Is it better to do translations from Portuguese to English or create stories in English? Would I be better off creating my own stories or translating texts?

Neil

Is it better to do translations from Portuguese to English or create stories in English?

Would I be better off creating my own stories or translating texts?

Jun 3, 2020 6:04 PM

Hi Neil, I find both very useful because:

<ol><li>Translating texts from English to your mother tongue helps a lot with your understanding of English while doing vice versa, meaning translating them back to English from your mother tongue helps expressing ideas in your target language (English).</li><li>Creating your own stories is the second best way to apply what you’ve learned and see if you can write with or without much effort. I do this also very often!</li></ol>

June 3, 2020

I always thought it was better off to do something yourself by your own experience and ask the internet for sources after.

Who knows what you're trying to do better than you?

Nobody....

Don't ask the internet for permission.....just go ahead and get started

-Ash

June 4, 2020

Translating texts is great as there is a lot of good writing in Portuguese.

I read, in English, Paulo Coelho's "stories for parents, children and..", a collection of short stories of one or two pages each, and enjoyed it a lot. "So what?" I hear you say. Well, here is thing: I don't know if it was a good translation or not, knowing no Portuguese. But I don't need to. The translator must have caught some universal truths in Coelho's work and these can be beautifully expressed in English, too. That is what to aim for.

Later, when you are more fluent, certainly write fiction.

June 4, 2020