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ratgirlreads's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating to read about a field adjacent to my own and see so many similarities. I don’t think the author had ever heard of any sort of sign language, which seems staggering, but since he knows little about it perhaps he just decided not to try bringing it up.
isa_hej's review against another edition
A lot of funny faits-divers and anecdotes but mostly a superficial book on language and translating. The tone of the book made me feel like I was sitting in a bar with somebody who assumes I know nothing and wants to enlighten me. I gave up on the book as I would also have left the bar...
the_jesus_fandom's review against another edition
2.0
I, a complete amateur, found myself constantly disagreeing with this expert.
gingerliss's review against another edition
I ended up quitting this book after already being half way through it.
I picked it up thinking it would be an interesting bit of non fiction.
Now it was actually very dull, it was too much like a textbook for uni.
Also if it wasn't for uni and the fact that I've studied language, I would have had no idea what the guy was on about half the time.
So first off, don't read the book is you've not had any training in things like language acquisition. Basically if you've not studied some part of the languages at college/university level, you're not going to understand half the terms in this book and no he doesn't explain them.
Secondly if you don't want to read a book that reads like a university text book, read: BORING! Then don't read this book.
Thirdly the title is misleading, the title made me think this book may be funny, or at least witty or whimsical, at least a little, but no.... NO!
Just don't bother. Well unless you're a language fanatic and you really want to learn more about language and translation and you don't mind being bored to death. Then maybe yeah, okay. Actually there have been uni textbooks, on language, that have made me laugh more than this and that have been more interesting and less boring at that.
I picked it up thinking it would be an interesting bit of non fiction.
Now it was actually very dull, it was too much like a textbook for uni.
Also if it wasn't for uni and the fact that I've studied language, I would have had no idea what the guy was on about half the time.
So first off, don't read the book is you've not had any training in things like language acquisition. Basically if you've not studied some part of the languages at college/university level, you're not going to understand half the terms in this book and no he doesn't explain them.
Secondly if you don't want to read a book that reads like a university text book, read: BORING! Then don't read this book.
Thirdly the title is misleading, the title made me think this book may be funny, or at least witty or whimsical, at least a little, but no.... NO!
Just don't bother. Well unless you're a language fanatic and you really want to learn more about language and translation and you don't mind being bored to death. Then maybe yeah, okay. Actually there have been uni textbooks, on language, that have made me laugh more than this and that have been more interesting and less boring at that.
tani's review against another edition
4.0
Extremely thought-provoking in some places, borderline boring in others.
tshere's review against another edition
4.0
Lots to think about here, including some very big ideas about the evolution and function of human language in general, in the last chapter.
_hannah_j's review against another edition
5.0
This book is amazing!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and recommend to everyone, especially language lovers and those interested in translation and communications
A perfect blend of humour and information
Challenging, inspiring and altogether brilliant
Thank you, David Bellos :)
I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and recommend to everyone, especially language lovers and those interested in translation and communications
A perfect blend of humour and information
Challenging, inspiring and altogether brilliant
Thank you, David Bellos :)
shesagift's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating look at the many aspects of language, translation, and everything that goes along with it. Not a full picture by any means, but a good jumping off point for someone like me without linguistics experience. Bellos provides a solid and easy-to-read look at aspects of translation I had never even considered before, and has piqued my interest in some aspects more than others. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in languages, cultural communication, and globalization/modernity; it's a fascinating lens to see the world through.
oschrock's review against another edition
5.0
This book is a very in-depth and technical discussion of what language is and it contrasts a variety of translation philosophies. Honestly, I was hoping for more of an overview of practical translation for living cross-culturally, but this book is focused much more toward professional translators.
Here are a few of my favorite quotes (emphases mine):
"...all utterances have innumerably many acceptable translations." @location 118
"To expand our minds and to become more fully civilized members of the human race, we should learn as many different languages as we can." @location 2446
"A translation can’t be right or wrong in the manner of a school quiz or a bank statement. A translation is more like a portrait in oils. The artist may add a pearl earring, give an extra flush to the cheek, or miss out the gray hairs in the sideburns—and still give us a good likeness. It’s hard to say just what it is that allows viewers to agree that a portrait captures the important things—the overall shape as well as that special look in the eye. The mysterious abilities we have for recognizing good matches in the visual sphere lie near to what it takes to judge that a translation is good." @location 4627
"If meaning and force are kept the same and if in a limited set of other respects a translation is seen to be like its source, then we have a match." @location 4682
I appreciated the Bellos' approximation of what translation actually is: "Arduously head-scratching, intellectually agile wordsmiths may simultaneously preserve the reference, self-reference, and truth value of an utterance when fate smiles on them and allows them to come up with a multidimensional matching expression in their own language." @location 4057
Here are a few of my favorite quotes (emphases mine):
"...all utterances have innumerably many acceptable translations." @location 118
"To expand our minds and to become more fully civilized members of the human race, we should learn as many different languages as we can." @location 2446
"A translation can’t be right or wrong in the manner of a school quiz or a bank statement. A translation is more like a portrait in oils. The artist may add a pearl earring, give an extra flush to the cheek, or miss out the gray hairs in the sideburns—and still give us a good likeness. It’s hard to say just what it is that allows viewers to agree that a portrait captures the important things—the overall shape as well as that special look in the eye. The mysterious abilities we have for recognizing good matches in the visual sphere lie near to what it takes to judge that a translation is good." @location 4627
"If meaning and force are kept the same and if in a limited set of other respects a translation is seen to be like its source, then we have a match." @location 4682
I appreciated the Bellos' approximation of what translation actually is: "Arduously head-scratching, intellectually agile wordsmiths may simultaneously preserve the reference, self-reference, and truth value of an utterance when fate smiles on them and allows them to come up with a multidimensional matching expression in their own language." @location 4057
nicole_schmid's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
3.0
[read in the German translation by Silvia Morawetz]
I found this book to be quite interesting. The short chapters made it easy to read and each contained at least some interesting information. However, as I am quite familiar with the topic of this book, I did not feel like I learned a lot. Admittedly, I was not the target group. It was still interesting, however.
I found this book to be quite interesting. The short chapters made it easy to read and each contained at least some interesting information. However, as I am quite familiar with the topic of this book, I did not feel like I learned a lot. Admittedly, I was not the target group. It was still interesting, however.