Opinion: why Spivak’s translation is the best. Biography and personal life of the Russian translator Maria Spivak About Lily Potter, we know that she had green eyes, she was kind and did not allow Snape to be offended

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

First of all, I would like to note that comparison of Potter translations from Marina Litvinova and her team (ROSMEN) and from Maria Spivak is far from a new phenomenon in RuNet. They were always compared: a wide variety of texts were written on this topic: from school essays and notes on forums to newspaper articles and theses. Literary criticism, which personally seems quite logical to me, has consistently given preference to Spivak’s translations. Most known to him an example is a quote from the newspaper “Vlast”, an analyst of which noted that Maria Viktorovna’s translation has all the advantages that the edition from ROSMEN lacks. In 2001, Maria Viktorovna’s translation of Potter was even nominated for the Small Booker Award (in addition, Spivak won the silver prize of the Unicorn and the Lion Award for the translation of Nicholas Drayson’s novel).

Quite predictably, the dissatisfaction was primarily caused by Spivak’s decision to adapt the characters’ proper names. 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 these, comrades, are your personal beliefs. However, presenting your beliefs as laws is, to say the 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 also 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”). By the way, about “Alice”. Is it really confusing for anyone that on the pages of Demurova’s classic translation Tweedledum and Tweedledum appear instead of the original Tweedledum and Tweedledee? Is it confusing 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 making so much fuss about Rita Writer, Alastor Moody or Sparkle Lockhart? Some of Spivak’s options for adapting names and titles are real finds. Death Eaters, Privet Street, “At the Curly and the Klyakts”, usladel... Many readers who were 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 sneer: why not call Harry Potter Igor Gorshkov? But because translating names is not an end in itself for Spivak. She translates them only when she feels it necessary to convey the nuances of meaning that Rowling put into a particular name, or in order to adequately convey puns and wordplay.

Traditionally, poor Professor Snape gets the most from the dissatisfied (this is how Spivak adapted Snape’s surname). By the way, his surname has also been localized in official Western translations (Rogue - in France, Piton - in Italy, Kalkaros - in Finland...).

This is undoubtedly a matter of taste. All this fuss with names can also be called a matter of taste. However, I still cannot understand those who are indignant. After all, anyone who is dissatisfied can still purchase books translated by ROSMEN, which suddenly many began to extol as the best (who left us!), although a lot of complaints have actually accumulated against it. And finally, the original always remains.

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 true truth. Spivak really managed to masterfully convey the author's style of Mom Ro. If you read the original Potter series, you couldn’t help but notice how simple Rowling’s language is: there is no hint of excessive floweriness, no clutter of verbal constructions, no inappropriate pathos and pomposity (all of the above features, however, are somehow present in the translation from ROSMEN).

Rowling's narrative 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 colored with markers: it is known that Litvinova periodically rewrote and distorted Rowling’s sentences, and sometimes added those that were not in the original. The butterfly metaphor may have been inspired by the name of the publishing house “Swallowtail”. In this case, it, like the names of Rowling’s characters, speaks. Spivak's translation may not be perfect, but he spared our butterfly.

Probably, over the years of controversy, all these “arguments for Spivak” have been presented more than once. But having learned how many complaints the decision of “Swallowtail” to publish “Potter” in this particular translation “received”, I considered it reasonable to remind Potter lovers of these very arguments. In conclusion, I would like to note that I, like many others, was extremely pleased with this decision. This is truly the Harry Potter we've been waiting for.

Potter lovers have waited! The Swallowtail publishing house is releasing books about Harry Potter in the long-awaited translation by Maria Spivak. Well underlined speech features characters, wordplay, telling names and subtle humor preserve 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 J. K. Rowling's book "Harry Potter and the Fatal Powers" ("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’m an ordinary Rosmenovite. I haven’t even seen Maria Spivak’s translation (except that I heard about the bad Villainous Evil One). But now, after reading this article, the desire to evaluate this option has awakened.

In psychology there is important concept"imprinting", i.e. consolidating the first impression.
Unfortunately, in the field of perception of works of art, most people are completely dominated by stereotypes.
Clichéd thinking is one of the saddest properties of the human psyche. People, having accepted 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 am also looking forward to this new edition of G.P. 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 publication is careless, made without love.
What about the endpapers? Tell me, are the endpapers in the Machaon edition also empty?
(I consider an artistically designed endpaper a sign of a book published with love, and if the first endpaper differs from the last, then this is a very indicator good taste from the publisher))

The ranking of book sales in the largest Moscow bookstores has now been published.
The new translation of "The Philosopher's Stone" is among the top ten best-selling books.
So the predictions that the book would not be bought have not yet come true.

Mani Spevak (can I also curse her name like she does Rowling’s characters?) is feared by those who don’t want their children, after reading a children’s book, to ask to “sell them some ice cream,” or to 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”? What does “peck” mean?”, they did not say “let me peck you” if they wanted 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 names at all, in order to preserve the flavor of the original, but in the notes, for example, to give their translation or meaning.
Rowling's names most often have meaning or some kind of mythological and other connotations.
So the evil started from the one who for some reason called Snape Snape, Longbottom Longbottom, and so on.



