Je pense, donc je suis

June 15, 2009 9:46 AM

Grad school language requirement filter: which French philosophers are (relatively) easy reading in the original French?

I don't have to speak it, I don't have to write it: all I have to do is be able to read it well enough to execute a reasonable translation into English with the aid of a dictionary. (Yes, my French immersion-teaching mom is scandalized.)

Unfortunately, I don't know who will be on the test, but in my department it's much more likely to be from the Discours de la méthode than L'Être et le néant. That being said, if I just want to be (1) reading more French outside of the general "How to read academic French" course that I'm taking, and (2) I figure it might as well be philosophy, what's something relatively easy to start with? Thanks!

Bonus question: which French-English dictionary would you recommend for this purpose? I need one that will include the kinds of words that are likely to turn up in a piece of philosophy.

posted by Beardman to writing & language (9 comments total)

For my grad school language requirement exam, I used the Harper Collins Sansoni unabridged dictionary -- it looks like the French equivalent is the Collins Robert unabridged. Our exam was pretty similar to yours -- a philosophical passage with unusual words and constructions -- and I fully credit my high pass to the dictionary. I didn't even try to make sense of what I was reading; I just translated word for word and then figured out a reasonably grammatical way for the words to go together. Definitely pop for the good dictionary. It's far better than having to take the test again.
posted by katemonster at 10:29 AM on June 15

I taught myself to read French. Exactly like you, I couldn't speak or write or hear it -- just read. My skills were very limited and yet I managed to read Discours de la methode and some of Leibniz -- I remember reading Monadologie (that's fucking short if nothing else) and Discourse de metaphysique. If you've already read the Monadology in English, I'd start with that. ...Oh yeah, Rousseau's Social Contract is also definitely within reach if you can already read a little. I just got it off the shelf and I can still largely understand it, and nowadays Le Monde is near impossible for me to parse.
posted by creasy boy at 11:09 AM on June 15

It isn't a dictionary and it's not cheap, but I successfully used French for Reading to study for my grad school translation exam (in art history). It was the textbook for a course of the same name and although it has examples of readings from various disciplines, I found it very helpful. Pretty much every one of my classmates who sat for the exam after I did borrowed it and they all passed.

The woman who taught the French for Reading class said that you should just bring the biggest dictionary you can get your hands on for the exam. I have been lugging a 20 lb. Harraps French-English dictionary around for the last 15 years due to that piece of advice and you know, I think a good paperback dictionary would have served me just as well. Also, I know that every program is unique, but the translations test that I took was two parts, one with a dictionary and one without, so you may want to confirm that you can use a dictionary for the entire exam. Bonne chance!
posted by kaybdc at 12:08 PM on June 15

Camus'L'Etranger! Short, simple, and a good read in French OR English.
posted by Pomo at 12:12 PM on June 15

I used Cassel's big honking French-english dictionary. I remember Henri Bergson to be a fairly easy way to polish my vocab and grammar.
posted by reverend cuttle at 12:43 PM on June 15

@kaybdc: I'm working through French For Reading right now! I have learned a lot about scientists who travel to "the Oriental countries".

Camus and Bergson translate into fairly straightforward prose, and the Camus certainly would be easy to buy. I'll keep them in mind. Thanks!
posted by Beardman at 1:12 PM on June 15

Don't forget about Voltaire! Candide and other tales are a nice read, and from what I remember not so hard for a foreign reader.
posted by tweemy at 3:11 PM on June 15

I second Camus. He's definitely one of the easier philosophical writers to read in the original language. I agree with everything Pomo says.
posted by Mael Oui at 8:20 PM on June 15

I translate from French, in various specialist areas, and still use my huge Collins 2-volume (it's called the "Comprehensive" in UK English and the "Super Sénior" in French) all the time - it's pretty good in all kinds of areas.
posted by altolinguistic at 2:09 AM on June 16