My mother tongue has 4 million native speakers. I was fucked over as a writer from birth...

Yeah man, I mean Dalkey hasn't been releasing a shitton of Koreans or anything lately.

You see you assume that because meme multiculturalism has made you think that there's a grand liberal conspiracy to stop white guys from getting published.

White, English speaking men get published all the time. I'm not saying your book wouldn't be easier to get published if you had a vagina, but you're wayyyy better off than this guy.

You know how difficult it is to get you book translated? Nearly half of every book published doesn't go through another edition. A translation costs five times that and takes years and years.

Unless OP translates it himself or has a millionaire champion who can fund it, it's likely he will never be translated.

>just refine your English like every other contemporary European writer seems to be doing nowadays.
Is therr anyone writing in English? I can't think of any.
And I am sorry, but to me English is a clumsy language. If I were to venture out into English, I'd work with a translator. But Catalonia is not even a country. Most people here (koreans) don't even know what Catalonia is. I just tell them I'm Spanish. The chances of Catalan authors being translated into English converge to zero.

Forgot to mention that it will be clumsier in hands of a non-native like me.
Phrasal verbs gives me hard time.

It's been this way since English became the "world language": Native English speakers wish they had learned another language from birth, because everyone speaks English anyway (so why not speak something else too), while EFL speakers wish they had learned English first, because everyone speaks English anyway (so why not speak it at a native level.) At the end of the day though, there are far more non-native English speakers than native speakers, and eventually all but a few native speakers will become so accustomed to speaking with foreign language speakers that they won't really register it as "wrong" or "improper." Clearly you speak English, and you already write well enough to not show any sign that it isn't your native language, so many of us English native speakers would consider you to be in at least an equal if not better linguistic situation than any of us as a writer. Seeing as you're in Korea, you probably are learning that as well. Most English native speakers never achieve good proficiency in a foreign language (I personally speak German as well, but that's a one in a hundred thing in the USA at least), and that's not a trend that will change anytime soon.

>Unless OP translates it himself or has a millionaire champion who can fund it, it's likely he will never be translated.
Yes. Even prominent German and French authors are not often translated into English. Americans seem not interested in foreign literature. Brits do take some from Europe and translate.
I know there is Kundera who writes in Czech but he is an established oldfag. An exception, I think.
Strangely Swedish authors and some Norwegians seem to be successful in translations, even in English. They are small countries, I wonder what their magic recipes are. Oh and even though they are small countries, their languages have countries to represent and protect them.

Catalonia is pretty well known in the Western world as a self-determining community at least culturally; personally I wouldn't doubt greater autonomy in the region will lead to it eventually becoming a country. In any case, Catalan, Valencian, Sardinian, Sicilian etc. writers are translated into English fairly often; in fact there's a definite appeal to literature translated from subnational/regional languages in the English speaking literary community. How's your Castillian, by the way? Better than English? Because the literary community of South and Central America is even bigger than that of the English world.

Many authors struggle with writing in languages that aren't their native languages, especially when they feel like the language they "need" to use to be successful represents an oppressive force in their community. There are other ways to represent your culture than your use of language, however, and while it's definitely tragic that writing in your own language means you would have a smaller audience, it is by no means impossible for you to do the things you want to with literature.

>I wonder what their magic recipes are
being really, really white helps for sure. many Americans associate the Iberian peninsula with old stereotypes like bullfighting and basically what they see in Latin America, whereas Eastern Europe is usually considered to be poor post-Soviet subsistence farmers and criminals. Scandinavia is considered to be something like Canada with funnier accents, so they get a pass. Also everyone in Scandinavia has perfect English, so translators must be a dime a dozen.

>I don't care about fame.
>Catalan authors write well. I'm sad that the world does not know of them.

So you *do* care about fame?

I'm not quite sure I understand what your complaint is ITT. That you'll never become widely read? As a native English speaker I prefer the idea of becoming an important name in the literary tradition of my small country.

