Chapter 21: The House-Elf Liberation Front
| Simplified Chinese (Mandarin: China) | ||
| 家养小精灵解放阵线 Jiāyǎng xiǎo-jīnglíng jiěfàng zhènxiàn |
家养
jiāyǎng = 'house-kept' (家 jiā = 'house', 养 yǎng = 'to keep, raise'). 小精灵 xiǎo-jīnglíng = 'little spirit' = 'elf'. 解放 jiěfàng = 'liberation'. 阵线 zhènxiàn = 'battle line' = 'front' |
The House Elf Liberation Front |
| Traditional Chinese (Mandarin: Taiwan) | ||
| 家庭小精靈解放陳線 Jiātíng xiǎo-jīnglíng jiěfàng zhènxiàn |
家庭 jiātíng = 'household'. 小精靈 xiǎo-jīnglíng = 'little spirit' = 'elf'. 解放 jiěfàng = 'liberation'. 陳線 zhènxiàn = 'battle line' = 'front' |
The Household Elf Liberation Front |
| Japanese | ||
| 屋敷しもべ妖精解放前線 Yashiki shimobe yōsei kaihō zensen |
屋敷
yashiki = 'mansion, residence'. しもべ shimobe = 'servant, menial'. 妖精 yōsei = 'fairy, elf'. 解放 kaihō = 'liberation'. 前線 zensen = 'front line' = 'front'. |
Mansion Servant Elf Liberation Front |
| Korean | ||
| 꼬마 집요정 해방 전선 Kkoma jibyojeong haebang jeonseon |
Pending | The House-Elf Liberation Front |
| Vietnamese (Chinese characters show etymology) | ||
| Mặt trận giải phóng gia tinh |
mặt trận = 'front, battle
front'. (mặt = 'face', trận (陳) = 'battle'). giải phóng (解放) = 'liberation'. gia (家) = 'household'. tinh (精) = 'spirit, elf'. |
House Elf Liberation Front |
| Mongolian (new) | ||
| Боолын хөдөлмөрөөс чөлөөлөх фронт Booliin khödölmöröös chölöölökh front |
боол bool = 'bondservant, slave' (-ын -iin Genitive form). хөдөлмөр khödölmör = 'labour' (Ablative form = 'from labour'). чөлөөлөх chölöölökh = 'to liberate'. фронт front = 'front'. |
The Front for Liberation from Slavery |
The language here is that of militant revolution or rebellion. Leftism and popular movements are an area of highly-internationalised vocabulary.
Liberation
- 'Liberation' uses the same Chinese-based
term in Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese, namely 解放 (jiěfàng (Chinese),
kaihō (Japanese), giải phóng (Vietnamese)).
- The traditional Mongolian expression for 'liberation fronts' is чөлөөлөх фронт chölöölökh front 'front which liberates', 'front for liberating'.
Front
'Front' shows variation from language to language, although the meaning, a military front line, remains the same. Mongolian uses a word borrowed from Russian.
House elf
'House elf' is a made-up word, obviously modelled on 'house servant'. The word for 'elf' differs from language to language, but in the CJV languages involves the character 精 (jīng, sei, or tinh), which refers to a 'spirit' or 'sprite'.
'House' is also rendered variously, ranging from the simple gia ('household') of the Vietnamese to the 家庭 jiātíng ('household') of the Taiwanese and 家养 jiāyǎng ('house-kept') of the Mainland version. The Japanese is more explicit, making it clear that these 'house elves' are servants working for well-off people living in mansions (屋敷しもべ yashiki shimobe, 'mansion servants'). The words 屋敷しもべ yashiki shimobe have an old-fashioned feeling reminiscent of the nobility (or samurai) of an earlier era.
The Mongolian translation uses a general term for 'slave labour' боолын хөдөлмөр booliin khödölmör. This does contain connotations of 'house slave' because historically боол bool was applied to bonded houseservants as well as other people who were in a condition of servitude.
(Detailed notes on the chapter can be found at Harry Potter Lexicon)
| ⇚ Chapter 20 |  |