Language Editions
In 1995, National Geographic began publishing in Japanese, its first local language edition. The magazine is currently published in 36 language editions around the world, including English on a worldwide basis, Arabic, Bulgarian, traditional and simplified character Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, Georgian, German, Greek, Hebrew and an Orthodox Hebrew edition, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, two Portuguese language editions, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovene, two Spanish language editions, Swedish, Thai, and Turkish.
Recently launched local-language editions: Lithuanian (October 2009), Arabic (October 2010, published in 15 countries across the Middle East and North Africa), Estonian (October 2011), Georgian, Latvian and Mongolian (October 2012).
| Language | Website | Editor-in-chief | First issue |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | www.nationalgeographic.com/ngm | Chris Johns | 1888.10 !October 1888 |
| Arabic | ngalarabiya.com | Mohammed Al-Hamady | 2010.10 !October 2010 |
| Bulgarian | www.nationalgeographic.bg | Krassimir Drumev | 2005.11 !November 2005 |
| Chinese (Mainland China) | ngmchina.com.cn | Ye Nan | 2007.07 !July 2007 |
| Chinese (Taiwan) | www.ngm.com.tw | Roger Pan | 2001.01 !January 2001 |
| Croatian | www.nationalgeographic.com.hr | Hrvoje Prćić | 2003.11 !November 2003 |
| Czech | www.national-geographic.cz | Tomáš Tureček | 2002.10 !October 2002 |
| Danish | www.nationalgeographic.dk | Karen Gunn | 2000.09 !September 2000 |
| Dutch (Netherlands/Belgium) | www.nationalgeographic.nl | Aart Aarsbergen | 2000.10 !October 2000 |
| Estonian | www.national-geographic.ee | Erkki Peetsalu | 2011.10 !October 2011 |
| Finnish | www.nationalgeographic-suomi.com | Karen Gunn | 2001.01 !January 2001 |
| French | www.nationalgeographic.fr | François Marot | 1999.10 !October 1999 |
| Georgian | http://nationalgeographic.ge/ | Levan Butkhuzi | 2012.10 !October 2012 |
| German | www.nationalgeographic.de | Erwin Brunner | 1999.10 !October 1999 |
| Greek | www.nationalgeographic.gr | Maria Atmatzidou | 1998.10 !October 1998 |
| Hungarian | www.geographic.hu | Tamás Schlosser | 2003.03 !March 2003 |
| Hebrew | http://nationalgeographic.co.il/ | Daphne Raz | 1998.06 !June 1998 |
| Hebrew (Orthodox) | 2007.04 !April 2007 | ||
| Indonesian | www.nationalgeographic.co.id | Diah RWP | 2007.03 !March 2007 |
| Italian | www.nationalgeographic.it | Guglielmo Pepe | 1998.02 !February 1998 |
| Japanese | www.nationalgeographic.jp | Hiroyuki Fujita | 1995.04 !April 1995 |
| Korean (South Korea) | www.nationalgeographic.co.kr | Kay Wang | 2000.01 !January 2000 |
| Latvian | www.nationalgeographic.lv | Rimants Ziedonis | 2012.10 !October 2012 |
| Lithuanian | www.nationalgeographic.lt | Frederikas Jansonas | 2009.10 !October 2009 |
| Mongolian | www.nationalgeographic.mn | 2012.10 !October 2012 | |
| Norwegian | www.nationalgeographic.no | Karen Gunn | 2000.09 !September 2000 |
| Polish | www.nationalgeographic.pl | Martyna Wojciechowska | 1999.10 !October 1999 |
| Portuguese (Brazil) | nationalgeographic.abril.com.br | Matthew Shirts | 2000.05 !May 2000 |
| Portuguese (Portugal) | www.nationalgeographic.pt | Gonçalo Pereira | 2001.04 !April 2001 |
| Romanian | www.national-geographic.ro | Cristian Lascu | 2003.05 !May 2003 |
| Russian | www.national-geographic.ru | Andrei Doubrovski | 2003.10 !October 2003 |
| Serbian | www.nationalgeographic-srbija.com | Igor Rill | 2006.11 !November 2006 |
| Slovene | www.nationalgeographic.si | Marija Javornik | 2006.04 !April 2006 |
| Spanish (Latin America) | http://natgeo.televisa.com | Omar Lopez | 1997.11 !November 1997 |
| Spanish (Spain) | www.nationalgeographic.com.es | Josep Cabello | 1997.10 !October 1997 |
| Swedish | www.nationalgeographic.se | Karen Gunn | 2000.09 !September 2000 |
| Thai | www.ngthai.com | Kowit Phadungruangkij | 2001.08 !August 2001 |
| Turkish | www.nationalgeographic.com.tr | Nesibe Bat | 2011.05 !May 2001 |
In April 2005, an Indonesian edition launched, published by Gramedia Majalah. A Bulgarian edition of the magazine published by a Sanoma Publishing joint venture launched in November, 2005 and a Slovenian edition published by Rokus launched in May, 2006. In association with Trends Publications in Beijing and IDG Asia, National Geographic has been authorized for "copyright cooperation" in China to publish the yellow border magazine, which launched with the July 2007 issue of the magazine with an event in Beijing on July 10, 2007 and another event on December 6, 2007 in Beijing also celebrating the 29th anniversary of normalization of U.S.–China relations featuring former President Jimmy Carter. A Serbian edition of National Geographic was launched with the November 2006 issue in partnership with a joint venture of Sanoma and Gruner + Jahr.
In contrast to the United States, where membership in the National Geographic Society was until recently the only way to receive the magazine, the worldwide editions are sold on newsstands in addition to regular subscriptions. In several countries, such as Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, and Turkey, National Geographic paved the way for a subscription model in addition to traditional newsstand sales.
Read more about this topic: National Geographic (magazine)
Famous quotes containing the words language and/or editions:
“Language is a skin: I rub my language against the other. It is as if I had words instead of fingers, or fingers at the tip of my words. My language trembles with desire.”
—Roland Barthes (1915–1980)
“The next Augustan age will dawn on the other side of the Atlantic. There will, perhaps, be a Thucydides at Boston, a Xenophon at New York, and, in time, a Virgil at Mexico, and a Newton at Peru. At last, some curious traveller from Lima will visit England and give a description of the ruins of St. Paul’s, like the editions of Balbec and Palmyra.”
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)