>How's your Castillian, by the way? Better than English?
Of course. I also speak French. But I don't want to write in "Castellà" because it feels like selling my soul for, what, fame? More recognition? If I must write in a foreign language, it'd be English because at least it's neutral. But nothing in the world is as sweet and delicate as Catalan to me. Even French seems "a bit" coarse when put next to Catalan. Yes, I am "hopelessly" biased. Don't let the French hear this, they might come at thos very moment to behead me.
>Many authors struggle with writing in languages that aren't their native languages, especially when they feel like the language they "need" to use to be successful represents an oppressive force in their community.
This is the very case.
>and while it's definitely tragic that writing in your own language means you would have a smaller audience, it is by no means impossible for you to do the things you want to with literature.
I don't get this part. Are you saying literature is omnipotent?

Not that it's omnipotent, but that great literature can become recognized even when it's unlikely due to the circumstances (in your case, the language you would write in.) While it's uncommon, there are still many translations of non English books into English that become incredibly popular- Murakami and Larsson are two examples who are both more popular than any American born author could ever dream to be. So if you write using the language you feel best writing in, there's still a chance you'll reach as many people as if you had written in English.

>Also everyone in Scandinavia has perfect English, so translators must be a dime a dozen.
Well actually for translation you need a translator whose native language is "the language of arrival" i.e. an American/Brit/etc who learned Swedish. But since your world has 500 million people, it would be certainly not possible to fine at least one good translator.
Well I just wanted them to be read and appreciated. Not by critics or big names but your average readers. I would like them to be let experience and savour what the Catalan authors have created. Just like I'd recommend a good booze to a friend. If you'd call that fame, k call me a sellout or whatnot haha. Literature carries memories and culture, so I want them to experience Catalonia too. It's a beautiful country that rarely gets portrayed in world art.

Like I said before, I envy the vibrant literary scene of big countries. Just that. Shitposting. Pass if it offends you.

certainly not be impossible* fix'd
oops

I understand you now, and that's fair. I think you're a bit too down, however, Barcelona is a world famous city (I holidayed there loads as a kid and fell in love with it), Homage to Catalonia is of my favourite ever books etc., countless people (across Europe at least) know and love your country. It could be worse in terms of recognition, you could be Slovakian (no offense to any Slovakians reading this), for example.

And anyway, as an Englishman I know that of course the world over reads and adores Shakespeare, Dickens, Tolkien, but that's never been so important to me, I guess. When I write all I wish to do is contribute in some small way to an ongoing, evolving literary tradition, and sometimes I feel like the literature of my country is too big, varied, ancient for me to make any dent in it. In my head I would rather be that one writer who changed the course of his small country's literature and who everyone is forced to read in school as representative of the 21st century in Estonian, or whatever.

Also, I don't think "big" necessarily means "vibrant". Throughout the history of literature, small circles of friends are more vibrant than entire countries.

be so good that you make your mother language dominant

Company, si has d'escriure fes-ho en català, no em siguis botifler. L'Eugeni d'Ors també pensava que escrivint en castellà tindria més éxit, i tot i això a qui estudien a l'estranger és a l'Àngel Guimerà.

És cert. Mercès.

Italian here. You can't even imagine the amount of godlike Italian authors you're missing because nobody translates them. It's true that Americans are not interested in foreign literature

...

im a depressed semi-neet(i talk with people, on avg, like 15 min a day), i think mostly in english nowadays(cause so much time on the net and pirated books in english) even though i can't really speak it fluently nor write it(there will be numerous mistakes in this post). i reached the point where i can't also fluently formulate more complicated thoughts while speaking in my mother tongue so as of today i don't really have one. if i was to write a book today it would be doomed to read like finnegans wake but without any value

get on my level plebs & pseuds

>But I don't want to write in "Castellà" because it feels like selling my soul for, what, fame? More recognition? If I must write in a foreign language, it'd be English because at least it's neutral

>being this brainwashed by your regional education system

Lol

Write in Catalan and find a Catalonian publisher. Given how small your language's pool of speakers is any Catalan publisher would be grateful to have found a good writer. You're a big fish in a small pond. After you are published in Catalan get your book translated into English and Spanish and go from there. There are publishing houses dedicated to lesser-known languages, like Tilted Axis Press in the U.K. Look them up.

Youse cunts need to get over yourself.

What's your mother tongue?

Why is loving one's mother language "brainwashed", you fascist scum?

what a lovely picture. reminds me of this

>tfw you remember the good times