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

Many people here are fixated on names.
So let's be objective.
Translation from Rosman, the names of the colleges were retained by Slytherin and Gryffindor.
And Rowenclaw (in honor of the founder Rowena Rowenclaw, not Candida Ravenclaw) for some reason was renamed
Ravenclaw. And Hufflepuff was renamed Hufflepuff (they might as well have renamed Hufflepuff)
And these people blame Maria Spivak for changing the names? 10 Psak to all accusers.
Or, for example, the name Hermione in English is pronounced "Hermina"
So why was she remade into “Hermione”? A? Overthinking. And many such examples can be given.
One “shuffle lover” is worth something. “Shutter shuttlecock of death” - how do you like it? Instead of Voldemort.
And Professor Moody (original in English: Moody - gloomy). Why was he transferred, turned into a “grumman”?
And why is "Moody" worse? Moody at least remains in tune with the original.

P.s. I am very glad that an edition translated by Maria Spivak is being published.
I would be happy to buy it for my collection.

Spivak is an amateur translator. She does not have the special education to do such a responsible job. She is unfamiliar with the way of life of the English, with their cuisine, geography (not only English, but in general). She doesn't even know feet from meters. How can she even be called a translator, and how could her translation be selected for publication?
But this is not the only problem. Spivak also has problems with the Russian language. She constructs sentences illiterately, and places punctuation marks as they are placed in the original. He even puts a dash instead of an ellipsis. Apparently, Spivak is not aware that the Russian and English punctuation are different. How many mistakes does she make because she doesn’t know the meaning of words? Confuses drizzle with frost, cape with pier, carpets with tapestries... Little things, you say? Well, if you want your children to grow up as illiterate, with a clear conscience, close your eyes to this.

Now about why we decided that names cannot be translated. Where have you seen this done in the real world? If, for example, the news talks about some Mr. Brown, he is not transferred to “Mr. Brown”. And if a person named Smith comes to Russia, he does not become Kuznetsov.
Yes, names like Thumbelina and Cinderella have been translated. But these are fictitious names and they are more like nicknames, so it's okay. But the name Lockhart is real! Why on earth should she be remade into Lokons or Charuaeld? In addition, because of all these Russified names, the feeling that the action takes place in England disappears. Do you, dear author of the article, believe that an Englishman can be called Sverkarol?

And there is no need to say that Spivak translates names in order to convey some kind of meaning. Because in this case, it is not clear why the surname Malfoy turned out to be meaningless for her, but for some reason she needed to change Wood into Tree. What's the logic here? Do you think Rowling was implying that Oliver is wooden? Spivak did not touch Minister Fudge, but for some reason Madame Pince called her Madame Nipper. It's the librarian! What does this have to do with the tongs? And she didn’t pinch anyone there!
And what I don’t understand at all is by what logic Spivak chose the endings for all these surnames with Russian roots? What nationality does she think Madame Samogoni is? If you are going to Russify, then let him do it completely: Samogonkina, Samogonova, or better yet, just Samogonka.

Yesterday in Bukvoed a classmate and I watched the Makhaon version of the GP. They were horrified. Apart from the cover design, there was nothing else that pleased us about these books.
I absolutely agree with Not-that-not-the-most!
To be honest, I am shocked by Spivak’s translation. More precisely, from how she decided to translate names and titles. Tell me, why such drastic changes? It’s a no brainer that the majority grew up on Rosman’s version. Yes, readers of the 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 to both that we are talking about the same person. Therefore, Dumbledore can still be survived, but why did Snape have to be changed for Snape? For what? I don't see any particular reason for this. Snape could have been replaced with Snape, and that would have been more than enough.
Rosman's version is also not ideal, however, as Mr. Not-that-not-the-most correctly noted, the spirit of Britain is at least noticeable there. I don’t understand these Russified alterations. For what? They create the feeling that the action takes place in the same universe as our brownie Kuzya.
If Spivak noticed speaking names and decided to translate them, why should we forget about sound expressiveness? The villainous Snape is not perceived by Russian readers in the same way as Severus Snape is perceived by British readers. This interpretation of the name reminds me of Grobynya Sklepova from the well-known book. In general, much in Spivak’s translation resembles the realities of Tanya Grotter’s universe. But unlike the new GP, these kinds of names and titles look quite appropriate, they don’t offend the ears and organically fit in with Baba Yaga or Koshchei the Immortal (who, by the way, are also called in English). In short, Spivak created a mixture of two cultures.
I also don’t like this replacement of the sound “a” with the sound “u”, as in Dumbledore, Moogles, Fudge... You might think that all the heroes are from Manchester... I don’t understand the expediency of such changes. Although I might just 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 true truth. Spivak really managed to masterfully convey the author’s style of Mom Ro. If you read Potter in the original, you couldn’t not to notice how simple Rowling’s language is: there is no hint of excessive floweriness, no clutter of verbal constructions, no inappropriate pathos and pomposity (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 floweriness, verbal constructions and heaps from ROSMEN. Maria Spivak is an amateur translator who cannot cope not only with translation, but also with her native language, as noted above. Disgraceful , in a word.

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

Spivak's translation is a dead translation IMHO.
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 “cretinous”, “idiotic”, “morons” and so on - this book will never be will be on my shelves. This is not Russian literary, this is a yard fence, sorry. Who are the people who like it and sing odes to it?

