GRRR…
April 21, 2009
This rather pisses me off. Whilst I understand the desire for people to be able to buy cheaper books I don’t think it should have to come at the expense of our local publishing industry or native idiom. I mean isn’t the point of reading literature from all around the world to experience the elasticity of in this case the English language and to explore and savour it’s expression in all it’s indiosyncractic forms?
Can you imagine Tim Winton’s beautiful expression being ‘translated’??
April 23, 2009 at 12:36 am
I so agree with you. I’m American, but I have found I can understand local idiom either from context or from Googling it. Part of the reason I like to read books from other nations is so I can immerse myself (at least my toes) in their culture.
Perhaps we sheltered Americans could just have a glossary printed in our edition.
May 16, 2009 at 7:12 am
That is rather sad indeed. I’m with you on this. Grr!