Re: So it is true...


Peter T. Daniels wrote:
> Seán O'Leathlóbhair wrote:
> >
> > *** T. Winter wrote:
> > > In article <439455EE.5FB5@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> "Peter T. Daniels" <grammatim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
> > > > Seán O'Leathlóbhair wrote:
> > > > > *** T. Winter wrote:
> > > > > > In article <1133777483.827286.191030@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> "=?iso-8859-1?B?U2XhbiBPJ0xlYXRobPNiaGFpcg==?=" <jwlawler@xxxxxxxxx> writes:
> > > > > > ...
> > > > > > > Some parents may want one
> > > > > > > to help explain Harry Potter to their children. "Dad, what's a
> > > > > > > lorry?", "Don't know son, some limey thing".
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Only if they read the UK edition, which is unlikely. The books have been
> > > > > > translated to US English.
> > > > >
> > > > > I know that the first book was translated and this seemed
> > > > > controversial. I remember a long thread on the subject (probably in
> > > > > alt.english.usage). If I remember correctly, the majority opinion from
> > > > > both sides of the Atlantic was that the translation was excessive.
> > > >
> > > > It allegedly went beyond translation to revision. In particular,
> > > > changing "Philosopher's Stone" to "Sorcerer's Stone" is especially
> > > > egregious.
> > >
> > > What I found most egregious was the introduction of a person in the
> > > American edition that was not present in the British edition. Dean
> > > Thomas, who was black. And more so because the introduction made
> > > surrounding text incorrect. To quote:
> > > And now there were only three people left to be sorted.
> > > <inserted text>
> > > "Thomas, Dean," a Black boy even taller than Ron, joined Harry at the
>
> Is "Black" capitalized???? I'm not going to run upstairs to hunt for the
> scene and check ...

That was ***'s quote not mine. I don't have the US edition.

> > > Gryffindor table.
> > > </inserted text>
> > > and after that follow "Turpin, Lisa", "Weasley, Ron" and "Zabini, Blaise".
> > > Can't count to four?
> >
> > Dean Thomas sounds a familiar name. Are you sure that he is not in the
> > UK edition? He may just have been added to this scene. I don't recall
> > any explicit mention of skin colour in the UK editions, I would expect
> > that this was deliberate. Some characters have names which suggest
> > that they are not white but I don't think that this is confirmed in the
> > text. I will try to find some time in the next few days to check. I
>
> There is a pair of South Asian (Brit: Asian; PI: Indian; rude: Paki)
> sisters, and Harry's love-interest (I won't be reading vol. 6 until the
> paperback, so don't tell me whether he ever actually gets up the nerve
> to approach her) has a Chinese name.

Yes, this is what I meant by "names which suggest that they are not
white". Indeed a pair of sisters have South Asian names and one has a
Chinese name. I would not spoil your enjoyment of the new book. We
have them all hard bound since my son would not be prepared to wait for
the paperback.

> > also have the first book in French and Spanish, I will see how they
> > treat this scene. The American editors may have felt the need to
> > confirm that there are some black pupils. I would guess that the
> > author deliberately left this unclear, the reader can imagine as many,
> > or as few, black pupils as he wishes. If you label one as black then
> > it may suggest that all the others are white. If you never mention
> > skin colour then any proportion of black pupils is possible.
> >
> > > > More of a concern, though, is that they have celebrations of "Christmas"
> > > > and "Easter" with no other indication that they are a Christian
> > > > society/institution.
> > >
> > > Howsat? I have also celebrations of Christmas and Easter, but I am not
> > > Christian at all. In Europe celebrations of Christmas and Easter are
> > > quite common but are (in general) disconnected from the Christian
> > > beliefs. And I think that is also true in the US.
> >
> > It is certainly like that here.
>
> Is either of you a wizard, witch, or sorcerer?

I'm not.

> US Easter is not a commercial event, except for Easter Bunnies with
> baskets, which contain candy and colorful hardboiled eggs, which are
> hidden and searched for.

Not as commercial as Christmas but heading in that direction. Far more
people exchange Easter Eggs than attend church. The last time that I
attended an Easter service was to hear Bach's St Matthew Passion in
Coventry Cathedral. The wrong sort of church for my family but Bach
could tempt me in.

> --
> Peter T. Daniels grammatim@xxxxxxx

--
Seán O'Leathlóbhair

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