Harry Potter in Translation

by Lauren Nemec

Perhaps I am one of the few people left on Earth who haven't yet been swept up in the Harry Potter craze. Harry Potter books have sold more than 325 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 65 languages. Indeed, I must be one of the few.

However, if I were one of the millions of Harry Potter fans worldwide, I wouldn't have to wait for my local language translation of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" to come out. I could just read it on the internet.

Ever since Deathly Hallows came out, unauthorized translations of the book have been popping up all over the internet. Many of these 'translators' are cashing in on Harry Potter fans' desire to know how the tale ends, while others perhaps do it for the fun or fanaticism. Several unauthorized translations have surfaced in China, as described in the article, "China is too impatient to wait for Harry Potter translation", which could easily lead to the production of counterfeit books in the piracy-rampant country. A youth in France was briefly detained this week for posting a "near-professional" quality translation of the book on the internet. Authorities are still investigating the matter, and the boy could be charged with violating intellectual property rights, as reported in the article, "French teen detained over Harry Potter". In Venezuela in 2003, a terribly translated version of Order of the Phoenix appeared 5 months before the official translated version was due. The translator was so bad, he inserted phrases like, "Here comes something that I'm unable to translate, sorry" into the text.

Perhaps a more interesting topic than unauthorized translations of Harry Potter books would be the authorized translations of Harry Potter books. In fact, the subject of Harry Potter translations actually has its own Wikipedia entry- Harry Potter in translation - which shows why this is such a fascinating topic in the translation industry.

Translating Harry Potter books presents unique challenges to even the best of translators. Because the books are so widely read and have such an enormous fan following, translations of the texts must be of the very best quality. Considering the plot's close ties to British culture, cross-cultural differences must be taken into account. For example, American children might not understand the concept of boarding school. Also, author J.K. Rowling invented many words to enhance the magical world of Harry Potter. Translators have invented their own words or used transliteration to carry across words like "quidditch" or "pensieve". The titles of the books themselves can be challenging to translate. Rowling came up with an alternate title for Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter and the Relics of Death) so that translators could have an easier time rendering the title into their languages.

Though I'm fascinated by the translation issues he presents, the appeal of Harry Potter remains a mystery to me. But perhaps that can be solved - Does anyone have a copy of Sorcerer's Stone I could borrow?