the term "wench" was Re: HP and rules

[ritadear2]

No: HPFGUIDX 37495

"Um, not to burst anyone's bubble, but the word in the US edition 
is "cow" as well, so I'm afraid it was impossible that you 
read "witch" for "wench" when no "wench" is in this scene. "

Oops, please forgive my error!  Was there another place?  I 
remember subsituting "witch" for something.  Ugh.  Now I'm all 
confused.  

Rita

 
> 
> The US version of GoF, page 453:
> 
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> "Of course we still want to know you!" Harry said, staring at 
> Hagrid.  "You don't think anything that Skeeter cow--sorry 
> Professor," he added quickly, looking at Dumbledore.
> 
> "I have gone temporarily deaf and haven't any idea what you 
said, 
> Harry," said Dumbledore, twiddling his thumbs and staring at 
the 
> ceiling.
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> The passage is identical in my son's copy (with the wand-order 
> mistake) and in my daughter's (corrected wand-order).  The 
same 
> passage also appears, word-for-word, on pages 393-394 of 
the UK 
> version.  This whole thing is a tempest in a teacup inasmuch 
as the 
> word "wench" quite simply doesn't appear in either 
English-language 
> version of the book.  (I am to understand that the Canadian, 
> Australian and New Zealand versions are the same as the UK 
version.)
> If one goes to this page of the Harry Potter Lexicon, you will see 
> that it also isn't listed as one of the differences between the US 
> and UK versions: 
> 
> http://www.i2k.com/~svderark/lexicon/differences-gf.html
> 
> Since Finwitch started all this, perhaps it's possible that she 
read 
> an edition of the book in Finnish and went to an 
English/Finnish 
> dictionary which translated whichever Finnish word was used 
> for "cow" as "wench."  (Since it was meant to be an insult 
specific 
> to women.)  This is the most likely explanation, I think.  
> 
> Fear not; Harry hasn't yet taken to speaking like a pirate 
(shipping 
> jokes aside...<g>).
> 
> --Barb
> (Ahoy there!)