Taiwan publishing house reprints Chinese novel without local translation, sparking outrage among netizens

A Taiwanese publishing house reprinted a Chinese novel without localizing the popular language, sparking public outrage.

When foreign novels are brought to Taiwan, they are usually translated with "localization" in order to conform to Taiwanese readers' general understanding of life. However, yesterday (2nd), a notice from Cutting Edge Publishing House was posted on the social media platform Iris. Not only was the content of the notice suspected to be generated by AI, but Chinese terms were also directly included. In conjunction with localized translation, it was claimed that "the author has a clear request for the version: the text should maintain the original text and not be rewritten based on the idioms of different 'regions'", which triggered public outrage. "Is it difficult to just say that the differences in national vocabulary are difficult?" and "Just buy the simplified version."

Cutting Edge Publishing stated on its Facebook fan page, "Some Taiwanese readers of this new edition may soon find out: Huh? It's 'bus', not 'bus'? Yes, this is not an omission. This time when teacher Gu Man's work is republished, the author has a clear requirement for the version: the text should maintain the original text, without any differences. Therefore, the vocabulary used in the original work, including "bus", "screen", "mouse", and "printing", will be retained in this version. We know that this is different from the vocabulary used by some Taiwanese readers, so the editorial department has compiled a vocabulary comparison table and included it in the book to assist reading."

Netizens discussed on various platforms, "Although I know it is the author's position, this is an obvious cultural united front...", "The author is just eating tofu. He wants to make money from Taiwanese people, but he does not want to use Taiwanese language, and he does not hide his intentions, and the tip is very clear", "What does it mean to be different in the region? Taiwan and China are different countries", "Just publish the simplified version directly, including the writing style (reading habits) , editors can relax and respect the author." "There are differences between the British and American versions of Harry Potter. Taiwanese publications still use Chinese terms, so just read them in simplified Chinese. You don't need your Taiwan publishing house." "This is how cultural people cooperate with other countries to eliminate their own country's culture (writing habits) step by step."