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Post by RogueNya on Jun 24, 2012 19:34:23 GMT -5
Well as has been being talked about in a few threads here past few days I decided to start a thread on the subject. About the most obvious that I have seen is the title of the first book. Philosopher's stone vs Sorcerer's Stone Personally I like the UK version of the stones name. Other minor words that alter by region as posted on Wikipedia. | UK | American | | mum, mam | mom | | sherbet lemon | lemon drop | | motorbike | motorcycle | | chips | fries | | crisp | chip | | jelly | Jell-O | | jacket potato | baked potato | | jumper | sweater |
So beyond that what else is different with the two versions of the series? |
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Post by Dimcairien on Jun 24, 2012 20:04:50 GMT -5
In general, I like the idea of the English UK version better simply because that's how the books were written. I personally find it offensive that the HP books were changed in America. Come on, do people change Tolkien or Austin's works in America? No, so why'd the change Rowling's? Americans aren't idiots and they should be able to understand British terminology.
I think the only other differences are spelling and a few phrases, nothing essential to the story.
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Post by RogueNya on Jun 24, 2012 20:12:07 GMT -5
It is a bit disappointing how they changed things here in the States, I would not have minded the UK version being sold here given that is where the story is based.
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Post by rikustark on Jun 24, 2012 20:38:48 GMT -5
I live in the U.S, and I think it's a shame they changed things.
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Post by viralic1 on Jun 24, 2012 20:54:19 GMT -5
I never notice the difference, because I've been reading British stories for years. I barely even notice anymore, I just automatically translate it while I'm reading. The only time I don't understand a term is when they use British Slang, but it still doesn't bug me.
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Post by RogueNya on Jun 24, 2012 20:56:48 GMT -5
It would have given the US children a chance to learn the language of the UK, as while yes it was/is English there are different tones to it then we have here, I would have loved to learn more British Volcab.
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Post by sailorsea on Jun 24, 2012 20:56:58 GMT -5
I do like the UK version better even though I live in the States to, I think that maybe they changed some of the words because originally the first book was meant for younger kids so maybe they were worried that the younger kids would have had a harder time reading them...? I do notic that they don't take out the english curse words at least. I think that especially after seeing the movies with British actors you just get really accustomed to seeing everything with the english UK style
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Post by RogueNya on Jun 24, 2012 21:56:25 GMT -5
I did a bit of looking and the first book had less pages in the UK version then in the US version, by almost 100 pages.
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Post by lucyolsen on Jun 24, 2012 22:03:58 GMT -5
That's not due to any sort of editing, though. The UK books have smaller pages or larger print or something.
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Post by RogueNya on Jun 24, 2012 22:08:17 GMT -5
Really? Hmmmm that was one thing that has always drove me batty was the length of the books compared to each other.
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Post by readingwizard4 on Jun 24, 2012 22:09:33 GMT -5
I'm pretty positive that the UK versions don't have chapter art at the start of each chapter. The US versions do. I'd imagine that the print was the same between each version.
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Post by Kitty279 on Jun 25, 2012 3:13:11 GMT -5
The HPL has a list of changes between the US and UK editions; here's the link: www.hp-lexicon.org/index/index-books.htmlThere's one for each book, look at the links at the beginning of the books under "Differences between the British and American versions". (Can't find one for all the books in one page right now) |
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Post by TeamSirius on Jun 25, 2012 3:32:45 GMT -5
Maybe I'm biased because I'm British, but I think the UK version is the better one because it's the original and how they were meant to be. Lets face it, if it were an American cast, it wouldn't be the same. I read the American one when I was on holiday and again when I was looking for it online and there's loads of words that have been changed. In the VG chapter of PS, Petunia says her friend is in Majorca on vacation in the American book, but in Britain we say holiday. I don't understand why Americans needed to change the English language really; the object/item/whatever stays the same, so why doesn't the word, you know :p
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Post by eskimoRock on Jun 25, 2012 4:28:58 GMT -5
It kind of annoys me because here in England we read plenty of books from America, but the words aren't changed so we can understand it, do they? They change stupid words, like Dudley says "Shan't" in one version and "Won't" in the other. To be honest, I think Americans are quite capable of understanding what a sherbert lemon is without them changing the name,
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Post by Kitty279 on Jun 25, 2012 4:58:25 GMT -5
Never made sense to me, either. English isn't my first language and I have grown up with British English in school, but I still understand both versions. Often enough I don't even know for sure which English a word belongs to, because I pick up new words while reading all the time, and online I don't necessarily know who is from where.