Translation of proper names... For a moment, proper names really are not translated. This is the rule, but as always in the great and powerful - not without exceptions. However, the example of long-suffering Alice is an extremely bad example. Alice had more than one, not two, or 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 work and sweat that Spivak could not even dream of - this is one, two - it was made by a high-class professional who analyzed the history of previous translations and conducted his own research of the English-language book. Do you really think that these translations are comparable?
Let's remember another thing also from England - the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. This is 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. 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 translating proper names (in some places with a blind eye to the vocabulary), despite the fact that the professor himself recommended translating, but this only led to the fact that you open the 1st volume - there are Bagbags, Kolobrod, Razdol, you open the 2nd volume - there is Sumkins, the Wanderer, Rivendell... who is who? The plot has become untraceable - that’s the beauty of translating proper names and nothing more. Why create names when there is already an established version? I still I could understand if it didn't exist, but it exists, and it's stuck. That's it. Basta!
And okay, if Spivak translated all the names honestly... but where? What is the basis for such a translation of Severus Snape (yes, long-suffering, because M.S. made him that way)? Why Zledeus Snape (or whatever his name is?), why not Harsh Uryupinsk, for example? Severus = stern, and Snape is the name of the village... this will be a more honest translation, by the way. =) And logically it’s also not far from the truth: is the professor harsh? Severe! What are the associations with Uryupinsk in Russia? Also not the most positive (well, or let’s take Chelyabinsk))) and even better - Chernoble!!! This is absolutely perfect).
Samagoni - what is it? How is that? who is this for? for children? seriously?
(P.S. Is it true that Hog became Cocksworth???? ._. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read it)

Further, refer to France, Italy and other countries “but they did it there!” - this 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 already proven this a thousand times, but we still point our fingers in that direction, justifying any of our stupidity. For what?
And the proud “spirit and letter” is especially pleasing... Another literary rule is to never translate literally! Never! Well, their vocabulary doesn’t fit with ours; their literary language itself is different, completely, in general. ROSMAN, you see, they “distorted the sentence”, “added it”, “rewrote it”. But for literary translation this is normal, didn’t you know? As for “there is no hint of excessive floweriness, no heap of verbal constructions, no inappropriate pathos and pomp,” then on the contrary, I see this in M.S., but not in ROSMAN, who devoured it in one breath... The 5th book was read in just 20 hours, literally swallowed, and nowhere did I stumble over any complex structures, excessive pathos and pomposity. Where? Examples? And since we’re talking about M.S. - double examples. Let's compare literary quality.
Based on all this, the big question is, who “put the butterfly on the needle”?
Undoubtedly, M.S. there are positive aspects 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 ROSMAN, however, for the overwhelming number of readers, all possible advantages 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 one there, but this is still an indicator of the existing established variants of name translations)
M.S. gave out, on the one hand, a book for one age ("children's" names of the characters), and on the other - for another (profanity). Thus, the first ones (up to 16-18) cannot be given a book, and the second ones (18+) simply don’t need it anymore, because it’s distorted and childish. Well, what should we do with it now?

In general, I look longingly at the 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 Spivak’s text from the covers and paste ROSMAN’s translation there... here It’s just not a fact that they will match in size.
It's a shame the covers are high quality(
P.P.P.S. I don’t claim that ROSMAN was translated perfectly (part 3, it seems, did not go through a proofreader or editor at all), but their translation is definitely better than M.S.

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

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

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

In 2016, Maria Spivak worked on translating the last eighth part of the series of books by 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 “gags” and free retelling.”

The very news that Maria Spivak will be translating the book upset fans of the Potter universe. Most of them began their acquaintance with the series of books with a translation from the ROSMEN publishing house. However, in 2013, the publishing rights were transferred to the Machaon 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 social networks published fragments of the text in which they found numerous errors, 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 characters' names and surnames and used them as puns. So, Severus Snape turned into Zloteus Snape, Luna into Psycho Lovegood, and Madame Trick into Madame Moonshine.

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

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

Maria Spivak in interview The Gorky publication admitted that she was not familiar with other translations of books about Harry Potter, and when working on the text, she started from the meaning inherent in the names and “tried to convey the same thing in Russian.”

“Severus Snape is a name that also sounds frankly harsh, although my version certainly sounds harsher. However, the word “Zloteus” implies both “evil” and “gold” at the same time, so the double connotation of this character’s 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 also those who supported her. So, translator of the fifth book about Harry Potter stated, that “the translator should be guided by the opinion of the public, but not follow its lead,” emphasizing that the adaptation of names is Spivak’s own business.

Maria Spivak is a Russian writer and translator. It gained its greatest popularity after the release of translations of JK Rowling’s book series “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.” Parts one and two." She is also the author of two novels, The 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 the Birds of East Africa.

Premiere of the play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Parts one and two” took place on July 30, 2016 in London at the Palace Theatre. The play was directed by director John Tiffany. The action of “Cursed Child” begins immediately after the finale of the seventh part of the series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”

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

When did you first read Harry Potter?

In 2000, a friend from America sent me a book. Her husband worked in Russia - he brought Harry Potter as a gift. I remember lying down on the sofa with a book and never getting up from it until I finished reading it.

Did you learn English at school?

No, I studied German at school. I studied English with a tutor who was hired by my parents.

When did you start wanting to become a translator?

