What Is the Most Translated Text in the World?

Last Updated On: August 22, 2022 by The Migration Translators

There are many documents that have been translated many times, some of which are related to human rights religion, as well as literary works. Two of the world’s most translated documents are the Bible and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the most translated text in the world. It was first awarded this status in 2009 and at that time it had been translated into at least 370 languages. Recently it was found that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is now available in more than 500 languages.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was first written due to the outbreak of the 2nd World War and it was considered to be a milestone document in human rights history by the United Nations. This was the first appearance of a global expression of rights to which all humans should be entitled to. It took place at a meeting of representatives of different backgrounds and cultures from throughout the world who gathered to develop the draft of the document. It is as relevant today as it was when it was first adopted. 

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is with little doubt an essential document in its own right and it has inspired many and paved the way for many more local treaties globally both nationally and internationally. In fact, at least 70 treaties specifically refer to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Bible

Up to September 2020, the complete Bible had been translated into seven hundred and four languages. But the New Testament has been translated into 1,551 languages and portions of the Bible’s stories into about 1,160 other languages. On top of these figures, some parts of the Bible have been translated into three thousand four hundred and fifteen languages. Aramaic and Hebrew were the first languages of The Old Testament while Greek was the first language of the New Testament. 

Translating the Bible has taken place so that its message can be shared with everyone in a language they can easily understand. Efforts to translate the Bible into English started with Caedmon’s effort into Anglo-Saxon in A.D. 670. Bede in A.D. 735 translated the Bible’s Gospel of John which he finished only a day before he died. John Wycliffe in A.D. 1382 reputedly completed the first whole Bible translation into English helped by others.

Some Other Most Translated Text And Books Are:

The Little Prince

Little Prince is a poetic storybook famous for its watercolor illustrations. It was written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in French. It was published in 1943 and up to today 140 million books had been sold and it has been translated into 380 languages.  

The Adventures of Pinocchio

The Adventures of Pinocchio was written by Carlo Collodi in Italian. It has now been translated into 260 languages. 

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was first published in 1865. Lewis Carrol wrote it in English but today it has been translated into 174 global languages.

Tao Te Ching

Tao Te Ching has been translated into 250 languages and it is the most important text, both religious and philosophical for Taoists. 

Pippi Longstockings

Pippi Longstocking, which was first called Pippi Långstrump, was created by a Swedish writer called Astrid Lindgren. It is a story about a little girl who appears to have superhuman powers. Her father’s a sailor, and Mr. Nilsson is the name given to a monkey in the story. It has been translated into 70 languages.

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