I mean sure you'll get subtle differences such as the titles of those 3 books. "The Black Island" in French, "The Black Island" in Scottish Gaelic and "The Secret of the Black Island" in Finnish. However as graphic novels are mostly just dialogue you tend to stick to simple sentences and something close to the spoken word. That's why methods to learn Japanese via manga are quite popular as well.
Something to think about if you are trying to learn a new language and find yourself stuck.
(Note I don't own the book above in the English version as French is the base language for me)
I find graphic novels to be a really helpful way to learn languages
I mean sure you’ll get subtle differences such as the titles of those 3 books. “The Black Island” in French, “The Black Island” in Scottish Gaelic and “The Secret of the Black Island” in Finnish. However as graphic novels are mostly just dialogue you tend to stick to simple sentences and something close to the spoken word. That’s why methods to learn Japanese via manga are quite
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Translating is saying almost the same thing (Umberto Eco).
There are some big problems with learning Japanese via manga, though:
(1) in many manga (and particularly those easily available overseas) the language used tends to be ridiculously slangy, over the top, and not particularly useful if you aren't a high school student trying to sound cool…. and most language learners don't yet have the judgement to separate the good from the bad.
(2) with pictures carrying much of the plot, it's all too easy to subconsciously just skim the words and not actually end up retaining much
I've personally found prose novels to be a better resource…. They require more work for a given amount of story, but tend to have much more usable language (more adult, with a better mix of spoken and written styles), and focus far more on what you're trying to learn. If you don't get something, it's really obvious, and there's more impetus to actually try and figure it out rather than just skipping it.
Of course, Japanese is maybe a more extreme case than many languages in the degree the language can vary dramatically in different situations and social contexts, and tintin is certainly not the average manga! Tintin is always a good thing…. ^^;
Oh yeah?
I couldn't agree more… here are some of mine:
https://plus.google.com/photos/…
+Andrew Casson I thought I remembered you having multiple copies of Tintin books as well in multiple languages. Is it just the Crab with the Golden Claws you're collecting or do you have other volumes as well? I vaguely remember seeing some on your shelf all those years ago but I don't recall exactly what was on it.
Good to hear from you by the way, it's been a while 🙂
+Jean-Loup Rebours-Smith : Likewise, it's been a long time! The crab is my preferred one to collect in different languages, but my second choice is in fact The Black Island. Do you have it in Scots yet?
+Andrew Casson No just those 3 languages so far. Haven't had a chance to get to a bookshop when we were in Sweden recently or I would have looked for it. That said I haven't exactly been in a bookshop here for a while either.