The mega online retailer Amazon has issued an apology after it rejected a review of a book that was written in the Welsh language. Not online is Welsh as valid as any language one might write a review in, the book being reviewed was Dewi Prysor’s Lladd Duw, a novel written in Welsh, which makes it all the odder for Amazon to remove a Welsh-written review of a book that’s written in Welsh.
The book was reviewed by Catherine Sherrington, who submitted a dual-language post on the positive things she had to say about the title. Sherrington wrote that she enjoyed the book so much that she is “going to read more Welsh-language books”.
Her full review read: “Gwych Brilliant. I haven’t read a Welsh book for years – sometimes the formality of written Welsh puts me off – this is brilliant though.
“Hawdd i ddarllen, stori gyffroes, cymeriadau diddorol. Wedi joio fo gymaint dwi’n mynd i ddarllen mwy o lyfrau Cymraeg (Easy to read, exciting story, interesting characters. Have enjoyed it so much I’m going to read more Welsh-language books).”
Shortly after publishing her review, Sherrington received an email from Amazon stating her submission failed to meet its community guidelines. Exactly why it failed to meet the guidelines wasn’t made clear, and Amazon soon faced criticism for rejecting a review written in Welsh.
Sherrington reached out to Amazon on Twitter, writing: “@Amazon it’s a shame that I couldn’t leave a partly Welsh review for a book written in Welsh on your website.”
Amazon Help replied: “We’re sorry to hear about the trouble! Please refer to our Community Guidelines here.”
Exactly why the review was taken down in the first place is unclear, but a spokesperson for Amazon told Nation.Cymru that the review was removed as a result of a “technical error” which has since been resolved, and they “apologise” for the confusion.
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