Aside of the words that really change - why is it necessary to change colour to color? It should be clear enough!
As George Bernard Shaw once said: England and America are two countries separated by a common language!
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Post by dracosfairmaiden on Jun 25, 2012 7:37:37 GMT -5
I live in the States, but I still wish it kept the English UK. It's cool seeing the differences like vacation vs holiday. When I saw biscuit in COS, it took me a while to realize she meant cookie. I wish it kept other UK words in there.
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Post by Serena R. Snape on Jun 25, 2012 13:48:27 GMT -5
I also prefer the UK version. Probably because I love british english and accent and I also prefer the original language it was written in - I can learn more british phrases and words that way. XD
The american books have both chapter art, bigger font, different fonts for letters, different format for letters, and so on. UK versions have none of that, so it's no wonder they're shorter. And the books themselves are smaller than the american version, as far as I know.
I have all 7 UK books at home, plus the american Half Blood Prince, the french Prisoner of Azkaban, all 7 books in my native language, and 4 books in German XD I'm a collector, what can I say.
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Post by Kitty279 on Jun 25, 2012 13:53:14 GMT -5
Oh, do you understand German? Got only the UK version and the first 4 in German before I lost patience with the translation. When it comes to multiple editions, it's Tolkien who has the honour  |
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Post by 19811945 on Jun 25, 2012 14:21:08 GMT -5
Even though the story I use on this site is American English, I am actually English English, so over time I actually got used to reading and listening to American words. I've got all seven English versions of HP books, and when I first got them, it usually took me about a day to a day and half to read the entire book, and this is someone who has dyslexia and dyspraxia. |
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Post by Dimcairien on Jun 25, 2012 14:33:33 GMT -5
What I'd like to do is get a copy of HP in the language of the countries that I go to.my ultimate goal would be to have each HP book in a different language.
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Post by 19811945 on Jun 25, 2012 14:35:16 GMT -5
I wouldn't have the patience to even try to read the HP books in another language. I just wished that I had the patience to learn another language, and possibly at a much earlier age to learn another language.
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Post by Kitty279 on Jun 25, 2012 14:38:22 GMT -5
That could end up a room full of books if you are travelling enough. According to Wikipedia, it's been translated into 67 languages |
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Post by Serena R. Snape on Jun 25, 2012 15:02:56 GMT -5
I can speak native Slovenian, almost native British English (I've been reading and talking and listening to British English since I was was 2 years old - so about 24 years now), conversational German and Serbocroatian, basic French, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, and I can understand a few words here and there in Korean and Chinese.  |
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Post by reedygirl on Jun 25, 2012 15:05:04 GMT -5
I prefer the English version to the american. Mainly because i am English and I don't see the need to change certain words.
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Post by Kitty279 on Jun 25, 2012 15:07:09 GMT -5
WOW! I am really impressed! That's a lot of languages! Now my English and the few words in other languages I picked up seem so pathetic.
Your country has the biggest connected wooded area I have ever seen, btw.
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Post by Serena R. Snape on Jun 25, 2012 15:08:59 GMT -5
I love my country. Though I do dream of living in UK once. This might sound strange to you, but when I went to London on a trip once,....... it felt like I came home after a very long time. I started crying when I stepped on British soil in Dover (we took a ferry from Calais). |
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Post by RogueNya on Jun 25, 2012 15:10:37 GMT -5
I wonder what it would be like to read it in French and Japanese...
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Post by Serena R. Snape on Jun 25, 2012 15:13:18 GMT -5
I've read it in Spanish, English, Slovenian, French and German already. I hope to read it in Latin and ancient Greek someday. XD |
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Post by Kitty279 on Jun 25, 2012 15:15:09 GMT -5
That may happen when you really wants to see a country and have read a lot about it, I guess. You know enough for it to feel familiar. Oh, been on that ferry the last two years, too Only we went to South England and Cornwall. |
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Post by Kitty279 on Jun 25, 2012 15:16:14 GMT -5
I wonder what it would be like to read it in French and Japanese... Depends on the quality of the translation  |
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