Aliaj Tempoj

Wharton, Edith, 1862-1937Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.3

Word count: 67K words
Chapters: 7

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Aliaj Tempoj by Edith WhartonAuthor: Wharton, Edith, 1862-1937,Language: Esperanto, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jul 16, 2006

Editor's review

This is the Esperanto translation of a work by Edith Wharton, released through Project Gutenberg. For Chinese readers its value lies not in replacing the English original but in offering a rare angle of observation: how an American novel is retold through Esperanto, a neutral language. Esperanto translations tend to simplify syntax and vocabulary, so readers can compare them with the original and sense the choices and losses in translation. Wharton excels at depicting the manners, marriages, and individual predicaments of New York high society; whether these delicate social observations still hold after Esperanto retelling is itself an interesting reading question. The book works as supplementary material for language learning and translation studies, and as casual reading for those interested in the history of Esperanto cultural transmission.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers learning Esperanto who want to reinforce their language sense through literature
Readers interested in translation studies who are willing to compare the translation with the original and analyze its choices
Literature lovers with some familiarity with Wharton who want to reread her work in another language
Researchers interested in public-domain ebooks and publishing in minority languages

Not a good fit for

Ordinary readers with no Esperanto who hope to read Wharton's stories smoothly
Readers expecting a Chinese translation or a heavily annotated edition
Readers who only want Wharton's English original and have no interest in comparing translations

Reading tips

First assess your Esperanto vocabulary, then decide whether to read closely sentence by sentence or browse selected chapters.
If you have Wharton's English original at hand, read the same passages side by side and note simplifications and adjustments in the translation.
Record unfamiliar words and special expressions separately, then review them after finishing to check your gains in language sense.
You need not force yourself through the whole book; sample chapters and treat it as language practice material.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book an original work in Esperanto?

No. It is an Esperanto translation of a work by Edith Wharton, a public-domain ebook provided by Project Gutenberg. Read it as a translated text, not as original Esperanto literature.

Can I read this book without knowing Esperanto?

It would be very difficult to read smoothly. The whole book is in Esperanto; without basic vocabulary and grammar, following the plot would be extremely hard. It is best to have beginner-level Esperanto first, or read it alongside the English original.

Is it suitable for studying Wharton's writing style?

It can serve as supplementary material, but should not be the main basis. Translation involves language conversion and some simplification of syntax and wording; study of her style should rely on the English original, while the translation is better for observing choices made in the translation process.

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About the author

Wharton, Edith, 1862-1937 Author

Edith Wharton (Wharton, Edith, 1862–1937) was an American novelist, with 44 works held in this collection. She depicts with fine brushwork the manners and moral dilemmas of New York high society from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century. Her representative novels The Age of Innocence and The House of Mirth both focus on women's struggles among marriage, class, and selfhood; Ethan Frome, set in rural New England, presents tragic fates in a repressive environment. Her style is calm and restrained, revealing through everyday details the conflict between individual psychology and social convention, and her works combine irony with sympathy. Beyond novels, she also wrote nonfiction such as The Decoration of Houses and ghost-story collections such as Tales of Men and Ghosts, showing diverse subjects. Public information is limited, and biographical details fall outside this introduction; yet judging from the works held here alone, her sustained attention to social class and gender roles makes her a voice not to be overlooked in American literature.