A few days ago, among the inhabitants of Runet, who are interested in literature, a small “bomb” exploded when a group of enthusiasts began to collect signatures against translations of the Pottery by Maria Spivak. Watching this storm from the side, I wanted to put in my five cents.

Please note that the following is purely personal opinion. Not the position of the magazine "World of Science Fiction", not the view of the editor of the book section of this magazine. And just the opinion of a fantasy fan with a very solid reading experience.

First, a little history. When Rosman just started publishing Rowling's books in Russia, the cycle was already an international bestseller, but the total world madness around it was just beginning. Only echoes reached us, because, it seems, the publishing house was afraid that the series "would not work." Otherwise, it is impossible to explain why the best forces were not involved in the translation of a potential mega-hit. After all, there are really outstanding translators from English in Russia, on whose account there are many brilliant works. Likhachev, for example, or Dobrokhotov-Maikov. There are many others. But it is clear that the work of a high-class translator costs money. And for the translation of "a pig in a poke" it simply does not make sense to involve such a person. Probably, the Potter books were considered just such a "cat", because teenage fantasy in those days was not quoted in our country. Suffice it to say that the first print run of the book was a modest 30,000 for such a hit. It was then that there were already reprints - almost half a million, not to mention numerous reprints.

In general, "Rosmen" in some "left" way attracted Igor Oransky, a sports journalist who at the same time dabbled in translation fantasy stories. Oransky himself noted that Rowling remained absolutely indifferent to the text. As a result, the book was simply not interesting to read. All the hype around the novel and the cycle in the West was completely incomprehensible. Are they crazy there? Why on earth did this dull and naive garbage become a world bestseller?

These books were the first introduction to Harry Potter.

The existing Potter fan base (after all, many people read English in our country) literally exploded! Oh, what storms raged on the Web! At great desire(after all, the Internet remembers almost everything) you can delve into these ancient records of 2000 and enjoy ... The translation of Orange was simply crucified, and although a number of errors were corrected in subsequent editions, the "black mark" was firmly entrenched in this work. The funny thing is that even this controversial version was a solid success, although the hysteria around the world probably contributed to the hype around the Potter.

And against this background, "folk translations" began to appear on the Web - both the first and other volumes already published in the West. They were terrible - the actual interlineators that were edited by all and sundry. And one of these self-propelled guns was the translation of Masha Spivak, which stood out from the rest like a diamond among the cobblestones.

Moreover, the Pottery from Spivak (and she gradually began to translate other books as well) among fans was quoted much higher than the official versions from Rosman! Although, starting from the second volume, the publishing house attracted solid forces. " secret room”, “The Prisoner of Azkaban” and partly “The Goblet of Fire” was translated by the eminent professional philologist Marina Litvinova. And a whole brilliant team took part in the work on subsequent books, among which were such stars of domestic literary translation as Viktor Golyshev, Vladimir Babkov, Leonid Motylev, Sergey Ilyin, Maya Lakhuti. Although blunders met here. For example, the final novel of the series, The Deathly Hallows, turned out to be crumpled. For the sake of efficiency, the book was translated by three people at once - Ilyin, Lakhuti, Sokolskaya, which is why the novel turned out to be very heterogeneous stylistically. It is precisely for the sake of correcting such shortcomings that there is a literary editor, which, it seems, this publication simply did not have ...

"Harry Potter" from ROSMAN: "black series"

By that time, Spivak's translations were already actually banned, because officially they were considered pirated. The story of hunting them is another story! And as soon as the fans did not contrive, fighting the system, - “Um. Tasamaya" has become an actual meme...

And now, when the rights to the Pottery editions have changed hands, Makhaon and Azbuka-Atticus used Spivak's translations (of course, heavily edited in comparison with the network versions). While it was about the reprinting of books, which, apparently, were already in almost every home, this did not cause much fuss. However, with the advent of the new Potter book, the situation has changed. Everyone who is a fan of the Potter series will probably want to buy a new novel, but the vast majority are “covered” by the Rosman translation, and the Spivak version seems alien to them. So the hype is understandable.

I do not presume to judge the comparative advantages and disadvantages of the Rosman and the alphabetic versions in terms of facts, for example. Moreover, we will soon have a detailed article on this topic. I will only express my opinion as a person who has read both versions. Personally, I like Spivak's Potter a lot more, and here's why.

Spivak captures the spirit of the Potter series very clearly. Her translation is often reproached for being "childish", but, for mercy's sake, the cycle was written primarily for children! In the first novel, the hero is only eleven, with each book he grows up, which happens to his readers. And the approach chosen by Spivak is completely justified. Before us, first of all, are fascinating fairy tales “with meaning”, and with each new volume, fairy tales become less and less, and more and more meaningful. The Potter novels of Spivak's version are a sane synthesis of charming fabulousness, childish spontaneity, external fascination and quite serious semantic content. This is exactly what Rosman's translation lacks - the author's magic, without which there would not be such a crazy success of the series, it simply does not exist! The translation was done by serious people who worked professionally and responsibly. But no more than that...

Although the main miscalculation, perhaps, is precisely that the Rosman version was translated by as many as twelve people in total! The situation could be corrected by ONE literary editor, which would bring the mixed translation to a common denominator. Well, as did, for example, Alexander Zhikarentsev, who at one time supervised Terry Pratchett's translations at Eksmo - after all, many people worked there too, and not all translations were equally good. But alas.

