The better the book, the more it can spread to more countries. If you like reading, you are likely to read books from foreign authors translated into English through the help of international translation services.
Here’s a list of the most translated books in history as of 2022:
#1: The Bible (3350 languages) and International Translation Services
Author: many
Original Language: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek
The Bible is the most translated book in the world. The New Testament has been translated into more than 2000 languages and the Old Testament in 700!
#2: The Little Prince (380 languages) and International Translation Services
Author: Antoine de Saint Exupéry
Original Language: French
The Little Prince is one of the greatest children’s books of all time. The story follows a young prince who visits various planets in space, addressing loneliness, friendship, love, and loss themes. Despite its style as a children’s book, The Little Prince tackles life, adults, and human nature. The story’s place as the second-most translated books serves as a testament to the power of French translation services
#3: Pinocchio (260 languages) and International Translation Services
Author: Carlo Collodi
Original Language: Italian
Pinocchio is a children’s fantasy novel about a small wooden boy who has a habit of lying. The book is considered a canonical piece of children’s literature and has greatly impacted world culture.
#4 Tao Te Ching (250 languages) and International Translation Services
Author: Laozi
Original Language: Chinese
Tao Te Ching is a profound book on the study of integrity and self-awareness. Its 81 verses deliver a thesis on how to live in a world with goodness and virtue. The verses can be difficult to understand and many people have spent their entire lives studying the Tao Te Ching.
Professional translation and localization services are needed for Tao Te Ching to spread globally. The Tao Te Ching is written in Classical Chinese, which poses a number of challenges to complete comprehension. As Holmes Welch notes, the written language “has no active or passive, no singular or plural, no case, no person, no tense, no mood.”
#5: The Communist Manifesto (200 languages)
Author: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
Original Language: German
The Communist Manifesto summarizes Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels’ theories concerning the nature of society and politics, namely that in their own words, “the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.”
#6: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (174 languages)
Author: Lewis Carroll
Original Language: English
This book tells the story of a young girl named Alice who gets lost and falls through a rabbit hole into a magical world of anthropomorphic creatures. The tale plays with logic, giving the story lasting popularity with adults and children.
#7: Steps to Christ (150 languages)
Author: Ellen Gould White
Original Language: English
Steps to Christ define salvation, man’s nature, and what a Christian life should be. The book discusses how to come to know Jesus Christ personally. It covers the topics of repentance, confession, faith, acceptance, growing into Christ, and prayer.
#8: Don Quixote (145 languages)
Author: Miguel Cervantes
Original Language: Spanish
This book is a Spanish epic novel, its full title is El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha. The plot revolves around the adventures of a member of the lowest nobility, a hidalgo from La Mancha named Alonso Quixano, who loses or pretends to have lost his mind due to the reading of many chivalric romances and adventure books.
#9 Andersen’s Fairy Tales (115 languages)
Author: Hans Christian Andersen
Original Language: Danish
Andersen’s Fairy Tales is a collection of short stories. The most famous fairy tales include “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” “The Little Mermaid,” “The Nightingale,” and “The Red Shoes.” They also present lessons of virtue and resilience in the face of adversity for mature readers.
#10: The Adventures of Asterix (115 languages)
Authors: René Goscinny, Albert Uderzo, and Jean-Yves Ferri
Original Language: French
The Adventures of Asterix is a comic series describing the exploits of a Gaul warrior who helps his village deflect invading Roman forces in 50 BCE.
Language translation services are always needed when translating books. A professional translation agency could provide language translation services in more than 100 languages, including Chinese translation services, Spanish translation services, French translation services and more.
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