What Does a Huge Leap in Translations to English Mean?

Are we buying into a culture when we learn a language?  Interesting question.  Tim Parks has some thoughts about that plus more here:

Inevitably, as the number of people speaking English increases, so do the sales of novels in English. But not enormously. The surprise is that increased knowledge of English has also brought a much more marked increase in sales of literature written in English but read in translation in the local language. When you learn a language you don’t just pick up a means of communication, you buy into a culture, you get interested. 

Read the entire piece:  Most Favored Nations

Photo credit:  Black & White Streets of the World | Abduzeedo