The High Inquisitor's Order Banning Student Organisations (Book 5)

Rowling comes into her own when exposing the language of bureaucracy as a repressive tool. The use of bland impersonal language to hide behind, the appeal to a greater authority, and the naked threat of punitive action are all typical ways in which human beings try to tell others what they must or must not do. The orders of the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts embody in most eloquent form the viciousness of the Umbridges of this world. This passage appears at Book 5 Chapter 17 (Educational Decree Number Twenty Four).

Decree no. 1 (Umbridge):
Ban on Student Organisations

Decree no. 2 (Umbridge):
Ban on Teachers giving Extraneous Information

Decree no. 3 (Umbridge): Ban on Possessing The Quibbler

Decree no. 4 (Fudge):
Appointment of Umbridge to head Hogarts

English

BY ORDER OF THE HIGH INQUISITOR OF HOGWARTS

All student organisations, societies, teams, groups and clubs are henceforth disbanded.

An organisation, society, team, group or club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more students.

Permission to re-form may be sought from the High Inquisitor (Professor Umbridge).

No student organisation, society, team, group or club may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor.

Any student found to have formed, or to belong to, an organisation, society, team, group or club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled.

The above is in accordance with the Educational Decree Number Twenty-four.

Signed: Dolores Jane Umbridge, High Inquisitor

Umbridge could have written I am disbanding, I am defining, if I find... have formed, I will expell, I will not permit. This would represent a direct imposition of Umbridge's personal authority. It is much more normal, however, to use the language of the public proclamation, such as the passive voice (are disbanded, is defined, found to have formed, will be expelled) or the modal auxiliary may to make commandments impersonal. These devices are very commonly used in English, not necessarily to conceal who is implementing or enforcing the rules -- in this case Dolores Umbridge and Cornelius Fudge -- but to invest them with impersonal authority and force. (In fact, in one of the occurrences of passive voice the agent is actually the students: Permission ... may be sought.)

Another device is the legalistic henceforth and hereby, which are formal terms used in conjunction with the issue of commands or legally binding statements.

Simplified Chinese (China)

霍格沃次高级调查官令

兹解散一切学生组织、协会、团队和俱乐部。

兹定义，组织、协会、团队和俱乐部指三名以上学生的定期集会。

可向高级调查官（乌姆里奇教授）请求重组。

未经高级调查官批准，不得存在任何学生组织、协会、团队和俱乐部。

如发现有学生未经高级调查官批准而组建或参加任何组织、协会、团队和俱乐部立即开除。

以上条例符合《第二十四号教育令》。

签名：
高级调查官
多洛雷斯･简･乌姆里奇

Huògéwōcì Gāojí Diàochá-guān Lìng

Zī jiěsàn yīqiè xuésheng zǔzhī, xiéhuì, tuánduì hé jùlèbù.

Zī dìngyì, zǔzhī, xiéhuì, tuánduì hé jùlèbù zhǐ sān-míng yǐshàng xuésheng de dìngqī jíhuì.

Kě xiàng Gāojí Diàochá-guān (Wūmǔlǐqí jiàoshào) qǐngqiú chóngzǔ.

Wèi jīng Gāojí Diàochá-guān pīzhǔn, bù dé cúnzài rènhé xuésheng zǔzhī, xiéhuì, tuánduì hé jùlèbù.

Rú fāxiàn yǒu xuésheng wèi jīng Gāojí Diàochá-guān pīzhǔn ér zǔjiàn huò cānjiā rènhé zǔzhī, xiéhuì, tuánduì hé jùlèbù lìjí kāichú.

Yǐshàng tiáolì fùhé "Dì èr-shí-sì jiàoyù lìng".

