J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter Has Been Translated Into How Many Languages?
The Harry Potter books and subsequent movies will be regarded for years to come as one of the most successful works of fiction ever created. The seven volumes of Harry Potter were selling in unbelievable quantities - over 500 million copies found a new home in magic-loving families worldwide. One of the reasons for its success, aside from how interesting the books are, is that it was translated into multiple languages. However, you might wonder just how many translations of the books exist. Well, we’ll be answering that question as well as giving you an insight into the 5 major Harry Potter translations that exist today. Collect your favorite's series of books from Harry potter shop of House of spells.
Translations of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter
If you have read the Harry Potter books, you would know that wizards supposedly exist in multiple countries. While there are spells for different purposes, the one for speaking in a foreign tongue is not revealed in the books. It is even confirmed that such a spell may not exist. In Goblet of Fire, the fourth book in the series, Cornelius Fudge (The British Minister of Magic) needed a translator to communicate with the Bulgarian wizards. So it’s safe to say that muggles and wizards can benefit from learning foreign languages. However, if you’re trying to sell a book to a global audience, you can’t expect everyone to learn English. In such a case, it would be better to have your book translated, which is exactly what J. K. Rowling did. There are more than 70 translations of Harry Potter books, but for the purpose of this article, we’ll be focusing on the 5 rarest ones.
5 Rarest Harry Potter Translations
- The Asturian Translation
- The Greenlandic Translation
- The Gujarati Translation
- The Malayalam Translation
- The Macedonian Translation
- The Asturian Translation
Only the first book about the famous wizard has been translated into Asturian. Although the publisher, Trabe, remains in business, there is a good chance the other 6 Harry Potter books won’t be translated. The reason is that many Asturian-speaking people in Spain also understand Spanish. It’s so easy to get English to Spanish translation services that there are many copies of the Harry Potter books in Spanish. Also, there were only 700 copies sold for the first translation, making the Asturian translation one of the rarest on this list.
- The Greenlandic Translation
Much like the Asturian version, the Greenlandic translation only exists for the first book. Sadly, this will likely be the case for years due to the fact that the translator for the first book died and the Atuakkiorfik Greenland Publishers shut down. Also, Greenlanders have easy access to the Danish and English versions of the Harry Potter books. However, chances are this translation would have done very well, especially considering that all the printed copies of it sold out fast.
- The Gujarati Translation
The Gujarati language is among the most popular languages spoken in India. It’s estimated that there are more than 46 million speakers of this tongue today. The publisher, Manjul, has printed translated versions of all six Harry Potter books, but sadly only the first book is available in the Gujarati language, with about 1,500 copies in circulation.
- The Malayalam Translation
Another product of the Manjul publishers is the Malayalam translation of Harry Potter. The Malayalam language is spoken by more than 40 million Indians, so it is rather popular. However, only about 1,500 copies of the book exist today. One reason for this might lie in the fact that, like Gujarati, while there are many speakers of the language, there aren’t that many readers.
- The Macedonian Translation
Kultura, Macedonian Publishing House, translated the first Harry Potter tome. It’s hard to determine how many copies were sold because they are very hard to find. This makes the books very valuable and sought after by collectors.
In Conclusion
The Harry Potter books are fun to read and widely accessible. They have been translated into more than 70 languages, with some being very rare. Hopefully, more translations will be made of the Harry Potter books, as the people around the globe deserve to experience the world of magic in their native tongue.
Author’s Bio
Andrew Mazur is a fiction writer with years of experience writing novels, news articles and blog posts. He spends a lot of his time reading the works of great authors for inspiration. When he isn't working, Andrew enjoys playing video games to pass the time.
