List of translations of The Lord of the Rings explained

J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings has been translated into many languages since its publication in 1954–55. Known translations are listed here; the exact number is hard to determine, for example because the European and Brazilian dialects of Portuguese are sometimes counted separately, as are the Nynorsk and Bokmål forms of Norwegian, and the Traditional and Simplified Chinese forms of that language. Elrond's Library, as of its last updating in 2019, explicitly lists 87 translations in 57 languages.[1]

The Tolkien Gateway has a list of translations without details.[2] Many separate collectors have sites that highlight their personal collections with more detail. Some of the more extensive sites include Elrond's Library,[3] The Lord of the Rings in Translation,[4] Impressions of Books by J.R.R. Tolkien Published in Japan,[5] and the Tolkieniano Collection (in Italian).[6] Editions of all the translations in this list can be found illustrated in one or more of these collections. In addition, the book Толкин Русскими Глазами (Tolkien Through Russian Eyes) contains a detailed listing and history of the multiple Russian translations.[7]

The linguist Thomas Honegger has edited two books on the challenges of translating Tolkien: Tolkien in Translation and Translating Tolkien: Text and Film. The first volume looks at the theoretical problem, and then analyses translations into Esperanto, French, Norwegian, Russian, and Spanish to see how translators have coped with the issues discussed.[8] [9] The second volume looks at translation into Dutch, German, Hebrew, and Swedish, and analyses particularly complex issues such as translating Tolkien's constructed languages.[10] [11]

