Translators were not granted access to the books before their official release date in English hence, translation could start only after the English editions had been published, creating a lag of several months before the translations were made available. The publishers select translators locally. Issues arising in the translation of Harry Potter include cultural references, riddles, anticipating future plot points, and Rowling's creative names for characters and other elements in the magical world which often involve word play and phonology.įor an authorised translation, the publisher must first negotiate and sign a contract with Rowling's agents, The Blair Partnership. In some cases, fans have created their own unofficial translations, either ahead of a licensed translation or when a licensed translation is unavailable. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix became the first English language book to top France's best-seller list. Impatient fans in many places simply bought the book in English instead. Additionally, regional adaptations of the books have been made to accommodate regional dialects such as the American English edition or the Valencian adaptation of Catalan.įor reasons of secrecy, translations were only allowed to begin after each book had been published in English, creating a lag of several months for readers of other languages.

This includes languages with fewer than a million speakers such as Basque, Greenlandic, and Welsh, as well as the Classical languages Latin and Ancient Greek. Rowling is one of the most translated series of all time, being available in 85 languages.

The Harry Potter series of fantasy novels by J. K. The Russian translation of The Deathly Hallows goes on sale in Moscow, 2007

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