Chapter 21: Hermione's Secret
| Simplified Chinese (Mandarin: China) | ||
| 赫敏的秘密 Hèmǐn de mìmi |
赫敏
Hèmǐn = 'Hermione'. 的 de = connecting particle 秘密 mìmi = 'secret'. |
Hermione's secret |
| Traditional Chinese (Mandarin: Taiwan) | ||
| 妙麗的祕密 Miàolì de mìmi |
妙麗
Miàolì = 'Hermione'. 的 de = connecting particle 祕密 mìmi = 'secret'. |
Hermione's secret |
| Japanese | ||
| ハーマイオニーの秘密 Hāmaionii no himitsu |
ハーマイオニー
Hāmaionii = 'Hermione'. の no = connecting particle 秘密 himitsu = 'secret'. |
Hermione's secret |
| Korean | ||
| 헤르미온느의 비밀 Heleumionneu-ui bimil |
헤르미온느 Heleumionneu = 'Hermione'. 의 -ui = connecting particle (possessive). 비밀 (秘密) bimil = 'secret'. |
Hermione's Secret |
| Vietnamese (Chinese characters show etymology) | ||
| Bí mật của Hermione | bí mật
(祕密) = 'secret'. của = 'of'. Hermione (pronunciation: Hà-mi-nhon). |
Hermione's secret |
| Mongolian (new) | ||
| Хермионигийн нууц Khermionigiin nuuts |
Хермиони Hermioni = 'Hermione (-гийн -giin Genitive form)'. нууц nuuts = 'secret'. |
Hermione's secret |
Another straight rendition. Hermione's secret is her Time Turner.
How is 'secret' translated?
The word for 'secret' is the same in all of the CJKV languages, the latter three of which (Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese) have borrowed heavily from Chinese. Mongolian uses the native word for 'secret'.
- The word for secret is 祕密 (Trad.) / 秘密 (Simpl.) mìmi in Chinese, 秘密 himitsu in Japanese, 비밀 (秘密) bimil in Korean, and bí mật in Vietnamese, all representing the same word etymologically.
- Mongolian uses the native word for 'secret', нууц nuuts, related to the word нуух nuukh 'to hide, conceal'.
How is 'Hermione' rendered?
'Hermione' in English is pronounced as if it were spelt 'her-my-oh-knee', with the stress on 'my'. Since this is an unusual name, many people, including translators, don't know the correct pronunciation.
Most translations make an attempt at transliterating the English pronunciation but don't always get it right.
- The Japanese translation is closest to the actual English with ハーマイオニー Hāmaionii.
- Since Vietnamese uses the English spelling unchanged, it is theoretically closest to the English original. Unfortunately this is marred by the pronunciation given in a footnote in the earliest serial publication, which indicated that 'Hermione' was to be pronounced Hà-mi-nhon (roughly, 'ha mi nyon').
- The Korean translation uses the curious transliteration 헤르미온느 Heleumionneu, which (1) puts an 'r' (actually an 'l') in the first syllable, (2) indicates that 'mi' is to be pronounced 'me' rather than 'my', and (3) indicates that the final 'knee' is to be pronounced with a grunt-like sound something similar to 'nah' (more accurately /nə/ in International Phonetic Script).
- The Mongolian translation uses Хермиони Khermioni. Until recently, Mongolia (but not Inner Mongolia) generally followed Russian-style transliterations, which would have given Гермиона Germiona. (This name is actually used in a widely available unofficial translation of Harry Potter from Russian.) However, the translator is clearly following English, as can be seen from initial х kh rather than г g and final и i rather than а a. Unfortunately, the translator's understanding of English pronunciation is slightly off the mark. A more faithful transliteration would have been Хермайони khermaioni.
- The two Chinese translations depart from the English pronunciation, in particular the translation published in Taiwan. (For the Hermione who appears in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, Chinese appears to use 埃爾米奥娜 (Simpl. 埃尔米奥娜) Āi'ěrmǐàonà).
- The Mainland translation uses 赫敏 Hèmǐn, which is theoretically possible as a girl's name in Chinese, consisting of the family name 赫 Hè and the given name 敏 Mǐn (i.e., Hè Mǐn).
- The name used in the Taiwanese translation, 妙麗 Miàolì, is only loosely based on 'Hermione', seemingly inspired by the last three syllables '-mione'. 妙 miào means 'strange, subtle, exquisite'; 麗 (Simpl. 丽) lì means 'beautiful'. This gives the appearance of a girl's name, with the first character containing the radical 女 'woman' and both characters related to desirable qualities when giving girls' names.
- The Mainland translation uses 赫敏 Hèmǐn, which is theoretically possible as a girl's name in Chinese, consisting of the family name 赫 Hè and the given name 敏 Mǐn (i.e., Hè Mǐn).
(See also Names of People and Places).
(Korean appears thanks to "Hiro".)
(Detailed notes on the chapter can be found at Harry Potter Lexicon)
| ⇚ Chapter 20 |  |