Read in your language
Forty-one translations
When the Machines Were Young is free to read, download, and share in every language below. Each name opens the illustrated book to read online, with EPUB and PDF downloads in that language.
Translation noteEvery translation is machine-assisted and not yet reviewed by a commissioned native translator.
Choose a language
Latin script29
- AfrikaansAfrikaans
- Bahasa IndonesiaIndonesian
- BrezhonegBreton
- ČeštinaCzech
- CymraegWelsh
- DanskDanish
- DeutschGerman
- EspañolSpanish
- EuskaraBasque
- FrançaisFrench
- Gaeilge (Caighdeán)Standard Irish
- Gaeilge UladhUlster Irish
- GaelgManx
- GàidhligScottish Gaelic
- ItalianoItalian
- KernowekCornish
- KiswahiliSwahili
- NederlandsDutch
- NorskNorwegian
- PolskiPolish
- PortuguêsPortuguese
- RomânăRomanian
- SrpskohrvatskiSerbo-Croatian
- SuomiFinnish
- SvenskaSwedish
- Tiếng ViệtVietnamese
- TürkçeTurkish
- Ulstèr-ScotsUlster Scots
- VlaamsFlemish
Greek and Cyrillic scripts2
Arabic and Hebrew scripts3
Indic and Thai scripts3
Chinese, Japanese, and Korean scripts4
The English original
The book was written in British English. Read it online, or download the illustrated PDF or the full illustrated EPUB. The front page also offers home-printing PDFs for A4 and US Letter, a large-text PDF, a low-ink PDF, and a lite illustrated EPUB.
About the translations
Each translated edition contains the frame, all twenty-five fables, the notes for grown-ups, and the questions, with the same story paintings as the English edition. Only the words change.
Each translation was made with machine assistance, following a style sheet of its own that sets out how to handle names, invented words, quotation marks, and tone. None has yet been reviewed by a commissioned native translator. They are offered in that spirit: free, complete, and open to correction.
If you spot a mistake in your language, please report it through the marginalia annotation system on this site. Simply select text, and click 'note', to send a comment, or suggest alternate wording. Thank you for your kind advice, assistance, and forbearance in this complex project!
Every translation is shared under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence as the original.