Chapter 20: The Dementors' Kiss
| Simplified Chinese (Mandarin: China) | ||
| 摄魂怪的吻 Shè-hún-guài de wěn |
摄魂怪
shè-hún-guài = 'absorb-soul-demon'. 的 de = connecting particle 吻 wěn = 'kiss'. |
Dementor's Kiss |
| Traditional Chinese (Mandarin: Taiwan) | ||
| 催狂魔之吻 Cuī-kuáng-mó zhī wěn |
催狂魔 cuī-kuáng-mó = 'drive-crazy-demon'. 之 zhī = connecting particle (formal/written form) 吻 wěn = 'kiss'. |
Dementor's Kiss |
| Japanese | ||
Kyūkonki no kisu / Dimentā no kisu |
吸魂鬼 kyū-kon-ki = 'suck-soul-ghost'. ディメンター dimentā = 'dementor'. の no = connecting particle キス kisu = 'kiss'. |
Dementor's Kiss |
| Korean | ||
| 디멘터의 입맞춤 Dimenteo-ui ib-majchum |
디멘터 Dimenteo = 'Dementor (phonetic)'. 의 -ui = connecting particle (possessive). 입맞춤 ib-majchum = 'kiss'. |
Dementor's Kiss |
| Vietnamese (Chinese characters show etymology) | ||
| Cái hôn của giám ngục | cái = counter/classifier hôn = 'kiss'. của = 'of'. giám ngục = 'warder, guard of a prison'. |
Kiss of the Prison Guard |
| Mongolian (new) | ||
| Дементорын үнсэлт Dementoriin ünselt |
Дементор Dementor = 'Dementor' (Genitive form in -ын -iin). үнсэлт ünselt = 'kiss'. |
Dementor's Kiss |
The Dementors on the hunt for Sirius Black are prepared to kiss Harry.
How is 'Dementor' translated?
There are three ways of rendering 'Dementor': one is to transliterate the pronunciation of the English (Japanese, Korean, Mongolian); one is to make up a name based on what the Dementors do (Chinese and Japanese, using rubi); one is to use a completely different name (Vietnamese). For details, see Chapter 5.
How is the plural "Dementors'" rendered?
The English indicates that there is more than one dementor by placing the apostrophe after the possessive 's' rather than before it. The difference is apparent only in the written language; in spoken English both dementor's and dementors' are pronounced the same.
- Chinese and Japanese don't normally indicate number. The number of dementors is not made explicit in the title.
- Vietnamese can indicate number but doesn't here.
- Mongolian is far more likely to indicate number, and in this case possibly should have, but the translator has either not noticed the placing of the apostrophe or decided that number was not relevant in the context.
How is 'kiss' translated?
In English, 'kiss' is a verb, but it can also be used as a noun as in this chapter title.
- Chinese shows great flexibility in parts of speech. To a large extent, verbs can be used as nouns and vice versa. In this case, 吻 wěn is both a verb ('to kiss') and a noun ('kiss').
- The Vietnamese verb 'to kiss' is hôn. To make it a noun, it is usual to add the counter/classifier cái (cái hôn), as in the chapter title, or the form sự (sự hôn), which transforms a verb into a noun of action.
- The Mongolian verb 'to kiss' is үнсэх ünsekh. The noun is derived by adding the derivational ending -лт -lt, thus үнсэлт ünselt (for a further example, see Chapter 15).
- Japanese has a large class of words, many from Chinese or foreign languages, where the noun is converted into a verb by adding the verb する suru. キス kisu (from English) is one such word. キス kisu is a noun (as in the chapter title), whereas the verb is キスする kisu suru 'to kiss'. (Alternative nouns meaning 'kiss' are the very formal 接吻 seppun, based on Chinese roots, the relatively neutral 口付け kuchi-zuke 'mouth touch' based on Japanese roots, and the childish or cutesy onomatopoeic ちゅう chū.)
- Korean has a similar range of terms. The word 키스 kiseu is a noun; the verb is 키스하다 kiseu hada (adding the verb 하다 hada). While this is the most common verb for 'kiss' in Korean, the translator has chosen 입맞춤 ib-majchum, the noun from the verb 입맞추다 ib-majchuda, literally 'to mouth-set'. Needless to say, the translator has avoided the cutesy 뽀뽀 ppoppo.
(Korean appears thanks to "Hiro".)
(Detailed notes on the chapter can be found at Harry Potter Lexicon)
| ⇚ Chapter 19 |  |