In general, I am a mathematical engineer by training, graduated from MIIT. After university I translated for several years scientific texts for the Academy of Sciences, and then got a job as a manager in an office that sold computers and software, — and began translating instructions and other technical things for them. The head of this company also knew English - and began to bring me his favorite books. He really liked Douglas Adams - and I usually give in if someone praises a book. I read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and began translating it to read aloud to my family. Then 1998 happened, I was fired, and my husband told me: “Stop looking for a job, let’s be a translator.” Not in the sense that I should. But what can I do if I want?

At that time I had no idea what kind of profession this was - I simply translated as it was. Then I noticed that I was repeating many words, and began to rewrite, use synonyms, get rid of constructions unusual for the Russian language with a bunch of subordinate clauses. In general, it was a student translation. “Harry Potter” was going completely differently.

Did you also translate Harry Potter for your husband and son at first?

Yes. It seems to me now that it really was witchcraft: I read the book in one sitting, and the next day I found myself in front of a large computer. Although Nikita (son of Maria Spivak. —Esquire) was then 13-14 years old, and he could probably already read English. That's why in my version he only knows the first book. After all, he didn’t read any of my translations, books or stories. Shy.

What are you ashamed of? Afraid that you won’t like it and that it will be awkward?

Don't know. Shy. I'm his mother, not a translator. Although he helped me translate the last play (we are talking about the play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.” - Esquire).

And you weren’t the only one who made amateur translations of Harry Potter?

Yes, there were a lot of translators on the Internet, we competed with each other in speed - for us it was a really fun game. My husband tried to give my translation to a publishing house, and when they didn’t accept it, he created the website of the Harry Potter Research Institute, where he posted these texts. He created the site alone, although he presented it as a serious project with a large number of people supposedly working on it. My husband read out the comments to me - then I was very praised, of course. Three thousand people came to the site, and everyone wrote some kind of jubilant messages, what a great job I was. Naturally, this was encouraging. But, in fact, my only true love was the first book. Then people began to demand, and I translated for them - there was nowhere to go. I didn’t know that this story would have some kind of continuation.

So you only loved the first book? What about the rest?

There is no talk of dislike. For a very long time I was satisfied with everything that was there. Then, towards the fourth book, the film came out - and Rowling herself, under pressure, began to make certain decisions. And these moments upset me a little. But, again, I didn’t really read, I translated. And when you see a book this thickness, over which you sit for a long time at the computer, there won’t be much love - it’s not the same as lying on the couch and then going for a walk.

At first, “Harry Potter” was just a book, but now it is a cult, “Harry Pottery.” No other book has had such an impact on people's lives.

And in general, I never liked fantasy. At first, “Harry Potter” was just a fairy tale, and then this increased detail began - biographies began to be written for the heroes. Rowling, for example, said that Dumbledore was gay. Well, why is this in a children's book? Somehow this is no longer so interesting.

How long did it take to translate The Philosopher's Stone?

I won’t say exactly, but not much, about three to four months. It’s not that I lashed out - there were other things to do. Some things were invented on the fly - successfully and not so well.

You see, at first “Harry Potter” was just a book, and you had to treat it like a book: in many countries they translated names, as I did, because they are speaking. It was like that until a certain moment, and then “Harry Potter” became... I still don’t understand what it is. This is something unique. And a book, and a movie, and a computer game, and a cult of worship - all this Harripotteria. And this phenomenon has no analogues, in my opinion - no other book has so influenced the lives of people all over the world.

Now I have a different opinion about names. Now it seems to me that they should be the same as in the original. But I couldn’t foresee a worldwide cult, and then it was stupid to change my shoes. By the time “Swallowtail” decided to publish my translation, I no longer thought about this story at all. I took on the seventh book under great pressure from those who were accustomed to my style. This feeling can be compared to marriage: the first year with a person is not like the thirtieth, and love from passion is not like love for money.

Is Harry Potter a commercial story for you now?

No, that's not true. In 2013, when Rosman ceased to own the exclusive rights to Harry Potter in Russia, the publishing house Azbuka-Atticus offered to publish my translation. I refused because I was not satisfied with the harsh editing - when the editor considers himself more important than me. This is too expensive for me. I'm rarely edited at all, so I'm capricious in this regard. Six months later, “Swallowtail” came to me with much better conditions(“Swallowtail” is part of the publishing group “Azbuka-Atticus”. —Esquire). They said they would leave everything as it is. This respectful approach suited me, because the most important thing for me is not to be offended. Plus, they appointed a very good editor: Nastya Korzunova is very smart, she sees shortcomings like a computer. I calmly entrusted her with the text and allowed her to change a lot: literally two titles she asked not to touch, but everything else was welcome.

What are the two names?

I asked to leave the "moogles". I think it conveys the meaning better. There is a disdain in this word - in contrast to the word "muggle", which is phonetically similar to "magician". Rowling coined the term muggle at a time when there was no talk of any political correctness, this word is imbued with arrogance ( muggle- derived from mug, which is British slang for "a stupid person who is easily fooled." —Esquire) And, it seems to me that in Russian “muggles” convey this attitude much better. At least it seemed so to me then. Now I don't care. If you want "Muggles", take "Muggles".

And the second?

Hagrid, not Hagrid, because there's something spitting about the name Hagrid. And Hagrid is a bit of an ogre.

Did you come up with the names yourself or did you consult with someone?

