Hallowed Potter and the English language
The launch of JK Rowling’s final instalment of the Harry Potter series of books, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, took place at one minute past midnight on 21 July in 93 countries around the world. The claim that this is the most pre-ordered book in history will surely be just one more record to add to those of print-run volumes and worldwide sales.
Setting aside the global Potter phenomenon in terms of juvenile literature, it is the English-language aspect of the popularity that is quite staggering – given that a high number of the countries contributing to sales are non-English-speaking. There are, of course, several reasons for the demand for the English-language copies, the pre-publication secrecy behind each book’s plot being the most significant. Official translation cannot commence until the launch of each title to the general public takes place. Several months will elapse before the translations into various languages will appear, depending on the translator or teams of translators working on the book and the book’s length. The fervent fan is not prepared to wait any length of time and would rather lay his hands on an ‘original’ – irrespective of how much of it he truly comprehends.
However, the fact that the books are initially only available in English is not the sole reason for their overall success in foreign territories. Some readers want to read or attempt to read the books in English in order to experience the essence of the author’s story-telling and the authenticity of the language. Given that they are quintessentially British books in terms of culture and vernacular, and also contain many invented words for people, places and things, it is not surprising that readers either believe that the foreign-language translations (however successful they are) cannot live up to the original, or else are curious, having read the translation, to read the original to discover the origins of the translator’s vocabulary/style choices.
Some readers will buy the original English versions of the books and use them as an English-language learning tool, either in conjunction with a bilingual dictionary or in tandem with a translated version of the book.
The previous instalment, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, was the first ever English-language book to top the French bestseller lists upon its release in 2003. Similarly, the sixth book became the first English-language book ever to make it into the German bestseller list.
Some translated versions of the books have, however, bucked the trend. Sales of Harry Potter translations from English into most Indian languages have been unprecedented. But oddly enough in Bengali, which boasts of a huge canon of children's literature, Harry Potter sales have not wooed the public.
Potter fans were counting down the minutes in Japan to obtain English versions of the new book. The Japanese translation will be published at a later date, yet to be announced. Despite their popularity in English, sales of the books in translation have been diminishing. The Japanese publishers have noted that the number of prints has decreased each time since the first instalment, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which hit 5.06 million copies. Publishing houses and marketing do, of course, have a large part to play in the popularity of translated versions.
The final reason for the popularity of the original English-language versions of the Harry Potter books in foreign countries could be that, since they are works of children’s literature, their audience of today’s well-educated youth, whose language skills are honed on English-language TV, cinema and music (as well as by schooling), are more than capable of reading them in English – this argument falters somewhat when you see that many Potter fans are not, in fact, children!