Do you read books in your first language?

[sblake]

I read exclusively in English, but I can read a bit of French and Latin.

[talia_in]

I do because English is the easiest. I also speak Spanish but I probably would have a hard time reading in Spanish !

[prisailurophile]

Nope. My first language is Mandarin Chinese. I'm 20 now, but my language capability (in terms of writing, that is) is way below a 13 year old. It's odd. I speak in my mother tongue language; write in English. Being a bilingual is really confusing...

[gali]

Yes I do, but I mostly read in English.

[obiebookworm]

Though my parents spoke in languages other than English that were their 1st language around their families, I never spoke anything but English growing up. So, this is a bit of a bummer, but it's all good!

[TrishaAnn92]

I only know how to read and speak English, but when I studied Spanish and German in school I always found it difficult reading the small short stories because of how they sometimes translated out. My husband is Puerto Rican and he speaks both English and Spanish but he always has a harder time reading Spanish and when he talks to me about it he always says it comes down to how it translates.

[The Bookaholic]

Ever since my French has become are advanced, I have taken to reading French books that were originally written in French. I think that reading in other languages definitely improves your fluency.

-- 04 Dec 2013, 11:21 --

Ever since my French has become are advanced, I have taken to reading French books that were originally written in French. I think that reading in other languages definitely improves your fluency.

-- 04 Dec 2013, 11:21 --

Ever since my French has become are advanced, I have taken to reading French books that were originally written in French. I think that reading in other languages definitely improves your fluency.

[Artemisia]

I live in Puerto Rico, and my first language is Spanish. I can read some things in Spanish, but the bulk of my reading is in English. I also dislike highly to read books that were written in another language, but translated to spanish. So much is lost in translation...

No... I must say i don't. I find my native language books boring.

[Felisari]

I read Mostly in Spanish.

but some in english and french. For example there are some authors that i love to read in French. Like Patrick Modiano or Muriel Babery.

I read faster in spanish so I use to

And Catalan, Of course. It's my second Mother tongue.

[tstaf4d]

I am not Portuguese, but I speak the language fluently and occasionally read novels in Portuguese because it is hard for me to find ones that interest me.

[Ammonia]

My first language is Bulgarian, by I don't buy books in Bulgarian if I can avoid it. I agree with Misaela - much is lost in translation, indeed. I've been finding myself in ridiculous situations where I've been extremely irritated with the translators. Things like a word for word translation is driving me absolutely crazy. I mean, I've stumbled across a translation, in which the phrase "to beat about the bush" was translated as if the author meant to write the character's tour around some bushes!
Even though translations have driven me mad on numerous occasions, I would still prefer the English translation (if the book's in Spanish, for example) rather than the Bulgarian one.

[Mandi]

My first language is English, and most of the books I read are in English; however, I read quite a bit in German to practice the language so I don't lose it!

[jellymonty]

As a speaker of seven languages, I find that the only language I can read in is English. I'm half Portuguese and half Arabic but I can also speak French Spanish Greek Latin and Italian. Before my grandmother passed away, we always spoke Portuguese but after that English became my main language and can only enjoy reading in English. I thin English is a language that was made for reading because I tend to read more and write more in English than any other language.

[Bananacat]

English is my first language. However I agree that it is better to read books in their original language as thinks can be lost in translation that are essential to the understanding and feel of the novel.

[x1f4j8k9]

My first and only language, English. I know some Spanish, but nothing to read fluently.