Genies. Ghouls. Alchemy. And Percy staging a coup? These are all features you’ll find in the Arabic editions of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

When we discovered last month that there are three Arabic versions of the early Harry Potter series, Potterglot and I worked for weeks piecing the puzzle together about what exactly was going on. The changes by the publisher appear to have been done silently, with no trace of announcement or advertisement about updates they were making to the translation. Special shout out to everyone who contributed to our research by sending screenshots of their own Arabic copies and even sending clips from Arabic audiobooks!

Because I have good knowledge of Arabic, I had the pleasure of writing as a guest on Potterglot’s website about the textual differences I had found in the three versions. Although Potter of Babble seeks to help collectors appreciate the language and text that they possess, Potterglot provides indispensable information to help collectors, well… collect! One of the most useful resources he’s compiled over the years is The List, a treasury of details on foreign editions around the world that come in handy when you’re hunting down a translation that’s impossible to find. The site has been an invaluable resource for collectors for years, and my article sought to help collectors choose which of the three Arabic editions they might want to collect.

So it seemed only fitting that that information be added to Potterglot’s library, rather than ours at Potter of Babble.

But if you’ve come to this post hoping to see dozens of text samples or an analysis of the strategies used in the Arabic translation, don’t fret! You can read it here on Potterglot and, while you’re at it, check out his own investigation into the publication details in case you want to search out a copy of your own.

Cheers!