Tri-lingual Hobbit re-read: Chapter 1

As every Tolkien fan on the Net knows, we’ve just had ourselves the first glorious new Hobbit trailer! Between this and getting the beautiful, beautiful Blu-Rays of the extended editions of The Lord of the Rings, I am very, very much in a Tolkien mood now.

Those of you who have been with me since 2004 or so (on LJ) may remember that I’ve had this German edition of The Hobbit for some time. Now that I also have a French edition, not to mention the shiny new enhanced ebook edition of the book on my iPad, I decided that it’s high time to enjoy a re-read of the story. And because I’m feeling ambitious, I’m doing it in three languages at once! With these editions!

Editions of The Hobbit
Editions of The Hobbit

Mind you, it ain’t like I expect to really understand much of either the French or the German–that’s why I’ve got the English text handy. I want to go through the translated editions mostly to just get a sense of the rhythm of the language in each, and to see what things I do actually comprehend at first glance, or with judicious consultation of my French or German verb books or dictionaries.

Here are things I’ve observed going through Chapter 1: An Unexpected Party!

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