Best translation(s) of "Le Petit Prince", especially audiobooks

[n_j_f]

Hi all

I noted a few threads over the years ago about The Little Prince but I thought best to start a new thread as this is coming from a slightly different angle.

When browsing the net, I came across mention of a new Persian translation that is to be released shortly. Although I have not yet had the pleasure of reading the Persian translation by Ahmad Shamlou (which I understand has a place in Iranian culture in its own right), it has always been a dream of mine to own — and preferably, to be able to read and understand! — The Little Prince in multiple languages including Ancient Greek, Sanskrit and even Egyptian Hieroglyphs which I came across recently. The only other comparable book in terms of translations seems to be The Bible and Harry Potter, neither of which I have any desire to read a second time (sorry Harry Potter fans).

Speaking only for myself, I always had this erroneous idea in my head that there is only one translation of a book in any given language; it never occurred to me that there would be multiple competing translations except for religious texts, etc. although I was aware of a somewhat heated debate re: the merits or otherwise of the translation that replaced the standard Katherine Woods English edition. It would make sense, however, for older books, especially when as well loved as Le Petit Prince and which I'm assuming is in the public domain in some countries.

One of the delights when learning a language for me, at least, is listening to professional voice actors reciting poetry and literary classics in different languages, and thought it might be interesting/instructive to open a thread for anyone to vote/nominate what they consider the best translation and, best of all, a particular audio version.

So starting off:

French:
Well, the original obviously!
Audio: Gérarde Philipe (sadly, abridged)

English:
Translation: Katherine Woods (1943)
Audio: Richard Burton (1974)