Philippines finally unlocks secret of Harry Potter
This year has proven a magical one for JK Rowling's phenomenal Harry Potter series of books. Fans worldwide celebrated the 15th anniversary of the first publication of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", known here and in the US as "Harry Potter a
Since 1998, there have been seven million-selling, industry-saving novels, eight box-office beguiling motion picture adaptations, much magical merchandise and even a theme park in Orlando, Florida, where visitors can play Quidditch and sup butterbeer.
Earlier this month, movie studio Warner Bros announced that one of Rowling’s complementary volumes, 2001’s “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” – ostensibly a book by Newt Scamander that exists within the universe of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – will be made into the first of a new series of films, with Rowling herself providing the screenplay.
Now Filipinos have another Potter-related milestone to commemorate. “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” has been translated into Filipino. Published by Lampara Publishing House, and translated by Becky Bravo, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: The Filipino Edition” was released on September 14 at the Manila International Bookfair (MIBF).
Even though many Filipinos have already bought and read the Harry Potter books in English, Lampara believes there’s an audience for the Filipino translations. “I think there are many who want to read this in Filipino. It’s easier to understand in our own language,” Segundo Matias Jr, president of Lampara’s parent company Precious Pages Corp, said.
For the Hagrid-sized task of translating the novel, Matias chose children’s story writer Bravo, a past winner of the National Children’s Book Award.
Bravo said that she assumed Matias was joking when he approached her for the project. “It was a terrifying prospect to be asked to translate one of the most popular books in the world,” she said. “It wasn’t just any book, it was Harry Potter and you absolutely cannot mess it up.”
Bravo said she kept it in her mind not to change the tone of Rowling’s original text. “If Rowling could write in Filipino, how would she translate her own words in ‘Sorcerer’s Stone’,” she said to herself. She insisted “the names of the characters, names of the spells and quite a number of English terms used in the original had to be retained”. They kept words like “witch” and “wizard”.
It took Bravo almost four months to finish translating “Sorcerer’s Stone,” from March 16 to July 10. Matias is pleased with the result. “It’s easy to read, with no pretensions. Becky’s translation is straightforward”.
