The Harry Potter series of fantasy novels by J. K. Rowling is one of the most translated series of all time, being available in 85 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. Additionally, regional adaptations of the books have been made to accommodate regional dialects such as the American English edition and the Valencian adaptation of Catalan.
For 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. Impatient fans in many places simply bought the book in English instead. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix became the first English language book to top France's best-seller list. In some cases, fans have created their own unofficial translations, either ahead of a licensed translation or when a licensed translation is unavailable.
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.
Translation process For an authorised translation, the publisher must first negotiate and sign a contract with Rowling's agents, The Blair Partnership. The publishers select translators locally.
So as to prevent plots being leaked, 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. This necessary delay has boosted the sales of English language editions of the books to impatient fans, in countries where English is not the first language. Such was the clamour to read the fifth book that its English edition became the first English-language book ever to top the bookseller list in France. In Italy, impatient Potter fans organised "Operation Feather", deluging the publisher Salani with feathers (reminiscent of Hogwarts' messenger owls) to demand expedited publication for the Italian translation of the seventh and final book in the series. This has also caused unauthorised translations and fake versions of the books to appear in many countries.
The high profile and demand for a high-quality local translation means that a great deal of care is often taken in the task. In some countries, such as Italy, the first book was revised by the publishers and issued in an updated edition in response to readers who complained about the quality of the first translation. In countries such as China and Portugal, the translation is conducted by a group of translators working together to save time. Some of the translators hired to work on the books were well known before their work on Harry Potter, such as Viktor Golyshev, who oversaw the Russian translation of the series' fifth book. Golyshev was renowned for his translations of William Faulkner and George Orwell, and was known to snub the Harry Potter books in interviews and refer to them as inferior literature. The Turkish translation of books two to five was undertaken by Sevin Okyay, a popular literary critic and cultural commentator.
In 2017, Bloomsbury celebrated the series' 20th anniversary with an announcement that it had been officially translated into 79 languages. Since 2017, Bloomsbury has published or licensed translations into Scots, Hawaiian, Belarusian, Kazakh, Yiddish, and Māori.
Some translations, such as those to the dead Latin and Ancient Greek languages, were done as academic exercises, to stimulate interest in the languages and to provide students of those languages with modern reading texts. The Ancient Greek version, according to the translator, is the longest text written in Ancient Greek since the novels of Heliodorus of Emesa in the 3rd century AD, and took about a year to complete.
List of translations by language The original British English versions of the book were published in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury. Note that in some countries, such as Spain and India, the series has been translated into several local languages; sometimes the book has been translated into two dialects of the same language in two countries (for example, separate Portuguese versions for Brazil and Portugal).
