My cousin, is coming in from England, and he is bringing me a copy of the U.K. edition of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, will it be worded differently or will it be exactly the same as the U.S. version?
2007-07-23 11:26:56 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
Err...I'm asking if it IS worded differently. I'm not saying it is. LOL
2007-07-23 11:34:34 · update #1
Will the experience of reading the book change with the U.K. version?
2007-07-23 11:53:34 · update #2
No, it will not be exactly the same. I researched it on Wikipedia. There is an American Edition of the book. British expressions and a few words (for example, they call a car trunk the boot) are changed. I had no idea that this was being done. I think it is sad. I read lots of books by British authors and have never minded learning a few new words. In fact I enjoy it and so should you. I think it would have been much better for them to footnote American translations of British words and phrases.
2007-07-23 11:40:09 · answer #1 · answered by rationallady 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think that is unfortunate for us Yanks, but on the other hand, as a linguist I would like to read both of them.
I would prefer to spend my hard earned money on the British rather than the American version. After all, Harry Potter is a story set in the United Kingdom, not America or Canada. Why is it that publishers think we Americans can't understand British English? We could jolly well use the google or some online dictionary if we didn't understand a word or phrase.
Just another example of how the Americans, we are stereotyped as less literate or cosmopolitan. But maybe the latter is true. And sadly, maybe too the former. American society has continued to short change public education, even as it enacts vouchers for private schools and does unfunded mandates for Leave No Child Behind. Indeed.
2007-07-23 18:32:56 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
There will be some differences as there will be some things people in the US wouldn't understand. Rowling at first didn't want to change things for the US cause both countries speak English. Then she realized that would be like telling kids in France they had to learn to read English before they could read her books. There's just some things we wouldn't get, some jokes we'd miss out on.
"Rowling: My American editor, Arthur Levine -- who I think is brilliant -- and I agreed on this point. We set down ground rules that we would make changes only in cases in which we both thought that what I had written would create an erroneous picture in an American child's mind. Initially, I did think, 'I don't want them to change a word.' But then, I realized that attitude was akin to expecting French children to all learn English perfectly before they can read my book. We translate this and other books for people who speak other languages and think nothing of it. But, if I use the word jumper to mean a sweater, an American child will see Harry wearing something completely different and embarrassing for a boy to wear in this country. So, I don't really feel that I'm selling out my art if I change that word. There are places in the book where if we didn't make changes, the American child would definitely miss the joke or miss the point, while an Italian or French reader wouldn't. The translator would have put the appropriate word right there for them. We really changed very little, but every change was for just that reason: I felt and Arthur felt that without such changes we would be tripping readers up unnecessarily. "
2007-07-23 18:43:14 · answer #3 · answered by knight1192a 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There will be slight variations in what people actually say and how things are described since there are language differences between UK English and US English...I own UK and US Harry Potter books, so I know what to expect. Sometimes they'll change a whole sentence around and sometimes they only change a word or two ^_^ either way you pretty much get the gist; they're good no matter what!
2007-07-23 18:35:46 · answer #4 · answered by Do Anything and I Love Ya! 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Im an american who used to live in Europe and I had the british versions all the way to the fourth book. They weren't really any different to be honest. Yeah no, there might have been a few more "mums" but it wasn't any different other than that. just an excuse to have a different artist really. And they appeal to collect all the different versions.
2007-07-23 18:35:54 · answer #5 · answered by coop-a-loop 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think they wont be worded differently.
2007-07-23 18:36:05 · answer #6 · answered by Moh 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Maybe some of the spelling, I donno. You Yanks like to leave out most of the U's, etc.
2007-07-23 19:21:31 · answer #7 · answered by ivy_la_sangrienta 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