Tag Archives: literature

The vocabulary of ‘Harry Potter’ in Romanian, Czech, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish

Author: Ecoturtleupcycling, used with permission

Author: Ecoturtleupcycling, used with permission

Romanian

Hogwarts is called Hogwarts Școala de Magie, Farmece și Vrăjitorii in Romanian. Voldemort is Cap-de-Mort, and Harry is the Boy Who Lived or „băiatul care a supraviețuit”. Muggles are Încuiați, non-magical people of wizard descent or Squibs are noni, half-blood wizards are „sânge-semipur” and Mudbloods are „sânge-mâl”. The 4 houses are Cercetași (Gryffindor, lit. ‘scouts’), Astropufi (Hufflepuff), Ochi-de-Șoim (Ravenclaw, lit. ‘Falcon Eye’) and Viperini (Slytherin, lit. ‘pertaining to vipers’). The Death Eaters are Devoratori ai Morți and Mad-Eye Moody is called Ochi-Nebun Moody. Quidditch is Vâjthaț, the Sorting Hat is called Jobenul Magic care face Sortarea and The Burrow is Vizuina and Diagon Alley is Aleea Diagon. The London wizarding pub The Leaky Cauldron is La Ceaunul Spart and the street Knockturn Alley becomes Nocturnalee (‘Nocturnal Alley’) in the Romanian version.

Author: Ecoturtleupcycling, used with permission

Author: Ecoturtleupcycling, used with permission

Czech

In the Czech edition of Harry Potter, Hogwarts is called Škola čar a kouzel v Bradavicích (from bradavice meaning ‘wart’) and the village of Hogsmeade is Prasinky (from prase = pig, swine, hog). Diagon Alley is Příčná ulice, lit. the ‘straight street’, and Knockturn Alley is Obrtlá ulice. The Weasleys’ home The Burrow is Doupě and The Leaky Cauldron is Děravý kotel. The four houses of Hogwarts are Nebelvír (from nebe = ‘skyand lvír -> lev = ‘lion’) for Gryffindor, Hufflepuff is Mrzimor, Ravenclaw is Havraspár (from havran = raven, and spár = claw) and Slytherin is Zmijozel ( zmijozel = ‘adder’, and zmije = snake, viper, and zlo = evil).  

Author: Ecoturtleupcycling, photo used with permission

Author: Ecoturtleupcycling, photo used with permission

Norwegian

The Norwegian edition is interesting from a language aspect, since nearly all names and terms have been changed to a more Norwegian version. Hogwarts is called Galtvort høyere skole for hekseri og trolldom and the village of Hogsmeade is Galtvang (both from ‘galt‘ meaning ‘hog’). Dumbledore is called Humlesnurr, Professor Snape is Professor Slur, Professor McSnurp is Professor McGonagall, Professor Sprout is Professor Stikling and Gilderoy Lockhart becomes Gyldeprinz Gulmedal (lit. ‘Goldprince Goldmedal’) and Hagrid is Gygrid and Dobby the House-elf is Noldus. The Dursleys, who live in Hekkveien 4 (4 Privet Drive), are called Wiktor, Petunia and Dudleif Dumling (dum = dumb, stupid). The Weasleys are called Wiltersen in Norwegian, so Ron is Ronny Wiltersen, Ginny is Gulla, Percy is Perry and Fred and George are Fred og Frank! Hermione Granger is Hermine Grang, Nilus Langballe is Neville Longbottom and Draco Malfoy is Draco Malfang. Diagon Alley is Diagonallmenningen, Knockturn Alley is Spindelsmuget and the shop ‘Flourish and Blotts’ is ‘Snirckel & Blaek‘ (from blekk = ink). The bank Gringotts becomes Flirgott. The Burrow is Hiet and The Leaky Cauldron is Den lekke heksekjel. The 4 Hogwarts houses are: Gryffindor Griffing, Hufflepuff Håsblås, Ravenclaw  Ravnklo and Slytherin Smygard.

