Saturday, December 26, 2009

Reading Technical books in German

You would think that speaking, listening or reading German generally means that you express yourself less clearly and understand and learn less. And generally, you would be correct. However, I have discovered that when reading technical books or books where I should pay attention, I retain more. When I read "Plan your Retirement Properly" in German, reading slowly, the key points stuck. This may have more to do with the poor quality of my reading and retention in English. Also, the subject had more personal relevance than (for example) the dates of the Kings and Queens of England.

If you want to complemplate Psalm 119, then you can do worse that to do it in German. Don't you agree that "Your promises give me new courage. They comfort me in all my troubles" is so much richer when written as "Dein Versprochen schenkt mir neuen Lebensmut. Er tröstet mich in allem Kummer".

Perhaps we'll stick to English except for the techncial books, after all.

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