Spivak's translations are much more complete in this sense. From the first to the last word of the series, the translation was carried out by one person, who, moreover, was sincerely passionate about the original and worked with all his heart. And this is also important ... It is the "soulfulness" that attracts in the version from Spivak - Rowling's text lives and plays, breathes and shines. You read it with pleasure, with joy, it is truly “delicious”, like a bag of colorful sweets from under the New Year tree… Against this background, Rosman’s version looks like a dense and hearty lunch from the first, second, third. Nutritious, healthy - yes, maybe. Only, alas, not fun.

Machaon released such a chic edition of Harry Potter

Perhaps the main drawback of Spivak's version, which became a stumbling block, is the translation of proper names and a number of titles. Here, perhaps, we can partly agree with the dissatisfied. If in the initial, most carefree and fabulous volumes of the cycle, “talking” names still looked, albeit exotic, but more or less appropriate, then in darker books their frank childishness looks simply ridiculous. Zloteus Zlei, brrr... On the other hand, in Rosman's translations there are also such pearls that you will rock - Dolgobotups, for example. Perhaps it would be more appropriate not to translate the names at all, limiting themselves to footnotes or a detailed glossary. But what's done is done - in both cases.

However, if we discard names and terms (all the more so since many of them quite successfully reflect the essence of characters, names and objects), the rest of Spivak's claims to translations simply crumble to dust.

Moreover, I am one hundred percent sure: if Rosman had released the Potterian from the very beginning in Spivak’s translation, then all those who are now shouting “Atu!” to them with foam at the mouth, would have defended them with the same ardor and heat. . Because the question is not about the real quality of translations. Birthright and a matter of habit - that's the secret. The vast majority of Potter readers got acquainted with the books in the Rosman translation - and simply got used to it. Even if it is a million times worse than Spivak's translations, first love does not rust ...

But for those who are just getting acquainted with Rowling's books, I wholeheartedly advise: read it yourself and give your children this cycle precisely “from Spivak”. Get much more sincere pleasure! And the rest will have to accept or follow the beaten path of the “zero” fans, creating sites with a “folk translation” of the eighth volume of the series ...

About Harry Potter, which caused a mixed reaction from readers. This was announced by the director of the Phantom Press publishing house Alla Shteinman on her Facebook page.

“Masha Spivak died today. My dear friend, I'm sorry I didn't save you. R.I.P. Details about the date of the funeral will be later, ”Steinman said.

On the this moment the circumstances of the translator's death are unknown.

In 2016, Maria Spivak worked on the translation of the last eighth part of the book series by the writer JK Rowling "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Parts one and two."

Then the translation caused a mixed reaction among fans of the saga. Fans demanded that the work on the text be entrusted to a person who "could avoid gag and free retelling."

The very news that Maria Spivak would be translating the book upset fans of the Potter universe. Most of them began their acquaintance with a series of books from the translation from the ROSMEN publishing house. However, in 2013 the publishing rights were transferred to the Makhaon publishing house, and since 2014 the saga has been published in an “alternative” translation from Spivak.

After the release of the book, excited users in in social networks published fragments of the text in which numerous errors were found, and even created a petition against the publication of a book with a translation by Maria Spivak. One of them was signed by more than 60,000 people.

Most readers complained that Spivak, trying to adapt the language, literally translated the names and surnames of the characters and beat them in the form of a pun. So, Severus Snape turned into Zlotheus Snape, Luna turned into Psycho Lovegood, and Madame Trick turned into Madame Moonshine.

Such adaptations caused outrage among fans. In particular, readers noted that by the end of the saga, Snape's hero is revealed with positive side, and Zloteus Zley, translated from Spivak, sounds unambiguously negative.

Despite the dissatisfaction of the fans, the Makhaon publishing house refused to change the translator.

Maria Spivak in interview She admitted to the Gorky edition that she was not familiar with other translations of the Harry Potter books, and when working on the text, she was guided by the meaning inherent in the names, and "tried to convey the same in Russian."

“Severus Snape is a name that also sounds frankly harsh, although my version sounds, of course, harsher. However, the word “Zloteus” means both “evil” and “gold” at the same time, so the double subtext of the character of this character has not gone away,” the translator explained the origin of the name “Zloteus”.

Maria Spivak also reported that since the release of the first book, she had to face numerous threats from fans of the saga.

In addition to those who opposed the transfer from Spivak, there were those who supported her. So, the translator of the fifth book of Harry Potter declared that “the translator should be guided by the opinion of the public, but not be led by it”, emphasizing that the adaptation of names is the business of Spivak herself.

Maria Spivak is a Russian writer and translator. She gained the greatest popularity after the release of translations of the book series by JK Rowling "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Parts one and two." She is also the author of two novels, Year of the Black Moon and A World Elsewhere.

In 2009, Spivak was awarded second place in the Prose category for her translation of the British writer Nicholas Drayson's novel The Book of Birds of East Africa.

Premiere of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Parts One and Two” was held on July 30, 2016 in London at the Palace Theatre. The play was directed by John Tiffany. The Cursed Child begins immediately after the finale of the seventh installment in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Books Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Parts One and Two" were released on English language immediately after the premiere of the play, July 31. In Russia, the series went on sale on December 7, 2016.

