Do you want to keep me busy for a couple of hours? Give me some statistical data!
According to the Index Translationum project of the UNESCO, German is by far the most frequent target translation language. The methodology is a bit weird, though. They count publications of translated books and not translations.
The Anglo-Saxon world comes across as culturally self-sufficient. Anglo-Saxon publishers dominate the world scene and yet, German (100 mil. native speakers) beats English (425 mil. native speakers) 2.5 : 1.
Another UNESCO list features the most translated authors. Their definition of a book must be quite permissive because even booklets consisting of 10 pages qualify. I wish I knew where V. I. Lenin, who made it into Top 5 and outperformed both Danielle Steel and William Shakespeare, would end up if only decent sized books had been counted. For Christ's sake, it is a list containing data starting 1979, long after the peak of ideological fervor! Ah, I see: Looks like quite a few of the books were meant for export although they appeared in Moscow or elsewhere within the former USSR.
More stats here. I am sure I will get to play with the expert mode one day.
According to the Index Translationum project of the UNESCO, German is by far the most frequent target translation language. The methodology is a bit weird, though. They count publications of translated books and not translations.
The database contains cumulative bibliographical information on books translated and published in about one hundred of the UNESCO Member States since 1979.Anyway, Germany rocks. You can feel it in German trains and buses; remarkably many people are immersed in reading.
The Anglo-Saxon world comes across as culturally self-sufficient. Anglo-Saxon publishers dominate the world scene and yet, German (100 mil. native speakers) beats English (425 mil. native speakers) 2.5 : 1.
Another UNESCO list features the most translated authors. Their definition of a book must be quite permissive because even booklets consisting of 10 pages qualify. I wish I knew where V. I. Lenin, who made it into Top 5 and outperformed both Danielle Steel and William Shakespeare, would end up if only decent sized books had been counted. For Christ's sake, it is a list containing data starting 1979, long after the peak of ideological fervor! Ah, I see: Looks like quite a few of the books were meant for export although they appeared in Moscow or elsewhere within the former USSR.
More stats here. I am sure I will get to play with the expert mode one day.
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