The peoples of the world use many languages to communicate. A language is defined as a complex system of communication which could be different to a dialect. A dialect would not be a language but a language would definitely include a language. A language could also be defined as a complex system of development, acquisition, maintenance and the use of all of them in effectively communicating with another.
It is estimated that there are 5,000 to about 7,000 languages in the world. It could be safely assumed that with China boasting of a population of 1.386 billion as recorded in 2017 and with all the Chinese using the language of Mandarin that it could be the most used language in the world. There are other Chinese living elsewhere and use Mandarin hence it could be accepted as the most used language. It is known that a majority of the internet users are using Mandarin when online and that it is the most popular language used.
Close on the heels of mandarin would come the English language which is used by about 1.50 billion of the world’s population of about 7.5 billion. This makes up about 20% of the population. Hence on a one to one basis it is both Mandarin and English that are occupying the foremost positions as far as languages are concerned. Which of the two are the most popular would be a point of conjecture.
Translations
English and Mandarin are very popularly used languages and hence whatever book is written in any other language would be definitely translated into these two languages. If any particular book is to be read by the majority it would need to be translated into these two languages. Hence if you intend to have one of your publications widely read it would be prudent to have it translated into Mandarin and English.
From a marketing point of view it would be prudent to translate any book, journal, magazine or for that matter any publication into English and Mandarin if one was intending that it be read by the majority of the world’s population. If the above works are translated into these two languages, invariably it would be read by many who would be using them. It is also known that there are more books and other publications in these two languages combined, than in any of the world’s other languages.
The most translated
The Bible the Christian religious doctrine which was originally written in Hebrew the language of the Jews is the most translated “Book” in the world. The Bible consists of the Old Testament and the New Testament. Research has shown that at least one of them have translated into 2,883 languages.
This makes the Bible the most translated “Book” in the world. This is not surprising as Christianity is the world’s foremost religion. Hence if you are a Christian it would be imperative that you would have read it at least once. If you have not read the Bible it would be a very unlikely that you could follow the teachings laid down in it.
After the Bible it would be quite surprising to note that it is works of fiction that are on the most translated books list. The adventures of Pinocchio the very popular children’s cartoon character has been translated into 260 languages since it was created by Italian writer Carlo Collodi in the year 1883.
Pinocchio is no doubt the most popular cartoon character in the world hence it would be futile to argue that it is the most read book in history after the Bible. The books of Pinocchio are widely circulated and also read by most of the peoples of the world.
Next would come another very popular children’s story book “The Little Price” which has been translated into 180 languages. These translations have served two purposes one is that it has brought immense revenue for the writer and the other it has offered the readers to enjoy their reading in a language of their choice.
The book of Anderson’s Fairy Tales comes a close behind at third with it being translated into 153 languages. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland another very popular fantasy story which has caught the imagination of many over the last few generations have been translated into nearly 100 languages.
The need to translate all the popular works of fiction, fantasy, and other subjects has grown in popularity and they are being done to ensure that they could be read and enjoyed by the readers in their own language or in what they would be comfortable. This exercise is being implemented to every popular book and those who would do so would first need to find which would bring them the desired results. Translation would add to the revenue and it would also provide opportunities for others.
This article first appeared on Agato Translation Blog we find it worth sharing with you: agatotranslate.ae/worlds-most-translated-books-of-all-time/