On the eve of the release of a new book by J.K. Rowling in Russian, a group of domestic Potter fans quite sharply opposed the translations of the series by Maria Spivak. On the Internet, they even collected signatures for, which now owns the rights to Potter in Russia. Maria Spivak's translations cause a lot of conflicting reviews, although for a long time they were considered a good alternative to the translations in which the Harry Potter books were first published in Russian. But few people know what kind of person is hiding behind these texts. We decided to chat with Maria about Potter, unexpected fame and her own books.

Dossier: Maria Spivak

Maria Viktorovna Spivak was born on October 26, 1962 in Moscow. Graduated from the faculty applied mathematics at a technical university, majoring in engineering and mathematics. Author of the novels Year of the Black Moon and A World Elsewhere (written in English). Known for her translations of the Harry Potter series of novels. In 2001 she was nominated for the "Small Booker" award - "for the best translation from English". In 2009 she was nominated for the Unicorn and Lion Award for the best translation of contemporary British and Irish literature.

"Harry Potter" for fans - religion "

What do you think about collecting signatures against your translation of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child?

Here, glory, you came to me, I think. True, not in the form in which I dreamed of you.

How would you explain the behavior of fans who defend the old translation? By the way, criticism mostly comes from readers, not from professional translators. For example, the famous Maxim Nemtsov, who "dared" to re-translate "The Catcher in the Rye", which also caused a lot of indignation, believes that your "Harry Potter" is better than Rosman's. Are you not amused by this hysteria around your translations?

Why are fans behaving fanatical? By definition. That is the nature of this phenomenon. "Harry Potter" for them is a religion, not literary work therefore any violation of the canon seems blasphemous to them. And some of them, in my opinion, are sincerely sure that the translation, in fact, consists only in the transposition of names and titles. The fact that a foreign text can have (and quite legitimately) many interpretations is unknown to them.

Take at least "Winnie the Pooh" (where in one version there is Shchasvirnus, and in the other - the immensely beautiful Skorabuda!) Or "Alice". Hysteria amuses me a little, but it also has its charms - for example, a terrible indignation at the fact that I dared to call Privet Drive Privet Street, and not Yew Alley. Meanwhile, as privet - this is exactly the same privet, typical of English hedges. Fans do not know about it and do not want to know, they do not see the play on words in the name of a decorous philistine street - they only demand that the system of coordinates that is familiar to them be preserved. And this, I repeat, is natural, because this is not about literature, but about a cult.

Fans mostly resent some of the names and titles. Why did you translate them into Russian at all? Perhaps it was worth just making a glossary with the disclosure of their meaning, and leaving the original names in the text? For example, Zlotheus (originally even Zlodeus) Zlei is a cold, gloomy character, but not a villain at all.

Snape remained thanks to the editor - with rare exceptions, I did not insist on keeping the names. Perhaps, initially it was worth making a glossary. But that would not be my story. I translated names and titles. Why? It seemed natural to me (especially since it all started with a children's book). How would I do now? Do not know. Most likely, I would not have taken on Harry Potter at all - not because of the dissatisfaction of the fans, of course, but because "each vegetable has its own fruit."

Earlier you said that Potter fans even wrote you letters with death threats. It's terrible, of course, but did it really scare you?

I think it would be unpleasant and slightly uncomfortable for anyone in my place, but I consoled myself with the fact that I spend a lot of time traveling and “they won’t catch up with us.”

"Harry Potter" from the book is quickly turning into something like a Pokemon

Why were your online translations once valued by many fans higher than Rosman's, at that time official, but now they cause so much negativity?

I think that the unofficial, "samizdat", is still attractive in the minds of people, besides, "Harry Potter" was then still just a book. Yes, and the quality of my translations and the truth was higher. But now, for grown-up fans, this very quality is absolutely not important, but what is important is what everyone is used to, because "Harry Potter" from the book is rather rapidly turning into something like a Pokemon. In general, life is hard, the negative in relation to everything in the world has been accumulated in excess and needs to be released.

Why did you work on the Pottery translation under the pseudonym Em. Tasamaya (or M. That one)? I have heard that a pseudonym is often taken because of an “unattractive” surname, but this does not apply to you.

At some point, Rowling's agents sent a request to our then Harry Potter Research Institute website to remove my translations. We deleted it, and some enthusiasts (I don’t remember who, but I thank them very much) posted them under a pseudonym, which was not necessary to take, but it was fun. And so Em was born. Tasamaya - in the form of a joke.

How different is the original translation of the four Harry Potter books, posted online marked "amateur", from the final, already officially published by Swallowtail?

I haven't compared, so I don't know how much. But I know what's different - it's inevitable in editing.

Who made corrections to the translation - you yourself or the editor? Don't you think they look a little… half-hearted? Some names and titles have returned to the original, and some have remained translated.

I worked on the changes together with the editor (famous translator Anastasia Gryzunova.- Note. MirF). Compromises in such cases are inevitable. Therefore, from admirers of my previous translation, I received many letters with curses for "killing them Harry." Directly according to Kharms: a new idea kills a person who is not prepared for it.

How do you rate translations of the Pottery from Rosman? What are the key differences between Rosman's translations and yours?

