Il sole sorge e il sole tramonta, si affretta verso il luogo da dove risorgerà.
(The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.)
Tried using parallel texts instead of grammar books to learn Italian?
Reading is a great way to learn new words, and to consolidate your grammar, but a lot of people hesitate to read in a foreign language at first. Parallel texts are one way to gain confidence reading in Italian, and so start to accelerate your progress with the language.
This morning I came across a site which offers a good variety of parallel translations English-Italian taken from famous texts.
For example, here’s a chapter from Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises”.
I also like the “special quotation for this visit to this page” feature (above and below the author picture), which flashes up famous quotes in English and Italian, such as this one from Oscar Wilde:
Un’idea che non sia pericolosa, è indegna di chiamarsi idea. WILDE
You’ll have to translate that one yourself, though!
So, what do you think? Could a chapter or two of Hemingway help YOU learn Italian? I’d love to hear your views on this..
(Leave a comment on this post)
P.S. Don’t forget the 50% launch offer on our new e-book/audio package Italian Workout! B2 – it’s good until 28th June but hey, why wait?
John Thomson says
I too have come across those parallel texts but rather glossed over them. A bit like the doctor when asked by a patient “do you believe in acupuncture?” to which he replied “Madam, if it works for you I believe in it”
I have looked at the excerpt that / which Daniel posted, there may well be merit in posting a couple of chapters (at least we would not be starting with the “Janet and John” collection
Yes I think it would be worth a trial BUT it also demonstrates one of my pet irritants.
“the sun also ariseth and the sun goeth down” -> “il sole sorge e il sole tramonta”
WHERE ON EARTH HAS THE ‘ALSO’ GONE ??????
Is this an italian thing ? “Oh we don’t really need the ‘also’ , I know let’s throw in a ‘c’e’ and maybe an ‘allora’ better sstill a ‘quindi’
This does lead to confusion at my learning level
John Thomson
Daniel says
I’d be guessing, but maybe it’s because “also” doesn’t work well in that position in the sentence in Italian.
You could say “Anche il sole sorge..” or “Il sole sorge e anche tramonta”, but neither one really work as a translation.
Sometimes translators have to make difficult decisions, and “delete it” is a good, quick solution to such dilemmas!
John Thomson says
I’ll believe you Daniel, thousands wouldn’t. I think the italian language is like an itaalian woman, yes beautiful but ANCHE unpredictable !
Ciao
Vicki Ingham says
I have found parallel texts helpful (assuming the translator knew what she/he was doing) because it allows me to compare how Italians conceptualize something versus the way English speakers do. Since I can’t live in Italy and benefit from immersion, I am stuck with thinking in English and translating as fast as I can into Italian, and word-for-word doesn’t work. The parallel texts at least give me some insights into how ideas are expressed.
Vicki Ingham
Gary Yellin says
Daniel: I think it’s one more helpful tool to use as a language learning exercise. I’d like to see more of these.
Thanks,
Gary