Hello Manny. I saw that you are very passionate about German literature, especially Erich’s children’s literature. I am Muhammad, and I would really like to translate Erich’s children’s novels into Arabic, but I am not fluent in German, unfortunately. I thought I would ask you if you had an electronic copy in English so I could try to translate it into Arabic so that 22 countries could have this amazing art?

Manny Rayner Hi Muhammed,

I had trouble believing that Das doppelte Lottchen had not already been translated into Arabic, it is available in so many other languages! But I don't see it listed anywhere, so I guess you're right.

I don't have an English copy, I have only read it in German. But I would anyway not recommend translating through English. English translations of German and Scandinavian children's stories are usually quite poorly done, so you may lose something important. If you can, try getting together with a German native speaker who knows some Arabic and can advise you. With a little luck, you may find this person on Goodreads.

Good luck with your project, I'm sure many Arabic-speaking people would love to be able to read these books!

Manny

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