Bilingual books of prose and verse - Day 4

 For this instance of "Reading in Translation," I’m exploring books that have the original language on one side of the page and English (or the country’s vernacular) on the other, traditional bilingual books. There are also interlinear books with the original on one line and English on the next. Interlinear translations are often used by students or those studying the meaning of individual words.

Examples of bilingual and interlinear books are bibles and prayer books, poetry such as works by Dante and Chaucer. Many works of the Classics (history, poetry, and narrative of the Greeks and Romans) are available in bilingual editions, especially from Loeb. 

When I was reading Thomas Cahill’s “Mysteries of the Middle Ages” and he recommended reading Dante in the Italian to experience Italy in the late Middle Ages / Renaissance. (Thomas Cahill, “Mysteries of the Middle Ages” (NY: Doubleday, 2006), 284.) 

I picked up a lovely bilingual edition of “The Inferno of Dante” translated in new verse by Robert Pinsky (NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1994). The verses in Italian and English sit on opposing pages to the delight of the reader. Pinsky’s edition has illustrations by Michael Mazer, which great add to the text and the flavor of the immortal poem.

Another example of bilingual books is those where the characters speak in their native tongue or throw in phrases that aren’t translated. You’ll see this frequently today when Spanish is included, spoken by the Latinx characters. I’ve also seen examples of this in books by French and even German authors where the text is translated but maybe not the slang, curses, or idioms. In rare instances today, there will be a glossary of terms. This may be more common on TV series, particularly British and European series, than American.

We'll read more in translation tomorrow.