The ethics of copying Finno-Ugrian books?

[Christopher Culver]

As a passionate student of the Mari language keen on helping others
learn it as well, I'm facing something of a moral dilemma.

The textbook _Marijskij jazyk dlja vsex_ (Marijskoe Knizhnoe
Izdatel'stvo, 1990) is an excellent textbook, one of the best I've
used for any language, and certainly by far the best for
Mari. However, it is long out of print and evidently it will never be
reissued. Plus, it is in Russian, and many people here in Helsinki and
elsewhere who are learning Mari cannot read Russian comfortably yet.

So, I think it would be a great idea to translate the book into
English and publish it on the web where all could make use of it. The
problem, however, is that it is copyright by Marijskoe knizhnoe
izdatel'stvo. Some Mari speakers have encouraged me just to go ahead
and translate it without contacting the publisher, because the
publisher would just assume I am a rich foreigner who can pay
abundantly for the rights. Plus, wouldn't there be political issues
with a foreigner paying some money to a Mari institution?

Perhaps other Finno-Ugrianists have faced this problem before? Advice
would be greatly appreciated.

Christopher Culver
Graduate student of Finno-Ugrian languages
University of Helsinki
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