Bilingual Poems and Folk Tales in Various Languages

The website interlinearbooks.com sells bilingual books, but it also has some free parallel text poems and stories. There is a word-for-word translation into English right below the foreign language text (this is called an interlinear translation). Unfortunately, there are no Arabic-English texts, and Japanese is the only standard Asian language represented.

The translations from other languages into English are very word-for-word and literal--the English is not changed to sound natural to a native English speaker. Here are the beginning lines of a poem, "La Barca Milagrosa" ("The Wonderful Boat"), with a Spanish-English interlinear text:   

La    barca        milagrosa

The   boat          wonderful     by Delmira Agustini     

Preparadme   una      barca  como   un        gran    pensamiento . . .

Build for me     a           boat     like      a          great    thought . . .

La llamarán                           «La Sombra»             unos,

It will call (by the name of)     “The Shadow”             some,

otros                                       «La Estrella».

others (will call it by the name of)       “The Star.”

No ha de         estar                al                     capricho         de        una            mano

It should not     be          (subject) to the             whim             of          a                hand

o          de        un        viento:

or         of          a          wind:

Yo       la quiero         consciente,     indominable    y          bella!

I           want it              sensitive,         indomitable,     and       beautiful!

To read the rest of the poem, click on the first link below. To go to the list of free interlinear texts at interlinearbooks.com, click on the second link below.

LINK: "La Barca Milagrosa"--"The Wonderful Boat"

LINK: The Interlinear Texts Library

Online Parallel Bilingual Stories in English, French, and Spanish

Reading the same story in two languages, side by side, is a good way to develop your English language and translation skills. It is called a bilingual story because it is written in two languages, and it is called a parallel text story because the two language versions are printed next to each other.

Here is an example--the beginning of a children's story in French and English, from the website www.thefrenchexperiment.com (a link to the website is below the story sample):

Les Trois Petits Cochons

THE THREE LITTLE PIGS

Il était une fois une maman cochon qui avait trois petits cochons. Elle les aimait beaucoup, mais comme il n'y avait pas assez de nourriture pour qu'ils puissent tous manger à leur faim, elle les a envoyé tenter leur chance dans le vaste monde.

Once upon a time there was a mama pig who had three little pigs. She loved them very much, but there was not enough food for all of them to eat, so she sent them out into the big world to seek their fortunes.

LINK: Bilingual Children's Stories in French and English at thefrenchexperiment.com

If you want a more advanced reading level with parallel translation, try the link below, where someone has posted classic stories in parallel French, English, and Spanish versions (you can also listen to recordings of the stories in these different languages).

(NOTE: The translation is not always word-for-word and there may be mistakes, but parallel clauses are highlighted in the same color in each language.)

LINK: Stories with side-by-side translations in French, English, and Spanish

Here is an example from the above-linked website--the beginning of Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth :

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH by Jules Verne

French PARAGRAPH 1 Le 24 mai 1863, un dimanche, mon oncle, le professeur Lidenbrock, revint précipitamment vers sa petite maison située au numéro 19 de Königstrasse, l’une des plus anciennes rues du vieux quartier de Hambourg. ................................	English PARAGRAPH 1 On Sunday, the 24th of May, 1863, my uncle, Professor Liedenbrock, rushed into his little house, No. 19 Königstrasse, one of the oldest streets in the oldest portion of the city of Hamburg.	Spanish PARAGRAPH 1 El domingo 24 de mayo de 1863, mi tío, el profesor Lidenbrock, regresó precipitadamente a su casa, situada en el número 19 de la König-strasse, una de las calles más antiguas del barrio viejo de Hamburgo.
PARAGRAPH 2 La bonne Marthe dut se croire fort en retard, car le dîner commençait à peine à chanter sur le fourneau de la cuisine. ..........................................	PARAGRAPH 2 Martha, his excellent maid, must have concluded that she was very much behindhand, for the dinner had only just been put into the oven.	PARAGRAPH 2 Marta, su excelente criada, se azaró de un modo extraordinario, creyendo que se había retrasado, pues apenas si empezaba a cocer la comida en el hornillo.

Summer Reading and Listening Practice--Children's Storybooks Online

A good book is a good book, whether it's a children's picture story book or a book written for adults. One of the best ways to improve your reading skills is by following along in the book while someone else reads it to you. Children's books are a good place to begin--if you have young children, they can listen and follow along with you. Then you can take them to the library to check out the same books and read them together. Click on the link below to see and hear some children's books read on YouTube:

LINK: Read and Listen to Children's Books on YouTube

Try reading along as some one reads Forrest Gump's favorite book, Curious George, by clicking the link below:

LINK: Curious George on YouTube