Second most translated book in history

The alltime most popular books in the world revealed. Nov 01, 2018 most of us, even if we havent read the book, have seen disneys adaptation and are well familiar with the story. They undertake the translation of the old testament now known as the septuagint. Writer james chapman created a list of the most read books in the world based on the number of copies each book sold over the last 50 years he found. Jesus said, and this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations. That includes video and audio content as well as written articles. For those of you who arent familiar with the tao te ching, this is the second most translated book in the world after the bible and it was written more than 2500 years ago by this wise chinese man called lao tzu. The books of the king james version include the 39 books of the old testament, an. We have found 1 solution on our database matching the query whom unesco lists as the worlds second most translated author after agatha christie. This thirukural is the second book that have been translated in more languages where bible stands first. Here is our list of the 100 best novels in translation written since 1900. The worlds most translated books is it possible to imagine a world with no translators. The 21 bestselling books of all time howstuffworks.

First published in 1859, this novel by charles dickens examines the class struggles that lead to the french revolution, and the uncomfortable truth that sometimes the revolutionaries are worse than the establishment. This book was suggested to me by a professor and its one of the most interesting books ive read. The imitation of christ is regarded as the most important devotional work in catholic christianity, and is the most widely read devotional work next to the bible. Thankfully, we can easily find some of the worlds most popular books translated into numerous languages around the world. Sep, 2011 it is also the best selling book now and in the history of the world. The worlds most translated books leopold classic library. It is often quoted that robinson crusoe is the second most translated book but this is incorrect and is based on old and. Don quixote is the second most translated book ever after the bible. This famous childrens book has been translated into about 300 languages since it was first published in 1942, making it the 2nd most. The king james version kjv, also known as the king james bible kjb or simply the authorized version av, is an english translation of the christian bible for the church of england, was commissioned in 1603 and completed as well as published in 1611 under the sponsorship of james vi and i.

With all those caveats in mind and not including e book sales, here are the 21 bestselling books of all time, as far as we can tell. Bible is the holy book only for christian community but this thirukural can be kept as holy book for all the relegions and for all the communities in the world. To celebrate world book day weve created an infographic that takes a look at 50 of the worlds most translated books, from the alchemist first. The bible in years has been and will always be the most read and most translated book in the world.

Leaving religion aside, the most translated book in the world is. Writing and literature are thought to have been first developed between the 7th and 4th millenium bc. Literature from other languages makes up just two or three per cent of english publishers output why is the figure so low. Statistics on data published until now by the index see last updates. Excluding the bible and the quran, the second most translated book format in the world is the novel or novella. Apart from being the most translated book in the world, the bible also. The old testament or jewish tanakh is the first book of the bible. The first novel in the series, harry potter and the philosophers stone, has sold in excess of 120 million copies, making it one of the bestselling books of all time. The 20 most translated texts in history ingco international. The 5 most translated literary texts in the world day translations. Dec 10, 2015 now, to complete the series, we take a look at the worlds most translated document. This is a list of literary works including novels, plays, series, collections of poems or short stories, and essays and other forms of literary nonfiction sorted by the number of languages they have been translated into. Please find below all the answers for whom unesco lists as the worlds second most translated author after agatha christie.

May 19, 2009 don quixote is the second most translated book ever after the bible. Homers epic odyssey has been translated the most amount of. Because this book is in the public domain and has been published in numerous editions by hundreds of publishers over the. For the record, the excluded books have sold an estimated hundreds of millions of copies each several billion, in the bibles case and would have taken most of the top positions on the list.

The vegetarian by han kang, one hundred years of solitude by gabriel garcia marquez, konbini ningen by sayaka murat. Whom unesco lists as the worlds second most translated. The earliest history of books actually predates what would conventionally be called books today and begins with tablets, scrolls, and sheets of papyrus. The most widely printed book in history is the christian bible. The most translated work in the history of the world is the christian bible. What is the second most translated book in the world. The most widely translated book in world literature after the bible, laotzus tao te ching, or book of the way, is the classic manual on the art of living. Latin culture continues to have a global influence on architecture, art and literature. May 08, 2002 don quixote, the tale of a spanish knight driven mad by reading too many chivalric romances, was yesterday voted the best book of all time in a survey of around 100 of the worlds best authors. This is a list of literary works sorted by the number of languages they have been translated into.