Translations

Language Title Year Translator Publisher ISBN
Dutch; Flemish: In de Ban van de Ring 1957
1959 to 1961
Polish: Władca Pierścieni 1961 to 1963 Maria Skibniewska (poems by Włodzimierz Lewik and Andrzej Nowicki)
Italian: Il Signore degli Anelli 1967 to 1970
Danish: Ringenes Herre 1968 to 1972 Ida Nyrop Ludvigsen[12]
German: Der Herr der Ringe 1969 to 1970 Margaret Carroux and (poems)
French: Le Seigneur des anneaux 1972 to 1973 Francis Ledoux Christian Bourgois
1972 to 1975 Teiji Seta and Akiko Tanaka ,,
Finnish: Taru sormusten herrasta 1973 to 1975 Kersti Juva, Eila Pennanen, Panu Pekkanen
Norwegian: Krigen om ringen 1973 to 1975 Nils Werenskiold ,,
Portuguese: O Senhor dos Anéis 1974 to 1979 António Rocha and Alberto Monjardim (unauthorized)Publicações Europa-América ,,
Russian: Властелин колец Russian: Vlastelin kolets 1976 (publ. 2002) A. A. Gruzberg; A. V. Zastyrets (poems)
O Senhor dos Anéis1977 Fernanda Pinto Rodrigues Publicações Europa-América ,,
Spanish; Castilian: El Señor de los Anillos 1977 to 1980 Luis Domènech (Francisco Porrúa) and Matilde Horne (Minotauro)
Greek, Modern (1453-);: Ο Άρχοντας των Δαχτυλιδιών Greek, Modern (1453-);: O Archontas ton Dachtylidion 1978 Eugenia Chatzithanasi-Kollia
Hebrew: שר הטבעות Hebrew: Sar ha-Tabbaot 1979 to 1980 Ruth Livnit
Norwegian: Ringenes herre 1980 to 1981 Torstein Bugge Høverstad
Hungarian: A Gyűrűk Ura 1981 Chapters 1-11: Ádám Réz
Rest: Árpád Göncz and Dezső Tandori (poems)
First:,,
2008 reworked: [13]
Serbian: Господар Прстенова Serbian: Gospodar Prstenova 1981[14] Zoran Stanojević
Russian: Властелин колец Russian: Vlastelin kolets 1982 to 1992 V. S. Muravyov (2nd to 6th books, poems), A. A. Kistyakovsky (first book) Raduga, Moscow ,,
Russian: Властелин колец Russian: Vlastelin kolets 1984 (publ. 1991) H. V. Grigoryeva and V. I. Grushetskij and I. B. Grinshpun (poems) Severo-Zapad , (Azbuka)
Catalan; Valencian: El Senyor dels Anells 1986 to 1988 Francesc Parcerisas
Korean: 반지 이야기 (), (reprinted as Korean: 완역 반지제왕 ()) 1988 to 1992 Korean: 강영운 (Kang Yeong-un)
Armenian: Պահապաննէրը Armenian: Pahapannērë 1989 Emma Makarian Only The Fellowship of the Ring, no ISBN
Korean: 반지전쟁 (), (reprinted as Korean: 반지의 제왕 ()) 1990 Korean: 김번, 김보원, 이미애 (Kim Beon, Kim Bo-won, Yee Mi-ae) ,,
Russian: Властители Колец Russian: vlastiteli kolets 1990 Z.A. Bobyr' Molodaya Gvardyr , (Condensed translation from 1966 with Hobbit & I in first volume and II & III in second volume)
Bulgarian: Властелинът на пръстените Bulgarian: Vlastelinăt na prăstenite 1990 to 1991 Lyubomir Nikolov
Czech: Pán prstenů 1990 to 1992 Stanislava Pošustová(-Menšíková) ,,
Russian: Властелин колец Russian: Vlastelin kolets 1991 V.A.M. (Valeriya Aleksandrovna Matorina) Amur, Khabarovsk
Korean: 마술반지 () 1992 to 1994 Korean: 이동진 (Lee Dong-jin) Only The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. (first volume)
Icelandic: Hringadróttinssaga 1993 to 1995, 2nd ed. 2003 Þorsteinn Thorarensen and Geir Kristjánsson (poems) ,,
Lithuanian: Žiedų valdovas 1994 Andrius Tapinas and Jonas Strielkūnas ,,
Portuguese: O Senhor dos Anéis 1994 Lenita Maria Rimoli Esteves and Almiro Pisetta Martins Fontes ,,
Russian: Властелин колец Russian: Vlastelin kolets 1994 Mariya Kamenkovich and Valerij Karrik Terra-Azbuka, St. Petersburg ,
Croatian: Gospodar prstenova 1995 Zlatko Crnković Algoritam
Slovenian: Gospodar prstanov 1995 Polona Mertelj, Primož Pečovnik, Zoran Obradovič
Esperanto: La Mastro de l' Ringoj 1995 to 1997, 2nd ed. 2007 ,
Polish: Władca Pierścieni 1996 to 1997 Jerzy Łozinski and Marek Obarski (poems) ,,
Estonian: Sõrmuste Isand 1996 to 1998 Ene Aru and Votele Viidemann ,,
Slovenian: Yüzüklerin Efendisi 1996 to 1998 Çiğdem Erkal İpek, Bülent Somay (poems)
Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: Stăpânul Inelelor 1999 to 2001 Irina Horea, Gabriela Nedelea, Ion Horea Editorial Group Rao ,,
German: Der Herr der Ringe 2000
Korean: 반지의 제왕 () 2001 Korean: 한기찬 (Han Ki-chan) 6 volumes.,,,,,, (set)
Polish: Władca Pierścieni 2001 Books I – IV: Maria and Cezary Frąc; Book V: Aleksandra Januszewska; Book VI: Aleksandra Jagiełowicz; Poems: Tadeusz A. Olszański; Appendices: Ryszard DerdzińskiAmber, Warszawa ,,
Slovenian: Gospodar prstanov 2001 Branko Gradišnik ,,
Chinese (Simplified)Chinese: 魔戒
mojie ("The Magic Ring")[15]
2001Book One – Book Two: Ding Di (Chinese: 丁棣); Book Three – Book Four: Yao Jing-rong (Chinese: 姚锦镕); Book Five – Book Six: Tang Ding-jiu (Chinese: 汤定九)Yilin Press (Chinese: 译林出版社), Nanjing
Chinese: 魔戒 2001 to 2002 Lucifer Chu (Chinese: 朱學恆)[16]
