FAST-US-1 Intro to American English Reference File
Differences in the UK and US Versions of Four Harry Potter Books
FAST US-1 Introduction to American English (Hopkins)
Department of Translation Studies, University of Tampere, Finland


Lexical differences between British and American English are numerous enough that many mass-market books, especially those meant for younger readers, are revised before publication in the 'other' market. While there is more conversion of American publications into British editions (see Differences Between British and American English in Two Versions of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby for one example), due to the substantially larger U.S. publication production, there is conversion from British to American as well, due to the size and attractiveness of the U.S. consumer market.

The following lexical and punctuation differences between the UK and U.S. editions of four Harry Potter books were compiled by and are used with the permission (19 Dec 2001) of Edward Olson, who retains copyright and to whom possible comments should be sent. Edward compared the original U.K. Bloomsbury and U.S. Scholastic Press hardcover editions of the four works.

Questions sometimes arise about an author's reaction to such editorial changing of their work for another audience. The following passage from an Associated Press article on July 6, 2000 by Audrey Woods titled Success Stuns Harry Potter Author gives J.K. Rowling's reaction:

...what's this about changing some of the words in the U.S. edition so American children could understand them? Rowling pretended to bang her head against the sofa in mock frustration. "SO much has been made of that," she groans, noting that it was only done where words had been used that really meant something very different to Americans. Her American editor pointed out that the word jumper — British for pullover sweater — means a kind of dress in American. She had had no idea. "He asked, 'Can we change it to sweater,' which is just as British?" That was fine with Rowling.

Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (U.S. Sorcerer's 1) Stone

UK EditionUS Edition
PageWord or PhraseWord or Phrase Page
9 lot bunch 4
9 the baker's opposite the bakery 4
10 shan't won't 6
13 sherbet lemon lemon drop 10
16 dustbin trashcan 14
16 motorbike motorcycle 14
19 bobble hats bonnets 18
19 cooker stove 19
19 roundabout carousel 18
20 punch-bag punching bag 20
20 sellotape scotch tape 20
21 cine-camera video camera 22
21 mummy mommy 21
21 video recorder VCR 22
22 cinema movies 22
23 bobbles puff balls 24
23 fringe bangs 24
23 glove puppet hand puppet 24
23 jumper sweater 24
23 sellotaped taped 24
24 beetroot beet 25
24 bins trash cans 25
24 ice lolly ice pop 26
29 comprehensive public school 32
29 letter-box mail slot 33
29 post mail 33
30 holidaying vacationing 34
34 toilet bathroom 40
35 a sharp turning a sharp turn 41
35 motorway highway 41
35 video VCR 41
36 multi-storey car park multilevel parking garage 43
37 packet of crisps bag of chips 44
42 have a place have been accepted 51
42 mum mom 50
43 Dear Mr Dumbledore, Dear Professor Dumbledore, 52
52 notes bills 65
52 set books course books 66
53 hamburger bars hamburger restaurants 68
54 gummy toothless 68
61 football soccer 79
67 next day the next day 89
68 trolley cart 90
78 bogey-flavoured booger-flavored 104
83 trainers sneakers 110
91 ...three people left to be sorted. 'Turpin, Lisa' became ...three people left to be sorted. "Thomas, Dean," a Black boy even taller than Ron, joined Harry at the Gryffindor table. "Turpin, Lisa" became 122
93 jelly Jell-O 125
98 queuing lining up 131
101 Dear Harry, (it said in a very untidy scrawl) I know you get Friday afternoons off, Dear Harry, I know you get Friday afternoons off, 135
122 pitch field 164
124 football soccer ball 167
124 rounders baseball 168
127 jacket potato baked potato 172
135 nobbled clobbered 184
140 crumpets English muffins 199
147 Happy Christmas Merry Christmas 200
147 sweets candy 201
150 a tea of a meal of 204
152 disused unused 207
161 Philosopher's Stone Sorcerer's Stone 219
165 changing room locker room 225
167 revision timetables study schedules 228
168 One Hundred One Thousand 229
175 dressing gown bathrobe 240
175 teddy the teddy 240
179 learns spells off by heart learn spells by heart 246
179 revision studying 245
181 Prof. M. McGonagall Professor M. McGonagall 247
182 lookout problem 249
193 on about talking about 265
214 lavatory seat toilet seat 296
214 sweet-shop candy shop 296
217 quits even 300
218 mad crazy 302
219 barking off his rocker 302
219 sweet-boxes candy boxes 303
221 drawn tied 306
222 came top of the year had the best grades of the first years 307

