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Harry Potter translation
The first Harry Potter book (Philosopher's Stone) appeared in an Afrikaans translation in 2000; the others soon followed. They were, I think, not reprinted and certainly have been out of print for a long while. Now they are appearing again in the nation's bookshops, with new jackets like the current UK ones, and with the same excellent translations but some name changes. I haven't seen a copy - not in the shops till month-end - but it seems that the original names have been used this time. Previously some names, notably Harry Potter, remained the same while others were tweaked to give a more Afrikaans look. Now, Dumbledore replaces Dompeldorius (which looks very Dutch and scholarly!) and Hermione is no longer Hermien (the local fem form of Herman, very familiar here). This raises all sorts of implications for translation, from Jesus and Mary to Joshua and Miriam for instance, where familiarity wins over accuracy: that's easy, but Harry Potter is much more recent and could presumably have kept the Afrikaans names just as it did with all the other words in the books. Interesting!

Messages

Harry Potter translation  ·  Anneza  ·  3/14/2024, 5:45 AM
Re: Harry Potter translation  ·  Lady December  ·  3/14/2024, 5:32 PM
Re: Harry Potter translation  ·  Higuma  ·  3/14/2024, 4:24 PM
Re: Harry Potter translation  ·  Fiammetta  ·  3/14/2024, 10:58 AM
Re: Harry Potter translation  ·  Anneza  ·  3/15/2024, 12:17 AM
Re: Harry Potter translation  ·  Manipura  ·  3/14/2024, 11:53 AM
Re: Harry Potter translation  ·  Fiammetta  ·  3/15/2024, 11:13 AM
Re: Harry Potter translation  ·  Manipura  ·  3/14/2024, 10:56 AM
Re: Harry Potter translation  ·  Ivayla  ·  3/14/2024, 3:55 PM
Re: Harry Potter translation  ·  Anneza  ·  3/15/2024, 12:19 AM