"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"
| Simplified Chinese (Mandarin: China) | ||
| 哈利･波特与阿兹卡班的囚徒 Hālì Bōtè yǔ Āzīkǎbān de qiútú |
哈利･波特
Hālì Bōtè = phonetic transcription. 与yǔ = 'and' in written Chinese. 阿兹卡班 Āzīkǎbān = 'Azkaban' (phonetic). 的 de = connecting particle 囚徒 qiútú = 'prisoner, convict'. |
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban |
| Traditional Chinese (Mandarin: Taiwan) | ||
| 哈利波特 阿茲卡班的逃犯 Hālì Pōtè — Āzīkǎbān de táofàn |
哈利波特
Hālì Pōtè = phonetic transcription. 阿茲卡班 Āzīkǎbān = 'Azkaban' (phonetic). 的 de = connecting particle 逃犯 táofàn = 'escaped criminal/convict'. |
Harry Potter: The Escapee from Azkaban |
| Japanese | ||
| ハリー・ポッターとアズカバンの囚人 Harii Pottā to Azukaban no shūjin |
ハリー・ポッター
Harii Pottā = transcription of Harry's name
into katakana, normally used for writing foreign
words, etc. と to = 'and'. アズカバン Azukaban = 'Azkaban' (phonetic). の no = connecting particle 囚人 shūjin = 'prisoner, convict'. |
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban |
| Korean | ||
| 해리포터와 아즈카반의 죄수 Haeli Poteo-wa Ajeukaban-ui joesu |
해리포터
Haeli Poteo = transcription of Harry's name
into hangul -와 to = 'and'. 아즈카반 Ajeukaban = 'Azkaban' (phonetic). 의 -ui = connecting particle 죄수 (罪囚) joesu = 'prisoner, convict'. |
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban |
| Vietnamese (Chinese characters show etymology) | ||
| Harry Potter và tên tù nhân ngục Azkaban | Harry Potter
(pronounced Ha-ri Pốt-tơ). và = 'and'. tên = 'name', a part of speech known as a 'counter' or 'classifier', used for people. tù nhân (囚人) = 'prisoner'. ngục (獄) = 'prison, gaol'. Azkaban = 'Azkaban'. |
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Prison |
| Mongolian (new) | ||
| Харри Поттер ба Азкабаны хоригдол Harri Potter ba Azkabanii khorigdol |
Харри Поттер kharri potter = 'Harry Potter'. ба ba = 'and'. Азкабан Azkaban = 'Azkaban' (-ы -ii Genitive form). хоригдол khorigdol = 'prisoner' (from хоригдох khorigdokh 'be kept in detention', passive of хорих khorikh 'detain', 'restrain'.) |
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban |
How is 'Azkaban' translated?
Azkaban is the name of the wizards' prison. It is transliterated directly into all the languages here except Vietnamese, which keeps the English spelling:
- Both Chinese translations (Mainland and Taiwanese) use the same transliteration, 阿兹卡班 Āzīkǎbān. It is not strange that both feature the same transliteration because the characters used are fairly standard in representing the sounds 'A-z-ka-ban'.
- The Japanese katakana transliteration アズカバン Azukaban is also standard, separated into the five syllables (or, more strictly speaking, morae) A-zu-ka-ba-n, each having the same length.
- Korean 아즈카반 Ajeukaban is four syllables in the hangul script, A-jeu-ka-ban.
- Mongolian transliterates the name directly into Cyrillic as Азкабан Azkaban. This poses no difficulties for Mongolian speakers.
- Vietnamese uses the English name without change but adds ngục (etymologically written 獄 in Chinese characters) meaning 'prison, gaol'
How is 'prisoner' translated?
- The Mainland Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese translations all use related words for 'prisoner' using the character 囚 (Chinese qiú, Japanese shū, Korean su, and Vietnamese tù).
- The Taiwanese translation changes 'prisoner' to 'escapee' or 'escaped convict': 逃犯 táofàn. This is only a subtle change but makes for a more dramatic book title.
- Mongolian, which has only borrowed modestly from Chinese, has its own word for 'prisoner'. The base is хорих khorikh 'to detain, restrain, or imprison'. The passive form of this, хоригдох khorigdokh, means 'to be detained or imprisoned'. Хоригдол khorigdol is a person who has been imprisoned or detained, that is, a prisoner.
(Korean appears thanks to "Hiro".)
| ⇚ Book 2 Chapter 18 |  |