Chapter 2: Dobby's Warning
| Simplified Chinese (Mandarin: China) | ||
| 多比的警告 Duōbǐ de jǐnggào |
多比 Duōbǐ = 'Dobby'. 的 de = connecting particle 警告 jǐnggào = 'warning'. |
Dobby's Warning |
| Traditional Chinese (Mandarin: Taiwan) | ||
| 多比的警告 Duōbǐ de jǐnggào |
多比 Duōbǐ = 'Dobby'. 的 de = connecting particle 警告 jǐnggào = 'warning'. |
Dobby's Warning |
| Japanese | ||
| ドビーの警告 Dobii no keikoku |
ドビー Dobii = 'Dobby' の no = connecting particle 警告 keikoku = 'warning'. |
Dobby's warning |
| Korean | ||
| 도비의 경고 Dobi-ui gyeonggo |
도비 Dobi = 'Dobby'. 의 ui = connecting particle. 경고 (警告) gyeonggo = 'warning'. |
Dobby's Warning |
| Vietnamese (Chinese characters show etymology) | ||
| Lời cảnh cáo của Dobby | lời = 'words' cảnh cáo (警告) = 'warning' của = 'of' Dobby (pronunciation: Đốp-bi). |
Dobby's Words of Warning |
| Mongolian (previous) | ||
| Доббигийн сэрэмжлүүлэг Dobbigiin seremjlüüleg |
Добби dobbi = 'Dobby' (-гийн -giin Genitive form). сэрэмжлүүлэг seremjlüüleg = 'warning'. |
Dobby's Warning |
| Mongolian (new) | ||
| Доббигийн анхааруулга Dobbigiin ankhaaruulag |
Добби dobbi = 'Dobby' (-гийн -giin Genitive form). анхааруулга ankhaaruulag = 'warning'. |
Dobby's Warning |
Dobby, the Malfoys' house elf, appears to warn Harry of mortal danger if he returns to Hogswart.
How is 'Dobby' transliterated?
- The characters for Dobby in the two Chinese-language
versions, 多比 Duōbǐ, mean 'many' + 'compare', but this is irrelevant because the characters
are used solely for their sound value, not their meaning.
- The Japanese and Korean translations use phonetic renderings: ドビー Dobii, 도비 Dobi.
- Vietnamese uses the English spelling ('Dobby').
- The two Mongolian translations simply transfer the English spelling to Cyrillic letters, complete with doubling of the 'b': Добби dobbi.
How is 'warning' translated?
- The word for 'warning', 警告 (jǐnggào, keikoku, gyeonggo cảnh cáo)
is etymologically the same in the four CJKV languages. Given the heavy use of etymologically Chinese elements in Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese, this is far from surprising. What is perhaps more surprising is how infrequently this situation occurs in the translation of the Harry Potter books.
- The two Mongolian versions use different words for 'warning'. The previous translation uses сэрэмжлүүлэг seremjlüüleg, which tends to be used for official or written warnings. The newer translation uses анхааруулга ankhaaruulag, which suggests drawing attention to a problem or cautioning someone to take care.
(Korean appears thanks to "Hiro".)
Detailed notes on the chapter can be found at Harry Potter Lexicon)
| ⇚ Chapter 1 |  |