11 July 2008

The Index Translationum...

"... is UNESCO's database of book translations. Books have been translated for thousands of years, with no central record of the fact. The League of Nations established a record of translations in 1932. In 1946, the UN superseded the League and UNESCO was assigned the Index. In 1979, the records were computerized.

Since the Index counts translations of individual books, authors with many books with few translations can rank higher than authors with a few books with more translations. So, for example, while the Bible is the most translated single book in the world, it does not rank in the top 10 of the index."

With that introduction from Wiki, see if you can guess which of the following are the second- and third-highest-ranking authors for translations (Walt Disney, with its multiple "authors" ranked #1).

You get two guesses. I'll bet a nickel that you can't guess either one of the two.

ANDERSEN, HANS CHRISTIAN
ASIMOV, ISAAC
BALZAC, HONORE DE
CARTLAND, BARBARA
CHRISTIE, AGATHA
DAHL, ROALD
DICKENS, CHARLES
DOSTOEVSKIJ, FEDOR MIHAJLOVIC
DOYLE, ARTHUR CONAN
DUMAS, ALEXANDRE, PERE
HEMINGWAY, ERNEST
HESSE, HERMANN
JOANNES PAULUS II, PAPA
KAFKA, FRANZ
KING, STEPHEN
LENIN, VLADIMIR IL'IC
LONDON, JACK
LUDLUM, ROBERT
MARX, KARL
POE, EDGAR ALLAN
SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM
STEVENSON, ROBERT LOUIS
TOLKIEN, JOHN RONALD REUEL
TOLSTOJ, LEV NIKOLAEVIC
TWAIN, MARK
VERNE, JULES
WILDE, OSCAR

Answer in the Comments section. Full database here.

2 comments:

  1. Here are the top ten:

    DISNEY (WALT) PRODUCTIONS 8941
    CHRISTIE, AGATHA 6516
    VERNE, JULES 4162
    SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM 3550
    LENIN, VLADIMIR IL'IC 3499
    BLYTON, ENID 3497
    CARTLAND, BARBARA 3402
    STEEL, DANIELLE 2827
    ANDERSEN, HANS CHRISTIAN 2770
    KING, STEPHEN 2665

    ReplyDelete
  2. Not too bad: I guessed King and Cartland ...

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