Today we are going to make our readers work a little. In your opinion, what is the most translated book in the world?
The correct answer is…the Bible, which ranks first both in the number of languages into which it has been translated (438), and in the number of translated copies (5 billion).
In terms of secular literature, the first position is occupied by a book written by a French author, « The Little Prince », by Antoine de Saint Exupéry. The book has been translated into no less than 253 languages, although the term « language » is somewhat misleading because The Little Prince has also been translated into tongues such as Milanese, Breton, Quechua or Provencal. For the record, the French version was not the first to be published (20 April 1943), but the English version (6 April).
Completing the podium, we have Pinocchio, translated into 240 languages, and Alice in Wonderland, which has been translated into 174 languages.
Sources: https://www.sites.univ-rennes2.fr/lea/cfttr/veille/?p=2797
https://www.cafebabel.fr/culture/article/le-chiffre-qui-parle-le-livre-le-plus-traduit-au-monde.html
https://www.economiematin.fr/news-le-petit-prince-record-vente-bible-traduction-saint-exupery
