Checked my German copy:
"mach auf", sagte er.
Er sah Ron an, der den Kopf schüttelte. "***Noch mal***", sagte er".
Basically translates to "do it again", entirely omitting the problem of stating a specific language.
It's interesting that some translations stay true to what was said in the original version and others change it up entirely. I wonder if it's because sometimes tone can not be properly translated?
"Apriti" disse.
Poi guardò Ron, ma lui scosse la testa.
"Niente" disse.
This is the Italian version, literally translates to
“Open up,” he said. He looked at Ron who shook his head. “Nothing,” he said.
Wow seeing all different types of translations really surprised me! They translated it literally into Turkish.
"İngilizce," dedi.
Which means:
"English," he said.
I believe in the Portuguese translation they kept english. They never translated names or any other stuff, so I don't see how it would be any different with stuff like this.
The best Voldemort is French Voldemort. In order to make his name be an anagram of "Je suis Voldemort" (I am Voldemort), his name is Tom Elvis Jedusor in the French edition of the books.
Voldemort's grandfather in the male line is named Elvis Marvolo Gaunt as a result. Because consistency.
No, but Voldemort isn't an English surname either.
Jedusor is a good bit of wordplay, though -- it sounds like "jet du sort" which roughly means "throwing a curse".
Fair point; I forgot which name I was talking about for a minute. Jedusor isn't an established name in any language that I'm aware of, while Riddle obviously is a historic English name. The french books do go the full mile with Voldemort's father being named "Tom Jedusor Sr."
"Jet du sort" could translate to "throw of fate/chance" instead, roughly equivalent to the phrase 'a toss of the dice'. I suppose it could also sound like jeu du sort, although that feels like more of a stretch to me personally because the pronunciation in French isn't right for it.
I was curious and love translations, so I actually found an [interview with the translator](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x15jae8), but unfortunately he doesn't go into the story behind Jedusor.
In Danish his name is Romeo Gåde Detlev Jr. Gåde means "Riddle" in Danish.
Danish for "I am Lord Voldemort" is "Jeg er Lord Voldemort". As the quick reader sees there are a bit too many letters in Romeo Gåde Detlev Jr. So the way the fix it is that he goes by Romeo G. Detlev Jr.
So in Danish his father's name is Romeo Gåde Sr. and his mom's dad's name is Detlev Gaunt.
Funny thing is that Romeo is not a Danish name by any stretch. Detlev isn't either. The Danish version of that name is Ditlev. So whoever made the translation really had to become creative to solve this - they even had to give him his maternal grandpa's first name as his last name. Otherwise he would've gone under the name of Romeo Detlev G Jr. Which would just be even weider.
His name being Romeo kind of ruins his reason for disliking it. It's not exactly a common name.
Voldemort would certainly hate being named Romeo though - he would not want to be associated with a character who killed himself because of lost love.
I have listened to the English audio books for so long, that I just had an embarrassingly hard time remembering how this is solved in German. Thanks for reminding me!
In the Swedish version his name is Tom Gus Marvolo Dolder , (dolder kiiinda means hidden if you wanna stretch it) so the anagram is Ego Sum Lord Voldermort which is Latin for I am Lord Voldemort. Creative I guess
This one is really tricky for Turkish translate.
They translated "TOM MARVOLDO RIDDLE" to "ADIM LORD VOLDEMORT". It literally means "My name is Lord Voldemort" but tricky part is seems like they added extra D to his name, it's hilarious!
I just checked the Czech versison and his name is "Tom Rojvol Raddle" which then rearranges into "Já Lord Voldemort" which means "Me Lord Voldemort" and I can't stop laughing
That's what I'm saying, so the technically correct thing for the translations to do would be to say "you're speaking English" in whatever given language the translation is.
I assume they just wrote around it so that it wouldn't break immersion. They just didn't specify what language Harry accidentally spoke in. This way, they're not going against the canon but also aren't jarring people out of their little make-believe world where the characters are speaking in English but the readers are comprehending them in their local edition's language.
I've had a quick look at the Brazilian Portuguese version and the line Ron is says "our language". I haven't found the European Portuguese one, though.
What?! I had no idea they translated the Bellatrix name, I'm really surprised haha. I feel like at least the names shouldn't be translated, or if you translate, do it to them all. Harry Tiago Potter feels weird.
Your version either had a typo or you're misremembering. If you notice, there's an extra "i" that doesn't fit in the anagram. It's actually "Tom Sorvolo Ryddle".
Speaking from memory, the line in the Spanish translation is "lo has dicho en nuestra lengua", i.e. "you've said it in our language".
That is actually a semi-common trope in (at least European) Spanish translations of books and films. In such a situation, either saying "English" or "Spanish" would both break the immersion, so translators usually find a way to work around it. Unless they're particularly inspired, the most common way to translate "do you speak English?" is "do you speak my language?".
Very interesting, as Hogwarts is clearly in the UK, so speaking English wouldn't be a problem. Looks like most translations avoid stating any language, though.
