Estonia's literature defies the electronic offensive

E-books are neither a miracle cure nor the end of the world or a spiritual turning point, writes the daily Postimees: "Translations from Estonian are published mostly either by universities or by small publishing houses, and that brings fame and glory, but hardly any money. E-books aren't changing this much: the distribution opportunities change only in theory, because the language barrier doesn't just disappear. On the contrary: The Internet is actually bolstering the role of English. The chances that anyone apart from a couple of Estonians living in exile will read an Estonian-language book are next to zero. True lovers of Estonia prefer to put in a personal appearance and visit us here to experience this rare language in its spoken form. ... The market for Estonian authors is and remains Estonian, and it makes no great difference whether the works are in electronic form or in paper form."

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