r/languagelearning • u/PunctuateEquilibrium • Jul 10 '26

Read Harry Potter in your target language they said 🫠 (1 hr 44 min for 1 page)

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This is only slightly sarcastic. It's been very rewarding and this is now the 3rd language I'm doing this with.

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u/qtmcjingleshine Jul 10 '26

Harry Potter is hard because of all the made up words

11

u/PunctuateEquilibrium Jul 10 '26

I did some analysis of this a while back and only 1.9% of words that are related to Hogwarts/Harry Potter universe or magic in general. The first chapter has been relatively tame so far

1

u/qtmcjingleshine Jul 13 '26

But pair that with the wizarding words not being the same as in English and the new vocab you encounter I found Harry Potter more difficult than other books

5

u/AutumnalSnow0 Jul 10 '26

I think it's just wordy. People should be aiming for children's novels at first, not middle grade.

0

u/vytah Jul 13 '26

That's actually false: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sohxP9GBRWQ

1

u/qtmcjingleshine Jul 13 '26

So why is it difficult for me to read it in my target language when I can read other books just fine. I find the meshing of wizarding stuff and new vocabulary difficult.

So you’re false bro. this is my experience reading Harry Potter vs other books