# Displaying foreign language book on Kindle



## makkumatr (Dec 9, 2010)

Hi friends
I have a question on reading foreign language (SE Asian) ebooks on Kindle 3.
I have an ebook in pdf format in a SE Asian language - the pdf has the required font embedded in it. I load the pdf onto the kindle and it displays fine. But the routine problems with pdf bothers me, the font size being too small and zooming in causing scrolling everywhere.

So, I tried to convert the pdf into .mobi and .prc, but in both cases the text shows up as junk characters on the Kindle (presumably because the required font is not present on the device). I tried using MobiCreator and Caliber, but they both produce files that the Kindle cannot render properly.
I can only think of two solutions, but I don't like them.
- use Adobe professional to increase the font size of the pdf and then load it
- use Kindle in landscape mode and read the existing pdf (though it shows lesser content/page)

But I was wondering if you guys knew another way to fix my problem. 

Thanks!


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## SusanCassidy (Nov 9, 2008)

If you have the original text input, and know the encoding that it is in, you could (using software tools) convert the file to UTF-8 and mobi format.  The trick is knowing the original encoding, and there are many for asian languages.


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## makkumatr (Dec 9, 2010)

Thanks for the reply Susan.
I have 2 sources for the same book
- HTML with UTF-8 encoding using a custom font
- PDF with embedded font which says "Encoding:Built-in" in the file properties.

Here is the link to the document I am trying to get to my Kindle.
http://www.projectmadurai.org/pmworks.html

In the table, there are columns for PDF and Unicode HTML - I am trying to get Work No.1.

Appreciate your help.


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## SusanCassidy (Nov 9, 2008)

You did not say what language this is.

For fonts, Amazon says this:
"Support for Non-Latin Characters
Kindle can now display Cyrillic (such as Russian), Japanese, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), and Korean characters in addition to Latin and Greek scripts for certain file types. To view your personal documents with non-Latin characters on your Kindle, send your file as a Microsoft Word document (DOC) attachment to your Kindle's e-mail address ("name"@free.kindle.com). The file will be converted to Kindle format and sent to your Kindle via the Wi-Fi connection and also to the e-mail address associated with your Amazon.com account at no charge. See more details about Kindle’s Personal Document Service via Whispernet here. Loading TXT files containing non-Latin characters over USB is currently not supported as some characters may not display properly. "

If the characters are in one of those ranges, you could edit the HTML and remove any references to specific fonts, and see if that works.  If the data in the HTML file is actually in UTF-8, that is.  You would need to use an editor that is sensitive to UTF-8 encoding.

Unless you install the font hack, you have to rely on Amazon's fonts.  The character encoding is what bits are set for the characters in the file.  The font is a mapping of the character to a way to display it on the screen.

If the language is not covered by one of Amazon's fonts, you might have to look into installing a font hack.


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## makkumatr (Dec 9, 2010)

The language is Tamil, which is not in the list of what Amazon supports. So, I assume anything other than PDF file would need the font - Without the font, it will appear as junk characters even if the encoding is UTF-8 correct?
Since I didn't want to hack the Kindle to install the custom fonts, I wanted to use the embedded-font PDF option - which works, but sucks for reading.


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## makkumatr (Dec 9, 2010)

I just managed to solve this problem! I installed Open Office, copied over the contents from the HTML file and pasted it in the office document, increased the font size and then exported it as a PDF. And then I loaded this PDF onto the Kindle and it looks just fine!

Thanks.


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