Mostly by myself. They were easy enough to come up with, but it also happened that I got stuck on some. And then my husband and I went to bed thinking about this name - and thought and thought. But he rarely came up with something successful.

Do you remember which names were difficult?

It was difficult with the pen of Rita Vrita. In the original it is Quick-Quotes Quill, and I called it principled (“The Quick-Writing Pen” in Rosman’s translation. —Esquire). We thought for a long time and came up with a lot of good things, but everything was wrong. In the end, the meaning turned out to be a little different, but it seems to me that a Russian person understands such a play on words like no one else.

What about the street where the Dursleys lived? Fans are very picky about your version.

Why Privet? The amazing is nearby. In the original it is called Privet Drive, from English privet translated as “privet” - this is a typical plant for England, classic, boring, but very stable. In "Rosman" they named the street Tisovaya - it is completely unclear for what reason. This has always amazed me.

Fans suggested an alternative option: not to translate street names at all. What would you do now?

I would probably still translate the streets. Still, the context needs to be clear: not everyone speaks English. In general, there are many controversial issues here. For example, my director's name is Dumbledore. The editor kept the name because she thought it sounded better than Dumbledore - a reference to the bumblebee that buzzes (name Dumbledore comes from English bumblebee. According to Rowling, she gave the character this name because of his passion for music: she imagined him walking around humming to himself. — Esquire). And I agreed, because Dumbledore had an object that I called “doubledum” (in Rosman’s translation - a pensieve; in the original - pension. This word in turn comes from English passive(thoughtful) and has Latin roots: pensare means "to think". —Esquire). With Dumbledore we would have to call him something else. This is the only reason why I allowed Dumbledore to stay. And so I thought: let it be as people are used to.

You probably know what controversies there were on the Internet about names...

I don't know everything, but I know something. It’s impossible not to know when you get “die, you bastard” on your phone.

Seriously?

Yes, they threatened me, they wanted to kill me. But I believe in such things, I begin to be afraid. As for names: at one time my translation was logical. And now they [the fans] are right in a way, because Harry Potter is the whole world, and it's better for everything to sound the same. I even talked to my publisher that it would be a good idea to publish the series again, but change the names. Of course, I won’t take on this anymore, but if the editor took it on, then why not? I don't understand why this is all so difficult. Previously, any number of translations could be published - like with “Alice in Wonderland” or “Winnie the Pooh”. Maybe they’ll get around to it with Harry Potter. After all, my text itself - and I’m sure of this - is better than another Russian translation, because it was done too quickly. At least for that reason.

It seems you haven’t read the translation of “Rosman”?

No. I read Harry Potter only in English, and then on the go. But at some point films began to come out - that’s how I found out what the translation of Oransky, Litvinova and the others sounded like. In principle, I realized that this translation into cinema suits me, although I don’t really like films. Then Rosman had very good translators, but they became hostage to the translation of their colleagues: that is, they did not come up with “Hufflepuff,” which, in my opinion, sounds very strange.

Have you talked to people from Rosman?

No, the publishers didn’t want to see or hear from me, they hated me.

Is it true? What did this mean?

My husband told me that they were talking about me at Rosman. Not that it was nasty, but from their words it became clear that it was impossible to know me and that with my translation I had sunk to the very bottom that exists. Something like that. Therefore, even if all the translators ran away from them, they still wouldn’t take me.

Where does this attitude come from?

Because I was popular on the Internet. Then the copyright holders, Rowling's agents, forbade me to post translations - and I gave the site to the fans. It still exists in some form, but I don’t go there at all.

Do you have a favorite hero?

This doesn't happen to me. A lot of people.

Do you have to somehow immerse yourself in the characters in a special way in order to speak like them?

For me this happens somehow on its own. Although, for example, the same Hagrid says this because I imagined my school friend - she is a nurse in a children's intensive care unit. Not completely, of course, but they have something in common.

Before translating, what were your favorite books?

Oh, I have so many favorite books, and it’s impossible to name the best one. For example, “The Forsyte Saga” is not even a favorite book, but some kind of special book for me. I read it when I was 12 and then re-read it almost every year. Although in English the first short story did not make an impression on me at all. It was the translator’s work that fascinated me. For a long time I really liked Nabokov. Now for some reason it suddenly stopped. It’s the same with “The Master and Margarita”.

“Harry Potter” made me the translator I was born to be, I just didn’t know it. They touched me with a magic wand, and I went on my way.

Since I became a translator, I almost stopped being a reader. For myself, I only read in English, because with text in Russian my reflex worked, and I began to mentally edit it. So mostly I read American, English literature, and usually nonsense, because before bed.

Do you remember your first serious translation job?

Yes, Eskmo gave it to me for translation The Volcano Lover Susan Sontag. I felt so responsible that I finished it in four months. The book was very difficult, I had to actually rewrite it. There is another translation of the novel - it sounds like bullshit. And I wrote very beautifully. I sat for a long time every day. My son went to school, my husband went to work, and I sat down at the computer and sat until the evening, and then fell on the sofa.

Was this during Harry Potter?

