Chapter 5: Fallen Warrior
| Simplified Chinese (Mandarin: China) | ||
| 坠落的勇士 Zhuìluò de yǒngshì |
坠落 zhuìluò = 'to fall to the ground'. 的 de = connecting particle 勇士 yǒngshì = 'warrior, brave'. |
The fallen warrior |
| Traditional Chinese (Mandarin: Taiwan) | ||
| 折翼戰士 Zhéyì zhànshì |
折翼 zhéyì = 'broken wing'.
戰士 zhànshì = 'warrior'. |
The broken winged warrior |
| Japanese | ||
| 倒れた戦士 Taoreta senshi |
倒れた taoreta = past tense of 倒れる taoreru 'to fall'. 戦士 senshi = 'warrior'. |
The fallen warrior |
| Vietnamese (Chinese characters show etymology) | ||
| Chiến binh rơi rụng | chiến binh (戰兵) = 'warrior'. rơi rụng = 'to fall'. |
The fallen warrior |
In English, the word 'fallen' has more dramatic connotations than simply having 'dropped down'. For example, there is a 'fallen angel' (one that has fallen from heaven) or a 'fallen woman' (a women who has transgressed social expectations of chastity), etc. A 'fallen warrior' refers to one who has died, or 'fallen', in battle. It is a dignified, even moving expression.
Of course, in this context, the fact that the warriors were on broomsticks adds a fairly literal meaning to the word 'fallen', that is, they fell out of the air.
Here the Mainland translator interprets 'fallen' quite literally as 'having fallen (坠落 zhuìluò) from the sky' .
The Vietnamese translator uses rơi rụng, which similarly means 'to drop' or 'to fall', without the heroic sense of a warrior fallen in battle.
The Taiwanese translator tries to do the term justice by using the somewhat more poetic 'broken-winged warrior'.
The Japanese translator is more fortunate than the others. 倒れる taoreru 'to fall' is a reasonable equivalent to the English 'fall' and can be used for people who have fainted or died. Notice that 倒れる taoreru is in the past tense.
(Detailed notes on the chapter can be found at Harry Potter Lexicon)
| ⇚ Chapter 4 |  |