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France is home to three lovely Harry Potter translations - French, Occitan, and Breton! These languages are so very interesting and sound quite different. We are still trying to track down Breton recording for the Book that Lives Project (If you can help with that, email me alltheprettybooks1@gmail.com), we do have recordings of French and Occitan so you can hear the differences between the languages.
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To hear the 1st Paragraph of 1st book in French,
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To hear the 1st Paragraph of the 1st book in Occitan,
Breton, an endangered language, is a Celtic language that is found in the Brittany region of France, and is the only Celtic language that has French influence. The linguistic history of Breton is interesting and long, so I won't get into much detail here, BUT if you want to learn more about the Breton language, Click here.
The Breton translation of book 1 was first published in 2012 by An Amzer and translated by Mark Kerrain. The first book was reprinted when the 2nd book was published in 2017 (also translated by mark Kerrain). Thus far only the 1st two books have been published, BUT I've heard rumors that book 3 is supposed to come out later 2024.
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ISBN: 9782363120083
Harry Potter ha Maen ar Furien
Harry Potter ha Kambr ar Sekredoù
ISBN: 9782363120533
The French language is a descendant of Latin, as are other Romance languages. Like most other languages, there were dialects of Old french (the predecessor of Modern French), but the most dominant was the one spoken on the Ile de France region , Francien - this dialect thrived and became known as Middle French. In 1539, King Francis I, declared French would the language used for all legal matters.
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French was not written down until 842 A.D. in the Strasbourg Oaths, but French literature wouldn't become popular until the 12th Century.
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To learn more about the French language, Click Here and Here.
Disclaimer: the books below are not representative of ALL of the French editions; what is represented here are my own personal books. There are a few editions and box sets I do not own.
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To hear the Dialogue Alley episode discussing all of the French Books, Click Here.
1st Edition
The French books have a bit of an odd publishing history as far as determining 1st editions. From my memory, books 1-4 were published in the smaller "Folio Junior" format (see directly below) first; however books 5-7 first appeared in the LARGER edition, making a first print set, a bit awkward....Also importantly, this set directly blow does NOT have a book 7; it only went up to 6.
1st Print, 1st Edition L'Ecole des Sorciers, 1998
ISBN: 978070518425
The first print of the 1st French edition, I've been told is becoming quite hard to find, which makes sense given how many of these books were made (making identifying a 1st print harder in the wild), and the shoddy overall quality of the these editions. While the 1st prints look a lot like the other pre-movie font books, there are few things to help identify it.
- white writing to the front middle bottom cover "En si rien / ne se passe / quand j'agiterai /ma baguette?"
-Snape to the bottom back left corner (removed in second prints)
-internal chapter illustrations by Emily Walcker
-Chapter 6 illustration is upside down (corrected in 2nd print).
2nd Print, 1st Edition
ISBN: 978070518425
Similar the to the 1st print of the first edition, this 2nd Print French translation of harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, published by Gallimard, features internal chapter illustrations. The 1st print also has these illustrations, but i believe it's either chapter 6 or 8 that has the chapter illustration upside down; this was fixed in the 2nd print and by the 3print, all of the internal illustrations were removed. This book also has the pre-movie font, which makes it harder to find than the later print French Potter Stone books
1st Edition, Later Print
1st Edition, later print translation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, published by Gallimard. This edition, like it's Occitan neighbor, has cartoon-like cover art. The book is small would be considered a pocket-sized edition.
2nd Print, La Chambre des Secrets, ISBN: 2070524558
Like the 1st and 2nd prints of Book 1, book 2 1st and 2nd prints also have internal illustrations by Emily Walcker.
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And not surprisingly, as collectors become more aware of these prints, demand is increasing, reflecting in the prices being paid for these books. I've heard from my friends in France that 1st/2nd prints of Chamber are also becoming quite hard to find.
Le Prisonnier d'Azkaban, 2001
La Coupe de Feu, 2001
L'Ordre du Phenix, 2003
Le Prince de Sang-Mele, 2005
ISBN: 9782070528189
ISBN: 9782070543519
ISBN: 9782070525577
ISBN: 9782070577644
2007 Edition
In 2007, Gallimard published editions featuring similar cover art but more subdued and a bit more "adult" looking than the above. This edition is the same size as the 1st edition. Also, book 7 was published in 2008.
L'Ecole des Sorciers, 2007
La Chambre des Secrets
ISBN: 9782070612369
ISBN: 9782070612376
Le Prisonnier d'Azkaban
ISBN: 9782070612383
I keep forgetting I need buy book 5 of this edition;
when I do, I'll add it here.
La Coupe de Feu
Les Reliques de la Mort, 2008
Le Prince de Sang-Mele
ISBN: 9782070612390
ISBN: 9782070612413
ISBN: 9782070615377
Large Edition
in 2002, Gallimard starting producing larger softcover editions featuring the original covers. The earlier prints of these larger editions had the cover art inset to the top right corner (books 1-3 can be found like this). Later prints of this edition feature the full-sized illustration. As far as rarity goes for this edition, i've heard collector friends now (2024) grumbling that it is getting harder to find; I've not looked so I cannot attest to this.
