Have you ever needed to translate words that you read? Did you want to learn a new language but found it to be a bit difficult? The online language learning provider Preply released a report on the Most Translated Books in the World. Using this report, they have put together a list of the top 10 most translated children’s books to help you create the perfect summer reading list for both children and adults. If you are looking for more learning new languages to learn, these books are a perfect choice and are available in so many different languages.
The top 10 most translated children’s books per country
“The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint- Exupéry is number one. It currently holds the Guinness record for the most translated author for the same book.
- The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (382+ languages) – France
- The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi (300+ languages) – Italy
- Alice’s adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol (175+ languages) – England
- Andersen’s Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen (160+ languages) – Denmark
- Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren (70+ languages) – Sweden
- Heidi by Johanna Spyri (50+ languages) – Switzerland
- Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (36+ languages) – Canada
- Bambi, a Life in the Woods by Felix Salten (33+ languages) – Austria
- Kumewawa, the Son of the Jungle by Tibor Sekelj (17+ languages) – Slovakia
- One Hundred Poems for Children by Oscar Alfaro (7+ languages) – Bolivia
PinInteresting Facts for Language Learning
- Language learning is instinctive, a process babies are born to know how to do. All children, no matter which language their parents speak, learn languages in the same way. (source).
- When babies are born, they can hear and differentiate all the sounds in all the languages in the world. That’s about 150 sounds in about 6500 languages, though no language utilizes all of those sounds. The sounds a language utilizes are titled phonemes and English language has about 44. (source).
- You can help your child build language skills by reading to them. Have child-centric conversations with them as studies show that babies learn language best within a social context. (source).
Tips for learning a new language through reading (for children and adults)
Children’s Books
Learning to read can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be if you begin with the easiest reading material. Children’s books have shorter content, basic vocabulary, and simple sentences. No matter your age, these books are a perfect way to learn the basics.
Parallel texts
Find books that are written in dual language. You will find there are translations written right below the sentence you’re reading. No need to have a dictionary handy. It will additionally let you see how the grammar rules differ and you can note similarities and differences.
It’s all About Quantity!
If you’re learning a new language, it’s all about quantity. The idea is to expose yourself to as much material as you can. You probably won’t take everything in a first and that’s ok just keep going. It’s more about practicing your contextualizing abilities and guessing what you’re reading about. Try to understand what’s actually happening overall. The more you know the quicker you will learn.
Read with intent
Just as you should try reading extensively, you should also try the technique of intensive reading. This means being actively involved with what you’re reading and absorbing everything before moving on. If you don’t understand something – underlining the words, dog-ear pages, or writing your visions to help.
Read from the Heart
When you love something, you want to know all about it. Whether it be music, cooking, or even gardening, there are a variety of multilingual books so no matter what your heart desires you will probably find books to help out.
Find and read the books in the language you are learning. This will help ensure you don’t get bored, as it’s not easy learning a new language and you might be tempted to give up. Keep going, it will get easier.
Make sure to view ‘The Most Translated Books in the World’!
Disclaimer: I was compensated by Preply to write this article. The views I share are my own.
