Before you scroll
through this post thinking I’m doing a review on the Harry Potter series that is written by J.K. Rowling. Have you read
the English version of Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone? I am
guessing you haven’t since the original publishing company, Bloomsbury, does
not exist in the United States (US).
The American version of Harry Potter was published by Scholastic in
1998, a year after it was published in the United Kingdom (UK).
With
that being said, I am sure you are now wondering if there is a difference
between the two versions. The answer is...not as terribly different as I
thought it would be. Before I read
both versions of Harry Potter I
thought the entire story would be different since the UK and the US pronounce
and spell their words differently. Besides changing the words around, the fonts
were completely different for number of reasons. First, the spacing is bigger
in the US version than the UK version, which is why Harry Potter And The
Philosopher’s Stone is a smaller book than Harry Potter and the
Sorcerer’s Stone. Second, in Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone,
there are pictures at the beginning of each chapter unlike Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone where there are none. Third, the font is also different
when it comes to the characters receiving letters, the UK font does not stand
out clearly unlike the US version that looks like the letter either has been
handwritten or a formal letter. An example of this is Harry’s acceptance letter
to Hogwarts. Finally, notice in the pictures that I took of the fist chapter,
notice how there is not a period after “Mrs.” and “Mr.” Dursley and there isn’t
a period after “Mr” in Harry’s acceptence letter to Hogwarts. Weird!
Here
is a list of the differences between Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s
Stone and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone:
-There is no Table of Contents in Harry Potter and
the Philosopher’s Stone but there is one in Harry Potter and the
Sorcerer’s Stone.
Chapter 1: The Boy Who Lived
Scene: Aunt
Petunia was talking to Uncle Vernon about her sister, Lilly Potter and her
witch/wizard crowd…
UK – Her lot
US – Her crowd
Scene: Dudley
learned a new word that day!
UK- shan’t
US- won’t
Chapter 3: The Letters from No One
Just the font of
Harry’s acceptence letter to Hogwarts is different
Chapter 11: Quidditch
Scene: After
Professor Snape took away Harry’s library book (along with five points from
Gryffindor), Harry was looking for Snape to get his book back when he saw
Professor Snape talking to Professor Quill. Harry suspected that Professor Snape was after the stone so
he told Ron and Hermione. Ron says the word Halloween differently.
UK- Hallowe’en
US-Halloween
Chapter 12: The Mirror of Erised
Scene: Harry and
Ron stayed at Hogwarts for Christmas, early Christmas morning they say two
different ways for “merry”
UK- Happy
Christmas
US- Merry
Christmas
In
concluding, the Harry Potter series
that was created by J.K. Rowling originally published in the United Kingdom as Harry
Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and then in the United States a year
later as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Over all, both versions
basically tell the same story just some grammar and the fonts have changed. If
you have read the Harry Potter series until you have memorized it all, then
perhaps consider reading another version that is not sold in America.
Side note: If you
want to know why the Harry Potter titles are different, here is a link that
explains it. Also, it really does bug me that a lot of Americans do
mispronounce J.K. Rowling’s last name, so here is a link to a video on how to
say her last name correctly. Enjoy and please pronounce her last name right for
the love of Pete!
(reason why this Harry Potter book titles are different)
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. New York : Scholastic , 1998. Print.
The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2017.
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