Why books haven't all been translated to every language by now? (reddthat.com)

submitted 1 day ago by PumpkinDrama@reddthat.com to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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I think even a bad translation is better than no translation at all, but for some reason the majority of books don't seem to get translated. Why is that?

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[-] Melobol@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 day ago

Sometimes translation changes the original book to something different. Translating a book is not a manual. Word by word process. You have to take cultural differences in account also.
It is not cheap and definitely an art form itself. And with modern works licensing and the og copyright owner sometimes overreaches making it even more harder.

this post was submitted on 05 Dec 2025

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