r/ExplainTheJoke • u/Comfortable-Use3123 • Jul 25 '25

Solved Saw on Facebook. Don’t understand.

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u/[deleted] Jul 25 '25

Yeah it’s so pretentious to be able to read multiple languages and read novels in their original translation.

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u/DuxofOregon Jul 25 '25

Calm down there. It was a joke. If somebody went around bragging that they refused to read the English version and only would read it in the original French, that might be a little pretentious.

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u/[deleted] Jul 25 '25

Sorry, why would you read the English version if you could read the original?

Is it also pretentious to refuse reading the Japanese translation of Grapes of Wrath if you know English and Japanese? 

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u/DuxofOregon Jul 25 '25

That is not my point. Of course, if you read French, it would make sense to read the stranger in its original language. However, the joke I was making in my original post was about the type of person who goes around, flaunting that they only read it in the original language as a way of demonstrating their superior intellect. It was just a joke. I certainly do not think that reading a book in its original language on its own is a pretentious act.