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Spanish Language Translation of "Deathly Hallows" Released

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Posted by: Edward
February 21, 2008, 04:26 PM

The Spanish language translations of the seventh novel in author J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series hit store shelves today in Spain, the United States, and throughout Latin America. As we told you previously, readers would today be able to get their hands on these editions of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” which were translated by Gemma Rovira and illustrated by Dolores Avendaño. Both Rovira and Avendaño have worked on the previous books. The cover art for this edition can be seen right here in our own Image Galleries.

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Comments (40) | Average 3.0 (157 votes) Browse all Recent Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows News
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DeathlyH

Cool. But not as cool as Alan Rickman!

Posted by DeathlyH on February 21, 2008 @ 04:56 PM
kestrel

Good for the Spanish speakers! I wonder why they took so long, though. The German translation came out 4 months ago. I hope, now finaly we won’t need spoiler warnings anymore.

Posted by kestrel on February 21, 2008 @ 05:04 PM
RosieWeasley

That’s cool! I wonder why it takes so long to translate everything? the book has been out for over six months.

Posted by RosieWeasley on February 21, 2008 @ 05:23 PM
Alake

I can answer you; The editorial, Salamandra, is a very tiny unimportant one here, and by chance they got the rights in castillian for the books. The first books are a compleat pain to read for mistranslations and they do better when they take so long. Last books werent bad at all, but i wish they translated again the first four; i could make my boyfriend read them, but like they are right now i dont dare.

Posted by Alake on February 21, 2008 @ 05:35 PM
VanessaPineda

FINALLY! Now I can read the book again but in my language =P WOOT!

Posted by VanessaPineda on February 21, 2008 @ 06:11 PM
Graymayne

What an unattractive cover!

Posted by Graymayne on February 21, 2008 @ 06:19 PM
DeathlyH

Graymayne: How rude! You can’t judge a book by it’s cover…..well….you can, sometimes, anyway…..

Posted by DeathlyH on February 21, 2008 @ 06:32 PM
Isabel

DeathlyH: Believe me, you CAN judge this book by its cover. I’ve already been told by several people some of the translations they made, and UGH. Just… no. I was gonna get it today but in the end decided not to. I can definitely wait a few more days to get the last book and have the complete series in spanish in my bookshelf.

Posted by Isabel on February 21, 2008 @ 06:51 PM
DeathlyH

What were some of the translations, Isabel?

Posted by DeathlyH on February 21, 2008 @ 07:23 PM
BonnieRadcliffe

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!! ^ I was there when they started selling it, and it was so funny!! XD The books were in the fourth floor and had to walk the stairs down to the first floor to pay for the book, and it lookes like a pilgrimage!! XD Everyone with their book!! ^ There were reporters everywhere, he he!! _

I have started reading it (I have read more than a third of the book now) and the translation is really bad, as usual… ¬¬ I could have done it better!! =(

Posted by BonnieRadcliffe on February 21, 2008 @ 07:38 PM
Sat

I own books 4 and 5 in Spanish, but after that I definitely switched to English because that way I won’t miss the puns and all other important details! I saw many, many kids at the store today, waiting for six pm when the book was released. It’s sad, though, that they take so long to translate them. I read the first four in Spanish first, though, and they weren’t that bad. Actually, when I read the fifth it was quite different from the style in the previous ones. Anyway, happy reading, fellow Spanish speakers!

Posted by Sat on February 21, 2008 @ 08:23 PM
Ana Gallardo

The translation is mediocre… really… I am reading the chapter 7 now and is…. horrible!!! they didn’t translate a lot of words like little children are going to understand everything!! and the emotional parts are really boring!! i hate las reliquias de la muerte!... I prefer english version… is so cool!

Posted by Ana Gallardo on February 21, 2008 @ 11:34 PM
Matias Saucedo

Yup, as pathetic as always… wouldn’t bear having just the first 6 books in spanish so I bought it anyway. I think this one is the worst: worst cover, worst translation.

For example:

All was well = “No habia nada de que preocuparse” = There was nothing to worry about (wtf?)

Posted by Matias Saucedo on February 22, 2008 @ 12:01 AM
The Prince

It’s amazing that the Harry Potter books are translated into 65 languages, it truly is. Initially, I read the first four books in Hebrew then switched to English. And that improved my English numerously.

Posted by The Prince on February 22, 2008 @ 03:12 AM
Brenda

MATIAS SAUCEDO: Just curious, how would you have translated it? “Todo estaba bien?”

I ask only because even though I’ve heard a lot of complaints on here about the Spanish translations and I still bought them anyway just to practice reading in Spanish. I spoke Spanish at home but English is my dominant language and my Spanish skills aren’t as quick. Plus I never studied Spanish in school so I’m not very good at spelling and grammar.

Hasta luego.

Posted by Brenda on February 22, 2008 @ 10:42 AM
Flor Gonzalez

I read all the previous books, and I didn’t think they were that bad. I agree they could have done a better job at it, but I really don’t think they are that bad.

I read them in spanish just to keep my spanish reading skill in good shape, since I live in North Carolina and there isn’t many book stores that carry books in spanish unless they are famous, and is really a pain to order books on line, since they take so long to come.

Hasla luego y que disfruten el libro. F

Posted by Flor Gonzalez on February 22, 2008 @ 12:11 PM
Snape's Mistress

Hi Brenda, Yes, “Todo estaba bien” is not only the exact translation, but in this case is also gramatically correct and perfectly acceptable. It’s not a phrase you would use in an academical context, but in the context the books are told is absolutely fine, and though it bears the same meaning as “No habia nada de que preocuparse”, fits better with the situation AND it’s the phrase the author chose.

I understand that translation is not an exact science, there are zillions of words and phrases that cannot be translated literally and sentences that need to be reconstructed entirely because the syntax between two languages can be very different. But when translators decide to change things by themselves it just gets on my nerves. And when a normal gal like me can spot not only “artistic liceses” but factual errors just by skimming through the books in a bookshop, it must for sure be a rubbish job (for those who’ve got OOP both in English and Spanish… Check chapter 21, when Harry tells Ron and Hermione about his kiss with Cho: in the English version Hermione looks exasperated at Harry’s “emotional range of a teaspoon”; in the Spanish version, she looks practically jealous. Shouldn’t the translator avoid boarding a ship? )

With the money Salamandra must have made with HP they could have afforded a better translator.

Posted by Snape's Mistress on February 22, 2008 @ 12:32 PM
Brenda

Very good! Thanks for the feedback. That came in very handy actually. Truly appreciated it Snape’s Mistress (COOL NAME!). =)

Posted by Brenda on February 22, 2008 @ 03:38 PM
DeathlyH

How was Molly Weasley’s line translated? Was her line destroyed? Was there no sign of ‘bitch’?

Posted by DeathlyH on February 22, 2008 @ 05:02 PM
Fer_keeper

I would love to know how they translated that part indeed giggles

Posted by Fer_keeper on February 22, 2008 @ 06:13 PM
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