[Joseph R]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Population of Norway: 5 million
Population of USA, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand: 314+35+63+22+4 = 438 million.

So the English-speaking market is at least 80 times bigger than the Norwegian market.

I can see why, even taking into account translation costs, books in English might be cheaper than the Norwegian originals.

I am surprised that they are SO MUCH more expensive.

I do not believe you can group the entire Anglosphere into one single population: translators translate a piece of work not in Standard Modern English but rather into the local vernacular. Example: a US translator would use a Webster-based vocabulary and syntax (color, theater, center,...) while a UK translator would use an Oxford-based syntax (colour, theatre, centre,...)

That said, due to Copyright and cultural issues, countries have laws that demand works of art to be published by a local publisher, and if necessary, a local translator. Of course, in the US, the size of the market would easily offset any translation cost but for smaller countries: Canada, Australia, NZ... , that added cost can be significant. I think that is what the point of this thread.