The Most Translated Documents in the World

The translation of documents, speeches, and books has taken place throughout history so that the written and spoken words can be understood by people across language and cultural barriers.  Our world is rich with over 6,500 languages that are currently spoken and hundreds more than have been lost to time.  This makes the translation of the written word important for bridging language barriers when it comes to transcendent works like literature and religious scripture as well as important personal documents such as healthcare and legal documents.

Throughout history, an untold number of works have been translated into thousands of languages to be read and understood by people all over the world.  Looking at some of the most translated documents in history is an interesting exercise as they say a lot about the popularity of certain works of literature and what we as humans value that goes beyond language and cultural barriers.

We are going to discuss some of the world’s most translated documents and written works.  This list is quite diverse as it includes religious scripture, literature including prose and poetry, and declarations from governing bodies.

The Oldest Written Translation

Translations of written documents have been done for about as long as there has been written language.  The world’s oldest written translations are of fragments of The Epic of Gilgamesh, an epic poem written between approximately 2100 and 1200 BCE in ancient Sumeria.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is comprised of five separate Sumerian poems, the first of which was written around 2100 BCE, that were later combined into one work.  The poem chronicles the mythical tale of Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, and was the precursor to traditional heroic sagas and even influenced the works of Homer.  There are fragments of The Epic of Gilgamesh translated into multiple Southwest Asian languages that date to about 2000 BCE from ancient Sumeria.

The oldest completed translated document is not a work of literature, but a peace treaty between ancient civilizations.  The Treaty of Kadesh is a peace treaty between the ancient Egyptians and Hittites from around 1400 BCE.  Translations of the treaty in Egyptian hieroglyphics were engraved on temples in Thebes built by Pharaoh Ramesses II and translations in the Hittite language were engraved on baked clay tablets.  The Hittite clay tablets were discovered in their ancient capital city of Hattusa.

World’s Most Translated Documents

As mentioned above, the array of written works and documents that have been translated is quite diverse.

The following are the most translated of each type of document:

• What is the world’s most translated book? – The Bible is the most translated book in history as parts of it have been translated into almost 3,000 different languages. You can currently read the complete Bible in over 550 languages.  The Bible is the highest selling and highest read book in the world and the number of translations makes it highly accessible as an estimated 98 percent of the world’s population can find the Bible in a language they speak fluently.
• What is the world’s most translated non-religious book? – Religious texts such as the Bible tend to be the most translated works. When it comes to non-religious books, The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi is the most translated book.  This story was originally written in Italian, and it is available in over 260 languages.  The story of Pinocchio is well known as this story has been adapted for the stage over the years and the Disney version greatly increased its popularity.
• What is the world’s most translated poem? – The poem “Be Like a Child,” by Indian poet Sri Chinmoy is in The Guinness Book of World Records as the most translated poem in the world. This six-line poem was once recited in 204 languages in April 2014 as part of the festivities of the Sri Chimnoy Oneness-Home Peace Run.
• What is the world’s most translated short story? – It is difficult to answer this question because accurate records of the translation of short stories do not exist. Going by the number of different translations available, Andersen’s Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Anderson may be the most translated short stories.  Andersen’s Fairy Tales is a collection of 156 short stories written in the 19^th Century that includes “The Little Mermaid,” The Ugly Duckling,” and “The Princess and the Pea” among other famous works.  The collection has been translated in over 150 languages.  One of the most translated single short stories is “The Upright Revolution: Or Why Humans Walk Upright” by Kenyan author Ngugi wa Thiong’o.  Written originally in the Gikuyu language, it has been translated into more than 50 languages.
• What is the most translated document in the world? – The world’s most translated document, according to The Guinness Book of World Records is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This document was drafted by the United Nations and proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948 in Paris.  The Declaration is the first document to spell out fundamental human rights that should be universally protected.  It is currently available in over 500 languages.
• Who is the world’s most translated author? – The answer to this depends on where you get the information. Agatha Christie is the most translated author according to UNESCO’s Index Translationum as her works have been translated into over 100 languages.  However, according to The Guinness Book of World Records, L. Ron Hubbard is one of the most translated authors with more than 70 different translations of his book, The Way to Happiness.

Other Highly Translated Documents and Books

While the above-mentioned works are the most translated of their kind, some of them are not among the most translated works in the world.   The following are the most translated documents and books in the world according to the UNESCO Index Translation Database.  These works consist of literature and religious texts and publications.

