Chapter 11: Aboard the Hogwarts Express
| Simplified Chinese (Mandarin: China) | ||
| 登上霍格沃茨特快列车 Dēng-shàng Huògéwòcì tèkuài-lièchē |
登上 dēng-shàng = 'board'. 霍格沃茨 Huògéwòcì = 'Hogwarts'. 特快列车 tèkuài-lièchē = 'express train' (特快 = 'special fast', 列车 = 'train'). |
Travelling on the Hogwarts Express Train |
| Traditional Chinese (Mandarin: Taiwan) | ||
| 登上霍格華茲特快車 Dēng-shàng Huògéhuázī tèkuài-chē |
登上 dēng-shàng = 'board'. 霍格華茲 Huògéhuázī = 'Hogwarts'. 特快車 tèkuài-chē = 'special fast car' = 'express train'. |
Travelling on the Hogwarts Express Train |
| Japanese | ||
| ホグワーツ特急に乗って Hoguwātsu tokkyū ni notte |
ホグワーツ Hoguwātsu = 'Hogwarts'. 特急 tokkyū (short for 特別急行 tokubetsu kyūkō) = 'special express'. に ni = particle meaning 'in' or 'on' 乗って notte = form of the verb 乗る noru = 'to travel on, ride'. |
Travelling on the Hogwarts Special Express |
| Korean | ||
| 호그와트 급행열차 Hogeuwateu geubhaeng-yeolcha |
호그와트 Hogeuwateu = 'Hogwarts'. 급행열차 (急行列車) geubhaeng-yeolcha = 'express, express train'. |
Hogwarts Express Train | Vietnamese (Chinese characters show etymology) |
| Trên tàu tốc hành Hogwarts | trên = 'on'. tàu = 'boat, train, plane, vehicle'. tốc hành (速行) = 'express'. (tàu tốc hành = 'express train'.) Hogwarts ( pronunciation: Học-vợt). |
On the Hogwarts Express Train |
| Mongolian (new) | ||
| Хогвартсын буухиа галт тэрэг Hogvartsiin buukhia galt tereg |
Хогвартс Hogvarts = 'Hogwarts' (-ын -iin Genitive form). буухиа buukhia = 'express'. галт тэрэг galt tereg' = 'vehicle with fire' = 'train'. |
The Hogwarts Express Train |
How is 'on board' (prepositional phrase) translated?
This is handled in three different ways:
- Express the meaning 'be aboard'.
- The Chinese translators use the rather formal expression 登上 dēng-shàng for 'to board' or 'to be aboard'. The meaning is 'be on board' or 'travel on'.
Normally to board or get on a train is expressed as 上車 / 上车 shàng-chē, while riding in or on a vehicle is expressed as 坐車 / 坐车 zuò chē meaning 'to sit (in) a vehicle'.
- Japanese uses the verb 乗る noru 'to travel on, ride'. The form used is a kind of suspended form of the verb (which might grammatically be described as a 'converb') and a reasonable approximation in English might be 'riding' or 'travelling'.
- The Chinese translators use the rather formal expression 登上 dēng-shàng for 'to board' or 'to be aboard'. The meaning is 'be on board' or 'travel on'.
Normally to board or get on a train is expressed as 上車 / 上车 shàng-chē, while riding in or on a vehicle is expressed as 坐車 / 坐车 zuò chē meaning 'to sit (in) a vehicle'.
- Vietnamese uses the preposition trên 'on'.
- Mongolian and Korean ignore 'aboard' altogether, simply using a term meaning 'Hogwarts Express'.
How is 'express' translated?
The Hogwarts Express is an express train, a very fast train that goes to a particular station without stopping at stations in between. Express trains are a familiar feature of life in Japan, China, Korea, and Vietnam. The names chosen all imply speed.
-
The two Chinese translations uses 特快 tèkuài, literally meaning 'special fast'.
- Similarly, Japanese uses 特急 tokkyū, short for 特別急行 tokubetsu kyūkō 'special express'. An ordinary rapid train (急行 kyūkō) is not particularly fast or direct.
- The Vietnamese translation uses tốc hành (速行), literally 'fast travel', meaning 'express'.
- Express trains or buses are less commonly encountered in Mongolia. The term used by the translator is буухиа buukhia 'express'.
How is 'train' translated?
The Hogwarts Express is a train, although this word is not spelt out in the English.
- The general word for a train in Chinese is 火車 (Trad.) / 火车 (Simpl.) huǒchē 'fire vehicle', although this has a somewhat colloquial feel and is replaced by 列車 (Trad.) / 列车 (Simpl.) lièchē in more 'sophisticated' use. This is the term used in the Mainland translation. The Taiwanese translation just uses 車 (Trad.) / 车 (Simpl.) chē meaning vehicle.
- The general word for a train in Japanese is 汽車 kisha 'steam vehicle', but this is becoming almost obsolescent (except perhaps in Kyushu), being replaced by 列車 ressha for long-distance trains and 電車 densha 'electric car' for electrified urban or local lines. However, 特急 tokkyū is instantly understood as referring to a train, so the Japanese omits the word for 'train'.
- Korean also uses the term 列車, which is read in Korean as 열차 yeolcha.
- The Vietnamese for a train is xe lửa 'fire vehicle', tàu hỏa 'fire vehicle', or tàu lửa 'fire vehicle'. Here, the translator uses tàu for 'train'.
- The Mongolian word for a train is галт тэрэг galt tereg 'vehicle with fire'. The Russian loanword вагон vagon is also common in Mongolia, although not in Inner Mongolia. The translator uses галт тэрэг galt tereg.
(Korean appears thanks to "Hiro".)
(Detailed notes on the chapter can be found at Harry Potter Lexicon)
| ⇚ Chapter 10 |  |