I can't rate them because I haven't read them. I did not get acquainted with the translations of Marina Litvinova, I started translating before her, my translation was already on the Internet, people wrote and asked for continuation, so I had a great incentive to work further. And the books were republished, because Rosman's rights to translate expired, and the publishing house that bought the rights preferred my work. And now, to my knowledge, books are selling very well, even beyond the expectations of publishers.

How do you feel about Rowling's decision to continue the Harry Potter saga?

This is her right. And, despite my attitude towards the commercialization of the Harry Potter brand, I am sure that as literature, her new work will be no less beautiful than all the previous ones.

About the new book

"The translator is an actor, he puts on the "masks" of the author and heroes"

“Since childhood, Masha Spivak dreamed of becoming a translator, but for some reason she studied to be a mathematical engineer ... however, fate turned out to be favorable - during the crisis of 1998, Masha lost her job.” Sounds sad and a little sarcastic. I wonder if this text, placed on the back cover of your book "Year of the Black Moon", was written by you? If so, you have a good sense of humor.

I no longer remember all the circumstances of writing the cover story for the Year of the Black Moon. I think it was a joint work - mine and publishers. As for being fired and losing my job, it turned out to be not at all sad for me, on the contrary, it became literally a gift of fate, and it would be ingratitude on my part to speak sarcastically about this (although sometimes it’s hard to resist for the sake of a red word). But I have long known how easy it is to run into a sarcastic answer from heaven, and I try not to joke with them once again.

Your book A World Elsewhere is written in English. Can you explain the difference between writing a book in Russian and English - as a person who has experienced it for yourself?

There is a difference between languages, but there is no difference between creating a book in one language or another - the flow of words comes from somewhere above, just have time to write down. English, perhaps, gives a little more freedom, like any "alien disguise", but nothing more.

Your son Nikita worked on the translation of Anne Tyler's book Spool of Blue Thread. Is he also a literary translator? Have you contributed to his work in this field?

"Reel" - the first translation of Nikita, whether he will become a literary translator, time will tell. But, perhaps, it is safe to say that I contributed to his involvement in translation activities - thanks to me he was born and thanks to my carrot and stick he learned English almost from the cradle. The rest is the intricacies of fate and his personal achievements (he already knows five languages).

What translations are you currently working on, and do you have any ideas for your own books? I only know about the translation of John Boyne's The Boy on the Mountaintop.

I was also working on the editing of Spool of Blue Thread, but otherwise I am now doing what I write for myself. Well, I travel, taking advantage of temporary freedom to the fullest.

Do you think a translator is an artist? To what extent is it permissible for him to create on someone else's plot, in an already written work?

The translator is more of an actor: in the process of work, he puts on the “masks” of the author and his characters. As for someone else's plot, the key word here is "alien", in a foreign language - in a different environment, any work is inevitably reincarnated. Translation is similar to a film adaptation - it completely depends on who and how played the role, with what intonation he uttered this or that phrase. The boundaries are blurred. Take, for example, a joke based on a play on words. Is it possible to translate it without taking liberties, without completely changing the phrase in order to keep it funny? But is it possible to completely move away from the situationally inherent meaning in it? The answer "no" to both of these questions forces us to maneuver between words and meanings - sometimes literally headlong.

In 1971, the well-known Soviet literary critic and philologist Mikhail Gasparov, in his article "Bryusov and Literalism", expressed the seditious idea that one should not strive for absolute universality, that "different readers need different types translations". Do you agree with his opinion?

Do you have your own concept of literary translation?

No, and I'm afraid I won't grow up to that.

What genre of literature, in your opinion, now prevails on the market over all the others? And who, in your opinion, orders the music - is it really a general reader or, on the contrary, is demand organized by large publishing houses?

In my personal, poorly organized universe, it often seems that only and exclusively Harry Potter prevails over all genres and will forever prevail over all genres (and not only my own unfortunate works, but also my other quite wonderful translations will never be interested in anyone). But seriously, science fiction and detective stories, such a feeling is created at first glance, no? However, about who orders the music, it would be better to ask the major publishers - or the general reader, if you happen to catch one.

Judging by your site, you are not indifferent to the songs of Sergei Shabutsky and even inspired by them when writing books. What other artists do you like to listen to?

It’s not that I was inspired by them, I just wanted to bring them to the people in a way that was accessible to me. Actually, I don't really like the author's song (besides Shabutsky, there is also Shcherbakov, but not for alphabetical reasons), and my musical tastes are quite eclectic. On one pole, let's say, "Dance Macabre" by Saint-Saens and Bert Ambrose with his orchestra, and on the other - the group "Leningrad" (the choice of names is insignificant and random, just what came to mind).

In one episode of The Simpsons, Lisa Simpson learns the "terrible" truth about the "teenage" book industry: that all the favorite books are created in special conference rooms, the plots are based on market research and written by employees on pills who urgently need money. And publishers are drowning in profits, and teenagers get ten books a year written by a front author. Do you think such a prospect is possible in the future, or perhaps already partially implemented today?

This is very likely, like all dystopian scenarios for the existence and further development of our crazy, crazy world. But, I think, the sprouts of the true, the good, the eternal will always break through from somewhere, somehow.

