The Business of Magazines

[blueorchid]

^ I didn't realize Americans were the only ones who speak English.

Doesn't Vogue Russia have a few pages of translated articles in English at the back? They could do that. Although I don't buy fashion magazines for the articles anyway, so I don't care if I can read it or not.

 

[Melancholybaby]

Non, non, non et re-non Vogue Paris represents France, a country where you speak French. If you're frustrated you can't read the articles then get yourself a French-to-English dictionary or French classes

That's the kind of attitude some people have that could be very off-puting for foreign people buying the magazine. I pay more money that French people do for this magazine, so wanting to read say Alber Elbaz's article from the April issue, is not too far out of line. Fortunately, VP does not share the same opinions as some people here since they are creating the website in English.

 

[honeycombchild]

I agree, some of the attitude in this thread is unreal.

 

[Srdjan]

We all know the English language is the world's #1 language. And we all know French Vogue is a very influential fashion magazine, so giving it an English version, is, for them, just a new way to earn money and get more readers.
And come on, don't be silly, of course it won't become an English-only magazine.

And it's not American supremacy, it's just as I told - the global language.

 

[tentalicious]

^^even today most of French people are virulent francophiles as well as de Gaulle, who virtually outlawed in the past the English language in France, because he truly believed that the French language and culture should always be dominant in the world.
That being said, I don't beleive Condé Nast will launch an English version of VP... It doesn't make sense for me and as blueorchid said I don't buy fashion magazines for the articles...

 

[YourMonster]

I buy fashion magazines for the articles as well as the editorial content, so it'll be nice to see all their text translated into english for those who are interested. I think its a great idea.

 

[vogue28]

I'm English, purchase French Vogue, and sometimes want to read the articles inside. The pictures are more stimulating and I find the French language to be the essence of the magazine. And I'd hate for Vogue Paris to be imported as the English edition here. Both the English and French version of Vogue Hommes International is available here. But I doubt that would occur with Vogue. It would be one or the other.. and I want the French one, regardless.

From the tweet, I suspect the website is going into the English language, and not the actual magazine. Crisis averted.

 

[honeycombchild]

If I'm paying the inflated cover price for an imported magazine, be it VP or VI or whatever it may be, I would like to be able to read it and not just look at the pictures. I realise I'm in the minority here but for me a magazine is to be read, as well as looked at.

Magazines are a business, if they also print it in English it's to make money and broaden their reach, it has very little to do this so called 'American Supremacy' or whatever bullcrap term it was given.

 

[Chanelcouture09]

I would personally love French Vogue to be translated, so I would have the chance to read the content, I'd be ecstatic if they offered that chance... but the possibility of the website having the option to be translated into english would make sense, seeing as Vogue.it offered that option at the moment.

I agree with everyone who say it would broaden their customer base, OK it's a french magazine, but its owned by an American corporation, so I would like to think it would be a possibility, considering it's very little read in comparison to US Vogue and if they want to see profits increase then that, for me, would be the most viable move, and believe me, it is widely bought worldwide and not just consumed by a french demographic.

I agree with honeycombchild, I like to actually read my magazines, yes, visually stimulating content is a must but reading it is a crucial part to a magazine, otherwise it would be pointless.

 

[Miss Dalloway]

Of course its the magazine, not the website, what would be the point of that Tweet if its only the site? And i dont think its such an awful idea, i mean its not like they are switching entirely to English.

 

[Thefrenchy]

That's the kind of attitude some people have that could be very off-puting for foreign people buying the magazine. I pay more money that French people do for this magazine, so wanting to read say Alber Elbaz's article from the April issue, is not too far out of line. Fortunately, VP does not share the same opinions as some people here since they are creating the website in English.

What's off-putting is the attitude of those who think everything should be translated into English just because it's the global language. What's off-putting is that it shows how very little considerations some people here seem to have for a country's culture and identity. What's off-putting is that some are so lazy that they don't even take into account that they could possibly take some French classes if they want to read the articles. It's always a good thing to expand your horizons by learning a new language. Plus, if you care so much about reading an article, then I guess you'll also care about discovering books in French etc.

By that I'm not only defending my country and its culture since I truly believe that every magazine should only be published in its country of origin's language. If you care so much about the reading material, do the effort of learning the language. That's what I did with English. I was taught English at school and then decided to pursue my learning in order to have access to things and cultures I didn't know about. Now, I can easily express myself in another language and I'm proud of that.

 

[Melancholybaby]

^While it is true that learning a new language is always useful and broadens one's horizons, I simply do not have the money or time for French classes. Or maybe I should hire a full-time translator for my monthly Vogue Paris endeavours? And your argument about books is simply weak considering that most books get translated in many languages for the same reason: to become accessible to a wider audience...or are you against translating books too? It's all about those green babies and if Conde Nast thinks they will earn more of them by publishing an English edition of the magazine, so be it. The French edition will still be available after all for those who want their country's identity pure and those who do not care about reading anything in the magazine, while there will be the ''international'' version for those who do not speak French but want to get something more out of VP other than looking at pretty pictures. With this solution everyone will be satisfied: French speakers, non-French speakers and of course Conde Nast.

