The title of Karl Marx’s magnum opus, Das Kapital, is sometimes translated into English as Capital. However, the book is arguably better known to English speakers by its German title, and some English translations even retain the original title.
Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables is another example. English translations abound but I can’t think of any that translate the title. (Well, I’m sure there must have been some, but I don’t recall seeing any of them in the shops.)
Maybe the same could be said of Albert Camus’s L’Étranger. Though it’s been published in English as The Stranger and The Outsider, some English editions also use the French title.
Are there any other English-language books that use a foreign-language title? Let’s exclude titles consisting solely of proper names, so no Berlin Alexanderplatz or Madame Bovary. And bonus points if anyone can name a book that is not itself a translation into English.
Funny you should ask. Our copy (I say “our copy” - I bought it as a birthday present for Mrs Trep) is indeed entitled Mein Kampf. Published in the UK, November 1939 reprint(!).
Some foreign language books are known by their “foreign” titles because there is no easy translation, or they’re better known by the original title.
Titus Lucretius Caro’s philosophical book is still often called De Rerum Natura (literally “On the Nature of Things”), because the literal translation seems inadequate. Sometimes it’s called “On the Nature of the Universe” or “The Way Things Are”.
Jons-Karl Huysmans’ **À rebours ** is sometimes sold that way. The translations used (“Against the Grain” or “Against Nature”) aren’t the same as the literal (and misleading “Backwards”.
I dunno; the title seemed to work for David Suzuki. (For anyone who finds that link cryptic, this is the title of a long-running science and nature documentary series on CBC, hosted by a famous zoologist-cum-media personality.)
Bonjour Tristesse (Hello–or Goodbye–sadness) by Francoise Sagan who was 18 at the time. It was an overnight sensation and pretty much a one shot success.
It seems that English translations of Dante’s Divine Comedy are usually given that English name, but the names of the three sections (Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso) are given in Italian.
There are books I’ve read in French but never even seen the English versions. So not sure which title is more common to English speakers.
Le Petit Prince and À La Recherche du Temps Perdu come to mind.
Hmmm, first thing that comes up for Proust is a Wikipedia entry for “In Search of Lost Time”, then the French, then an entry for “Remembrance of Things Past”… not quite the same sense as the French title… or the book.
Speaking of musicals: Odd that Les Miserables stays the same (except for the Spanish version, whic is LOS Miserables), but Phantom of the Opera gets translated.
When Mexico staged CATS, a newspaper ran a poll about whether it should be called CATS or GATOS. CATS won by a landslide.
Except in foreign-language bookstores, I’ve never seen these in the US without their translated titles The Little Prince and Remembrance of Things Past.
Different language pair, but speaking of musicals, We Will Rock You (the musical) remains We Will Rock You in Spanish but apparently some genius decided it was a good idea to translate everything else, including the lyrics. :smack:[1]lots and lots and lots[/sup]
Mamma Mia is called Mamma Mia in every language; its original language is English. Unlike WWRY, this one does work with Spanish lyrics, but that’s because ABBA already did the translations