As soon as the Russian publishing house Makhaon announced that it was preparing a reprint of all the Harry Potter books in translation Maria Spivak, the editors were literally bombarded with angry messages and accusations. The Internet boiled when supporters of Spivak's translation woke up... Reporter site De GRAY decided to remember why at the beginning of the 2000s he, like many other readers and critics, preferred Spivak's translation to the official publication from ROSMEN.

First of all, I would like to note that the comparison of translations of Potter from Marina Litvinova and her team (ROSMEN) and from Maria Spivak is far from a new phenomenon in Runet. They were always compared: the most diverse texts were written on this topic: from school essays and notes on forums to newspaper articles and theses. Literary criticism, which seems quite natural to me personally, consistently preferred Spivak's translations. The most famous example of this is a quote from the newspaper Vlast, whose analyst noted that Maria Viktorovna's translation has all the advantages that the publication from ROSMEN lacks. In 2001, Maria Viktorovna's translation of the Harry Potter series was even nominated for the Little Booker Award (in addition, Spivak won the Unicorn and Lion Silver Prize for the translation of Nicholas Drayson's novel).

Quite predictably, Spivak's decision to adapt the names of his own heroes was the first to cause discontent. Moreover, the most frequent argument against her decision was the following statement: “Proper names are never translated! This rule is!" The strangest thing is that some of those who write such lines call themselves certified translators or students of philological faculties. The author of this article cannot boast of a diploma, although he is not at all alien to translation activities. However, I reserve the right to wonder where such a rule could come from. Perhaps this, comrades, is your personal conviction. However, to pass off your beliefs as laws is at least strange.

Take from your bookshelf any book that is a recognized classic of world literature for children (and "Harry Potter", whatever you say, was written primarily for children, and the fact that it is interesting to an adult audience only speaks of the author's talent and the possibility of putting the work on a par with, say, Alice in Wonderland). Here, by the way, about "Alice". Is it really embarrassing for anyone that Tweedledum and Tweedledee appear on the pages of Demurova's classic translation instead of the original Tweedledum and Tweedledee? Is it embarrassing that the girl from the Hen Villa is known to us as Pippi Longstocking and not as Pippi Langstrump? And we all know Thumbelina, Cinderella, Captain Hook ...

Why is it worth raising so much noise around Rita Skriter, Alastor Moody or Sverkarol Lockhart? Some of Spivak's adaptations of names and titles are real finds. Death Eaters, Privet Street, "At the Curly and the Blob", delighted ... Many readers who have been with Harry Potter from the very beginning could not help but feel the romance of the corridors of Hogwarts castle in these localization options. Opponents begin to be ironic: why then not call Harry Potter Igor Gorshkov? But because the translation of names for Spivak is not an end in itself. She translates them only when it seems necessary to her to convey the shades of meaning that Rowling put into a particular name, or in order to adequately convey puns and puns.

Traditionally, poor Professor Snape gets the most from the disgruntled (as Spivak adapted Snape's last name). By the way, his surname was also localized in official Western translations (Rogue - in France, Piton - in Italy, Kalkaros - in Finland ...).

This is, no doubt, a matter of taste. All this fuss with names can also be called a matter of taste. However, I still cannot understand the indignants. After all, anyone who is dissatisfied can still purchase books in the ROSMEN translation, which suddenly many began to extol as the best (whom did he leave us for!), although there really were a lot of complaints against him. And finally, there is always the original.

Enough about names. Let's talk about the more serious merit of Maria Viktorovna's translation. As she herself said in an interview with our portal, "my translations most accurately convey the "spirit and letter" of Rowling's works." And this is the real truth. Spivak really managed to masterfully convey the author's style of mother Ro. If you read the original Potter, you could not help but notice how simple Rowling's language is: there is no hint of excessive flamboyance, no piling up of verbal constructions, no inappropriate pathos and pomp (all of the above features, however, for some reason are present in the translation from ROSMEN).

Rowling's narration is a living, fluttering butterfly, moderately bright and therefore graceful. Litvinova's translation is an attempt to put this butterfly on a needle and dry it. Moreover, her wings were also painted with markers: it is known that Litvinova periodically rewrote, distorted Rowling's sentences, and sometimes added those that were not in the original. The metaphor with the butterfly may have been inspired by the name of the Makhaon publishing house. In this case, it is, like the names of Rowling's characters, speaking. Spivak's translation may not be perfect, but he spared our butterfly.

Probably, over the years of disputes, all these “arguments for Spivak” have been cited more than once. But having learned how many complaints were "honored" by the decision of "Makhaon" to publish "Potter" in this particular translation, I considered it reasonable to remind the Potter fans of these very arguments. And in conclusion, I note that I, like many others, was extremely pleased with this decision. This is truly the Harry Potter we've been waiting for.

Potter fans have been waiting! Makhaon publishing house publishes books about Harry Potter in the long-awaited translation by Maria Spivak. Successfully emphasized speech features of the characters, puns, speaking surnames and subtle humor retain the spirit and lightness of the original, thanks to which the book is read in one breath....

In the first three days after the appearance on the shelves of JK Rowling's book "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" ("Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"), several million copies of this publication were sold. The Barnes & Noble online store, 48 hours after the start of sales, reported that it had sent customers ...

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As for me, I am an ordinary Rosmenovite. I didn’t even see the translation of Maria Spivak with one eye (except that I heard about the bad Zlodeus Zlee). But now, after reading this article, the desire to evaluate this option has awakened.