 

[tigerrouge]

Most magazines with English translations just bung a few pages at the back, and it does the job. But I come down in favour of always trying to learn some of the language, what greater opportunity is there, than to have source material about a subject that you are intensely interested in, and a world full of translation help? I say this because I love and value every moment of using magazines to get further awareness of languages in general, and this is something that benefits me beyond the world of reading Vogue or Bazaar. Time is what prevents me from always making the most of this, we all come up against that restriction, but anything I've tried has always given me great rewards, from reading my first whole sentence in Japanese Elle, to realising an article in Vogue Italia was pretentious tosh. The sense of discovery is fantastic, I'd wish the same for anyone.
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[Thefrenchy]

^While it is true that learning a new language is always useful and broadens one's horizons, I simply do not have the money or time for French classes. Or maybe I should hire a full-time translator for my monthly Vogue Paris endeavours? And your argument about books is simply weak considering that most books get translated in many languages for the same reason: to become accessible to a wider audience...or are you against translating books too?

Google translatation is your friend. I used it with Vogue Italia since I don't speak Italian and while the translation wasn't always perfect, it was very useful and helped me identifying a good amount of Italian words that I now understand. If you're not a native english-speaker, aren't you somehow happy with yourself knowing that you can are able to express yourself and read things in english AND understand it? It's not different with another language, even if the language is not the global language. Don't be lazy and find things out by yourself, I'm sure it'll make the experience even more enjoyable.

Regarding your second point, there are two things. The first one is that, there is nothing like the real deal. If you ever read a book in its original language and its translation into the language of your country of origins, I'm sure you'll agree with me on that. Think of watching a foreign movie in your language: it's just not the same. Secondly, you just can't compare a fashion magazine (which main goal is to stimulate you visually) and a book. While I agree that giving access to people to authors like Homer, Voltaire, Checkhov or Shakespeare is something very important; I don't think there's a need to give a large access to 2 pages-long article about perfume or a designer.

Finally, rejecting the idea of having my country's magazine fully or partly translated into English does not mean I'm against globalization in any way. I just think that in order to fully enjoy it, we have to respect every country's specificities.

 

[Melancholybaby]

^I definitely agree with yours and tigerrouge's point that learning a new language and discovering new things on your own is invaluable, an experience everyone should have but there are people who do not have the resources, time or motivation to do so. Persides, Google Translate is just annoying for me, they way they mix up genders, articles etc. At the end of the day, it's all about them making more money, and if they believe this strategy will help them, people will have to live with it or simply stop buying the magazine to express their dissatisfaction. Sure an article about great hair could never be compared to Homer or Voltaire, but if there are people who find an article interesting, then having the option to read it is always a plus.

 

[Pradable]

By that I'm not only defending my country and its culture since I truly believe that every magazine should only be published in its country of origin's language. If you care so much about the reading material, do the effort of learning the language. That's what I did with English. I was taught English at school and then decided to pursue my learning in order to have access to things and cultures I didn't know about. Now, I can easily express myself in another language and I'm proud of that.

I 100% agree with you!

 

[mishahoi]

I'm calling BS.
As an American who moved to Japan and took great effort to become as fluent as possible (and thus understanding the importance of learning a language to get the full spectrum of a culture), I would still NEVER tell someone "Oh yeah, well you should go take Japanese if you want to read Vogue JP".
Because yeah, that article on winter jewel tones? Or that interview with Rei? An official, well-done translation is totally going to r*pe on the Japanese culture.

I am virtually rolling my eyes here.

 

[MON]

I like the idea of VP in English to widen their audience but I'm against it. I mean VP is French Vogue, thus it should be in French. I dont speak french fluently but by just reading VP, I slowly learn their culture and words, which is indeed beautiful.

And yes, articles are important for me too! It shows the depth and intellectual capability of each writers from VP.

 

[lamies022]

I see nothing wrong with an English version of Vogue Paris. I think it would attract more readers as I am sure there are some people who cannot justify buying an edition of VP just for the editorial content.
Let's be real, it is not possible to learn multiple languages just so one can read a magazine. As someone who speaks 2 languages I'm all for expanding one's worldview and gaining an appreciation for the nuances of other cultures. However, it is not realistic to expect readers in other countries to learn French/Italian/Japanese/etc... if they want to purchase the occasional issue.

I realize that there is no substitute for reading the magazine in its native tongue; however, I think it is a whole lot better to have a translated version at one's disposal than to feebly attempt to translate every sentence using Google translate or even a dictionary--because let's face it, if you aren't intimately familiar with the language you won't pick up on the subtleties anyway.
Also, and this point kind of seals the deal, but from a business perspective it makes perfect sense to offer VP in English as there are potential customers not just in America but throughout the world.

 

[tigerrouge]

That said, if English translations were shown to increase sales in ways that mattered, most magazines would have employed the practice long before now, but you have to consider where a publication's revenue really comes from, and it's not from a few extra cover sales from people some distance away from the country's actual target audience.

The one magazine I have seen trumpeting its overseas sales is Vogue Italia, and even it doesn't bother to supply a translation for its main issue, only in some supplements.

Perhaps if a few more major magazines started putting selected translations at the back of each issue, others would follow suit. But in terms of any larger overhaul, to reconsider your target audience in terms of content is to reconsider your ad sales strategy as well, and because that's a more unseen part of how a publication gets put together, it can be difficult to take that into account, except as a vague outline.
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