the term "wench" was Re: HP and rules

[alhewison]

No: HPFGUIDX 37471

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "finwitch" <finwitch at y...> wrote:

> Compare Dumbledore's "*Professor* Snape, Harry" to his "temporary 
> deafness" in Hagrid's hut where Harry calls Rita Skeeter a wench...
> 
> -- Finwitch

Does the US edition really call Skeeter a "wench"? in the UK edition 
of GoF, Harry calls Rita Skeeter a "cow" - p 393. I know that many 
phrases and words might not translate very well into American 
colloquialisms, it's just that "wench" has a totally different 
meaning in Britain to the insult "cow". In short Harry would never 
have used it!

If an English person (it might be different in Scotland, I don't know)
used the phrase wench they would be refering to a "barmaid" type i.e. 
a buxom woman, stereotypically wearing a low cut top and showing 
ample cleavage. Not an insult (or a term of endearment) that Harry 
would have been using about Rita Skeeter!

Given that Harry is English, even if he's being read by an American 
audience it doesn't feel quite right to have him use a word so 
utterly wrong for an English boy to say in that context. I find it 
strange that Scholastic can expect their audience to understand the 
idiosyncrasies of prefects/ Head Boys etc etc, but then make Harry 
speak "American"!

There are so many phrases common to the English spoken on both sides 
of the Atlantic, I can't see why they couldn't have come up with a 
more acceptable insult! The celloid thing changed phrases from PS to 
make the sentences readily understood by both cultures, perhaps this 
is an instance where the publishers should follow the example of the 
filmmakers!


Ali

(Hoping that OoP isn't changed as much!)