Over the last year and a half we read some of narnia, most of. Are you looking for a book written in your target language. As of june 2017, the series has been translated into 80 languages, placing harry potter among history s most translated literary works. Feb 26, 2018 this post on world war ii books is sponsored by libby.

Nov 19, 2012 for those of you who arent familiar with the tao te ching, this is the second most translated book in the world after the bible and it was written more than 2500 years ago by this wise chinese man called lao tzu. The topic of the most translated book in the world is one which is often up for. The first novel in the series, harry potter and the philosophers stone, has sold in excess of. Compiled and adapted from the chuangtzu and the chung yung, with commentaries the penguin press 2009. After shakespeare, who is the second most translated. Search the worlds most comprehensive index of fulltext books. All the incredible literary works that have touched people at the far corners of the world would not be available to the ordinary reader. It corrects the falsehoods that i learned in school that the native americans crossed the bering strait about 10 to 15 million years ago, that they numbered in the low millions, and most importantly that they did not create significant institutions or have a. The good thing is that most popular books are translated into other languages, to increase their readership and make more readers appreciate them across continents. The worlds ten most translated authors translation. To those beginning anthropological work it offered the indispensable outline sketches of the races of mankind, especially of the. Second most translated book the bible is the most translated book in the world, but euclids the elements is the second most translated one. Because this book is in the public domain and has been published in numerous editions by hundreds of publishers over the last 150 years, its impossible to ascertain the exact number of copies sold. It contains the origin and creation of the universe, the exodus from egypt, the formation of israel the prophets and the wisdom books.

We have found and listed 20 of the most translated texts throughout history. And the world record goes to according to guinness world records, the most translated document in the world is the universal declaration of human rights. The best books on the history and diversity of language. Why is the bible the worlds most translated book answers. With 469 translations, its easily the most translated text in human history.

Top ten translated books of all time optima translation. The history of the book starts with the development of writing, and various other inventions such as paper and printing, and continues through to the modern day business of book printing. Sometimes the history, importance or popularity of a book demands that it be translated into other languages. Just let me say that this encounter has been entirely professional and most helpful. The first part was published in 1678 while the second was finished in. The top 10 most translated books in the world eurotrad.

The bible is the holy scripture of the christian religion, purporting to tell the history of the earth from its earliest creation to the spread of christianity in the first century a. The most translated books in human history quicksilver. But if these books are to be enjoyed all around the world they need to be translated into different languages first. Aside from the bible, with 475 translations for the whole bible and 112 translations for the quran, the most translated literary works are the wellknown classics, old and new. Introduction gateway to ratzels history of mankind. With news this week of the discovery of what could be the earliest known siddur, a jewish prayer book dated at around 840 ad we have put together a list of 10 of the oldest known surviving books in the world today. Ancient wisdom from the second most translated book in the. The bible is the most read and sold book in the history of the world, with an estimated sale amount of 100 million copies annually its not. What is the second most translated book in the world answers. First, one of us had to have actually read the book. Biblical translation, the art and practice of rendering the bible into languages other than those in which it was originally written. The most translated books in human history quicksilver translate.

The most translated book after the bible religion nigeria. By downloading libby to your smartphone, you can access thousands of ebooks and audiobooks from your library for free anytime and anywhere. Please tell us more about dying words this book is a history of world languages which focuses on the small languages that make up about 96% of all spoken languages but are spoken by only about 4% of the worlds population. Some put the number at around 260 languages while other sources say it has been translated into over. Strangely, noone so far has mentioned the unescos index translationum. What are the top 10 most printed books of all time. The old testament books in chronological order list. In one famous instance, a church in north africa nearly rioted when jeromes translation of jonah 4 was read aloud and it identified the plant which sheltered jonah as an ivy plant rather than the septuagints interpretation of the plant as a gourd. A survey by the bible society concluded that around 2.

