Turkish books available in dozens of languages

ANKARA

Some 1,124 books of Turkish literature have been translated into 60 languages in 65 countries as part of a project that was first launched 11 years ago, the Culture and Tourism Ministry has said.

According to information provided by the ministry, the Translation and Publication Grant Program of Turkey (TEDA) program was initiated for Turkish literature to be promoted abroad with the translation of books into various languages. 

Nearly 470 publication houses from 65 countries have applied to be a part of the project to benefit from translation support. 

Between 2005 and 2015, a total of 13 million Turkish Liras were provided for the translation of 2,001 books selected from these applications. Among them, 361 are children’s and youth literature. 

Yunus Emre, Rumi, Ömer Seyfettin, Mehmet Akif Ersoy, Orhan Pamuk, Orhan Kemal and Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar are some of the authors whose books have been translated. 

The countries which have participated in the project the most include Bulgaria, Germany, Macedonia, Iran, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Azerbaijan and the United States. 

The most frequently translated languages are German, Bulgarian, Arabic, Albanian, English, Persian, Bosnian, French and Greek.