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Scottish version of Harry Potter books are ridiculously hard to read

Home> News

Published 14:08 1 Feb 2023 GMT

Scottish version of Harry Potter books are ridiculously hard to read

The Harry Potter books have been translated into Scots and it reads very differently

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

The Scottish translations of JK Rowling's hugely successful Harry Potter books change quite a lot of the names invented for things in the wizarding world.

Plenty of the words in Harry Potter are already made up, ranging from the names of spells to magical items and various other wonderful bits of witchcraft and wizardry we come across in the books, but the Scots translation goes a step further and makes their own names all over again.

There's already plenty Scottish about the Harry Potter franchise, considering Hogwarts itself is nestled in Scotland - the Scottish Highlands to be precise - though of course, the school is hidden from the prying eyes of muggles by magical means.

However, for the Scots translation of the books, a lot of the words which were made up by Rowling have been changed dramatically - something TikToker @lucybethharris recently pointed out.

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One of the big changes is the house names at Hogwarts, although Harry's house Gryffindor remains exactly the same as it did in the original text.

The same can't be said for the other Hogwarts houses, although Slytherin being transformed into Slydderin isn't too difficult to deal with.

Who needs Quidditch when you can go and play Bizzumbaw?
TikTok/@lucybethharris

Then there's Hechlepech, which you can probably guess is what they call Hufflepuff in the Scots version, while Ravenclaw gets morphed into the fine old house of Corbieclook.

As for what puts you into those houses, the Sorting Hat is also called something else in the Scots translations so you'd have to rely on the Bletherin Bunnet to tell you if that personality quiz you took which said you were such a Hechlepech was accurate or not.

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Impressively, the Harry Potter translator Matthew Fitt has put the extra work in and made sure the Bletherin Bunnet's song to the students is entirely re-jigged to keep all of the rhymes intact.

As for fun and games at Hogwarts Schuil O Carlinecraft and Warlockry (to give the esteemed educational institution its full Scots name), you could try out for your house Bizzumbaw team, just don't call it Quidditch.

Lucy talked about some of the differences in the Scots versions in her TikTok video and people couldn't believe what was being read to them.

Learn magic at Hogwarts Schuil O Carlinecraft and Warlockry, with your headteacher Professor Dumbiedykes.
Amazon

Plenty adored the name 'Bletherin Bunnet' and preferred it over the Sorting Hat

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Someone else wanted to buy the Scots versions of Harry Potter 'to see if I can decode them', and another said they 'need the Scots version of Harry Potter right now'.

If they want to put their money where their mouth is, copies of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stane are available to buy.

Other versions of the Harry Potter books sold around the world have also changed things in their own way.

The US versions famously titled the first book in the seven-part series as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone after publishers were worried that American audiences wouldn't know what a philosopher was and needed something with more 'magic'.

One of the suggestions for the first book was to call it Harry Potter and the School of Magic, which fortunately was quickly shot down as an idea.

Featured Image Credit: flab / Alamy Stock Photo/ TikTok/@lucybethharris

Topics: Harry Potter, JK Rowling, Books, Weird

Joe Harker
Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

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@MrJoeHarker

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