In this article, the author discusses social forces that incite text in source languages to become translated. His examples are Danish, but they are discussed for their paradigmatic and international, rather than their specific and national value. He hopes that these observations contribute to make endeavours in translation work for cultural transfers more successful in today’s world where numerous new nations are establishing their identity, in terms of past and present, industry and trade. The author concludes by saying that, if national cultures are to become international, this must happen according to a natural process: nations have to cultivate their ‘cultural’ bridgeheads’, particularly those in gateway languages and wait until they voluntarily start requiring literature.