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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone:
Read about the Project in The Rowling Library
The Book that Lives
Harry Potter was first published in 1997, in English in the United Kingdom. In the twenty years that followed, the world has fallen in love with the boy who lived, so it's not a surprise that translations and adaptations of the book began being published shortly after Philosopher's Stone was published. Of the authorized translations and adaptations of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone there are eighty-nine, with many of the following six books being translated and adapted as well. Alongside these authorized translations, there are many unauthorized as well. Interestingly, some of these authorized translations and adaptations began as unauthorized editions and translations that were once thought to be authorized are found to not have been at all. These languages of Potter not only allow many others throughout the world to experience Potter in their own language, but also give the story a life of its own. Because of these Potter translations and adaptations, more original cover art exists, each one giving its own little spin on this lovable and time-enduring series. And because of these translations and adaptations, many Potterheads around the World have been able to hear Harry speak in their own voice.
The Boy Who Lived
I chose the name from this project from the title of Chapter 1 of the Philosopher's Stone, The Boy Who Lived--the first paragraph of which I have used for this project. I love the idea of language paired with life. To me, to give language to something, or in this case many, allows that thing to live in a new context, and I think this idea applies very well to Harry Potter and its many translations and adaptations, whether official or not. Additionally, I love the idea of this book, originally printed in a print run of 5,650 between soft and hardcovers, from an author who was an unknown selling millions and millions of copies worldwide with both becoming legends in their own time.
Below are native and second-language speakers reading the 1st Paragraph of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in their own language(s).
I hope you enjoy listening Potter come alive from all over the world. I know I most certainly have.
The Authorized Languages of Potter:
Afrikaans, Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Asturian, Azerbaijani, Basque, Bengali, Bosnian, Breton, Bulgarian, Catalan, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, UK English, US English, Estonian, Faroese, Filipino, Finnish, French, West Frisian, Galician, Georgian, German, Low German, Modern Greek, Ancient Greek, Greenlandic (Kalaallisut), Gujarati, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Latin, Latvian, Lithuanian, Luxembourgish, Macedonian, Marathi, Malay, Malayalam, Mongolian, Montenegrin, Nepali, Norwegian, Occitan, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Scots, Serbian, Sinhala, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Tibetan, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Valencian, Vietnamese, Welsh
There are also Braille editions for most of these languages
Braille US English
Are YOU a native or near-native speaker of one of the languages of Potter? If so, would you like like to a part of my project below? If yes, drop me a line through the Contact Me feature here, OR, find me on Instagram @AllThePrettyBooks
Read about the Project on Languagehat.com
Elfdalian
Translated from the Swedish Philosopher's Stone Translation by Inga-Britt Petersson
A VERY Endangered Language in Sweden. Click HERE to Read More About It.
Esperanto
Afrikaans
South Africa
1st Paragraph, Harry Potter en die Towenaar se Steen
Arabic
Middle East Areas
1st Paragraph
Armenian
(Official) Armenian Translation
Armenia
1st Paragraph, Հարրի Փոթերը և Փիլիսոփայական քարը (Harri P’vot’yery yev P’ilisop’ayakan k’ary)
(Unofficial) Armenian Translation
Armenia
հարրի փոթթերը եւ փիլիսոփայական քարը (harri pʿotʿtʿerě ew pʿilisopʿayagan kʿarě)
Asturian
Asturias, Spain
1st Paragraph, Harry Potter y la Piedra Filosofal
Azerbaijani
Azerbaijan
1st Paragraph, Harri Potter və Fəlsəfə Daşı
To learn more about the Azerbaijani translations of Harry Potter, Click Here
Basque
Basque Country, Spain
1st Paragraph, Harry Potter eta Sorgin-Harria
To Read more about Basque, Click Here
Reader: Harrison Tu
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
US English, Braille
Catalan
Bulgarian
Bulgaria
To learn more about the Bulgarian Translations of Harry Potter, Click Here
Catalan
Spain, Andorra, Italy
To Learn More about the Catalan Translations of Harry Potter, Click Here
Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau
哈利波特—神秘的魔法石 (Hā lì bō tè—shénmì de mófǎ shí)
To Learn More about the Traditional Chinese Translations of Harry Potter, Click Here
Simplified Chinese
China
哈利·波特与魔法石 (Hā lì·bō tè yǔ mófǎ shí)
To Learn More about the Simplified Chinese Translations of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Click Here
Croatian
Croatia
1st Paragraph, Harry Potter i Kamen Mudraca
Czech
Czech Republic
1st Paragraph, Harry Potter a Kámen Mudrců
Danish
Denmark, Greenland
1st Paragraph, Harry Potter og De Vises Sten
Dutch
Netherlands, Belgium, Flanders, Suriname
1st Paragraph, Harry Potter en de Steen der Wijzen
English
Canadian English
Canada
1st Paragraph, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
UK English
United Kingdom
US English
United States of America
1st Paragraph, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Faroese
Faroe Islands
To Learn More about the Faroese Translations of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Click Here
Filipino
Philippines
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: The Filipino Edition
1st Paragraph
Finnish
Finland
1st Paragraph, Harry Potter ja Viisasten Kivi
French
France, Canada, Belgium, Monaco, Switzerland, Luxembourg
1st Paragraph, Harry Potter à l'École des Sorciers
West Frisian
Netherlands (Friesland)
Galician (Galego)
Galicia, Spain
Georgian
Georgia
ჰარი პოტერი და ფილოსოფიური ქვა
German
Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Swizterland
1st Paragraph, Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen
Low German
To Learn More about the Low German Translation of Harry Potter, Click Here
Greenlandic
Greenland, Denmark
Click Here To Learn More about Harry Potter in Greenlandic
To learn more about this language Click Here
Or check out My Video
Greek
Ancient Greek
Extinct Language
Modern Greek
Greece
Gujarati
India
Hebrew
Israel
Hindi
India
Hungarian
Hungary
1st Paragraph, Harry Potter és a bölcsek köve
Icelandic
Iceland
Indonesian
Indonesia
Irish
Ireland
Italian
Italy, San Marino, Switzerland
Japanese
Japan
Classical Latin
