Bloomsbury Provides a Number!
Almost every source about Harry Potter translations says something like “translated into more than 65 languages”. That’s a fair thing to say, but it’s not very satisfying for a collector when there is no ‘official’ list and we’re scrounging for scraps of evidence to assemble something comprehensive. Particularly when so much depends on how the question is asked.
However, a recent announcement on the Bloomsbury site about the 20th Anniversary used a single, unhedged number!
79 languages.
Honestly, I don’t think it’s technically accurate; however, it might still be meaningful and provide a hint of validation.
On The List 79 is the number of authorised translations + the original book. There have, of course, been multiple authorised translation in the same language, so authorised translation ≠ the number of languages the book has been translated into.
It is not a stretch to imagine, especially in a casual context, someone asking the question “How many languages has Harry Potter been translated into” and someone else looking up the translation count and saying 78 + the original, making the assumption that one translation = one language.
So, I do think this is week evidence for the accuracy of The List. Or at least the authorised translations on it.
I did submit an inquiry to Bloomsbury asking if they could clarify the number, but I have sent inquiries to them before and not received a response. Hopefully this time! It would be awesome to have an official source.
2017-05-29 Update:
Still nothing from Bloomsbury, however, J.K. Rowling’s site is now also stating this number, still unqualified. I remain certain that it is simply the same ever-so-slightly inaccurate number.
