hat Is Translation?
Translation means taking words from one language and finding ways to say them in a different language. A translator might turn a Spanish book into English, for example, or an English one into Spanish. Without translation, we would not know about the Greek hero Hercules, the Norse god Thor, fairy tales like “Sleeping Beauty” or “Rapunzel,” or stories about genies, flying carpets, or magic lamps. Translation shares knowledge and ideas.
The King James Bible of 1611 is also a translation—an English version of the Bible from books that were first written in Hebrew and Greek. It wasn’t the first English translation of the Bible, but it is one of the most famous.
Books in the Harry Potter series have been translated into 69 languages. Sometimes translators must find creative ways to say English words in other languages. For example, Tom Marvolo Riddle's name is given as "Tom Elvis Jedusor" in French—his last name sounds like the French words for "game of fate." The letters in his full name can be arranged to spell his secret identity: "Je suis..." ("I am..."). We won't give it away!