Qiānmíng:
Gāojí Diàochá-guān
Duōluòléisī Jiǎn Wūmǔlǐqí

The Mainland version reproduces in a most succinct and impersonal form the tone of the English original. No agent is mentioned and the passive is avoided. The devices used are:

are disbanded	兹解散	No passive. The meaning henceforth is contained in the 兹 construction.
is defined	兹定义	No passive. The meaning hereby is contained in the 兹 construction.
permission ... may be sought	可...请求	No subject is stated.
no .... may exist without the knowledge and approval of	未经...批准，不得存在...	'Knowledge' has been left out, making the statement even sharper than in English.
any student found to have...	如发现有学生...	No passive.
that has not been approved by...	未经...批准	Standard wording for 'without approval'.
will be expelled	立即开除	No passive.

Traditional Chinese (Taiwan)

霍格華茲總督察令諭

所有的學生組織、協會、球隊、集團以及社團，自即日起一律解散。

自即日起，凡是人數在三人以上，定期聚會者，
都將被視爲是組織、協會、球隊、集團以及社團的一種。

如欲重新改組，請向總督察（恩不里居教授）申請許可，在總督察不知情或不允許的情況下，
不許任何學生組織、協會、球隊、集團以及社團運作。

若發現任何學生，
涉嫌組織或參加任何未經總督察許可的組織、協會、球隊、集團以及社團，
都將被開除。

上述規定係依照教育章程第二十四條頒定

簽署者：
桃樂絲·珍·恩不里居總督察

Huògéhuázī Zǒng Jiānchá Lìngyù

Suǒyǒu de xuésheng zǔzhī, xiéhuì, qiúduì, jítuán yǐjí shètuán, zì jírì qǐ yīlǜ jiěsàn.

Zì jírì qǐ, fánshì rénshù zài sān-rén yǐshàng, dìngqī jùhuìzhě, dōu jiāng bèi shì wéi shì zǔzhī, xiéhuì, qiúduì, jítuán yǐjí shètuán de yīzhǒng.

Rú yù chóngxīn zǔzhī, qǐng xiàng Zǒng Jiānchá (Ēnbùlǐjū jiàoshòu) shēnqǐng xǔkě, zài Zǒng Jiānchá bù zhīqíng huò bù yǔnxǔ de qíngkuàng xià, bù xǔ rènhé xuésheng zǔzhī, xiéhuì, qiúduì, jítuán yǐjí shètuán yùnzuò.

Ruò fāxiàn rènhé xuésheng, shèxián zǔzhī huò cānjiā rènhé wèi jīng Zǒng Jiānchá xǔkě de zǔzhī, xiéhuì, qiúduì, jítuán yǐjí shètuán, dōu bèi kāichú.

Shàngshù guīdìng xì yīzhào Dì èr-shí-sì tiáo bāndìng.

Qiānshǔ-zhě:
Táolèsī Zhēn Ēnbùlǐjū Zǒng Jiānchá

The Taiwanese translation is less bald than the Mainland Chinese one. Although the effect is also quite bureaucratic, the tone is at places somewhat weakened in comparison with the English.

are disbanded	一律解散	Contains the legalistic 一律, which means 'no exceptions'.
henceforth	自即日起	Legalistic.
is defined	都將被視爲是	定義 is a much rarer usage than English 'be defined as'. The translator has substituted the more natural 'shall all be regarded as'.
hereby	自即日起	Legalistic.
permission ... may be sought	請...申請許可	請 ('please') makes the statement unnecessarily polite.
no .... may exist without the knowledge and approval of	不知情或不允許的情況下，不許... 運作	'Exist' has been changed to 'operate' (運作).
any student found to have...	若發現任何學生...	No passive.
that has not been approved by...	未經 ... 許可	Standard wording for 'without approval'.
will be expelled	將被開除	Uses 'future tense' 將 and passive 被. Both widely used, especially in bureaucratic and academic prose, probably under the influence of English.

