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I see “Morte” for death…I’m not sure what the rest of it means. Anyone know a literal translation? :D

using a translator i get: “Harry Potter and the Gifts of the Dead women”

dorphelousman: “using a translator i get: “Harry Potter and the Gifts of the Dead women””

Hahahahahahahahaha, don’t you just love those literal translators?

I got “Harry Potter and the Gifts of the Death”...exactly what translator were you using? ^_

I’m italian and the exact translation is “Harry Potter and the Gifts of Death”. Close to the original title but not the same. However according to Salani’s site the book will be on book stores on January 5, not 8 !

Hi there I’m italian too…I’m not that satisfied about the title, i had suggested salani another one but they preferred theirs…anyway I’m sure the whole translation will be fantastic like it has always been.. Bye

Guys, you probably missed the fact that StarKnight is Italian (as myself): I don’t think he used any translator but his own head. And I agree: the translation is “Harry Potter and the Gifts of Death”. Of course it manages to spoil most of the book in a mere line (after all we didn’t know what the Deathly Hallows were before reading the book), but it’s slightly better than what everyone was calling the book: “relics of death”. I know that J.K. gave that meaning to help translators get the title right, but “relic” in Italian is closely reminiscent of religious or otherwise saintly objects and was, in my opinion, very wrong for “hallows”. I am mildly satisfied. Anyway I’m sure the whole translation will be cheap like it has always been (as compared to the original).

oops… sorry about that… I thought msgs went up-down instead of down-up and that StarKnight had commented before the rest.

I’m Italian and I must say I am very pleased with the translated titled, I feared it would be something like “relicts”, too. The site says the title has even been approved by Jo.

Hmmm… I’m italian, and I’m not completely satisfied with the title… well actually I’m not satisified with any of the italian versions of Harry Potter: I’m an english teacher and I am also a translator, and I can tell you that there are HUGE mistakes in the italian versions, and they are so gross and stupid that sometimes I think the translator doesn’t know English properly…

I’m italian too and even if I do not agree with Rose and her hard judjment on the abilities of italian translators (I adore the word BABBANI, for MUGGLES)I must say I’m not satisfied with the title, simply because it is a hard spoiler. I’m sure they could have come up with something better and proper …

The gifts of death definitely spoils the whole mystery about Deathly Hallows title but our Italian readers need not worry about it as it will not spoil the story in any way. Besides it got Jo’s approval.

Yeah..it gives a spoiler!Anyway after reading the book I thought a nice translation could have been “HP and the talismans of death” since it respected the story and the sacrality of the world “hallow” without spoiling the whole book but salani had already found its title!!! Argh

Sorry..i meant word…not world!

For Nicoletta: there are some really witty translations and inventions in the italian versions but there are also major mistakes, either in grammar or in sense… so even if some things are pretty good, I look at the whole translations as a teacher and technically speaking many things could have been far better.

I agree with you Rose, a lot of things could have been better. Sometimes I have the feeling that the Italian editor doesn’t put enough attention to details, as if they were just kids’ books with little importance. But we also have to consider the fact that the whole saga is extremely complex and some things couldn’t be worked out properly before further details were given in the next books. Personally, I stopped reading the Italian versions long ago, but it’s frustrating to think how much the readers who can’t read in English are missing out. Still this is a problem every foreign book has (not only Harry Potter), in every language they get translated.

That said, I repeat I’m pleased with the title—OK, it spoils a bit, but not that much really. “The Gifts of Deaths” sounds creepy enough, still it doesn’t hint at any religious or sacred meanings, which any other translation of “Hallows” would have erroneously had.

If none of you had read DH before, would you really be spoiled by this title? I would have interpreted as an ominous title (giving you the “gift of death” sounds more like you’re getting killed than Death giving you a present). Plus it’s plural, and once you start reading the book and the first casualty goes pretty early on, you’d think the title is well deserved.

I speak spanish and I understood everything in that textbox due to the similarity of the languages, except for ‘doni’ which was the key word to understand. Maybe death giving you gifts is the first thing that pops to mind when pronounced in italian. Some italians here should ask friends who haven’t read the book what they understand from the title the first time they hear it.

I wouldn’t be surprised if in spanish we end up with ‘HP y las reliquias de la muerte’. Reliquia means ‘relic’ but it has more to do with an old, ancient, even historical thing than with religion.

el caz (nice name!) you got the point: in Italian “Doni” sounds more like “presents” than “gifts”... so in my head the title sounds just like Harry Potter and the Presents of Death and I figure to myself this awkward scene with a merry Death carrying a bagful of presents à la Santa Claus…

Well, El Caz, “relics” actually means “something which has been left after the death of a Saint or of a hero” according to the Italian dictionary. I read the (wonderful) book this summer and I started my own translation as one of my language student’s excercises. I used the word “Doni” (gifts) from the beginning, as I thougt it was far more faithful to the story than “reliquie” (relics)... I think it makes more sense ;) And, of course, I think “talisman” would have been even better (good job laugranger ;))

I don’t know… I got ‘dead women’ when I tried the translator, which obviously doesn’t make sense. ‘The gifts of death’ makes more sense, although it definitely gives some away… but I’m sure people are going to agonize over the title anyway… If you think about it, ‘gifts of death’ could be taken as an ominous sign, particularly concerning Harry. But I like the title anyway. I might like it better than ‘Deathly Hallows’, almost…Well, not quite. But it’s my favorite translation so far.