much less focus is required to listen to something while loading the dishwasher than to sit somewhere quiet and read.. etc. Reading a book and listening to it are profoundly different expieriences for me. Reading in a foreign language for me was motivated by the need to know what the author has said exactly and how, without the filter of at least one translation. Translations could be great, totally adding to or enhancing a text, but could also be very crippling. Again, Lois. Just wanted to be able to read Lois's words directly (only through the prism of her countless redactions). Goes for any other language and for most of the fiction - better to read the original than the translation, if you could. A great translation is the second best thing. I am aware that this is all common sense and hardly a novelty for anyone, also duplicates some of the comments before this one. I am endlessly proud with the very few words I know in French or Spanish, and since October last year - with the totally uselles knowledge how to build the plural form of nouns in Italian (since I only know a few nouns, their plural forms are of course of no use). Add to this some broken English and German, which at least are serviceable, and you will understand why, if i'd known Spanish as a second language, being almost bilingual, as some of the other comments have mentioned, I would've been over the moon with joy to have access to a throve of original literatute in Spanish... If you have been so lucky to have been gifted a language, use it...
I've bought the ebook of one of my favorite Vorkosigan books in Spanish but haven't jumped in yet. I was thinking since I know it so well it might not be as big a struggle.
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Lisa
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Apr 19, 2021 06:45PM
Squee! I love the title, and I'm so eager to see the novel as well as the collection. Worth waiting for!
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If we ever get Penric in Spanish, I can try introducing my wife to him. She speaks English well, but reads fiction only in Spanish.
If she speaks English well, she shouldn't have that much of a trouble reading in English. And it's good to be able to read one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, so why not practice her reading English.
It's not unusual for mult-lingual people to prefer reading (fiction especially) in only one of their languages. I'm bilingual but my English is a bit stronger than my Spanish and I *much* prefer reading fiction in English. Some people I know prefer reading in their second language because they'd lived abroad for years and they've got used to it. I do force myself to read Spanish fiction sometimes. It's something I'm working on! When it comes to newspapers/magazines and other non-fiction I don't default to English as much.
Reading fiction is about enjoyment and relaxation, so even if it's 'not much trouble' to read in your second language you are aware that you're missing some nuances at times and that it just requires that bit more effort. Obviously this is a kind of viscious circle you get into. The less you read in your second language the harder it is, which is why I'm trying to challenge myself.
@Nick, there's also the question of special terms such as uphill/downhill magic, "Learned" as a title, and all the slightly archaic terms to fit with the setting as well as (in some cases) lots of naval terminology that might be confusing. While practicing a language by reading is great, depending on your level, it might be more frustrating than enjoyable.
Nick: Decades ago, when I was living in Italy, I tried reading a novel in Italian, and quickly realized that the vocabulary of written fiction has plenty of stuff on every page that you don't encounter in conversation. My wife is fluent in spoken English (and French), but we live in Spain, and she has no need of more than a conversational vocabulary. If I want to persuade her to read some fiction she knows nothing about, offering it in a foreign language isn't a good start. 🙂
I wonder how English language audiobooks would work for those with good spoken English but less comfortable with reading fiction in English? I don't know the answer. Probably for some people it would be a help, but one still has the specialized vocabulary, etc.I know as a person limited to one language, I do get a different experience reading and listening to the same book. I own both print or eBook and also audiobook versions of the same title, for many of my favorite works. This trend started with The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, but now included most of Bujold's works, most of Heyer's, and a number of other authors.
It boils down to exposure - the more you immerse youself in the foreign language and environment (i.e. culture), the better you'd learn to use it fluently. If you are so inclined, of course. For some people learning a language is a dreadful chore, for others it's the greatest pleasure. Since reading came first for me (before audiobooks), I'm an example for those who prefer the act of reading (whatever the language, reading would come first). I am just recently pushed towards audiobooks by factors totally unrelated to personal preference - availability, ease of access, the fact that much less focus is required to listen to something while loading the dishwasher than to sit somewhere quiet and read.. etc. Reading a book and listening to it are profoundly different expieriences for me. Reading in a foreign language for me was motivated by the need to know what the author has said exactly and how, without the filter of at least one translation. Translations could be great, totally adding to or enhancing a text, but could also be very crippling. Again, Lois. Just wanted to be able to read Lois's words directly (only through the prism of her countless redactions). Goes for any other language and for most of the fiction - better to read the original than the translation, if you could. A great translation is the second best thing. I am aware that this is all common sense and hardly a novelty for anyone, also duplicates some of the comments before this one. I am endlessly proud with the very few words I know in French or Spanish, and since October last year - with the totally uselles knowledge how to build the plural form of nouns in Italian (since I only know a few nouns, their plural forms are of course of no use). Add to this some broken English and German, which at least are serviceable, and you will understand why, if i'd known Spanish as a second language, being almost bilingual, as some of the other comments have mentioned, I would've been over the moon with joy to have access to a throve of original literatute in Spanish... If you have been so lucky to have been gifted a language, use it...
I've bought the ebook of one of my favorite Vorkosigan books in Spanish but haven't jumped in yet. I was thinking since I know it so well it might not be as big a struggle.