+ Translations of the Harry Potter series Language Country Publisher(s) and distributor(s) Translator(s) Title(s) English (original version)
(adapted for American readers) Regional adaptations do not constitute translation.UK/Ireland: Bloomsbury Publishing Australia/New Zealand: Allen & Unwin Canada: Bloomsbury/Raincoast BooksFrom http://www.raincoast.com/faq: Raincoast Books was the joint publisher of Harry Potter series in Canada in conjunction with Bloomsbury Plc of London from 1999 until 2010. The Canadian editions of all the Harry Potter books have the original British text intact, the same title and feature the original cover artwork. New editions are only made if there are significant changes to the text or format. In new editions, J K Rowling has corrected some parts of the text. (currently dist. through Penguin Books): South Africa: Jonathan Ball Publishers United States: Scholastic Corporation/Arthur A. Levine Books India: Bloomsbury - Previously Scholastic Asia covered Asia but India is now listed separately Malaysia/Singapore/Philippines/Hong Kong: Scholastic Corporation - Scholastic Asia is headquartered in Malaysia: " Scholastic Asia has grown significantly over the years... with its regional office and distribution center headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia." - Scholastic Asia is also active in Singapore . It was previously headquartered in Hong Kong and also distributed to the Philippines and formerly to India Harry Potter and the Philosopher's StoneHarry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (US) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Afrikaans Human & Rousseau (pty) Ltd. Janie Oosthuysen (I-V) Kobus Geldenhuys (VI-VII) Harry Potter en die Towenaar se Steen Harry Potter en die Kamer van Geheimenisse Harry Potter en die Gevangene van Azkaban Harry Potter en die Beker Vol Vuur Harry Potter en die Orde van die Feniks Harry Potter en die Halfbloed Prins Harry Potter en die Skatte van die Dood Albanian Publishing House Dituria Amik Kasoruho Harry Potter dhe Guri Filozofal Harry Potter dhe Dhoma e të Fshehtave Harry Potter dhe i Burgosuri i Azkabanit Harry Potter dhe Kupa e Zjarrit Harry Potter dhe Urdhri i Feniksit Harry Potter dhe Princi Gjakpërzier Harry Potter dhe Dhuratat e Vdekjes Arabic Arab world(Translation origin: Egypt) Nahdet Misr Sahar Jabr Mahmūd (I, VI ed., VII) Rajā' 'Abdullah (II, III ed.) Ahmad Hasan Muhammad (III, IV) Translation and Publication Department of Nahdet Misr (V) Dr. 'Abdulwahāb 'Allūb (VI)
Armenian Zangak Alvard Jivanyan Հարրի Փոթերը և Փիլիսոփայական քարը Հարրի Փոթերը և Գաղտնիքների սենյակը Հարրի Փոթերը և Ազքաբանի կալանավորը Հարրի Փոթերը և Կրակի գավաթը Հարրի Փոթերը և Փյունիկի միաբանությունը Հարրի Փոթերը և Կիսարյուն արքայազնը Asturian () Trabe Xesús González Rato Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal Azerbaijani Qanun Fəxrəddin Ağazadə (I) Kifayət Haqverdiyeva (II) Fərid Hüseynli (III) Gülmira Fətullayeva (IV) Nərmin İskəndər (V–VII) Harri Potter və fəlsəfə daşı Harri Potter və sirlər otağı Harri Potter və Azkaban məhbusu Harri Potter və alov qədəhi Harri Potter və si̇murq ordeni̇ Harri Potter və yarimqan pri̇ns Harri Potter və ölüm yadigarları Basque, i.e.