In psychology, there is an important concept of "imprinting", that is, fixing the first impression.
Unfortunately, in the field of perception of works of art, most people are completely dominated by stereotypes.
Cliched thinking is one of the saddest properties of the human psyche. People, having adopted one naming system, will instinctively resist another, this is inevitable.
But for those who manage to overcome this, many joyful discoveries await)
For my part, I also look forward to this new edition of HP so much because I was very upset by the previous one. In my opinion, the covers are very unfortunate, do not correspond to the spirit of the book, and the edition is sloppy, made without love.
And the bookends? Tell me, are there empty endpapers in the Machaonian edition too?
(I consider an artistically designed flyleaf a sign of a book published with love, and if the first flyleaf differs from the last, then this is an indicator of the publisher's very good taste))

Now the rating of book sales in the largest Moscow bookstores has been published.
New translation of "Philosopher's Stone" entered the top ten best-selling books.
So the predictions that the book will not be bought have not come true yet.

Mani Spevak (may I also slander her name, like she - Rowling's heroes?) Are afraid of those who do not want their children, after reading a children's book, to ask "to tell them ice cream", did not call a group of strangers a "crowd of idiots" or "a bunch of idiots" dressed in "cretin fashion" were not asked, nine-year-olds: "Mom, what is moonshine? And what does it mean" pecked "?", they didn't say "let me peck you" if they want to kiss ...
In short, those who respect the Russian language and understand that the quality of speech = the quality of the mind.

It seems to me that it is best not to translate the names at all, in order to preserve the color of the original, and in the notes, for example, to give their translation, or meaning.
Rowling's names most often have meaning or some mythological and other connotations.
So the one who called Snape for some reason Snape, Longbottom Longbottom and so on started the evil.



So the one who called Snape for some reason Snape, Longbottom Longbottom and so on started the evil.
And Maria Spivak aggravated it even more. I also think that it was not worth translating the names at all, if this translation would have been left in the footnotes.

Here, many go in cycles in names.
So let's be objective.
Translated from Rosman, the name of the colleges was retained by Slytherin and Gryffindor.
And Ravenclaw (in honor of the founder Rowena Ravenclaw, and not Candida Ravenclaw) for some reason was renamed
Ravenclaw. And Hufflepuff was renamed to pufendui (still renamed to huynedui)
And these people blame Maria Spivak for changing names? All accusers 10 Psak.
Or, for example, the name Hermione in English is pronounced "Hermina"
So how was she remade into "Hermione"? A? Brains. And there are many such examples.
One "lover of shuttlecocks" is worth something. "shuttlecock of death" - how do you like it? Instead of Voldemort.
And Professor Moody (original in English Moody - gloomy). Why was he transferred, remade into a "moody"?
And why is "Moody" worse? Moody at least retains consonance with the original.

P.s. I am very glad that the edition translated by Maria Spivak is coming out.
I would love to add to my collection.

Spivak is an amateur translator. She does not have a special education to deal with such a responsible business. She is unfamiliar with the life of the British, with their cuisine, geography (not only English, but in general). She doesn't even tell feet from meters. How, then, can she be called a translator at all, and how could her translation be chosen for publication?
But the problem is not only this. Spivak also has problems with the Russian language. She builds sentences illiterately, and arranges punctuation marks as they are in the original. Even puts a dash instead of an ellipsis. Apparently, Spivak is not aware that Russian and English punctuation is different. And how many mistakes does she have because she does not know the meaning of words? He confuses drizzle with hoarfrost, a cape with a pier, carpets with tapestries ... Tell me, little things? Well, if you want your children to grow up as illiterate, with a clear conscience turn a blind eye to this.

Now about why we decided that names cannot be translated. Where did you see them doing it? real world? If, for example, the news talks about some Mr. Brown, he is not translated into "Mr. Brown." And if a man by the name of Smith comes to Russia, he does not become Kuznetsov.
Yes, names like Thumbelina and Cinderella have been translated. But these are made-up names, and they are more like nicknames, so that's fine. But the name Lockhart is real! Why on earth should it be remade into Lokons or Charuaeld? In addition, because of all these Russified names, the feeling that the action takes place in England disappears. So you, dear author of the article, do you yourself believe that an Englishman can be called Sverkarol?

And do not say that Spivak translates the names in order to convey some kind of meaning. Because in this case it is not clear why the name Malfoy turned out to be meaningless for her, but for some reason she needed to remake Wood into Trees. What is the logic here? Do you think Rowling hinted that Oliver was made of wood? Spivak didn't touch Minister Fudge, but for some reason Madame Pince called Madam Nipper. It's the librarian! And what about tongs? And she didn't pinch anyone!
And what I don’t understand at all is, by what logic did Spivak choose the endings for all these surnames with Russian roots? What nationality, in her opinion, Madame Moonshine? If you already undertook to Russify, then let him do it completely: Samogonkina, Samogonova, or better just Moonshine.