Hardly at the same time. They paid attention to me because of Harry Potter. A fairly well-known person in the field, Max Nemtsov, found out about me and decided to ask for help in translation - it turns out that he made me a real translator. We met in a cafe and talked for a very long time about Rowling, about books in general, about this and that. I felt like I had accidentally found myself among the saints and was glad that I was allowed to become part of the community. And then Max gave me a book to translate - I forgot which one, it looked like a detective story - and I didn’t like it at all. I said this honestly. And then Max rejoiced - he said that it was a test and that in fact he was going to give the book to Sontag. Well, there’s no more talk here - I sat down to translate without even reading. During the process, it became clear that this was a very difficult book to translate, but I managed to do it anyway. True, I still read the following books first.

Are you working on something right now?

No. I wrote a series of stories in 2013, but then a lot of things came up, so I just finished writing it now. I want to publish this somewhere. I don’t know yet what will come of this.

Do you feel like writing your own more now?

I've wanted this for a long time. Although, I must admit, working on Harry Potter was not so frequent and not so difficult, but I enjoyed it free time was doing nonsense. So maybe I'm not that much of a writer. Although everyone really likes the series of stories - I tested it on different people.

Let's get back to this scary story with fans. When did it start?

As soon as Swallowtail published a book with my translation, that’s when it all started - and the further it went, the worse it got. And before the play (“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.” - Esquire) were completely furious: they were collecting signatures for a petition to throw me out, and they wrote to me telling me to die and that they would kill me. They wrote that they were watching me, but I immediately believed in this.

Did these threats ever turn into real actions?

Not yet, thank God. Maybe someone was watching me, but I didn’t see them. I don't like to remember this.

Are you afraid to leave the house because of this?

Thank God, I forget everything quickly, so I’m not very afraid. Now I’ll talk to you and I’ll be afraid for a while.

It's very scary that the fans magical world"Harry Potter" may wish someone dead.

Somehow this has become common among us lately. As a matter of fact, they want to kill many.

Why did you still take on the play, despite threats and petitions? Why was this important to you if the previous interest in Harry Potter was no longer there?

Because of money. They offered me an amount that other translators are not offered - not page by page, but in such a way that I agreed. You could say that “Harry Potter” seemed to give me a gift so that I could live in peace. So naturally I was concerned about the fate of The Cursed Child. Then the publishing house told me that they didn’t even think about hiring anyone else, even despite the petition. Because books with my translation were sold very well, and this is an indicator. Although, maybe they came up with it for me.

Do you even care about reviews? Do you listen to or try to avoid negative comments?

There was a period when I tried to avoid any comments, because they affected me so much that my translation began to seem nightmare to me. I wanted them to forget about me and not say anything. Then it passed, including because all sorts of smart people, whom I believed, said that this was stupidity. After all, there is an editor, publishers - and they probably better understand what is good and what is bad.

I don’t know if we can talk about vanity in relation to you, but are you proud of your work?

Anyone who wants, of course, can [talk about vanity].

I'm interested in you. How do you feel about your work?

So, I would publish a new version.

Are negotiations with the publisher regarding the reissue of books progressing somehow?

So far, the publisher, who periodically calls me to find out how I’m doing, patiently listens to me and says that they are “slowly talking to agents on this topic.” How true this is, I don't know.

Do you think “Harry Potter” made you happy or, conversely, brought you more problems?

He made me a translator, which is what I was born to be - I just didn’t know about it. So there is something magical in this story. And for this I bow to Harry Potter. They touched me with a magic wand, and I went on my way. Even my character has changed. I didn’t envy anyone because I was minding my own business. But I remember well that the opposite happened, when I did some nonsense. Thanks to Harry Potter, I was able to become a real translator and, moreover, began to write myself - and this is what I was told since childhood: you are a writer.

Did Harry Potter teach you something? The book itself, not the work with it.

Yes. I believed that magic exists.

Do you find any evidence?

Yes. Of course, magic doesn’t work the way it does in the book—without magic wands. But it exists. We're just too tight and don't use it. This is what I feel.

On the eve of the release of JK Rowling's new book in Russian, a group of domestic Potter fans quite sharply opposed the translations of the series authored by Maria Spivak. They even collected signatures on the Internet for , which now owns the rights to Potter in Russia. Maria Spivak's translations cause a lot of controversial reviews, although for a long time 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 hidden 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. She graduated from the Faculty of Applied Mathematics at a technical university, majoring in mathematical engineering. Author of the novels “The Year of the Black Moon” and A World Elsewhere (written in English). She is known for her translations of the Harry Potter series of novels. In 2001, she was nominated for the Small Booker Prize - “for the best translation from English.” In 2009 she was nominated for the Unicorn and the Lion Award for the best translation of contemporary British and Irish literature.

"Harry Potter" is a religion for fans"

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

So, 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 defending the old translation? By the way, criticism mainly comes from readers, and 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 do fans behave fanatically? A-priory. This is the nature of this phenomenon. "Harry Potter" is a religion for them, not literary work, therefore, any violation of the canon seems blasphemous to them. And some of them, in my opinion, are sincerely convinced that translation, in fact, consists only of rearranging names and titles. They do not know that a foreign text can have (and quite legitimately) many interpretations.

Take, for example, “Winnie the Pooh” (where in one version there is Shchasvirnus, and in the other - the immensely wonderful Skorabudu!) or “Alice”. Hysteria amuses me little, but it also has its charms - for example, terrible indignation that I dared to call Privet Drive Privet Street, and not Privet Alley. Meanwhile, privet is exactly the same privet typical of English hedges. Fans don’t know about it and don’t want to know, they don’t see a play on words in the name of a decorous philistine street - they only demand that the coordinate system that is familiar to them be preserved. And this, I repeat, is natural, because we are not talking about literature, but about cult.