Author: Ecoturtleupcycling, used with permission

Author: Ecoturtleupcycling, used with permission

Danish

The Danish Hogwarts is called Hogwarts Skole for Heksekunster og Troldmandsskab. Diagon Alley is Diagonalstræde (Diagonalstræde is not a pun in Danish, though) and Knockturn Alley is rendered as Tusmørkegyden (lit. ‘Twilight Alley’) . The Burrow becomes Vindelhuset (‘the spiral house’), The Leaky Cauldron is Den Utætte Kedel and Gringotts is called Gringotts Troldmandsbank. The Owlery is Ugleriet. The ghost Moaning Myrtle is Hulkende Hulda. House elves are husalfer. Professor Sprout is called Professor Spire and Gilderoy Lockhart is Glitterik Smørhår (lit. Glittery Butterhair). Professor Horatio Schnobbevom  is Horace Slughorn. The subject Divination is Spådom and the art of Apparition is called Spektral Transferens.

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Swedish

In Swedish, Hogwarts is called Hogwarts skola för häxkonster och trolldom, Diagon Alley is Diagongränden, Knockturn Alley becomes Svartvändargränden (lit. ‘Blackturner Alley’), the wizarding bank Gringotts is Gringotts trollkarlsbank (or just simply Gringotts). The pub The Leaky Cauldron is Den Läckande Kitteln and The Burrow is Kråkboet (lit.’Crow’s Nest’). The Death Eaters are the Dödsätare and the Sorting Hat is en sorteringshatt. The subject Spådomskonst is divination and Potions is Trolldryckskonst. 12 Grimmauld Place is Grimmaldiplan nummer 12 (the pun in English – ‘grim old place’ – is lost here in the translation) and the Forbidden Forest is Den mörka skogen. The young Voldemort Tom Riddle is called Tom Gus Mervolo Dolder. Bill and Fleur Weasley’s house, The Shell Cottage, is Snäckstugan in Swedish.

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If you like the paper Hogwarts castle in this article, it can be purchased on Amazon here: ‘Build your own Hogwarts castle!‘ (ISBN 978-1535422352) http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1535422351

 

How to improve your intermediate reading comprehension through parallel reading of literature

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Today’s blog post is about how you can magically improve and boost your intermediate reading comprehension through parallel reading of literature, e.g. the ‘Harry Potter’ books 🙂 .

All you need is a book in your target language and the same book in your native language (or in another language you are very proficient and advanced in) as well as two bookmarks, so you can read them in parallel. This will make a dictionary redundant.

I personally collect the ‘Harry Potter’- books in all languages, but not as a “collector’s item” but actually to read them in these languages. The ‘Harry Potter’-books are great to improve your reading comprehension especially in ‘minor’ languages, since they are often available even in smaller languages where it is otherwise virtually impossible to get hold of literature in the language unless you travel to the country and bring them home with you. But you can use virtually any book in your target language for which you can get a copy also in your native language. However, popular books like bestsellers, the ‘Harry Potter’-series or ‘Le Petit Prince‘ (The Little Prince) by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, that are collected even by people who cannot speak the languages, are best since they are widely available in many languages (even though they may often be quite expensive!).

So how does this method, parallel reading, work? Basically, you have both books open at the same page and read them alongside each other. However, in order to be efficient to improve your existing intermediate reading skills, you ought to read the text in your target language first, and only check the book in your native language when you really don’t understand something. Done persistently and regularly, this will soon boost your reading skills and you don’t need a dictionary for it.

Another way in which parallel reading can be highly instructive is in comparative reading of both texts. For this, you read each sentence in sequence, first in your target language, then in your native language, all the while comparing how each expression is translated and rendered in your target language. This will not only teach you useful expressions, but it will also teach you something about the translating process. It will also make you familiar with the way sentences are structured in your target language, which can be highly valuable.

Where can you find popular books like the Harry Potter-series or Le Petit Prince in many languages? If you have any second-hand or antiquarian bookstores near where you live, it is always worth a visit going there first to see if they might not have the title you are looking for, as they might be considerably cheaper if bought used, apart from being better for the environment, especially since you need the book also in your native language. If you don’t have any such bookstore near where you live or they do not have your title, try to search on Amazon: type in the title plus ‘in [insert target language of your choice]’, e.g. ‘Harry Potter in Spanish’ or ‘Harry Potter Spanish version/edition’. This ought to bring up some results for many, though unfortunately not for all, languages. 🙂

Do you also collect a certain series of books or a book from a certain author which you like to read in a foreign language? Tell us about it in the comments! 🙂

The vocabulary of Harry Potter – part 2

Author: Oxyman via Wikipedia Commons

Author: Oxyman via Wikipedia Commons

Today’s blog post takes up the topic of the last blog post, namely the vocabulary of the Harry Potter books in some further languages 🙂 .

