Maybe Jim Dale should have consulted JKR. In the audio version,
Bellatrix's taunting of Harry Potter,(Oh he knows how to play, little
bitty baby Potter) sounds like the French teasing Arthur and his
Knightgot in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
> In the audio version, Bellatrix's taunting of Harry Potter, (Oh he knows
> how to play, little bitty baby Potter) sounds like the French teasing
> Arthur and his Knightgot in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Oh, I see the potential for some excellent parodies here...
"Your mother was a Mudblood, and your father smelt of elderberries!"
--
Benjamin D. Esham { http://bdesham.net
bde...@iname.com } AIM: bdesham 1 2 8
http://catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
We don't know where she grew up. Perhaps she spent her youth in France and
attended Beauxbatons. Where else did she meet Radolphus Lestrange? We don't
know.
LOL, well the French have been complaining that a lot of the bad eggs
in HP have names with a French ring to it: Voldemort, Malfoy; and now
LeStrange.
(This was before the Iraq thingy)
But to me it seems that the Dale made a mistake as Bellatrix should
have an English accent (being part of the Black family).
This is easily explained. The class divisions in English soceity have
racial overtones to a certain extent. Many (but not all) aristocratic
families are of Norman French descent, and got their land and titles as a
result of invasion. This probably explains the continued popularity of
Robin Hood. Historians keep telling us he was a mere bandit, and perhaps
an amalgam of several bandits, but he was supposedly _our_ bandit. Read
freedom fighter, or, if you were a Norman, _terrorist_.
If you see the Malfoys and the Lestranges as of Norman descent, it helps
to explain not only the Potterverse, but also the class divisions in
England and the relationship between England and France, all at the same
time. Note that Malfoy is old French, not present day spelling. If the
French don't like how the Potterverse reflects the real world, c'est
dommage.
Note that "black" is actually from the French word "blanc" (white). No doubt
the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black was once Blanc. ;)
Ailian
Not exactly: *black* has been around in the English language for somewhat
longer, deriving from OE *blaec* (can't do an ae character on this keyboard).
*Blank* and *blanch* derive from *blanc*. Also, *bleak* and *bleach* come
from another OE word *blac*, meaning pale. This word is probably cognate
with *blanc*. However, you could argue that *blaec*, *blanc* and *blac*
all derive from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning *not exactly zinging
with Day-Glo colour*!
If this last explanation is what you mean, then please accept my apologies
for the pedantic rant :-)
Beth Baxter
Pretty much. I actually meant my comment in jest, assuming that there would
be someone with some familiarity with Proto-IE to find it amusing. ;) But,
hey, you provided a great comment that I should point to those on the
French/Death Eater/Whatnot thread~! :D
ailian