Your first book choice is by nicholas evans, an australian academic and one of the leading figures in language documentation. Jul 27, 2019 the translated books have captured life in. It has been translated into over 300 languages and this is a pretty good record of translation. I liked that i could ask additional questions and get answered in a very short. Heres what every chinese book recently translated for the us is about. At least one of its sixtysix books have been translated into over 3000 languages, the new testament into over 0 languages, and the entire work into more than 550 languages. Why wont english speakers read books in translation. Although it is impossible to obtain exact figures, there is little doubt that the bible is the worlds bestselling and most widely distributed book. She is the most translated woman writer ever, and the most translated american author of either gender. At least one of its sixtysix books have been translated into over 3000 languages, the new testament into over 0 languages. The catcher in the rye has the fascinating double distinction of being both the most banned and the second most taught book in american schools. Don quixote is the worlds best book say the worlds top.

For the jews of alexandria, in the 3rd century bc, greek is the first language. The guinness book of world records lists the most translated englishlanguage writer as opposed to the most translated englishnationality writer as l. The best history books five books expert recommendations. A global history, between 1966 and 1970 printing quotations used 650,000 tons of paper, around the same amount as all publications produced in. Most translators know that the bible is the most translated book ever. This is the site i will always come to when i need a second opinion.

According to ingco international, a translation agency, the most translated book in the world is the bible. A guide book to the study of man and civilization when the first edition of ratzels volkerkunde was published in 188588 it at once took its position as a guide book to the study of man and civilization. Don quijote is number ten on the list of most translated books of all time, with around 140 translations. To celebrate world book day weve created an infographic that takes a look at 50 of the worlds most translated books, from the alchemist first published in portuguese to wolf totem mandarin. A reader has to approach the book on a chapter by chapter basis, following the same organization as the bible. However, we wanted to share some exciting news the website now has content available in a staggering 1,000 languages, including 100 sign languages. Depending on what or who your source of information is, pinocchio is either the second or third most translated book in history. It is the oldest religious text in known existence. And where does the book alcoholics anonymous place on that list.

Apr 15, 2016 the most translated work in the history of the world is the christian bible. A new milestone for the worlds most translated website. Apr 11, 2007 what are the top 10 most printed books of all time. Most translated books best, greatest of everything ranked. This slideshow will look at the 20 most translated books in the world. There are many who would name the bible as the most translated book of all time.

I look forward to reading the translators invisibility and hope that someone will follow up with a history of translations into russian. There is no need for any part of the bible to be translated until a community of jews, in the diaspora, forget their hebrew. Most translated books best, greatest of everything. For that reason among others, the bible as history appears to put the bible first and history second. The number 200 million is controversial however, considering that the book is regularly on the required reading lists of students in the u. Shakespeare, by the way, probably isnt translated as much as you think, since hes mostly read, even in nonenglishspeaking countries, in the original english. The declaration was adopted in paris on 10 december 1948, as a direct result of the second world war.

The 20 most translated texts in history the content in this article is compiled from data and does not reflect ingco internationals opinions or views. Five centuries later the early christians, who use greek for. As a brief outline, it spans the history of languages from before human languages existed to. Don quijote is number ten on the list of most translated books of all time, with around 140 translations however. List of literary works by number of translations wikipedia.

Its only been two months since our last update of this article. Listed are some of the most important history books ever written, as recommended by some of the most eminent historians working today. I worked on several things, i moved all our books out into the living room from our bedrooms, their books and my books are all in one spot on a big shelf. Its defenders see it as the definitive look at the frustrations and ennui of teenage life, whereas its prosecutors have seen it as causing everything from murders to suicides to the spreading of. Unsurprisingly, childrens books and fairy tales dominate the list of the most translated books throughout history. Pinocchio is either the second or third most translated book in history. According to their data worlds top translated authors page on the. The worlds ten most translated authors translation excellence. Depending on who you ask and which resource you use, pinocchio is either the second or third most translated book in history.