The Korean novelist Han Kang has recently been awarded the Man Booker International prize for her novel “The Vegetarian”. (The Guardian May 9 2016). There are several unusual features about the award. Firstly, the total prize money is a not insignificant £50,000. The second, perhaps surprising, factor is that the translator, Deborah Smith, will receive half the prize money, a
The catchy title comes from an article in the Sunday Times (29 May 2016) which asked why some 70% of businesses have no interest in exporting, according to the UK Trade and Investment organisation. Claire Burrows, who runs a luxury shoe business, is already selling to Germany and Japan, a mere 18 months after launching her company. Did she find
A curious article in the Guardian recently highlighted the fact that few books from other countries make it into English and what is worse, according to the author of the article, even fewer are by women writers. This must change, we were told. The author of the article, Katy Derbyshire, is herself a distinguished translator of contemporary German writers, including
New research has uncovered the origins of the English alphabet. It was first developed in the city of Ugarit, in what is now Syria, over 3000 years ago. Ugarit was a port and as such had trading relations with much of the Mediterranean including Egypt and Cyprus. Ugarit flourished roughly between 1450BC until its destruction in 1250BC. It was the
