Within the month of April there is a very important day not only in the UK but across the globe…and no, before you ask it’s not the Royal Wedding! You see, 23rd April is the day we celebrated the reputed birthday of the great bard himself, William Shakespeare.
Deemed by many as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist, Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon (not far from our headquarters I might add). His surviving works, including some collaboration consist of around 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems.
Proving that language has no barriers Shakespeare’s individual editions of plays and poems have been translated into 80 languages, from Arabic and Albanian to Yakut and Zulu. Although some may argue that Shakespeare’s language is what makes him worth reading, his plays have also been translated into 20th Century modern English as well – much to the disgust of many thespians I am sure!
It is commonly thought that Shakespeare is the most translated author in history, but the truth is he is not. Shakespeare may be the greatest writer in the English language, but it’s been said that Danielle Steel has been translated more then he has.
How is this possible you say? Well, the figures speak for themselves; Danielle Steele has written 80 novels and sold 550 million copies around the world, while having her books translated into 28 different languages in 47 countries. Shakespeare on the other hand wrote 37 plays and several poems that have been translated into 80 languages.
So, perhaps rather surprisingly there are more copies of Danielle Steele’s books being translated around the world, than Shakespeare’s plays, even though he has been translated in more languages!
Although unlike the great man himself I bet Danielle Steel can’t claim to have created nearly 1,700 words that are now used in the English language.