Fans are mostly upset about some of the names and titles. Why did you even translate them into Russian? Perhaps it would be worthwhile to simply make a glossary revealing their meaning, and leave the original names in the text? For example, Zloteus (originally even Zlodeus) Snape 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 we should have made a glossary in the first place. But that wouldn't be my story. I translated names and titles. Why? It seemed natural to me (especially since it all started with a children's book). What would I do now? Don't 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 “every vegetable has its own fruit.”

You said earlier that Potter fans even wrote letters to you threatening to kill you. This is, of course, terrible, but did it really scare you?

I think anyone in my place would have felt unpleasant and slightly uncomfortable, 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 quite quickly turning into something like Pokemon

Why were your online translations at one time valued by many fans above Rosman’s, which were official at that time, but now cause so much negativity?

I think that the unofficial, “samizdat” is still attractive in people’s minds, besides, “Harry Potter” was still just a book then. And the quality of my translations was indeed higher. But now for older 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 quite quickly turning into something like Pokemon. In general, life is hard, negativity towards everything in the world has accumulated in excess and requires an outlet.

Why did you work on the translation of Potter under the pseudonym Em. Tasamaya (or M. That same one)? I’ve heard that people often take a pseudonym because of an “unattractive” surname, but this doesn’t apply to you.

At some point, Rowling’s agents sent a demand to our then Harry Potter Research Institute website to delete my translations. We deleted them, and some enthusiasts (I don’t remember who, but many thanks to them) posted them under a pseudonym, which was not at all necessary, but it was fun. That's how Em was born. Tasamaya - in the form of a joke.

How much is the original translation four books about Harry Potter, posted online with the mark “amateur”, differs from the final one, already officially published by Swallowtail?

I haven't compared, so I don't know how much. But I know that it’s different - it’s inevitable when 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 returned to the original, while others 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 evaluate the Potter translations 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 was not familiar with Marina Litvinova’s translations, 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 continue working. And the books were republished because Rosman’s translation rights expired, and the publishing house that bought the rights gave preference to my work. And now, according to my information, the books are selling very well, even beyond the publishers' expectations.

What do you think of Rowling's decision to continue the Harry Potter saga?

It's 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 “guise” of the author and heroes”

“Masha Spivak dreamed of becoming a translator since childhood, but for some reason she studied to become a mathematical engineer... however, fate turned out to be favorable - during the crisis of 1998, Masha lost her job.” It sounds both sad and a little sarcastic. I wonder if this text 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 annotation for the cover of “The Year of the Black Moon.” I think it was a joint creativity - mine and the publishing house. As for the dismissal and loss of my job, it turned out to be not sad for me at all; on the contrary, it literally became a gift of fate, and it would be ungrateful on my part to speak sarcastically about this (although sometimes it’s hard to resist for the sake of a nice word). But I have long known how easy it is to run into a sarcastic answer from heaven, and I try not to make jokes with them again.

Your book A World Elsewhere is written in English. Can you explain the difference between writing a book in Russian and English - as someone who has experienced it 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 it down. English, perhaps, gives a little more freedom, like any “foreign persona,” but nothing more.

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

“Reel” is Nikita’s first translation; time will tell whether he will become a literary translator. 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 working on now, and do you have any ideas for your own books? I only know about the translation of John Boyne’s book “The Boy on the Mountaintop”.

I was still working on editing “A Spool of Blue Thread”, but otherwise I’m now busy writing for myself. Well, I travel, taking advantage of my temporary freedom to the fullest.

In your opinion, is a translator an artist? To what extent is he allowed to create on someone else’s plot, in a work that has already been written?

The translator is more of an actor: in the process of work, he puts on the “guise” of the author and his characters. As for someone else's plot, then keyword here it is “alien”, in a foreign language - in a different environment, any work is inevitably reincarnated. A translation is similar to a film adaptation - it completely depends on who played the role and how, and with what intonation he pronounced 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 for it to remain funny? But is it possible to completely move away from the situational meaning inherent in it? The answer “no” to both of these questions forces you to maneuver between words and meanings - sometimes literally headlong.

In 1971, the famous Soviet literary critic and philologist Mikhail Gasparov, in his article “Bryusov and Literalism,” expressed the seditious idea that there is no need to 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 anymore.

What genre of literature do you think currently dominates the market over all others? And who, in your opinion, calls the tune - is it really the mass reader or, on the contrary, is the demand organized by large publishing houses?

In my personal, poorly organized universe, it often seems that over all genres, only and exclusively “Harry Potter” prevails and will forever prevail (and no one will ever be interested in not only my own unfortunate works, but also my other quite wonderful translations). But seriously, science fiction and detective stories, that’s the feeling you get at first glance, no? However, about who calls the tune, it would be better to ask large publishers - or the general reader, if you happen to catch one.

Judging by your website, you are partial to the songs of Sergei Shabutsky and were 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 art songs (besides Shabutsky, there is also Shcherbakov, but not for alphabetical reasons), and my musical tastes are quite eclectic. On one pole, say, “Dans Macabre” by Saint-Saëns and Bert Ambrose with his orchestra, and on the other - the Leningrad group (the choice of names is insignificant and random, just what came to mind).

