French kids can’t wait for the translation:
Three weeks before the release in Britain of the very last Harry Potter book, a publisher in France has released a special English to French dictionary to help French Potter-buffs plough their way through the much-anticipated English-language edition.
“More and more readers don’t have the patience to wait for the French translation and buy each volume as soon as it is published in English,” said publishers Editions du Temps.
Thus “namby-pamby” means “gnagnan” in French and “nutter” becomes “cingle“, but notions from within the Potter-world such as “muggle” or “quidditch” are not listed.
The more than 3,600 words are referenced to each of J.K. Rowling’s blockbusters already out, but volume seven may throw up new linguistic challenges.
