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Help[Opinions] Re: Harry Potter translation
in reply to a message by Anneza
Dompeldorius is great lol.
Do you know what Tom Marvolo Riddle got changed to? I think that had to be changed for the all the translations so it fit an anagram. In the French version, his middle name is Elvis.
I think Harry Potter would be particularly hard to translate names for because the original name choices are so blatantly supposed to be character clues that double as vocab/history lessons. Dumbledore is supposed to seem bumbling (it has dumb in it and means bumblebee). Sirius is a pun for serious and is a clue for his animagus form (the grim, canis major) and astrology names are traditional in his family. Fawkes the phoenix is named after a traitor who has a holiday named after him; in some translations it is Felix, but that doesn't have nearly the same level of merry defiance imo. I think Hermione is supposed to have a difficult name in the English version; it's supposed be a bit awkward and erudite (her parents are doctors who apparently like Shakespeare) and the connection to Hermes probably hints at her acumen...a common name that comes from Herman really would give a different character impression!
I remember learning as a kid that Joshua and Jesus came from the same name. That was funny.
Do you know what Tom Marvolo Riddle got changed to? I think that had to be changed for the all the translations so it fit an anagram. In the French version, his middle name is Elvis.
I think Harry Potter would be particularly hard to translate names for because the original name choices are so blatantly supposed to be character clues that double as vocab/history lessons. Dumbledore is supposed to seem bumbling (it has dumb in it and means bumblebee). Sirius is a pun for serious and is a clue for his animagus form (the grim, canis major) and astrology names are traditional in his family. Fawkes the phoenix is named after a traitor who has a holiday named after him; in some translations it is Felix, but that doesn't have nearly the same level of merry defiance imo. I think Hermione is supposed to have a difficult name in the English version; it's supposed be a bit awkward and erudite (her parents are doctors who apparently like Shakespeare) and the connection to Hermes probably hints at her acumen...a common name that comes from Herman really would give a different character impression!
I remember learning as a kid that Joshua and Jesus came from the same name. That was funny.
This message was edited 3/14/2024, 12:07 PM