Japanese

告示

ホグワーツ高等尋問官令

学生による組織、団体、チーム、グループ、クラブなどは、ここにすべて解散される。

組織、団体、チーム、グループ、クラブとは、定例的に三人以上の生徒が集まるものと、ここに定義する。

再結成の許可は、高等尋問官（アンブリッジ教授）に願い出ることができる。

学生による組織、団体、チーム、グループ、クラブは、高等尋問官への届出と承認なしに存在してはならない。

組織、団体、チーム、グループ、クラブで、高等尋問官の承認なきものを結成し、またはそれに属することが判明した生徒は退学処分となる。

以上は教育令第二十四号に則ったものである。

高等尋問官　ドローレス・ジェーン・アンブリッジ

Kokuji

Hoguwātsu Kōtō Jinmon-kan Rei

Gakusei ni yoru soshiki, dantai, chiimu, gurūpu, kurabu nado wa, koko ni subete kaisan sareru.

Soshiki, dantai, chiimu, gurūpu, kurabu to wa, teirei-teki ni sannin ijō no seito ga atsumaru mono to, koko ni teigi suru.

Sai-kessei no kyoka wa, Kōtō Jinmon-kan (Anburijji kyōju) ni negai-deru koto ga dekiru.

Gakusei ni yoru soshiki, dantai, chiimu, gurūpu, kurabu wa, kōtō jinmon-kan no shōnin naki mono o kessei shi, mata wa sore ni zoku-suru koto ga hanmei shita seito wa taigaku shobun to naru.

Ijō wa kyōiku-rei dai ni-jū-yon gō ni nottotta mono de aru.

Kōtō Jinmon-kan Dorōresu Jēn Anburijji

For the most part, the Japanese is a relatively literal and natural translation of the English, but fails to exploit the resources that Japanese has in this area which could have made this into a very formal and forbidding document.

are disbanded	解散される	Passive, reproduced exactly as in English.
henceforth	ここに
is defined	定義する	No subject.
hereby	ここに
permission ... may be sought	許可は...願い出ることができる	Straightforward language.
no .... may exist without the knowledge and approval of	の届出と承認なしに存在してはならない	'May not exist' is a direct translation of the English.
any student found to have...	することが判明した生徒	No passive.
that has not been approved by...	の承認なきもの	...なきもの is formal terminology.
will be expelled	退学処分となる	By using なる, the translator achieves an impersonal tone (implying something that 'happens', as opposed to する meaning 'to do').

Vietnamese

THEO LỆNH CỦA
Thanh tra Tối cao trường Hogwarts

Tất cả tổ chức, hội đoàn, đội, nhóm, và câu lạc bộ từ nay đều phải được giải tán.

Một Tổ chức, hội đoàn, đội, nhóm, hay câu lạc bộ được định ngĩa ở đây là một sự tụ tập thường xuyên của từ ba học sinh trở lên. Giấy phép tái lập có thể xin ở Thanh tra Tối cao (Giáo sư Umbridge).

Không một Tổ chức, hội đoàn, đội, nhóm, hay câu lạc bộ học sinh nào được phép tồn tại mà không được Thanh tra Tối cao biết đến và chấp thuận.

Bất cứ học xinh nào bị phát hiện đã thanh lập, hay thuộc về, một Tổ chức, hội đoàn, đội, nhóm, hay câu lạc bộ không được phê chuẩn của Thanh tra tôi cao sẽ bị đuổi học.

Thông báo trên phù hợp với tinh thần nội dung Đạo luật Giáo dục số Hai mưởi bốn.

Đã ký:
Dolores Jane Umbridge
Thanh tra Tối cao

I am not qualified to comment on the Vietnamese. The translator has followed the English quite closely. Whether the result is a convincing bureaucratic document that a Vietnamese Umbridge might have written in the circumstances, or merely a competent rendition of the meaning of the English, I am unable to determine.

are disbanded	đều phải được giải tán
henceforth	từ nay
is defined	được định ngĩa	Được here is passive.
hereby	ở đây
permission ... may be sought	có thể xin ở	No passive.
no .... may exist without the knowledge and approval of	Không một... nào được phép tồn tại mà không được ... biết đến và chấp thuận.	Very literal translation of the English.
any student found to have...	Bất cứ học xinh nào bị phát hiện	Uses passive voice (bị).
that has not been approved by...	không được phê chuẩn	Được here is passive.
will be expelled	sẽ bị đuổi học	Uses both future tense sẽ and passive voice bị, as in the English.