HBP in russian translation./ Translations in general/ "Severus, please"

[vidar_fe]

No: HPFGUIDX 144868

> Alla wrote:
> I don't remember if I ranted about it when OOP came out, but oh 
> well, it will only be second time around. :-)
> 
> I suppose the reason why they decided to translate some names in 
> Harry Potter initially, because JKR has so many talking names, but 
> boy, oh boy, some of them hurt my ears  and eyes SO much. They 
just 
> sound awkward. Like they translated the names of two houses - 
> Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, but they could not come up with anything 
> for Gryffindor and Slytherin and left them as they sound 
initially , 
> only wrote them with Russian alphabet. So, Ravenclaw is translated 
> directly as  the "claw of Raven", but the problem is that it 
sounds 
> beatifully in English, but SO awkward in Russian. Grrrr. And I 
don't 
> even know the translation of the word they came up with for the 
> Hufflepuff.
> 
> Oh, another thing - they translated Neville's last name into 
Russian 
> directly, sort of and every time when I read it, I start giggling, 
I 
> cannot help myself. It sounds in russian as "dolgopooops". I don't 
> know if JKR intended us to giggle every time we hear Neville's 
last 
> name. Gah. :-)


vidar_fe writes:
They do this in the norwegian translations as well. As far as I know 
every single name except Harry's have been changed! :-(

The translator has even managed to turn Neville's last name into 
Langballe, or 'long testicle' *am very outraged*! Poor boy....