Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in Yiddish, with Arun Viswanath

Arun Viswanath in conversation with Robert Alter. Presented by the U.C. Berkeley Center for Jewish Studies. Follow link below for more information.

Yiddish has just joined the list of over 80 languages into which the Harry Potter books have been translated. What are the challenges of translating this magical work into Yiddish? Is it possible to create a Yiddish translation that isn’t inherently Jewish? And who is this translation for, anyway? Join the translator for a special presentation exploring the process of rendering this classic work into the traditional language of Ashkenazi Jews.

Arun “Arele” Schaechter Viswanath grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey in a Yiddish- and Tamil-speaking home. Harry Potter un der Filosofisher Shteyn is his first foray into literary translation. Arun enjoys bouldering, playing board games, and learning new languages and instruments. He lives with his wife, Tali, in New York, where he works in analytics at a tech company.