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Harry Potter in Esperanto: sirnia

by flootzavut, March 8, 2015

Messages: 11

Language: English

flootzavut (User's profile) March 8, 2015, 2:19:22 PM

I have been reading the translation of Philosopher's Stone and came across a word for which no one seems to have a translation: sirnia. In context, it seems it was intended to translate tawny, as in tawny owl (sirnia strigo), but my curiosity was piqued when neither Lernu nor Vortaro nor Google Translate could give me a root on which it was based, and when I did a Google search for it, the EO HP was the only search result I could find with the word in it. Google just kept offering me results that didn't include that word or included words that could be misspelled as sirnia.

In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter, it just makes me very curious that I can't find any use of it, or a root that seems to make sense of it, and I wonder if anyone knows where the word came from, whether it is just a different word for tawny, or a neologism or... something else! ridulo.gif

1Guy1 (User's profile) March 8, 2015, 7:17:25 PM

It is in Wells dictionary as 'Sirnio' under the English entry for Owl, but not in the eo section. It you look up Tawny you get flavbruna.

vikungen (User's profile) March 8, 2015, 8:03:29 PM

flootzavut:I have been reading the translation of Philosopher's Stone and came across a word for which no one seems to have a translation: sirnia. In context, it seems it was intended to translate tawny, as in tawny owl (sirnia strigo), but my curiosity was piqued when neither Lernu nor Vortaro nor Google Translate could give me a root on which it was based, and when I did a Google search for it, the EO HP was the only search result I could find with the word in it. Google just kept offering me results that didn't include that word or included words that could be misspelled as sirnia.

In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter, it just makes me very curious that I can't find any use of it, or a root that seems to make sense of it, and I wonder if anyone knows where the word came from, whether it is just a different word for tawny, or a neologism or... something else! ridulo.gif
My dictionary lists the following, no more no less: sirnio : tawny owl

Espdic

flootzavut (User's profile) March 8, 2015, 10:13:54 PM

Thanks! I'm glad it is actually out here somewhere. I guess it's just a very specific word. Didn't occur to me to look it up as sirnio shoko.gif I will have to have another Google.

Thank you both. Mystery solved!

flootzavut (User's profile) March 9, 2015, 10:46:12 PM

Update: apparently one can be quite specific about owls in Esperanto. A Google search of sirnio turned up:

strigo (owl)
noktuo (little owl)
otuso (long eared owl)
sirnio (tawny owl)

I also discovered an alternate for sirnio when translating from Dutch (long story...): arbarstrigo.

I will be interested to see how barn owl is translated when Hedwig turns up okulumo.gif

orthohawk (User's profile) March 10, 2015, 2:50:49 PM

flootzavut:Update: apparently one can be quite specific about owls in Esperanto. A Google search of sirnio turned up:

strigo (owl)
noktuo (little owl)
otuso (long eared owl)
sirnio (tawny owl)

I also discovered an alternate for sirnio when translating from Dutch (long story...): arbarstrigo.

I will be interested to see how barn owl is translated when Hedwig turns up okulumo.gif
Hedwig is a snowy owl.

flootzavut (User's profile) March 10, 2015, 11:36:54 PM

... oh my, it really is too long since I last read these books...

caltrans (User's profile) May 3, 2015, 11:53:39 AM

Where can one get an edition of The Philospher's Stone in Esperanto???

AxelMajere (User's profile) May 3, 2015, 1:21:05 PM

caltrans:Where can one get an edition of The Philospher's Stone in Esperanto???
I'd love to know as well. I've searched and searched to no avail.

dbob (User's profile) May 3, 2015, 5:17:32 PM

The de Diego Spanish dictionary also includes sirnio:
cárabo -> sirnio, malgranda orel-strigo (ave): cárabo común, arbar-strigo.

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