Galician: O Señor dos Aneis 2001 to 2002 Moisés R. Barcia
Slovak: Pán prsteňov 2001 to 2002 Otakar Kořínek and Braňo Varsik ,,
Thai: ลอร์ดออฟเดอะริงส์ Lord oof doe rings2001 to 2002 Wanlee Shuenyong
Macedonian: Господарот на прстените Macedonian: Gospodarot na prstenite 2002 Ofelija Kaviloska & Romeo Širilov ,,
Russian: Властелин колец Russian: Vlastelin kolets 2002 V. Volkovskij, V. Vosedov, D. Afinogenova AST, Moscow
Russian: Властелин Колец Russian: Vlastelin kolets 2002 Alina V. Nemirova AST, Kharkiv ,, (Folio)
Basque: Eraztunen Jauna 2002 to 2003 Agustin Otsoa Eribeko
Indonesian: The Lord of the Rings 2002 to 2003 Gita K. Yuliani ,,
Latvian: Gredzenu Pavēlnieks 2002 to 2004 Ieva Kolmane ,,
Persian: ارباب حلقه‌ها Persian: Arbāb-e Halqehā 2002 to 2004 Riza Alizadih ,,
Ukrainian: Володар Перснів Ukrainian: Volodar Persniv 2002 Oleksandr Mokrovolskyi Школа (Shkola)
Ukrainian: Володар Перснів Ukrainian: Volodar Persniv 2003 Alina V. Nemirova[17] Фоліо (Folio)
Faroese: Ringanna Harri 2003 to 2005 Axel Tórgarð ,,
Swedish: Ringarnas herre 2004 to 2005 Erik Andersson[18] and Lotta Olsson (poems)
Ukrainian: Володар Перстенів Ukrainian: Volodar Persteniv 2004 to 2005 Olena Feshovets, Nazar Fedorak (poems)
Albanian: Lordi i unazave, republished as Albanian: Kryezoti i unazave 2004 to 2006 Ilir I. Baçi (part 1), Artan Miraka (2 and 3)
Norwegian: Ringdrotten 2006 Eilev Groven Myhren
Arabic: سيد الخواتم، رفقة الخاتم، خروج الخاتم 2007 Amr Khairy , only The Fellowship of the Ring, Book I
Belarusian: Уладар пярсьцёнкаў: Зьвяз пярсьцёнка, Дзьве вежы, Вяртаньне караля Uladar pyars'tsyonkaŭ: Z'vyaz Pyars'tsyonka, Dz've vezhy, Vyartan'ne karalya 2008 to 2009 Дзьмітрый Магілеўцаў and Крысьціна Курчанкова (Dźmitry Mahileŭcaŭ and Kryścina Kurčankova) [19]
Belarusian: Валадар пярсцёнкаў: Брацтва Пярсцёнка Belarusian: Valadar piarścionkaŭ 2023 Ihar Kulikou
Arabic: سيد الخواتم 2009 Farajallah Sayyid Muhammad ,,
Georgian: ბეჭდების მბრძანებელი: ბეჭდის საძმო, ორი ციხე–კოშკი, მეფის დაბრუნება 2009 to 2011 Nika Samushia (prose and poems) and Tsitso Khotsuashvili (poems in The Fellowship of the Ring) ,,
Western Frisian: Master fan alle ringen 2011 to 2016 Liuwe Westra , . Only Fellowship of the Ring and Two Towers translated so far
Ukrainian: Володар перснів Ukrainian: Volodar persniv 2013 Kateryna Onishchuk-Mikhalitsyna, Nazar Fedorak (poems) ,,
Chinese (Simplified)Chinese: 魔戒2013Deng Jiawan / Chinese: 邓嘉宛 (story), Shi Zhongge / Chinese: 石中歌 (preface, prologue, appendix, and checking), Du Yunci / Chinese: 杜蕴慈 (poems)Wenjing, ISBN licensing by Shanghai People's Press
Vietnamese: Chúa tể những chiếc Nhẫn 2013 to 2014 (Prose) Nguyễn Thị Thu Yến (f), Đặng Trần Việt (m); Tâm Thuỷ (f); (Poetry) An Lý (f)
French: Le Seigneur des anneaux 2014 to 2016 Daniel Lauzon Christian Bourgois
Marathiस्वामी मुद्रिकांचा Swami Mudrikancha (I, II, III)2015Mugdha KarnikDiamond Publications, Pune
Yiddish: דער האַר פֿון די פֿינגערלעך Yiddish: Der Har fun di Fingerlekh 2016 Barry Goldstein ,,
AfrikaansDie Heerser Van Die Ringe2018 to 2020Janie Oosthuysen (1), Kobus Geldenhuys (2, 3)Protea Boekhuis, Pretoria,,
AzerbaijaniÜzüklərin Hökmdarı2020 to 2021Samir BulutQanun Nəşriyyatı, (I, III only, II has no ISBN)
Bengali (Bangladesh)দি লর্ড অফ দ্য রিংস Di larḍa apha dya rinsa (I only)2020Moheul Islam MithuAishwarya PrakashThe ISBN printed in the book is improperly formatted, 978-91288-3-X
Bengali (India)সর্বাধিপতি আংটি Sarbādhipati āṇṭi (I, II only)2012 to 2013AniruddhaCinnamon Teal Publishing,
UzbekUzuklar Hukmdori (I only)2019Shokir Zokirovich Dolimov
(from the Russian translation of V. S. Muravev and A. A. Kistyakovskij)
Ilm-ziyo-zakovat
Sinhalaමුදු වල අධිපතියා Mudu vala adhipatiyā (I in two parts, II)2018 to 2019 (I), 2023 (II)Kaveesha Nadun Kaggodaarachchi and Upekha Draupadhi Rajapaksha (I), Upekha Draupadhi Rajapaksha (II)Muses Books (Ia), (Ib), (II)
CroatianGospodar Prstenova2018Marko MarasLumen,,
ItalianIl Signore degli Anelli2020 to 2021Ottavio FaticaBompiani,,
SlovenianGospodar prstanov2023Sergej HvalaMladinska knjiga,,
MongolianБөгжний Эзэн, Bögjnii Ezen2009Ukhnaagiin Nyamsuren (translated from Russian)Khökh Devter
MongolianБөгжний Эзэн, Bögjnii Ezen (I only)2024B. AmarbayasgalanMonsudar
AsturianEl Señor de los Aniellos (I and II only)2020-2022Nicolás BardioEdiciones Trabe,
Chinese (Simplified)Chinese: 魔戒
mojie ("The Magic Ring")
2001, rev. 2012Zhu Xueheng, rev. Deng JiawanShanghai Translation Publishing House, Shanghai
Chinese (Simplified)Chinese: 魔戒
mojie ("The Magic Ring")
2024Tian WeihuaZhejiang People's Publishing House, Hangzhou