Catalan

In Catalan, Harry goes to L’Escola Hogwarts de Màgia i Bruixeria and takes part in the Triwizard Tournament or el Torneig de Tres Bruixots in Book 4. Moaning Myrtle is known as Gemma Gemec, and Dumbledore’s Army is l’Exèrcit de Dumbledore. Horcruxes are horricreus and the Death Eaters are els cavallers de la mort. The Weasleys live in ‘El Cau‘ (The Burrow).

The Ministry of Magic is called la Conselleria d’Afers Màgics and the young Voldemort is called Tod Rodlel instead of Tom Riddle. (For those among you speaking German, Tod means death or ‘mort’ in German, so it is an interesting translation for his name in Catalan from a multilingual perspective!).

Author: Ecoturtleupcycling, used with permission

Author: Ecoturtleupcycling, used with permission

Croatian

In Croatian, Harry attends the Škola vještičarenja i čarobnjaštva Hogwarts and likes to play metloboj or Quidditch. The subject Herbology is Travarstvo and Čarolije is Charms. Diagon Alley in London is known as Zakutna Ulica and the Forbidden Forest is the Zabranjena šuma and the Shrieking Shack is the Vrištava daščara. Werewolves are vukodlaci and the Smrtonoše are the Death Eaters. Fluffy, the three-headed dog from Book 1, is called Bundi.

Author: Ecoturtleupcycling, used with permission

Author: Ecoturtleupcycling, used with permission

Turkish

In Turkish, Harry attends Hogwarts Cadılık ve Büyücülük Okulu where the seçmen şapka or the Sorting Hat puts him into Gryffindor. Nearly Headless Nick is Neredeyse Kafasız Nick. The Forbidden Forest is Yasak Orman. A hortkuluk is a horcrux. The Ministry of Magic is the Sihir Bakanlığı and Diagon Alley is Diagon Yolu. The Weasleys live in the Kovuk instead of in the Burrow.

Author: Ecoturtleupcycling, used with permission

Author: Ecoturtleupcycling, used with permission

Permission to use the photos of the paper castle was kindly granted by the people from Ecoturtleupcycling, and it is available in their Etsy-shop (https://www.etsy.com/shop/EcoTurtleUpcycling?ref=pr_shop_more)

The words of ‘Harry Potter’ in various languages

Author: Ecoturtleupcycling, used with permission

Author: Ecoturtleupcycling, used with permission

Today’s blog post is about the words of ‘Harry Potter’ in various languages and how the different characters and places in the books are called in translations of the books around the world. 🙂

French

Hogwarts castle is called Poudlard in French and Muggles are les Moldus. The 4 houses are: Gryffondor (Gryffindor), Serpentard (Slytherin), Poufsouffle (Hufflepuff), and Serdaigle (Ravenclaw). Severus Snape is called ‘Severus Rogue‘ and Draco Malfoy is ‘Drago Malefoy’. Hogwart’s caretaker Argus Filch is called Rusard and his cat Mrs Norris is ‘Miss Teigne‘. The Death Eaters are les Mangemorts and the Dementors are les Détraqueurs. Le Choixpeau magique is the Sorting Hat. House elves are les elfes de maison. The Whomping Willow is le saule cogneur.

Famous places: Le Chemin de Traverse (Diagon Alley), Le Chaudron Baveur (the Leaky Cauldron), la voie 9 3/4 (platform 9 3/4)

Afrikaans

Hogwarts is called Hogwarts Skool vir Heksery en Towerkuns, Hermione is called Hermien, Snape is Snerp, Dumbledore is Dompeldorius, the Burrow is die Konynenes, Quidditch is Kwiddiek and Diagon Alley is Diagonaalstraat. Moggels are Muggles and the 4 houses are: Griffindor, Hoesenproes (Hufflepuff), Rawenklou and Slibberin (Slytherin).

Author: Ecoturtleupcycling, used with permission

Author: Ecoturtleupcycling, used with permission

German

Hermione is called Hermine in the German version, Diagon Alley is Winkelgasse, the Death Eaters are die Todesser, the Pensieve is the Denkarium and the Burrow is der Fuchsbau and Honeydukes is der Honigtopf.

