foreign literature
Books from abroad
Foreign literature refers to written works originating from countries or cultures other than one's own.
The term typically appears in academic contexts—course titles, reading lists, library classifications—where it distinguishes imported or translated texts from domestic writing: She majored in foreign literature with a focus on Russian novels.
What counts as foreign depends entirely on perspective; American literature is foreign literature in Japan.
- translated worksTexts rendered into new languages
- lost in translationMeaning altered between languages
- cultural exchangeSharing practices between peoples
- exotic settingsUnfamiliar, distant places
- world literatureFrench novels, Russian novels, Japanese fiction, translated works, British novels
- translationtranslator, free translation, French translation, interpreting, interpreter
- translationsFrench edition, translated works, Bible translations, poetry translations, modern translations
geographic origin
foreign literatureindigenous literature
Works by original inhabitants
American literature · English literature · British literature
foreign, literature, foreigner, foreignness, literal, literally, literary, literate, literacy