![]() What about the sounds we make while eating? We say ‘chomp’ in English. The same applies for dogs, pigs, cows, and all other animals – bees included. In simple words, the cat says ‘Meow’ in English, ‘Miau’ in Spanish, ‘Miao’ in Italian, ‘Nyan’ in Japanese, ‘Yaong’ in Korean or ‘Mjau’ in Swedish! And the list could go on with another thousand different sounds. Translating animal noises and various sounds is difficult, as each language has its own onomatopoeias. Translation Fact 5: Languages Don’t Share Onomatopoeias ![]() The three most popular languages on the internet are English (985 million users), Chinese (771 million users) and Spanish (312 million users). The numbers change when it comes to languages spoken online. It’s worth noting, though, that 23 languages alone (0.32 percent) cover more than half of the world’s population. Second comes Indonesia with around 710 languages, and third, Nigeria with 526 spoken languages. In Papua New Guinea, for example, the locals speak as many as 840 different languages. There are mostly in countries where people speak hundreds of languages. Almost a third of these languages are considered endangered – because they have less than 1,000 speakers. However, the number changes almost daily, because some languages disappear, once their last living speakers pass away. Translation Fact 4: There Are More than 7,000 Languages Spoken Todayħ,097, precisely. To make a comparison, the Vatican’s website is translated into nine languages only. This includes widespread languages, like Simplified and Traditional Chinese, English and Spanish, but also less known languages, such as Damara (a language spoken in Namibia), Ewe (language from Ghana and Togo), and Hiri Motu (spoken in Papua New Guinea). According to the page, their content is available in 943 languages, dialects and sign languages! None of them comes close to the website built for the Jehovah’s Witnesses, though. And Wikipedia is available in 288 languages. Google Translate supports more than 119 languages. Which is the reason why giant tech companies try to make their content available in local languages.Īpple has localized its website in more than 130 languages. In the digital world, a translated and localized website brings companies closer to their audiences. Translation Fact 3: The Most Translated Website is the Jehovah’s Witnesses The most translated authors are Agatha Christie, Jules Verne, and William Shakespeare. When it comes to literature, the most translated books are “The Little Prince” (around 300 languages) originally written in French, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, and “Pinocchio” (260 languages), written by the Italian Carlo Collodi. The second most widely spread text is the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights – translated into 508 languages. Yet, it is believed that partial translations of the Bible exist in more than 3,000 languages! The Bible is the most translated book in the world, and is available in more than 650 languages. Translation Fact 2: The Most Translated Texts Come from the Bible In the Western world, translations continued in the Middle Ages – Bible versions, philosophy, and scientific texts written in Greek, Latin or Arabic, and poetry.Īmong the first translations into English, is the “Knight’s Tale”, written by the Italian Giovanni Boccaccio and translated by Geoffrey Chaucer, in the 14th century. ![]() Think religious texts from and to Chinese, as Buddhism continued to spread. Translations have been a part of the Asian world since ancient times. The translation was necessary for the Jewish community, as Greek was the common language among the Jew population at that time. The first five books were translated around the 3rd century BC, while the rest of the Old Testament was translated in the 2nd century BC. In fact, one of the first important translations is that of Septuagint – a Greek translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew. Most of the first translations are connected to the Bible. The oldest translation is pretty darn ancient and was done in around 2000 BC when Asians translated The Epic of Gilgamesh. ![]() Translation Fact 1: The First Translation Is 4,000 Years Old What’s the most translated story? How many languages do people speak today? And how many people work as translators and interpreters? There’s many an interesting translation fact to make you change your perspective on places, cultures, and foreign languages.īecause translation and interpretation are fascinating professions that make up an amazing world of words, grammar, dialects, and different ways of saying the same thing! To get to know a slice of this world, check these seven curious facts about translation below.
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