House-Elves yet again

[a_svirn]

No: HPFGUIDX 181339

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Random832 <random832 at ...> wrote:
>
> > a_svirn:
> > This is the term used by Dumbledore. He said that elves are bound to
> > wizards by enchantments of their own kind. Merlin knows what he meant
> > by "their own kind", perhaps that the enchantment originated from
> > elves' magic rather than wizarding magic. However, the word
> > enchantment is not really all that ambiguous.
> 
> Random832:
> Except for the fact that the definition you are applying is *not
canon*, 
> and I don't have any idea where you're getting it from. JKR does not 
> draw any usable distinction between the various words for types of 
> magic, the choice of "charm", "spell", "hex", etc, seeming at times to 
> owe more to alliteration than any coherent set of definitions.

a_svirn:
I don't need canon to know what *enchantment* means. You seem to imply
that Rowling uses words as empty signifiers to stuff them with any
meaning she chooses. Fortunately, it is not the case. Whenever she
invents new words or imbues certain words with slightly different
meanings she takes care to explain it. For the rest her usage is
perfectly conventional. Otherwise it would have been impossible to
read her books, let along discuss them.  

As for the fact that there is no discernable distinction between
"charm", "spell" or "hex", what on earth it has to do with the issue
in point?
a_svirn