Chapter 10: Mayhem at the Ministry
| Simplified Chinese (Mandarin: China) | ||
| 魔法部乱成一团 Mófǎ-bù luàn-chéng-yì-tuán |
魔法 mófǎ = 'magic'. 部 bù = 'ministry, department'. 乱成一团 luàn-chéng-yì-tuán = 'be in a situation of chaos'. |
The Ministry of Magic in complete chaos |
| Traditional Chinese (Mandarin: Taiwan) | ||
| 魔法部大亂 Mófǎ-bù dà-luàn |
魔法 mófǎ = 'magic'. 部 bù = 'ministry, department'. 大亂 dàluàn = 'great chaos'. |
The Ministry of Magic in great chaos |
| Japanese | ||
| 魔法省スキャンダル Mahō-shō sukyandaru |
魔法 mahō = 'magic'. 省 shō = 'ministry, department'. スキャンダル sukyandaru (from English) = 'scandal'. |
Ministry of Magic scandal |
| Korean | ||
| 마법부의 대혼란 Mabeobbu-ui dae-honlan |
마법 (魔法) mabeob = 'magic'. 부 (部) -bu = 'ministry'. 의 -ui = connecting particle (possessive). 대 (大) dae = 'big, large'. 혼란 (混亂) honlan = 'confusion, chaos, mess'. |
The Ministry of Magic's Big Chaos |
| Vietnamese (Chinese characters show etymology) | ||
| Hỗn loạn ở Bộ Pháp thuật | hỗn loạn
(混亂) = 'disorderly, confused; disorder, confusion'. ở = 'at'. bộ (部) = 'ministry, department'. pháp thuật (法術) = 'magic'. |
Chaos at the Ministry of Magic |
| Mongolian (new) | ||
| Ид шидийн яам дахь шуугиан Id shidiin yaam dakh' shuugian |
ид шид id shid = 'magic' (-ийн -iin Genitive form). яам yaam = 'ministry' (from Chinese 衙門 yámén 'ministry, government office'). дахь dakh' = 'which is in/at'. шуугиан shuugian = 'ruction, clamour, ruckus, uproar'. |
Ruckus at the Ministry of Magic |
The mayhem in question was caused by Rita Skeeter's article criticising the ministry for lax security, which resulted in the appearance of the Dark Mark at the Quidditch World Cup.
How is 'ministry' translated?
This chapter is talking about a ministry or government department, not the ministry in a church. Probably because China has one of the earliest traditions of government bureaucracy in the world, all our languages use words from Chinese.
- In modern-day Chinese, the term for a government ministry is 部 bù.
This is also used in Korean as 부 bu (部) and Vietnamese as bộ. (On the other hand, in Japanese 部 bu refers to a department of lower rank, a division within a ministry.)
- Japanese uses 省 shō, which as a noun historically referred to a government department or ministry but in modern Chinese normally means 'province' (see 省).
- The Mongolian word for a ministry or government department is яам yaam, from Chinese 衙門 yámén. This historically referred to places where government officials conducted their business (government offices).
How is 'mayhem' translated?
'Mayhem' is mostly translated as 'chaos', but two translations have a slightly different spin.
- The Chinese-language translations, the Korean translation, and the Vietnamese translation use straightforward terms identifying 'mayhem' with 'chaos' or 'confusion'.
- The Mainland translator uses the idiomatic expression 乱成一团 ((Trad.) 亂成一團) luàn-chéng-yì-tuán, literally meaning 'chaos becomes one pile', that is, 'chaos overall'.
- The Taiwanese translator uses 大亂 ((Simpl.) 大乱) dàluàn 'big chaos'.
- The Korean and Vietnamese translations use similar words based on Chinese 混亂 ((Şimpl.) 混乱) hùnluàn 'chaos, disorder, confusion'. The Korean translation uses 대혼란 (大混亂) dae-honlan 'great chaos'. Vietnamese uses hỗn loạn, which means 'disorderly, confused', or as a noun 'disorder, confusion'.
- The Mainland translator uses the idiomatic expression 乱成一团 ((Trad.) 亂成一團) luàn-chéng-yì-tuán, literally meaning 'chaos becomes one pile', that is, 'chaos overall'.
- The Japanese translator turns to the English word スキャンダル sukyandaru 'scandal', referring to the situation that ensued from Rita Skeeter's article.
- The Mongolian translation refers to the results of Rita Skeeter's sensational accusations as a great clamour or ruckus (шуугиан shuugian).
How is 'in the' (prepositional phrase) translated?
This chapter uses a noun followed by a prepositional phrase, similar to that found at The Boggart in the Wardrobe, The Writing on the Wall, The Journey from Platform Nine and Three Quarters, and The Letters from No One.
This construction appears to be a favoured device for chapter headings in English. The chapter titles mentioned above can be understood as meaning 'the boggart that was in the wardrobe', 'the writing that was on the wall', 'the journey that started from platform nine and three quarters' and 'the letters that came from no one'. In this title, however, the meaning is more along the lines of 'there was mayhem at the ministry' or 'mayhem broke out at the ministry' rather than 'the mayhem that occurred at the ministry'. That is, it is informing us that mayhem broke out at the ministry rather than simply describing the location of the mayhem.
This nuance has led to slightly different treatments of the chapter title.
- The Vietnamese and Mongolian translations follow the structure of the English, probably because it is grammatically possible to do so in these languages. However, being grammatically possible does not mean that this is the optimal translation. For example, the Mongolian means 'the clamour that was in the ministry' rather than 'clamour broke out in the ministry'.
- On the other hand, the Chinese-language translations both indicate that 'chaos broke out at the ministry', which seems closer to the sense of the English.
- The Japanese uses a noun phrase, namely 'Ministry of Magic scandal'.
- The Korean translation is similar but uses a genitive ('Ministry of Magic's chaos').
(Korean appears thanks to "Hiro".)
(Detailed notes on the chapter can be found at Harry Potter Lexicon)
| ⇚ Chapter 9 |  |