Did you think the creatures and characters of Harry Potter were the same in French? Think again! Translators have done a good job of trying to convey the puns (les jeux de mots) in the famous best seller (un livre à succès, but we often use the English word best seller!)
Harry is indeed called Harry, but Neville Longbottom has been renamed to Neville Londubat (long in the bottom – as in low part). Severus Snape is Severus Rogue in French, and Penelope Clearwater is of course… Pénélope Deauclaire! Tu-Sais-Qui is You-Know-Who, another way to refer to le Seigneur des Ténèbres – The Dark Lord.
The school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Hogwarts in the original version (en version originale), is Poudlard and here are its 4 houses. You are given a house by the Sorting Hat (le Choixpeau, pun between un chapeau, a hat, and a choice, un choix):
Gryffondor – le courage, la tolérance, la force d’esprit (strength of will)
Poufsouffle (Hufflepuff) – on peut se fier à eux (dependability), la patience, la layauté (loyalty)
Serdaigle (Ravenclaw) – la créativité (creativity), l’érudition (learning) , la sagesse (wisdom)
Serpentard (Slytherin)– l’ambition, la détermination, la finesse, et l’ingéniosité (resourcefulness )
So if you decide to give Harry Potter à l’école des sorciers a go in French this Summer, no need to go to the Chemin de Traverse (Diagon Alley), and if you need some help with it, contact us for some French lessons and activities in Bath and Bristol!