Elkarlanean Iñaki Mendiguren (I-VII) Harry Potter eta sorgin-harria Harry Potter eta sekretuen ganbera Harry Potter eta Azkabango presoa Harry Potter eta Suaren kopa Harry Potter eta Fenixaren Ordena Harry Potter eta Odol Nahasiko Printzea Harry Potter eta Herioaren erlikiak Belarusian Januskevic Alena Piatrovič Гары Потэр і філасофскі камень Гары Потэр і таемная зала Гары Потэр і вязень Азкабана Гары Потэр і Келіх агню Bengali Ankur Prakashani Sohrab Hasan and Shehabuddin Ahmed (I) Muniruzzaman (II–III) Asim Chowdhury (IV–VI) Mohsin Habib (VII) হ্যারি পটার এন্ড দ্য ফিলোসফার্স স্টোন হ্যারি পটার এন্ড দ্য চেম্বার অব সিক্রেটস হ্যারি পটার এন্ড দ্য প্রিজনার অব আজকাবান হ্যারি পটার এন্ড দ্য গবলেট অব ফায়ার হ্যারি পটার এন্ড দি অর্ডার অব দ্য ফিনিক্স হ্যারি পটার এন্ড দ্য হাফ ব্লাড প্রিন্স হ্যারি পটার এন্ড দ্য ডেথলি হ্যালোজ Bosnian Buybook Mirjana Evtov Harry Potter i kamen mudrosti Harry Potter i odaja tajni Harry Potter i zatvorenik Azkabana Harry Potter i plameni pehar Harry Potter i Red feniksa Harry Potter i princ poluplave krvi Harry Potter i kobne moći Breton () An Amzer Mark Kerrain Harry Potter ha Maen ar Furien Harry Potter ha Kambr ar Sekredoù Bulgarian Egmont Group Teodora Dzhebarova (I) Mariana Ekimova-Melnishka (II-IV) Emiliya L. Maslarova (V–VII) Хари Потър и Философският камък Хари Потър и Стаята на тайните Хари Потър и Затворникът от Азкабан Хари Потър и Огненият бокал Хари Потър и Орденът на феникса Хари Потър и Нечистокръвния принц Хари Потър и Даровете на Смъртта Catalan
,
(Alghero) Editorial Empúries Tàndem Edicions, S.L.: Valencian adaptation of I and II Laura Escorihuela Martínez(I-IV)
Xavier Pàmies Giménez(V–VII) Harry Potter i la pedra filosofal Harry Potter i la cambra secreta Harry Potter i el pres d'Azkaban Harry Potter i el calze de foc Harry Potter i l'orde del Fènix Harry Potter i el misteri del Príncep Harry Potter i les relíquies de la Mort Chinese (Simplified) People's Literature Publishing House (); Su Nong () (I) Cao Suling () (I) Ma Aixin () (II, IV, V) Zheng Xumi () (III) Ma Ainong () (I, V) Cai Wen () (V)
Chinese (Traditional)
Crown Publishing Company Ltd () Peng Chien-Wen (; Peng Qianwen) (I-IV) Crown Editor and Translator Group (; Huangguan Bianyi Zu) (V–VII)
Croatianfirst translation Harry Potter i Kamen mudraca Harry Potter i Odaja tajni Harry Potter i Zatočenik Azkabana Harry Potter i Plameni Pehar Harry Potter i Red feniksa Harry Potter i Princ miješane krvi Harry Potter i Darovi smrti Algoritam Zlatko Crnković (I–III) Dubravka Petrović (IV–VII)second translationMozaik knjiga Dubravka Petrović (I-VII) Czech Albatros Vladimír Medek (I, II, IV) Pavel Medek (III, V, VI, VII) Harry Potter a kámen mudrců Harry Potter a tajemná komnata Harry Potter a vězeň z Azkabanu Harry Potter a ohnivý pohár Harry Potter a Fénixův řád Harry Potter a princ dvojí krve Harry Potter a relikvie smrti Danish Gyldendal Hanna Lützen Harry Potter og De Vises Sten Harry Potter og Hemmelighedernes Kammer Harry Potter og Fangen fra Azkaban Harry Potter og Flammernes Pokal Harry Potter og Føniksordenen Harry Potter og Halvblodsprinsen Harry Potter og Dødsregalierne Dutch ()
Standaard Uitgeverij / Uitgeverij De Harmonie Wiebe Buddingh' Harry Potter en de Steen der Wijzen Harry Potter en de Geheime Kamer Harry Potter en de Gevangene van Azkaban Harry Potter en de Vuurbeker Harry Potter en de Orde van de Feniks Harry Potter en de Halfbloed Prins Harry Potter en de Relieken van de Dood Estonian Varrak Publishers Krista Kaer (I-VII) Kaisa Kaer (II-VII) Harry Potter ja tarkade kivi Harry Potter ja saladuste kamber Harry Potter ja Azkabani vang Harry Potter ja tulepeeker Harry Potter ja Fööniksi Ordu Harry Potter ja segavereline prints Harry Potter ja surma vägised Faroese Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags Gunnar Hoydal (I–III) Malan Háberg (IV) Bergur Rasmussen (V–VI) Harry Potter og Vitramannasteinurin Harry Potter og Kamarið Við Loynidómum Harry Potter og Fangin Úr Azkaban Harry Potter og Eldbikarið Harry Potter og Føniksfylkingin Harry Potter og Hálvblóðsprinsurin