L'Ecole des Sorciers, 2003
La Chambre des Secrets, 2002
Later Print, 2006
ISBN: 9782070541270
ISBN: 9782070541270
ISBN: 9782070541294
Le Prisonnier d'Azkaban, 2002
ISBN: 9782070541300
La Coupe de Feu, 2002
ISBN: 9782070543588
L'Ordre du Phenix, 2003
ISBN: 9782070556854
Le Prince de Sang-Mele, 2005
ISBN: 9782070572670
Les Reliques de la Mort, 2007
ISBN: 9782070615360
Large Print Edition (Edition en Gros Caracteres)
The large editions above are not to be confused with the Large Print Editions, however. The large print editions are only available in books 1 and 2 as far as I'm aware and are published by Feryane in 2005. Of the French books, the large print books tend to be on the harder to find. I'm also uncertain how many copies were produced.
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ISBN: 9782840116462
40th AnniversaryEdition - 2012
Gallimard 40th Anniversary Edition celebrating 40 years of their publishing house. This edition is lovely and made very well. It's easily one of my favorite French Potter books.
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Title: Harry Potter et l'École des Sorciers
ISBN: 9782070649693
Translator: Jean-François Ménard
Format: Softcover with Jacket
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Notes: Preface by Anna Gavalda
2011 Edition
Sometime around 2011, Gallimard once again came out with this lovely edition, again in small softcover format. I've seen these books available in a box set as well; I don't own that one, but maybe one day. *The dates for the books are from my own personal copies.
L'Ecole des Sorciers, 2016
La Chambre des Secrets, 2011
Le Prisonnier d'Azkaban, 2015
ISBN: 9782070643028
ISBN: 9782070643035
ISBN: 9782070643042
La Coupe de Feu, 2012
ISBN: 9782070643059
L'Ordre du Phenix, 2012
Le Prince de Sang-Mele, 2011
Les Reliques de la Mort, 2014
ISBN: 9782070643066
ISBN: 9782070643073
ISBN: 9782070643080
2017 Editions
The 2017 editions feature the art of Olly Moss. This art was first found on audio books before finding its way onto the covers of a few different translations - the French being among them. Also, these editions can be found in both large and smaller (folio junior) sized books. The wraps are thicker and less shiny on the larger books. All 7 books were published. Here I will only be showing you book one from both editions.
The larger of the 2 editions, interestingly, this edition is still a bit smaller than the other large editions Gallimard printed earlier on when the books were first being published.
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ISBN: 9782070624522
The folio junior version, featuring the same art. There are a few differences - namely the Harry Potter font and wrapper glossiness/thickness.
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ISBN: 9782070584628
20th Anniversary Edition, 2019
Beginning in 2017 with the Bloomsbury UK House Editions, Harry Potter translation publishers the world over began creating their own anniversary editions - sometimes using the Bloomsbury cover art (as French did) or having their own unique covers (like Thai for example). As far as I'm aware, all 7 books are available in the French House Editions, but I only bought the first book. Unusually for Gallimard, this edition is a nice hardcover book. Also similar to the UK House Editions, the side-edge is sprayed to look like a Slytherin scarf.
ISBN: 9782075094450
2023 Edition
Gallimard has once again released a new edition of books featuring unique covers by Stephane Fert. I only have books 1 and 2 of this edition so far, but as I complete it, I will update here. Honestly, while I enjoy most of the french covers, the art from this edition here may honestly be my favorite French covers.
L'Ecole des Sorciers
La Chambre des Secrets
ISBN: 9782075187541
ISBN: 9782075187596
Box Sets
While French box sets are not incredibly common (say as with UK, where it is unusual to find an edition that does not also come in a box set), they do exist. Currently, I own two.
ISBN: 9782070549726
1st Edition, Books 1-4; the box art is simply the cover of book 4 on the front and back of the box.
This French box set is one many collectors want, not only because it's so rare (limited 20,000 sets), but also because the spines form this really amazing, unique piece as well. Additionally, the covers feature a variation of the 1st edition covers. Also importantly, the books were not available to buy outside of this set (they the books don't have ISBNs on them - just the box) - if you wanted these books, you had get them in this set. My set is numbered 04462/20000. There are also cartoons that come with the set showing off the illustrator's fine art.
ISBN: 9782070621989
Other Books
ISBN: 9782070623440
Alongside the 7 Potter books, the "school books" were also translated and are available in multiple, unique and fun covers as well. While I "don't collect" the Tales of Beedle, the Bard, I couldn't help myself when this lovely copy showed up on ebay. And, the softcover book is in a fun slipcase!
Alongside French, Occitan, another Romance language, is mostly closely related to Catalan, and is another language that is found in France. While the linguistic borders are blurrier for this language than with French, this language is found in Southern France. Also interestingly, Occitan is closest related to Catalan.
To learn more about this language: Click Here.
Occitan, published by Per Noste, is only available in books 1 and 2 (book 1 translated by Karina Richard Bòrdanava; book 2 translated by.Patric Guilhemjoan) and only in softcover. Also, these books feature some of the most polarizing covers out of all of the Harry Potter translations printed to date. People either really like these covers or they don't at all. These covers, illustrated by Kalou, may not appeal to everyone, BUT they are certainly memorable. And, the language itself it very awesome!
Harry Potter e la Pèira Filosofau
ISBN: 9782868660695
Want to buy your own copy and support this awesome little Occitan publisher-
Harry Potter e la Crampa deus Secrets
ISBN: 978286880862
