Books of Babel

Photo: A collection of “Le Petit Prince” books in various translations.

“Le Petit Prince” (French), “The Little Prince” (English), “Regulus” (Latin), “O Pequeno Principe” (Portuguese), and “El Principito” (Spanish) are a few of the titles of Antoine De Saint-Exupéry’s book that has been translated over three hundred and one times. The pile of books began as a collection of “The Little Prince” after a desire to brush up on foreign languages in a delightful way.

A helpful way to learn a new language is to read a body of text translated into another language, compared side-by-side with a book in another language. It starts on page one with a boa constrictor devouring its prey; followed by a boa constrictor devouring an elephant; pages go by when the little prince ask the pilot to draw a variety of styles of sheep; and finally there is a chapter about wild baobabs growing uncontrollably on the planet. Rinse, wash, repeat. This method of learning a new language ensures that any new phrases picked up would be worded similarly to the writings of Antoine De Saint-Exupéry.

A universal trait that each book translation shares are the same illustrations throughout the book. This is helpful in many ways, especially in reenforcing the idea that drawings speak volumes in telling a story without the need to be translated.

Learning a new language can be as easy as picking up a favorite book in a different language. How do you study foreign languages for fun?


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