The best known examples I guess are "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" (should be "Harry Potter and the Philosoher's Stone") and "The Golden Compass" (should be "Northern Lights").
Why are the titles changed for other countries, such as Australia and America? Are there any examples of American books (for example) having their names changed for the UK market? If so, again, why?
2007-11-27 23:08:56 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
Or, if titles aren't changed for the UK market, why not?
2007-11-27 23:11:04 · update #1
Apparently the reasoning behind the name change for philospher's stone was that Americans didnt understand what a philosopher was so they decided that sorcerer would be used instead so not to alienate them. I dont understand with the golden compass - i thought that was the name of the third book in the series anyway?
2007-11-27 23:21:38 · answer #1 · answered by Lucie 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
It's mainly the publishers in the US that decide that the American audience are too stupid to know what the original title refers to. The most famous example being Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. All over the world this is the title for the book, except in the US - because the publishers thought that the kids wouldn't know what a philosopher was. Ridiculous. It's all to do with marketing. I can't stand it.
They always make stupid American versions of British books (they change the language to American-English rather than British-English). It's pathetic, because that is never done with American books when released in the UK.
2007-11-28 00:38:32 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
The publishers are judging the education levels of their population for the country
don't thumbs down me for saying this - a guy on TV admitted it over the film Richard the Third, which i believe was marketed in America as King Richard. Because in his own words certain sections of the American audience would not realise that it was not a sequel.
by the same idea , They may have a clearer idea what a Sorcerer's Stone is rather than a Philosoher's Stone.
Not nice to say, but thats how publishers and film distrubuters think - Right or wrong
I think changing the name is more confusing. It may make some people think they are two different books
2007-11-27 23:22:26 · answer #3 · answered by steven m 7 · 6⤊ 0⤋
As others have said, it's often to make the title more intelligible, but there are many English titles in series where I cannot see a reason and it is SOOO infuriating. I have even bought a book on the Internet under a different title before realising I've already read it in its original version. Makes it hard to keep track of the order in a series you enjoy.
I suppose there could also be copyright reasons if the title has already been published in the US.
2007-11-29 06:56:12 · answer #4 · answered by Cheryl P 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yeah, I thought it was basically because Americans, on the whole, weren't considered intelligent enough to understand the titles
Does anyone know if in America's version of Northern Lights, (The Golden Compass), every mention of the Aletheiometer has been changed to Golden Compass?
2007-11-28 00:44:28 · answer #5 · answered by Alex - Æsahættr 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Basically as harsh as it sounds nations such as America need things dumming down for them, if you published a book called the Philosopher’s Stone they wouldn’t have the faintest idea what the book was about so they wouldn’t buy it. But if you publish it under the name of the Sorcerer's Stone this tells your average American that the book is about magic, which will appeal to certain people.
So basically American books need a title that gives your average American an indication of its content, while the more scholarly British can divulge that if it a Philosopher’s stone is involved its sure to have magical properties.
2007-11-27 23:38:52 · answer #6 · answered by Stephen L 2 · 5⤊ 1⤋
It is sometimes a question of lingual differences - not every "English" word has the the same meaning in English speaking countries (American and British English display an enormous gulf in some respects).
Additionally it is a question of what would be understood better. When the James Bond film "Licence to Kill" came out, it was to have been titled "Licence Revoked" but a survey in the States showed that very few Americans knew what the word revoked means.
2007-11-27 23:23:17 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Other countries may speak English but sometimes the meaning of the words are diffirent. I think that the publishing companys do this so that it is easier to market to the culture the book is being published in.
2007-11-28 01:14:57 · answer #8 · answered by jamie a 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
sometimes it's to stop the titles being confused with something else.
I believe the title of Philip Pullman's book was changed because of the US (or was it Canadian?)TV series 'Northern Lights'
2007-11-29 00:52:43 · answer #9 · answered by toscamo 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