Most Translated Literature

• The Adventures of Pinocchio: The Adventures of Pinocchio is listed in the section above as the most translated non-religious book. It is currently the second most translated work in the world trailing only the Bible.
• The Pilgrim’s Progress: The Pilgrim’s Progress is a Christian novel written in two parts, in 1679 and 1684 respectively, by John Bunyan. Part one of these novel chronicles the journey of a devout Christian man through life and part two chronicles the Christian journey but with a female main character.  This book has been translated into more than 200 languages.
• The Little Prince: The Little Prince by French author Antoine de Saint-Exupery is one of the world’s best-selling novels. The story about a pilot that encounters a young prince after becoming stranded in the Sahara Desert has been translated into over 180 languages.
• Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is the story of Professor Aronnax who embarks with his crew to find a sea monster but instead finds Captain Nemo and joins him on his submarine the Nautilus for under sea exploration. This novel, written by French author Jules Verne, has been translated into over 170 languages since it was published in 1870.
• Andersen’s Fairy Tales: This collection of short stories and fairy tales by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen (described above) has been translated into more than 150 languages.
• The Adventures of Asterix: The Adventures of Asterix is a series of comic books written by Rene Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo in which the main character Asterix goes on adventures to protect his village Gaul from being taken over by the Romans. The first of this series was published in 1959 and it has been translated into 112 languages.
• Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, also known as Alice in Wonderland, is the popular story of Alice’s adventures in a fantasy world that she finds after falling into a literal rabbit hole. This novel was written under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson in 1862 and it has been translated into almost 100 languages.
• The Adventures of Tintin: The Adventures of Tintin is a comic series about the heroic adventures of a Belgian reporter named Tintin and it covers a range of genres including mystery, fantasy, and science fiction. Written by Belgian writer Georges Rem under the pen name Herge, it has been translated into 96 languages since it was first published in 1929.
• The Alchemist: The Alchemist is the story of a shepherd boy named Santiago who leaves his home country of Spain to travel to Egypt looking for a treasure that he finds in a reoccurring dream. On his journey, he learns about alchemy from an alchemist that he meets.  This novel was written in 1988 by Brazilian author Paulo Coehlo and there are 67 translations available.
• The Harry Potter Series: The popular Harry Potter series about young wizards Harry Potter and his friends by J.K Rowling has sold millions of books worldwide since the first novel was published in 1997. Books from this series are available in 67 languages.
• Pippi Longstocking: Pippi Longstocking, a book series about a young, independent orphan girl with a horse, a pet monkey, and superhuman strength, was written by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren and first published in 1945. These books are available in 64 languages.

Most Translated Religious Texts

• The Bible: As mentioned above, the Bible is the most translated text in the world. It is also the most read and best-selling book in the world with over 550 translations available.
• What Does the Bible Really Teach?: This book is a Bible study guide written by a Jehovah’s Witness group in 2005. It is available in 244 languages.
• The Watchtower: The Watchtower is a Jehovah’s Witness magazine that was first published in 1879. It is translated into almost 200 languages and circulates around 42 million copies each month.
• Steps to Christ: This book written by the founder of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Ellen G. White, is a guide that helps Christians gain a better understanding of Jesus Christ. It has been translated into 140 languages since it was published in 1892.
• The Quran: The Quran is the main religious scripture of the Islamic faith, and it is available in 112 languages.
• New World Transcription of the Holy Scriptures: This book contains translations of Christian scriptures that were originally written in Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. Written by Jehovah’s Witnesses and published in English in 1961, it is now available in 112 languages.
• The Imitation of Christ: The Imitation of Christ was written in the 15^th Century in Latin by German monk Thomas A Kempis as a spiritual handbook for Christians. It is available in 95 languages.
• Awake!: Published by Jehovah’s Witnesses, Awake! is a monthly magazine that has circulated more than 40 million copies. This publication has been translated into 84 languages since the release of its first issue in 1919.
• Book of Mormon: The Book or Mormon is the main religious text for the Jesus Christ Church of Latter Day Saints that was first published in 1830. It is available in 82 languages.

Document Translation Services from Metaphrasis

The translation of documents including works of literature, religious texts, publications, and documents from governing bodies has played a very important role in sharing stories and information across language and cultural barriers.  In fact, translation is still important not just for famous works and religious texts, but also for making important personal documents more accessible.

At Metaphrasis, we provide document translation services in which we will translate important documents including medical documents, legal documents, documents from government institutions, educational documents, and business and corporate documents to make them more accessible to those whose first language is not English.  We work with translators who are certified by the American Translators Association (ATA) and can translate official documents into a wide range of different languages.

You can contact our professionals at Metaphrasis at (815) 464-1423 to learn more about our document translation services.