Re: Translations from UK to US

Sue H wrote:
On Wed, 22 Aug 2007 04:41:10 -0500, Ron Hunter <rphunter@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

Thom-Madura wrote:
Ron Hunter wrote:
Thom-Madura wrote:
Fat Sam wrote:
Sue H wrote:
I don't know if this has been discussed per se; I hope it's not
repeating.

I caught what I think is a minor error. In COS, there is a sentence
alluding to "Christmas tea" whereas easier in the books it was called
supper or dinner. I don't know why they just don't leave everything
as it originally was since it's the same language.

I mean we have technically British words here we all get so why change
some at all (I remember the debate over put-outer etc).
And how insulting must it be for American readers


This has been gone over hundreds of times here.

1 - JKR is the copyright holder - only she can authorize changes in her manuscript according to international copyright law. JKR made the changes - maybe as a result of recommendation - but nevertheless - it was NOT a publishing house or editor or anyone else who had the FINAL say - it was JKR.

2 - THe change was NOT made because KIDs would not understand the term - it was a marketing move to make the book more sellable because of the way the term Philosopher would have been thought of in the US. Clearly - this was to maximize sales.

3 - Most US kids did not know that the change was made - or any changes were made. THere are probably still quite a number who do not.

4 - That JKR chose to make a version of her books for her largest and most profitable audience is not insulting. I would imagine that Brits would be insulted that she decided that he UK edition was inadequate for the US market.






when the publishing houses
chenged the word Philosopher to Sorcerer, simply because they assumed US kids wouldn't understand the meaning of the word.
Come on, give the kids some credit for pity's sake.

Unless of course I am mistaken and there's a special Christmas tea
drink?

PS I would have loved to have seen knackered instead of tired ... I
don't know why but I like that word for some reason.
Knackered is a great word.
It can have so many meanings.

So, you are saying JKR has to learn ALL the 62 languages into which her books have been translated, and to approve the final translation of each and every one? BULL!

No - she must not speak all the languages - but YES - she must approve any and all changes in the books. I am sure that even in Britian - they have heard of "translators" who could help JKR in that task.
I can't imagine she has the time to learn 62 languages, so that she could intelligently discuss how to translate a term onto Greek, or even Russian, let along Japanese. She would just have to trust them, or not hire them. Sometimes it is quite difficult to make an English speaker understand the exact meaning of even a German word, and English and German share common roots, and have cross-pollinated for thousands of years.
I can't imagine that she can be that intimately involved with the actual process.

At some point in the process you become so busy and rich you have to
hire people you trust to do these things. I agree, no way could she
read all that in all those languages! However, she probably says
something like "you translate it to the best of your ability trying
not to make changes if possible" and then has someone independent go
back over it for her to make sure it's true to her as possible. I
know she's a stickler for her story to remain true to what she
intended.

If it were me, I would tell them to make sure it MEANS the same thing, and to try to preserve the original whenever possible.
Sometimes the concepts common in one language/culture just don't exist in another. I understand that Japanese has no 'tense' structure. Talking about past and future things is somewhat difficult.
Even languages as similar as English and German have differences that may cause misunderstandings.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Old books and Manuscript , know any translation services online ???
    ... First of all you should conserve your books for long life. ... not read or translate, we are not interested in selling them and wont ... We have people who can read many modern languages already, ...
    (rec.antiques)
  • Re: Translations from UK to US
    ... alluding to "Christmas tea" whereas easier in the books it was called ... say - it was JKR. ... I can't imagine she has the time to learn 62 languages, ... could intelligently discuss how to translate a term onto Greek, ...
    (alt.fan.harry-potter)
  • Re: Old books and Manuscript , know any translation services online ???
    ... We have a large number of very old books and manuscripts that we can ... not read or translate, we are not interested in selling them and wont ... We have people who can read many modern languages already, ... Do you know of any online way we could identify and possibly ...
    (rec.antiques)
  • Old books and Manuscript , know any translation services online ???
    ... I am wondering f there are any options online to help identify ... We have a large number of very old books and manuscripts that we can ... not read or translate, we are not interested in selling them and wont ... We have people who can read many modern languages already, ...
    (rec.antiques)
  • Re: "Remember my last, Petunia." - An Explanation
    ... I think Sybill was thinking of le petit mort when ... I probably remember the story from one of Huston's books. ... Does JKR really want kids to ask why Walburga's daddy was only 13 years ... eating crumbs and looking at pictures in his shabby ...
    (alt.fan.harry-potter)