The ease and rapidity of global communication accounts for unprecedented movement not only of goods, services, capital and people but also culture facts, which become 'common property'. Toponyms rank among most shared items in the globalised world. Under the new circumstances transcription as the only translational operation to transfer foreign proper nouns in the Latvian language proves to be inadequate. The analysis of the Latvian translations of Dorling Kindersly travel guides shows that already today there exist a variety of transfer procedures, including non-translation, transcription, calque, semi-calque, deletion and different combination of these operations. This article approaches translation as one of the most obvious kinds of import and a basis for new modes of cultural creation. Translators emerge as active agents who have a considerable say on linguistic and cultural processes whereas translations develop into an evidence of postnational, globalised blending and hybridity where it becomes harder and harder to draw the line between national and international. In the modern world the line between translation and non-translation becomes indistinct.