Hi everyone,

My name is Nadia and I use the pronouns she/her! I am in my first year hopefully studying psychology in the Faculty of Arts at UBC. I am originally from the lower mainland and have plans to eventually work as an occupational therapist. I took this course to satisfy the literature requirement because I wanted to try a course unique in comparison to an typical english course. I love reading, although I have not read as much as in recent years as my priorities have changed. I hope this course provides me with the opportunity to explore genres  different than the typical fantasy and fiction that I enjoy. gain. My goal for this semester is to find some books that ignite my love for reading again, learn something new and allow me to become lost in the world of books.

Within this weeks lecture, I found this notion of betrayal  within translation quite interesting. As a french speaker, who often struggles in conversation with others who are native speakers I understand that sometimes moments can often get lost in translation or become misinterpreted. When reading these novels, I completely agree that nothing can truly compare to reading the original texts. However, it is within this betrayal that I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to read the translated versions of these books. I view this betrayal of as more of a gift, to be able to understand these novels and apply the themes and messages to a broader global context as well as the original context in which it was written. Applying these themes and contexts can also help make the reading experience more enjoyable because it becomes a personal intimate experience. For example, I am particularly interested in reading books written by women, french novels and novels that explore aspects of history. Despite this, when reading and discussing these novels its incredibly important to remember that they are translated, and there are missing puzzle pieces when translated novels are to english.

One last thing, Jon referred to Romance Languages as “Latin’s bastard offspring” and I think this is another important idea that must be understood  when reading these novels because they all stem from Latin. However, it is important that we view these languages not as romantic, in the usual sense of the word, but as a group of languages based on different regions. Altering the connotation associated with the word can help change and broaden perspectives and help us become better “readers” as we discussed in class.

Excited to meet you all,

Nadia 🙂