America Yawns at Foreign Fiction (NY Times)

翻訳ものが売れないアメリカの出版業界。別に彼らの文化白痴ぶりには興味はないけど、気になるのは以下の部分。

The difficulty that many foreign authors face in having their works translated into English has effects far beyond the United States.

"Since English is the lingua franca, translating a book into English puts it in a position to be translated into many different languages," said Esther Allen, a translator who is chairwoman of the PEN translation committee. "We're the clogged artery that prevents authors from reaching readers anywhere outside their own country."