Dutch

In the Dutch version, most magic places and persons get a Dutch term that is different from the English original: thus, Hogwarts is called Zweinstein Hogeschool voor Hekserij en Hocus-Pocus and Harry’s friends are called Ron Wemel and Hermelien Griffel. Draco Malfoy is Draco Malfidus, Marcel Lubbermans is Neville Longbottom. The teachers: Albus Dumbledore is Albus Perkamentus, Professor McGonagall is Professor Anderling and Snape is Sneep. The Death Eaters are de Dooddoeners. Harry lives in Ligusterlaan nummer 4 with de Duffelingen (the Dursleys). Diagon Alley is de Wegisweg and the magic bank Gringotts is Goudgrijp. Muggels are Dreuzels. The 4 houses are Griffoendor, Zwadderich (Slytherin), Ravenklauw and Huffelpuf. Quidditch is Zwerkbal and the Sorting Hat is de sorteerhoed.

Author: Ecoturtleupcycling, used with permission

Author: Ecoturtleupcycling, used with permission

Italian

In the Italian translation, Harry goes to la Scuola di Magia e Stregoneria di Hogwarts where Albus Silente (Dumbledore) is the headmaster and where Severus Piton (Snape) and Miverva McGranitt (McGonagall) teach. Binario 9 e 3/4 is Platform 9 3/4 and il Paiolo Magico is the Leaky Cauldron and il Platano Picchiatore is the Whomping Willow.

I Babbani are the Muggles, i Mangiamorte the Death Eaters, i Dissenatori the Dementors and La Tana is the Burrow. Neville Paciock is Neville Longbottom, Horace Lumacorno is Horace Slughorn and Sibilla Cooman is Sibyll Trelawney (why she was given this pseudo-English name is a bit of a mystery though…?) . The 4 houses are: Tassorosso (Hufflepuff), Corvonero (Ravenclaw), Serpeverde (Slytherin) and Grifondoro (Gryffindor).

Author: Ecoturtleupcycling, photo used with permission

Author: Ecoturtleupcycling, photo used with permission

Czech
Also in the Czech version, just like in the Dutch translation, nearly all Hogwarts-related vocabulary gets a Czech term: Hogwarts is called Bradavice or with its full name Škola čar a kouzel v Bradavicích. The 4 houses are Nebelvír (Gryffindor), Mrzimor (Hufflepuff), Havraspár (Ravenclaw) a Zmijozel (Slytherin). Professor Dumbledore is called Albus Brumbál, Professor Gilderoy Lockhart is called Zlatoslav Lockhart, Professor Sprout is Professor Prýtová, Professor Flitwick is Filius Kratiknot and Professor Slughorn is Horácio Křiklan.

Author: Ecoturtleupcycling, photo used with permission

Author: Ecoturtleupcycling, photo used with permission

Spanish

Hogwarts is called Colegio Hogwarts de Magia y Hechicería and the Weasleys live in la Madriguera (the Burrow) and Diagon Alley is el Callejón Diagon. The Weasley twins work at Sortilegios Weasley (Weasleys Wizard Wheezes) and the Leaky Cauldron is el Caldero Chorreante. The Death Eaters are los Mortífagos, and Dobby is un elfo doméstico. The Marauders’ Map is el Mapa del Merodeador and the Sorting Hat is el Sombrero Seleccionador. Legilimency is known as legeremancia, a Pensieve is un pensadero and a Howler is una carta vociferadora.

Author: Ecoturtleupcycling, photo used with permission

Author: Ecoturtleupcycling, photo used with permission

Bulgarian

In the Bulgarian version, the Hogwarts-related terms largely keep their English names, and are only transliterated. So the 4 houses are: Грифиндор (Gryffindor), Слидерин (Slytherin) , Хафълпаф (Hufflepuff) and Рейвънклоу (Ravenclaw). Lord Voldemort is Лорд Волдемор. The Marauders Map is the Хитроумна карта, the Shrieking Shack is the Къща на крясъците and Honeydukes is Меденото царство.

The great DIY paper castle in the photos is available from the friendly blog over at Ecoturtleupcycling https://www.etsy.com/shop/EcoTurtleUpcycling and permission to use the photos was granted.