If all lace books were translated into English, why shouldn't those in English be translated into all the other languages spoken by lace makers. Many English speakers can't speak a foreign language so are frustrated by not being able to read a book in say German. But I'm sure that many German lacemakers get frustrated at not being able to read a book in English.
The latter is not as likely because very many more learn English as a second language than English speakers learn another language. Are we arrogant or just lazy? I suspect it's a combination of both. Fortunately many instruction books have such good diagrams that being able to understand the words isn't as much a handicap as it could be. If it's a case of wanting to read the history, then the best scholars learn the language in which it was originally written, otherwise they're getting it "second hand", i.e. someone else's version rather than the author's. Jean Nathan in Poole, Dorset, UK - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
