Customer Reviews

Harry Potter a L'Ecole des Sorcieres (French Edition)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I took French years ago but like many US citizens, I rarely had the opportunity to actually use even what little I knew. Remembering the old saw that "If you don't use it, you lose it," I tried from time to time to improve my reading skills by taking up a book that I knew I had enjoyed in English. Although still difficult to find, books in French are becoming more common than they used to be and less expensive too. I found this one with little difficulty on Amazon, and have added other books in the language from the site to my wish list.

I was so successful in reading and understanding the simple French of Harry Potter, that I was almost at my normal reading speed. Although there were sentances and phrases that did not always make sense to me, I found that if I pronounced the French words in my mind rather than trying to translate the material into English, I often understood much better. I also found that the next time I ran across a new or difficult word that I had found in one context, I recognized its meaning much more quickly in another. Just as in learning to read English as a young person, I find that reading persistantly is the key to developing a vocabularly.

Though I don't ever expect to be a fluent French speaker and will probably never sit down and write my reviews in any language but English, I really, really, really enjoyed having an opportunity to re-read Harry Potter, this time in French. I recommend the series to parents of children learning to read French and adults who wish to improve their language skills.

(Pardonnez l'orthographe et les accents manquant)

Ce livre est super pour nous faire rencontrer Harry Potter. Comme adulte, je le trouve tres facile a lire, mais comme parent j'apprecie que mes enfants se trouvent resolue a ecoute l'histoire au complet! On en a lu deux chapitre le jour, et ca seulement a cause que ma voix manquait si j'en lisais plus!

Bien ecrit, avec un complot mouvementez, J. K. Rowlings nous apporte facilement de chapitre en chapitre et d'aventure a aventure. Elle nous intrigue avec ses descriptions et nous nous retrouvons a en vouloir savoir de plus en plus.

Personellement, j'ai lu se livre en une journee, et puis les trois livres suivant en moins d'une semaine! Je ne peux attendre a me retrouve avec le tome 5 de Harry Potter.

Je le conseille fortement aux enfants et aux parents.

I purchased this book along with all the other Potter books in French as part of my attempt to learn French some 40 years after high school. I had read the English and Spanish versions previously and found this and the other FRench volumes to be delighful although it took a little getting used to name changes for places and characters that probably made sense for francophiles but seemed unnecessary -- unless the french language versions of the movies also had the changes.

That said, the books have been a great aid in language learning. The translations seem pretty capably done insofar as keeping the story line anchored to the original. I have seen many book translations (such as the Fernch version of The DaVinci Code) that are not faithful to the original in many respects such as cutting out dialogue and scene descriptions.

Having just finished a degree in English Literature, I've been avoiding any remotely serious reading like the plague. I've also been a fan of Harry Potter since one of my friends sat me down and told me I wasn't allowed to make snotty remarks about Harry Potter fans unless I at least tried to read one of the books. So when I decided that my post-graduation project would be to dust off my French skills, reading the French translations of Harry Potter seemed the way to go.

I was actually pretty surprised at how much I was able to understand. The grammar and sentence structure is relatively simple, and the wry voice and wit of Rowling still shows through. There was definitely a lot of vocabulary that I had to look up, but there was also a lot of vocabulary that I could pick up from the context: in particular, hibou, voler and cicatrice (owl, fly or steal, and scar). Granted, my familiarity with the series provided a bit of that context, so I would consider this to be between reading a book you have no familiarity with and reading a dual language book with the English on the facing page.

My main complaint with the translation is that some of the names were changed. I'm in book 2 right now, and I still have a hard time accepting Professor Rogue as Professor Snape. Neville Londubat is not quite as bad, but I think there could have been a better way to convey that Snape's name has certain connotations in terms of the character's personality.

Overall, I've been thoroughly enjoying reading in French, which I could not say when slogging through some of The Classics in class. The more I read on, the more I realize that I'm not translating to English in my head but thinking in French. Highly recommended.

I knew one of the most natural ways to gain new french vocab was to read french novels, the same why one picks up one's own language. I had picked up Tome 1 of my favorite, Les Miserables, but the realized I needed a few stepping stones between that and, say, Le Petit Prince. Harry Potter a l'ecole des sorciers is perfect for that. If you like the series in english and you know a little french, why not give it a try? Besides...the french word for "wand" is "baguette" so that imagery alone you may find entertaining...

This book is amazing in English but when I wanted to to review my very rusty French, it was even better. It is very hard to find any books in French that keep your interest and still allow you to improve your french. This is great!

I'm an upper-level high school French student--close to a 302 or 303 course equivilancy level for college. While I agree that this book is fun to read, it doesn't change the fact that it's very difficult. Sure, without difficulty I could skim through and get the gist, just reading for French structures, however I read for vocabulary. To just read the first chapter one must spend hours checking vocabulary if they don't have a very high command of French. For example, on page 7 the verb pianoter is used, which figuratively means "to drum one's fingers." Perhaps I'm mistaken, but this isn't really beginner level vocabulary. If a person doesn't have to look that up, then they either have an vast knowledge of French vocabulary or they skimmed over the page.

I don't mean to preach, but truly I don't want to give the notion that it's easy. Have a dictionary before buying. If you're like me, you probably read it in English first, so if I'm not mistaken you aren't reading it soley for the story. It's a great place to pick up vocabulary, and turns normal English structures into a nightmarish maze of French ones lol, but you emerge the better for it. So, if you're up to the challenge, it's an excellent way to test yourself and improve your French.

Just be sure you don't think it'll be as simple as reading it in English.

I've read this book in english and spanish. I had to get it in french and russian. So far the book is great. Yes the humour isn't going to equate to the english version but it's still sufficient, especially for the avid learners of french.

The English version of this book is great. Unfortunately, the French translation is dreadful. The translator apparently became bored with the book and has left out ENTIRE PAGES of the story. It is probably the worst translation I have ever read of any book.

I would recommend Harry Potter a l'ecole des sorciers for everyone. I chose to read this book for French class as a summer reading. It isn't hard and I learned more French words as a result. It is very exciting. The cover was nicely done too.