Book 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
UK EditionUS Edition
PageWord or PhraseWord or PhrasePage
8 top-of-the-range top-of-the-line 3
10 fortnight two weeks 5
12 ice-creams ice cream 10
13 joint loin 10
17 September the first September first 16
19 wardrobe closet 17
22 tinned soup canned soup 22
24 'Bit rich coming from you.' "You should talk." 25
26 wound down rolled down 27
29 wellington boots rubber boots 32
29 windscreen windshield 31
33 Father Christmas Santa Claus 36
38 tank top sweater vest 44
39 holiday vacation 45
42 pulled the doors to pulled the doors closed 50
45 an apothecary's an apothecary 54
48 wonky lopsided 58
52 group who group that 63
53 boot trunk 66
53 cock-crow dawn 65
56 check no one's watching check that no one's watching 70
58 bonnet hood 73
66 good on you good for you 84
70 timetables schedules 89
76 can't say fairer can't do better 98
79 candelabra iron chandelier 102
79 waste bin waste basket 102
89 It's mad It's ridiculous 116
89 treacle toffee treacle fudge 116
93 shift the slime get the slime off 121
94 jump-jets missiles 123
94 peaky pale 122
96 he's got flu he's got the flu 125
101 go to the loo have a pee 133
111 hadn't got haven't got 146
111 nutter maniac 146
118 cistern tank 156
135 prised wrenched 180
135 prised open opened 180
147 end of term end of the term 197
160 cupboard closet 214
160 Much the most difficult bit By far the hardest part 214
161 treacle-thick glutinous 215
167 gormless clueless 223
173 news agent's variety store 231
185 grass on Hagrid squeal on Hagrid 250
187 rubbish lousy 252
198 they went, crocodile fashion they marched 267
199 A second later, Harry spotted something that made him hit Ron over the hand with his pruning shears. A second later, Harry spotted something. 268
199 Harry was pointing at the ground a few feet away. Several large spiders were scurrying across the earth. Harry pointed out the spiders, following their progress with his eyes screwed up against the sun. 269
199 Harry watched the spiders running away. Harry's eyes narrowed as he focused on the spiders. If they pursued their fixed course, there could be no doubt about where they would 269
199 Professor Snape escorted Professor Sprout escorted 269
208 hatching Aragog out in hatching Aragog in 281
210 revising studying 284
226 monkey-like monkeyish 307
233 straight away right away 302
240 got fond grown fond 326
Book 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

UK EditionUS Edition
PageWord or PhraseWord or PhrasePage
7 Adalbert Waffling Bathilda Bagshot 1
7 torch flashlight 1
8 whilst while 3
9 he'd got Harry he'd gotten Harry 4
9 row fight 4
18 newsreader reporter 16
31 a fair few quite a few 34
32 letter boxes mailboxes 36
35 bollards wastebaskets 41
36 Minister for Magic Minister of Magic 42
49 haring racing 60
49 scarpered scampered 60
53 rowing arguing 65
57 queue line 71
62 'Get out of it!' "Get out of here!" 78
63 Gorilla arms gorilla-ish arms 80
71 timetable course schedule 90
73 set us assigned us 93
75 down our down at our 97
81 Inner Eye testing Inner Eye tested 105
81 wonky crooked 105
85 pop my clogs kick the bucket 110
85 rubbish bad 111
86 bullclips binder clips 112
91 sack fire 119
92 problem he problem that he 121
108 Gryffindor haven't Gryffindor hasn't 143
109 cracking spanking good 144
120 Next moment A moment later 160
142 know it off know it 191
169 large silver one large silver noisemaker 227
169 tuck in dig in 228
170 cracker hats party hats 230
173 stop him stop him from 233
188 Only we need We need 254
189 do his nut go ballistic 255
200 scarper run 270
209 nor do I neither do I 284
217 Slytherin win Slytherin wins 294
224 clapping them applauding them 304
226 Next moment, Fred Weasley had chucked A moment later, Fred Weasley chucked 307
226 Penalty to Penalty shot to 307
227 Next moment Then again 308
232 reading up reading up on 316
232 sit two sit for two 315
233 ever sat ever taken 317
234 second from last second to last 318
278 mad insane 379
316 at weekends on weekends 433
316 in one go in one gulp 433
317 check I'm happy check if I'm happy 435
Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
UK EditionUS Edition
PageWord or PhraseWord or PhrasePage
11 windows either side of the windows on either side of the 6
59 Bulgaria have got Bulgaria has got 63
59 Harry was passionate about Quidditch. He had played as Seeker on the Gryffindor house Quidditch team ever since his first year at Hogwarts and owned a Firebolt, one of the best racing brooms in the world. Harry had been on the Gryffindor House Quidditch team ever since his first year at Hogwarts and owned one of the best racing brooms in the world, a Firebolt. Flying came more naturally to Harry than anything else in the magical world, and he played in the position of Seeker on the Gryffindor House team. 63
60 they had their pudding (home-made strawberry ice-cream), they had their homemade strawberry ice cream, 63
63 Harry knew that Apparating was very difficult; it meant disappearing from one place and re-appearing almost instantly in another Harry knew that Apparating meant disappearing from one place and reappearing almost instantly in another, but had never known any Hogwarts student to do it, and understood that it was very difficult. 66
63 got your test passed your test 66
98 prevent them using prevent them from using 108
133 matron nurse 149
135 also 'lost,' also "travelling," "lost," 151
135 pointing at pointing to 151
139 sorting them into two. sorting them into two piles. 156
215 On excellent form In excellent form 244
223 puddings desserts 253
228 at weekends on weekends 258
231 'What's she like?' "What is it with her?" 262
284 for one o'clock by one o'clock 324
336 'Now Potter… "Now that Potter… 385
353 brace braces 405
427 to bursting point to the bursting point 492
450 preventing Snape slipping away preventing Snape from slipping away 518
478 twenty-foot-high twenty feet high 551
499 Impediment Jinx Impediment Curse 574
534 revision research 615
539 on eighty-five points with eighty-five points 621
583 prise pry 671
623 biscuits cookies 718
1 The original book, published in the UK, was entitled Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, in reference to the mythical substance that alchemists believed would transmute base metals into gold. When the American publisher, Scholastic, brought the book out in the U.S., it changed the book's name to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the belief that American children would be confused by the apparent reference to philosophy.

Other changes reflect British terms which are largely unknown in the U.S. or which have more common 'equivalents.' For example on page 140 of the British edition of "Sorcerer's Stone" Harry and Ron are eating crumpets, whereas on page 199 of the U.S. edition they are eating English muffins. Similarly, eating a "packet of crisps" and carrying a "torch" from the British edition are converted to eating a "bag of [potato] chips" and carrying a "flashlight."

Thanks to Henriikka Mustalahti for her January 2008 corrections to the original file!


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Last Updated 07 May 2010