Chapter 1: The Other Minister

 

(For the romanisation of Chinese and Japanese, see Transliteration. To understand the writing systems of CJV, see Writing Systems. For word order notes, see Word Order)

Where a Vietnamese word has been borrowed from Chinese, the original Chinese character is shown in parentheses.

 

Chinese (Mainland)	另一位部长 Lìng yíwèi bùzhǎng	另 lìng = 'other'. 一位 = yíwèi 'one' + classifier. 位 wèi is respectful and used for people 部长 bùzhǎng = 'minister (of a department/ministry)'.	Another minister
Chinese (Taiwan)	另一個部長 Lìng yíge bùzhǎng	另 lìng = 'other'. 一個 = yíge 'one' + classifier. 部長 bùzhǎng = 'minister (of a department/ministry)'.	Another minister
Japanese	むこうの大臣 Mukō no daijin	むこう mukō = 'over there, the other side'. の no = connecting particle 大臣 daijin = 'minister (of a department/ministry)'.	The minister from over there
Vietnamese	Ông thủ tướng kia	ông = 'Mr'. thủ tướng (首相) = 'Prime Minister'. kia = 'that, the other'.	That Mr Prime Minister

The title is gently mocking. In addition to his usual complement of ministers in charge of (for instance) finance, foreign affairs, energy, transportation, education, etc., the Prime Minister finds that he has one peculiar and troublesome minister that he hadn't bargained for and wished would go away -- the Minister of Magic. This is the 'other' minister, a minister that the PM would rather not name.

The Chinese and Taiwanese translations are quite literal, using expressions meaning 'another' (or 'different') minister.

The Japanese refers to the minister from 'over there' (向こう mukō), where 'over there' refers to the magical world.

In the Vietnamese version, the Minister of Magic is regarded by the Muggle Prime Minister not as 'That Minister', but as 'That Mr Prime Minister'. This is actually quite logical. Although the Ministry of Magic sounds like it is a Ministry reporting to the Muggle Prime Minister, in fact it is better thought of as a parallel government in charge of the magical world. Fudge and Scrimgeour act more like prime ministers liaising with their Muggle counterpart than ministers reporting to the British Prime Minister.

(A summary of this chapter can be found at Harry Potter Facts. Detailed notes on the chapter can be found at Harry Potter Lexicon)

Book Title

Chapter 2