Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Harry Potter in German, not Czech

Posted by jamie on from the foreign-key dept.

The official translation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix into German is scheduled to hit shelves on November 8. But at the Harry auf deutsch site (here's Google's English), a community has sprung up to perform a distributed translation. Every volunteer works on five pages, with the aid of a Potter-specific dictionary, and after turning in a German version, works on the prose to ensure it reads smoothly. In an unrelated effort, some schoolboys who did a Czech translation and posted it to a private website have been sued by Albatros, the Czech publishing house who will have the official translation out in February. Looks like Harry is crushing more than the Hulk.

Oh, and please don't post spoilers, it's still too early :)

11 of 304 comments (clear)

  1. Whats the bet... by BluRBD!E · · Score: 5, Funny

    That the story is...er...altered to some degree by that fanbase translation? "Ouch stoßen mich nicht dort! Meine Esel bereits Hurts!" besagtes Harry. "OH- Harry kannte ich Sie immer war ein GANZ spezieller Junge!" geächzter Professor Dumbledore. "Hey geben das Weibchen mir etwas von diesem voldemort liebend!" squeeked Professor Flitwick. ;) Never trust the fans!

    1. Re:Whats the bet... by aziraphale · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Of course, your somewhat bizarre German aside (the occasional english word in there makes me think you might have used BabelFish to generate this text), you're actually providing the best argument against the (thankfully relatively few) slashdotters on this thread who think that there's nothing wrong with a community-led translation of a book. It is possible for somebody, in translating a book, to add or change material substantially. In distributing their translation of the Harry Potter book, this group would be claiming that their translation was a faithful reproduction of J.K. Rowling's original work - but if they had added or altered material in the process (even to the extent of adding pornographic material, as you so amusingly suggest...), they could be doing Ms Rowling something of a disservice in the eyes of Germans who read that translation.

      This is why copyright protects an author's right over derivative works, including translations - it should be up to the author/publisher to select who is allowed to make the official translation, giving them some means to control what is put out in the author's name in other languages.

  2. Sounds quite vulger to me... by Wacky_Wookie · · Score: 5, Funny

    I mean a Hairy Artist who works in clay sure don't sound like a childrens story to me.

    At least he uses open source web browsers...

  3. Censorship???!!?? by Dot.Com.CEO · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Could jamie please explain why this is censorship? What the hell gives you the right to translate a book (for which the local editor has paid a pretty high price) and distributing it without caring for royalties and profit loss for all parties involved? Is anyone by any chance prohibiting these fine Czech and German people from buying the book in English and reading it at their leisure? Or has the state censored the book to remove parts of the it?

    Write your own book, make it freeware and be happy. Harry Potter is not freeware, it is protected by copyright laws and international contracts for localisation / translation. It is, in the least, stupid, to be advocating what is, indeed, piracy.

    --
    Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
    1. Re:Censorship???!!?? by Surak · · Score: 5, Informative

      A translation is a derivative work under U.S. Copyright law and International treaties such as the Berne Convention.

      The only way you can translate a work legally if you pay the original author for permission. You own the copyright on the translation (unless otherwise agreed to in the contract for the translation), but generally most contracts stipulate that you still have to pay the original author royalties on copies of the translation you sell, since the author still has copyright on the original, and the only thing that gave you the right to do the translation was to sign the contract.

      Make sense?

      --
      My journal has hot /. gossip.
  4. Karma whoring (Re:Whats the bet...) by BabyDave · · Score: 5, Funny

    Babelfish translation:

    Ouch do not push me there! My donkeys already Hurts!" mentioned Harry. "Oh Harry I could do you was always a WHOLE special boy!" geaechzter professor Dumbledore. "Hey give me the female somewhat from this volume that place loving!" squeeked professor Flitwick
    1. Re:Karma whoring (Re:Whats the bet...) by BluRBD!E · · Score: 5, Funny

      That's really disturbing...considering I used babelfish to create the german text in the first place...

  5. Re:Good business/Bad business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    suing your fanbase isn't the smartest or most polite thing to do

    Neither is stealing from your favorite author.

  6. Could someone translate the webpage? by Ben+Jackson · · Score: 5, Funny

    I don't speak navy-blue text on grainy, dark background image.

  7. Good way to short-circuit the delay, BUT..... by archbish99 · · Score: 5, Informative
    I'm told we'll have the French edition in a couple months -- supposedly, the translator can translate a maximum of 10 pages per day. So if everyone is putting in a total of a half-day's work, they'll certainly manage to finish a lot faster.

    They might be missing something, though -- in French, at least, they don't do a straight translation. Rowling makes so many word-plays that a word-for-word translation wouldn't be nearly as enjoyable. The French translator is allowed the liberty of rearranging the games to work out properly in French. My absolute favorite is the Sorting Hat, translated to Le Choixpeau (sounds like "the hat," but words mean "choose-skin."). Also, Tom Riddle became Tom Elvis Jedusor, where Jedusor looks like "game of chance" or "game of spells" and the full name rearranges to Je Suis Voldemort. The houses of Poudlard become Gryffondor, Serpentard, Serdaigle, et Poufsouffle. In the collective translation, I'm sure we'll see some creative input on the word-plays -- but can they be consistent? I somewhat doubt it.

    One thing the translators may be seeking to avoid is the over-(ab)use of this translator's power. A friend who had read the English version first threw her copy of Coupe de Feu across the room after one chapter toward the end. The translator had "corrected" something that Mme. Rowling wrote and reportedly has said in interviews that she wrote it intentionally. One surmises the twist may play a role in future books, though it hasn't thus far in Order of the Phoenix.

  8. Czech publisher's statement by dougiegyro · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Czech publisher Albatros posted the following comment on its website (http://www.albatros.cz/article.php?sid=528) and I've taken the liberty to translate it, and hope I won't get dinged as well: > Before you run amok and start cursing Albatros please read this! First of all: It would have been enough if the translators informed us of their intent, and we would have come to an agreement similar to that reached between Harry Potter's German publishers and its "unofficial translators." They were smarter and more fair, and went directly to the publisher first. In our opinion, Harry Potter can, in our opinion, exist in unofficial translations on the web, but of course Albatros is bound by a contract with Mrs. Rowling and cannot support such activities - even if it wanted to. We must act according to the law and report the theft of copyright that occurred. These (web) pages (with the translation) were not redirected by Albatros, but out of incomprehensible revenge on the authors of the illegal translation. We are sorry that they did not have the courage to contact us, and we continue to refuse to pursue the case. If readers would rather look forward to the illegal translation instead of the book, we will respect their decision. Further complaints can be addressed directly to Mrs. Rowling. This entire misunderstanding occurred thanks to her. Albatros