Notes and References

  1. http://elrondslibrary.fr/ Elrond's Library
  2. https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Translations#The_Lord_of_the_Rings Translations
  3. https://www.tolkienguide.com/archive/ElrondsLibrary/ Elrond's Library
  4. https://www.tolkientranslations.com/ The Lord of the Rings in Translation
  5. http://hobbit.ddo.jp/tolkien/versions.html Impressions of Books by J.R.R. Tolkien Published in Japan
  6. https://tolkieniano.blogspot.com/ Tolkieniano Collection
  7. Tolkien Through Russian Eyes, Толкин Русскими Глазами (Cormarë Series 5, Walking Tree Publishers, 2003, ISBN: 3-9521424-7-6)
  8. Web site: Honegger . Thomas . Thomas Honegger . Tolkien in Translation . . 30 April 2024.
  9. Book: Honegger, Thomas . Thomas Honegger . Tolkien in Translation . Segura . Eduardo . . 2011 . 978-3-9521424-6-2 . Cormarë series . 4 . Zurich.
  10. Web site: Honegger . Thomas . Thomas Honegger . Translating Tolkien: Text and Film . . 30 April 2024.
  11. Book: Honegger, Thomas . Thomas Honegger . Translating Tolkien: Text and Film . . 2011 . 978-3-9521424-9-3 . Cormarë series . 6 . 2004.
  12. a special edition of 1977 included illustrations by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, working under the pseudonym of Ingahild Grathmer.
  13. The terminology was reworked and several mistakes corrected. For example, the original Hungarian translation left unclear whether Éowyn or Merry killed the Witch-king which caused confusion when the movie version was released.
  14. Web site: COBISS/OPAC | Грешка . Vbs.rs . 2013-06-19 .
  15. Book: Reinders, Eric . Reading Tolkien in Chinese: Religion, Fantasy, and Translation . 2024 . Bloomsbury Academic . 9781350374645 . Perspectives on Fantasy series . London . 26-30.
  16. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2005/03/06/2003225764/print Turning fantasy into a reality that helps others
  17. Unlicensed edition, translated from Alina Nemirova's Russian translation (2002, AST Publisher), in Maksym Strikha. Ukrainskyi khudozhniy pereklad: mizh literaturoyu i natsiyetvorennyam. Kyiv: Fakt, 2006. p. 305.
  18. published Översättarens anmärkningar "translator's notes" in 2007
  19. Book: Уладар Пярсьцёнкаў: Зьвяз Пярсьцёнка (Uladar Pyarstsyonka: Zvyaz Pyarstsyonka) . Belarusian . The Lord of the Rings: The Union [aka Fellowship] of the Rings . . 2008 . private, 500 copies.