The Value of Reading in the Original Language
by Joly Lo, KY
Language has always fascinated me. I remember learning about the Rosetta Stone in middle school and marveling at the techniques used to translate the hieroglyphics. When learning Greek, I noticed something I found interesting. Rather than having one word for “love” there are many. Ἀγάπη, ἔρως, φιλία, στοργή, φιλαυτία, and ξενία are all words for different aspects of a concept we in English only have one word for. I love this. I love how there are many words in Greek and Latin to describe the complexities of our ideas.
With this, a question grows in my mind. What complexities of meaning do we lose in translation from texts originally in ancient language? Now, I have so much respect for the translators of great texts. However, does the most skilled translator have the right tools built into the English language to capture the original meaning of the text? As a christian, reading The Bible in ancient Greek brought new meaning to the verses I've heard countless times in English.
As a lover of Greek philosophy, pondering the different meanings of individual words in a conversation between Socrates and Meno fulfilled my joy of seeking new ideas for myself. Whether you’re interested in religious, philosophical, or historical aspects, or just experiencing the meaning of ancient writers for yourself, reading in the original language, or a language which the book was translated into soon after creation, can bring an outlook you would never get from just reading the english. One approach to the many questions of translation is to debate over the best official translations and hope the meaning is captured in the English. However, an arguably more enriching and exciting solution is to read the original text ourselves.
As Latin and Greek students we are lucky enough to have this opportunity. We can read the famous ancient texts in new ways and find meaning that we could only unlock individually by examining each and every word. Bene Lectio.
THE VALUE OF READING IN THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE · Winter 2021· Torch: U.S.
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