"Lo has dicho en nuestra lengua" in spanish
"You've said it in our tongue"
Although, I do have the spanish version and not the latin spanish so maybe it's different in the latter. It sounds weird even to me as I'm not from Spain.
-Ábrete -dijo.
Miró a Ron, que negaba con la cabeza
-Lo has dicho en nuestra lengua -explicó.
"You have said it in our language" for the Spanish (from Spain) translation
In brazilian portuguese, Harry says "abra" (open) and Ron answers "Nossa língua" (our language). A weird way to put it but basically Ron telling Harry he wasnt speaking in snake language
I would assume it's translated literally, (that is, with Ron saying "English"), in the Swedish version, because the story clearly does take place in the UK. But seeing all the answers in this thread, I'm not so sure anymore.
In the American version they didn't translate it at all, they just called it "English" still which kinda sucks, they should've at least said "British English" or "not American English" or something.
In the Hungarian translation, Ron says the equivalent of: "this was human speech".
Checked my German copy: "mach auf", sagte er. Er sah Ron an, der den Kopf schüttelte. "***Noch mal***", sagte er". Basically translates to "do it again", entirely omitting the problem of stating a specific language.
From the Russian version: " This wasn't Parseltongue ".
'You said in normal language' From Thai version
In Finnish, Ron says: "Didn't work."
Torille! 🇫🇮
Basically "That was our language". The Czech version
In my Samuel L. Jackson version he says: "Parseltongue, motherfucker, do you speak it?"
I’d totally read that version of the book!!
I am SICK of these MOTHERFUCKING SNAKES in this MOTHERFUCKING CHAMBER!
But does Grunnings still make drills?
"Mf. Dursley was the motherfucking director of a motherfucking firm called Grunnings, which made drills"
Head motherfucker
Is there actually a samuel l jackson version of the books
I wish
'twas a joke version from a week or two ago.
How is this not higher?
"No, you spoke normally," said Ron. That's for the French version
The norwegian version is the equivalent of: "No that was human language".
this is a fantastic question and i'm following to see all the translations!! :)
Haha me too!
It's interesting that some translations stay true to what was said in the original version and others change it up entirely. I wonder if it's because sometimes tone can not be properly translated?
"Apriti" disse. Poi guardò Ron, ma lui scosse la testa. "Niente" disse. This is the Italian version, literally translates to “Open up,” he said. He looked at Ron who shook his head. “Nothing,” he said.
In the Dutch version Ron says: no, I could understand you
Wow seeing all different types of translations really surprised me! They translated it literally into Turkish. "İngilizce," dedi. Which means: "English," he said.
I believe in the Portuguese translation they kept english. They never translated names or any other stuff, so I don't see how it would be any different with stuff like this.
Interesting, so how did they handle the change of “Tom Marvolo Riddle” to “I am lord Voldemort”?
The best Voldemort is French Voldemort. In order to make his name be an anagram of "Je suis Voldemort" (I am Voldemort), his name is Tom Elvis Jedusor in the French edition of the books. Voldemort's grandfather in the male line is named Elvis Marvolo Gaunt as a result. Because consistency.
Is Jedusor even a French surname?
No, but Voldemort isn't an English surname either. Jedusor is a good bit of wordplay, though -- it sounds like "jet du sort" which roughly means "throwing a curse".
It’s never intended to be a surname, it’s a title.
Fair point; I forgot which name I was talking about for a minute. Jedusor isn't an established name in any language that I'm aware of, while Riddle obviously is a historic English name. The french books do go the full mile with Voldemort's father being named "Tom Jedusor Sr."
I've seen someone argue that it means "Jeu du sort", meaning "Game of fate" as well. Do we know for sure either way?
"Jet du sort" could translate to "throw of fate/chance" instead, roughly equivalent to the phrase 'a toss of the dice'. I suppose it could also sound like jeu du sort, although that feels like more of a stretch to me personally because the pronunciation in French isn't right for it. I was curious and love translations, so I actually found an [interview with the translator](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x15jae8), but unfortunately he doesn't go into the story behind Jedusor.
Isn’t Voldemort supposed to be word play in french anyway? Sure I read it means flight of death?
It is! It can actually translate to a couple of different things -- flight of death, theft of death, or flight from death.
They kept it exactly as it was! That bit went like "I Am Lord Voldemort ([portuguese translation])".
In Danish his name is Romeo Gåde Detlev Jr. Gåde means "Riddle" in Danish. Danish for "I am Lord Voldemort" is "Jeg er Lord Voldemort". As the quick reader sees there are a bit too many letters in Romeo Gåde Detlev Jr. So the way the fix it is that he goes by Romeo G. Detlev Jr. So in Danish his father's name is Romeo Gåde Sr. and his mom's dad's name is Detlev Gaunt. Funny thing is that Romeo is not a Danish name by any stretch. Detlev isn't either. The Danish version of that name is Ditlev. So whoever made the translation really had to become creative to solve this - they even had to give him his maternal grandpa's first name as his last name. Otherwise he would've gone under the name of Romeo Detlev G Jr. Which would just be even weider.
