Date of This Version
February 2011
Abstract
Books are an important factor of cultural transmission, but often need to be translated to achieve this goal. English is sometimes accused of dominating in terms of translations. We develop a simple theoretical model, which is estimated using UNESCO translation data, and show that if account is taken of factors such as production in the original language and distances between cultures, translations from English are by-passed in relative terms by translations from other idioms, including Scandinavian languages and French. Very little is however translated into English.
Recommended Citation
Ginsburgh, Victor; Weber, Shlomo; and Weyers, Sheila, "Economics of Literary Translation. A Simple Theory and Evidence" (February 01, 2011). Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei Working Papers. Paper 174.
https://services.bepress.com/feem/paper174