Yesterday in Bukvoede with a classmate they looked through the Machaonian version of the GP. They were horrified. Apart from the design of the covers, we were not pleased with anything else in these books.
Absolutely agree with No-that-not-the most!
To be honest, I'm shocked by Spivak's translation. More precisely, on how she decided to translate the names and titles. Tell me, why such drastic changes? No brainer that the majority grew up on the Rosman version. Yes, readers of two translations, discussing the book, simply will not even be able to understand each other! Fans of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes are divided into those who say "Watson" and those who say "Watson", but it is obvious that we are talking about one person. Therefore, Dumbledore can still be survived, but why did Snape have to be changed to Snape? What for? I don't see any particular reason for this. It would be possible to replace Snape with Snape, and that would be more than enough.
Rosman's version is also not perfect, however, as Mr. Not-the-not-the-most rightly noted, the spirit of Britain is at least noticeable there. I do not understand these Russified alterations. What for? They create the feeling that the action takes place in the same universe with our brownie Kuzey.
If Spivak noticed speaking names and decided to translate them, why should we forget about sound expressiveness? Villainous Snape is not perceived by Russian readers in the same way as Severus Snape by the British. This interpretation of the name reminds me of Coffin Sklepova from a well-known book. In general, much in Spivak's translation resembles the realities of Tanya Grotter's universe. But unlike the new GP, there such names and titles look quite appropriate, they don’t cut the ear and organically merge into the same row with Baba Yaga or Koshchei the Immortal (who, by the way, are also called in English). In short, Spivak turned out to be a mixture of two cultures.
I also don’t like this replacement of the sound “a” with the sound “y”, as in Dumbledore, Muggles, Fuja ... You might think that all the heroes are from Manchester ... I don’t understand the expediency of such changes. Though I might be nitpicking here...
In general, thank God that I have the opportunity to read in the original, because I will never be able to accept Spivak's translation.

"As she herself said in an interview with our portal," my translations most accurately convey the "spirit and letter" of Rowling's works. And this is the truth. Spivak really managed to masterfully convey the author's style of Ro's mother. not to notice how simple Rowling's language is: there is no hint of excessive flamboyance, no piling up of verbal constructions, no inappropriate pathos and pomp (all of the above features, however, for some reason are present in the translation from ROSMEN)."

I sincerely do not understand the "spirit and letter" without flowery, verbal constructions and heaps from ROSMEN "a. Maria Spivak is an amateur translator who cannot cope not only with translation, but also with her native language, as already noted above. A disgrace , in a word.

Not-that-not-most and others like him, I subscribe to every word.

Translation Spivak - IMHO a dead translation.
I didn’t read beyond the first 2-3 pages (I can’t read THIS at all), so I can’t say anything about the vocabulary, but according to general reviews “cretin”, “idiotic”, “morons” and so on - this book will never will be on my shelves. This is not Russian literary, this is a yard fence, sorry. Who are the people who like it and they sing odes to him?

Translation of proper names... Just a moment, proper names don't really translate. This is the rule, but as always in the great and mighty - not without exceptions. However, the example of the long-suffering Alice is extremely bad example. Alice has more than one, not two, and not three translations (in which even she herself was both Sonya and Anya), until a more or less high-quality, meaningful translation appeared that did not seriously violate either the English idea or Russian vocabulary. But this translation appeared through such labor and sweat, which Spivak never dreamed of - this is one, two - it was made by a high-class professional who analyzed the history of previous translations and conducted his own study of an English-language book. Do you really think these translations are comparable?
Let's remember another thing that also comes from England - the works of J.R.R. Tolkien "a. That's really something close to Harry Potter - also a cult thing that changed the worldview of an infinite number of people, which also does not have a final high-quality translation. And how many disputes were there? How many discussions? But among the ordinary everyday reader (and for whom are we , in fact, we translate, if not for him?) the best translation is a translation WITHOUT translation of proper names (in some places with a blind eye to vocabulary), despite the fact that the professor himself recommended translating, but this only led to the fact that you open the 1st volume - there is Baggins, Kolobrod, Razdol, you open the 2nd volume - there is Sumkins, the Wanderer, Rivendell... who is where who? The plot has become untraceable - that's the beauty of translating proper names and nothing more. I could understand if it weren't there, but it's there, and it's stuck in. That's it.
And all right, if Spivak translated all the names honestly ... but where is it? What is the rationale for such a translation of Severus Snape (yes, long-suffering, because M.S. made him so)? Why Zledeus Zley (or whatever it is?), why not Severe Uryupinsk, for example? Severus = harsh, and Snape is the name of the village... so the translation would be more honest, by the way. =) And logically, it's not far from the truth either: is the professor harsh? Severe! And what are the associations with Uryupinsk in Russia? Also not the most positive (well, or let's take Chelyabinsk))) and even better - Chernobyl!!! It's totally perfect.)
Samagoni - what is it anyway? How is that? who is this for? for kids? Seriously?
(P.S. Is it true that Hog became Coxworth???? ._. I couldn't believe my eyes when I read it)