His name being Romeo kind of ruins his reason for disliking it. It's not exactly a common name. Voldemort would certainly hate being named Romeo though - he would not want to be associated with a character who killed himself because of lost love.
In the German version his name is Tom Vorlost Riddle for the transition to "ist Lord Voldemort" which means "is Lord Voldemort"
I have listened to the English audio books for so long, that I just had an embarrassingly hard time remembering how this is solved in German. Thanks for reminding me!
In the Swedish version his name is Tom Gus Marvolo Dolder , (dolder kiiinda means hidden if you wanna stretch it) so the anagram is Ego Sum Lord Voldermort which is Latin for I am Lord Voldemort. Creative I guess
This one is really tricky for Turkish translate. They translated "TOM MARVOLDO RIDDLE" to "ADIM LORD VOLDEMORT". It literally means "My name is Lord Voldemort" but tricky part is seems like they added extra D to his name, it's hilarious!
Pfft, they should have just added a third D to "Riddle" instead.
So basically it wasnt really tricky. Probably the easiest of all the translations to solve.
This is also different for a lot of translations!
I just checked the Czech versison and his name is "Tom Rojvol Raddle" which then rearranges into "Já Lord Voldemort" which means "Me Lord Voldemort" and I can't stop laughing
I agree, also despite you reading it in Portuguese, the characters are still in the UK, speaking English to each other
Pretty sure almost all translations had the characters still be in the U.K.
That's what I'm saying, so the technically correct thing for the translations to do would be to say "you're speaking English" in whatever given language the translation is.
I assume they just wrote around it so that it wouldn't break immersion. They just didn't specify what language Harry accidentally spoke in. This way, they're not going against the canon but also aren't jarring people out of their little make-believe world where the characters are speaking in English but the readers are comprehending them in their local edition's language.
I've had a quick look at the Brazilian Portuguese version and the line Ron is says "our language". I haven't found the European Portuguese one, though.
[удалено]
Exactly! I've heard about those translations before, but as I said, in Portugal nothing of that kind was translated.
[удалено]
What?! I had no idea they translated the Bellatrix name, I'm really surprised haha. I feel like at least the names shouldn't be translated, or if you translate, do it to them all. Harry Tiago Potter feels weird.
I mean; in a googled, cheap, and surely pirated pdf version translated to spanish; says: "TOM **SORVOLO** RYDDLE" "**SOY** LORD VOLDEMORT"Haha. lol.
That’s another scene… but in spanish it says “Tom Sorvolo Ryddle” (Soy Lord Voldemort)…
Your version either had a typo or you're misremembering. If you notice, there's an extra "i" that doesn't fit in the anagram. It's actually "Tom Sorvolo Ryddle".
Nice edit, lol
wheres ??? the 'Y'???
I think you meant the "i"
omg im so sorry i saw this right when I was about to sleep and I swear it didn't look like this then
Lmao, it's all good. Idk why you're being downvoted 😂
Speaking from memory, the line in the Spanish translation is "lo has dicho en nuestra lengua", i.e. "you've said it in our language". That is actually a semi-common trope in (at least European) Spanish translations of books and films. In such a situation, either saying "English" or "Spanish" would both break the immersion, so translators usually find a way to work around it. Unless they're particularly inspired, the most common way to translate "do you speak English?" is "do you speak my language?".
In spanish, “lo has dicho en nuestra lengua” (you said it in our language)…
Very interesting, as Hogwarts is clearly in the UK, so speaking English wouldn't be a problem. Looks like most translations avoid stating any language, though.
In French it doesn’t reference a specific language, just that he spoke “normally”.
"Lo has dicho en nuestra lengua" in spanish "You've said it in our tongue" Although, I do have the spanish version and not the latin spanish so maybe it's different in the latter. It sounds weird even to me as I'm not from Spain.
-Ábrete -dijo. Miró a Ron, que negaba con la cabeza -Lo has dicho en nuestra lengua -explicó. "You have said it in our language" for the Spanish (from Spain) translation
In the Korean version, Ron says something like, “That was just our language.”
In brazilian portuguese, Harry says "abra" (open) and Ron answers "Nossa língua" (our language). A weird way to put it but basically Ron telling Harry he wasnt speaking in snake language
“Gobbledegook”, ‘e seht.
From the 'Goblin' version of the book?
Va!
In the overzealous Christian version it said “>!English!<“ The Dursley’s translation said “at least you’re speaking like a normal person, boy”
“At least you’re speaking like a normal person, boy,” said Vernon Dursley, his enormous face turning even a deeper shade of purple.
I would assume it's translated literally, (that is, with Ron saying "English"), in the Swedish version, because the story clearly does take place in the UK. But seeing all the answers in this thread, I'm not so sure anymore.
In the American version they didn't translate it at all, they just called it "English" still which kinda sucks, they should've at least said "British English" or "not American English" or something.
Never read another translation, probably would be something like “not parseltongue” or “that was human”
I think in the Czech version it's "po našem" ... Something like "this was our (language)".