In one episode of The Simpsons, Lisa Simpson learns the “scary” truth about the “teen” book industry: that all the books we love are created in special conference rooms, the plots are based on market research and written by workers on pills who urgently need money. And the publishers are drowning in profits, and teenagers receive ten books a year written by a fake author. Do you think such a prospect is possible in the future or, perhaps, has already been partially realized today?

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

Maria Spivak is known to a wide range of readers for her controversial and heatedly discussed translation of the Harry Potter book series, which is actively discussed on Internet forums to this day. And at the time of its release, it literally divided fans of the cult fantasy novel into two camps.

What else can you remember about the life and work of the translator?

Biography of Maria Spivak

Maria Viktorovna Spivak was born in Moscow on October 26, 1962. Already as a child she knew that she wanted to be a translator. I read a lot, learned early English language. Fate decreed otherwise: Maria Spivak graduated from one of the technical universities and found a job in her engineering and mathematics specialty.

The crisis of the 90s helped me return to the path I had chosen in childhood. In 1998, the future writer lost her job and, instead of intensively searching for a new one, decided to try her hand at translation.

The first translations of Maria Spivak were made exclusively for a narrow circle of acquaintances. According to the author, she turned to Harry Potter before it was published official version the first book in Russian. Her translation gained wide popularity on the Internet; readers repeatedly asked to continue publishing chapters of the story about the boy who lived.

After the complete Harry Potter series in Spivak's version was published, the translator received a huge amount of critical feedback. Several times she received letters from aggressive fans of the work with insults and threats. According to close people, this was one of the reasons for the early death of the writer - she died of a serious illness at the age of 55.

Family

Translator Maria Spivak was born into an intelligent and prosperous family. The parents considered it important to give their daughter a good education. She studied German at language school, and English - independently and in individual lessons, which was somewhat atypical in the USSR during her childhood, given the current political situation.

Family life

In 2009, the translator divorced her husband, which was not easy for her.

Creation

Spivak has ten translations of Rowling's books:

• "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone";
• "Harry Potter And The Chamber of secrets";
• "Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban";
• "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire";
• "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix";
• "Harry Potter and Half Blood Prince";
• "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows";
• "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them";
• "Quidditch from ancient times to the present day";
• "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child."

And more than 20 translations of other works by British authors.

Maria Spivak was awarded the Unicorn and Lion award.

Fame

Some time after Maria Spivak’s translation of the book “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” appeared on the Internet, the holders of the rights to the text contacted the woman, prohibiting publication. However, fans reacted instantly by posting the work on another site and under a different name. This is how the comic pseudonym of Maria Spivak appeared - Em. Tasamaya.

Ten years later, when the Rosman publishing house transferred the rights to publish the saga to Swallowtail, Spivak was approached with an offer to purchase her translations for a decent fee.

Spivak probably couldn’t even imagine how much controversy would arise around her work.

Criticism

The translation, which was initially popular on the Internet, was expected to receive a barrage of criticism after it was read by a huge audience of fans of the book.

It is worth noting that fans have also always had many complaints about the translation of M. D. Litvinova, published by Rosman, the main one of which is the insufficiently well conveyed style and style of J. K. Rolling.

In the work of Maria Spivak, the greatest dissatisfaction among readers was the translation of proper names.

According to the rules, names and titles must be left unchanged as in the original or adapted if, from the point of view of the Russian language, they turn out to be dissonant. But even those names that Spivak did not translate into Russian do not sound exactly as required by the reading rules.

For example, Dumbledore became Dumbledore, although english letter"u" usually denotes the sound "a", and soft sign there is no such thing as between two consonants in English. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley turned out to be Dursleys (in the original Dursley).

The situation was even more complicated with those names that were translated. Much has been said about comic effect, which is created when you replace "Oliver Tree" and "Batilda Bagshot" with "Batilda Bugpook".

Well, the proper names proposed by Maria Spivak, which are designed to characterize the character in a certain way and were chosen only in consonance with the original ones, were not at all accepted by the audience. Thus, the name of Severus Snape, who was called the Villainous Snape, caused great indignation. This name has very little to do with the English version and is not consistent with the character of the character, who does not represent evil at all, but is extremely contradictory and ambiguous, and, moreover, a beloved hero.

The controversy flared up even more after the release of an interview with the writer, who says that her translations are of better quality than those published by Rosman. She emphasizes that translating a book is not limited to adapting titles and encourages readers to pay attention to the rest of the text.

However, readers have quite a lot of complaints about the style. First of all, many people are irritated by the frequent and usually inappropriate use of slang expressions. For example, Mr. Dursley calls the wizarding community a bunch of goons, and Hagrid, in front of the children, says that Filch is a “bastard.”

Corrosive Potter fans continue to find speech, grammar, stylistic errors and translation inaccuracies.

Those who remember the first translations of Maria Spivak posted on the Internet say that their quality was much better before editorial changes were made (the editor of "Swallowtail" is A. Gryzunova). Spivak herself commented very restrainedly on these changes, noting that they are inevitable during editing.

Even after the death of the translator, discussions continue. Fans find new advantages and disadvantages of Spivak’s text, actively comparing it with Rosman’s. One way or another, at present Maria Spivak is the author of the only officially published translation of the famous saga.