Further, to refer to France, Italy and other countries "and they did it there!" is an even worse option. What will be relevant there will not necessarily be relevant here - I am talking about this precisely from the point of view of literature. History has proven this a thousand times, but we still point our fingers in that direction, justifying any of our stupidity. What for?
And the proud “spirit and letter” is especially pleasing ... Another literary rule is never to translate literally! Never! Well, their vocabulary does not fit with ours, they have a literary one - different, completely, in general. ROSMEN, you see, they "distorted the proposal", "finished it", "rewrote it". But for a literary translation, this is normal, didn’t you know? As for “there is no hint of excessive flamboyance, no piling up of verbal constructions, no inappropriate pathos and loftiness”, on the contrary, I see this with M.S., but not with ROSMEN, who swallowed in one breath ... The 5th book was read in just 20 hours, literally swallowed, and nowhere did I stumble over some complex structures, excessive pathos and pomp. Where? Examples? And since we are talking about M.S. - double examples. Compare literature.
Based on all this, the big question is, who “planted a butterfly on a needle”?
Undoubtedly, M.S. there is positive points in the text (she sighed over “Voldemort”, crossed out the soft sign and smiled), but there are no more of them than in the same ROSMEN, however, for the vast majority of readers, all possible pluses are boldly crossed out by the translation of names.
(P.P.S. Why "overwhelming"? Let's take a look at the fanfiction... I didn't see a single Zleev there, but this is still an indicator of the prevailing well-established variants of name translations)
M.S. on the one hand, she issued a book for one age (“childish” names of the characters), and on the other hand, for another (profanity). Thus, the first (up to 16-18) should not be given a book, and the second (18+) simply does not need it, because it is distorted and childish. Well, now what to do with it?

In general, I look longingly at new books and understand that the only thing I can do is do with them the same thing that Potter did with the book of the Half-Blood Prince: tear out the text of Spivak from the covers and paste the translation of ROSMEN into it ... here just not the fact that it will match in size.
Covers are very sorry - high quality (
P.P.P.S. I do not claim that ROSMEN was translated perfectly (part 3, it seems, did not pass the proofreader or editor at all), but their translation is definitely better than that of M.S.

On Friday, July 20, the translator Maria Spivak, best known for translating the books of JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter saga, died. Spivak's work was marked by literary awards, but she did not enjoy much love among Potter fans: they even created an online petition to remove Spivak from translating Rowling's books.

Director of the Russian book publishing house "Phantom Press" Alla Shteinman on Friday, July 20, announced the death of the translator of books about Harry Potter, Maria Spivak.

Information about the death of Spivak was also confirmed by the translator Olga Varshaver.

The remark about "debriefing" refers to the ambiguous reputation that Maria Spivak enjoyed with Russian-speaking fans of the work of the English writer JK Rowling.

Spivak was not a professional translator. She herself described her entry into the profession in an interview with PotterLand.

I am a mathematical engineer by training, and I became a translator magically - thanks to Harry Potter. Our destinies are similar: it was suddenly revealed to him that he was a sorcerer, and to me - that I was a translator. For me, retelling a foreign text in my own language - my own in every sense: my own and my own - and conveying all the nuances of this text is a real pleasure.

Maria met Harry Potter in the original language in 2000 and immediately decided to create her own, author's translation of Rowling's books into Russian. By that time, Spivak already had experience in literary translation - she retold Douglas Adams' cult novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in Russian, and this translation was a success with her friends.

In her version, Spivak tried to translate proper names almost literally, which is how Professor Dumbledore, Neville Longbottom, and Slotheus Snape appeared. At the same time, Dumbler, Dolgobotups and Severus Snape appeared in the official translation from the Rosman publishing house.

From 2000 to 2002, Rowling's first four books about a boy with a scar on his forehead, translated by Maria Spivak, were published on the Harry Potter Research Institute website. However, after the intervention of the copyright holders, the translations were removed, and Spivak continued to work on the next two books in the series under the pseudonym Em. Tasamaya.

In 2013, the Rosmen publishing house ended the license to publish the works of JK Rowling in Russian, and Makhaon, a member of the Azbuka-Atticus group, began publishing books. The new publishers refused to cooperate with the translator Marina Litvinova and her colleagues who collaborated with Rosmen and turned to Spivak.

Later, the translator complained that some of the publisher's editors' decisions led readers to dislike her translations. Here is what she said in an interview with the Harry Potter Research Institute.

While my translation was only online, I received millions of enthusiastic letters. And when it was published, I began to receive not only numerous abusive reviews, but even more numerous threats to kill me.

To date, there have been eleven books published by JK Rowling translated by Maria Spivak, including Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Quidditch Through the Ages, and Tales of Beedle the Bard.

In 2017, when the Azbuka-Atticus publishing house announced the publication of a new book about Harry Potter, which is a printed version of the script for the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, opponents of Spivak's translations created a request to invite another translator to work on the project. Harry Potter fans pointed out that "the new books have lost their charm and atmosphere and, moreover, have acquired much more unpleasant features."

Starting with the translation of names and titles and ending with the literary style itself, this translation does not just change, but spoils a wonderful work. For example, several options for names: Professor Dumbledore became Dumbledore, the Dursleys are now the Dursleys, Severus Snape (attention!) - Zloteus Snape, Luna - Psychona,
Madame Hooch \ Trick - Madame Moonshine, Oliver Wood - Oliver Tree. Apparently, the Makhaon publishing house believes that Psychants, Moonshine and Zhukpuks have a very fruitful effect on the children's mind.

The petitioners pointed out that Rowling's version of "Swallowtail" in Rowling's books featured rude language and what they identified as "gag" by the translator. More than 70,000 people signed in support of this point of view. However, ABC-Atticus did not listen to their opinion and published a book that