West Frisian Edition

The first and only West Frisian translation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was published by Bornmeer in an edition of just 2,950 copies. West Frisian is a regional language spoken primarily in the Dutch province of Friesland, with its capital in Leeuwarden. Despite its limited speaker base, the book remains available for purchase from the publisher, and no reprints have been issued to date.

The translation was done by Jetske Bilker, a Frisian author who has also translated works from English into Dutch. Interestingly, although many Dutch people cannot read Frisian, Bilker's work has been praised for its quality and fidelity to the original. As with many other translations, character names typically remain unchanged, but in this case, Bilker was required to adapt names into Frisian to preserve linguistic consistency.

Bilker shared with me that one of the most challenging lines to translate was the book’s famous opening sentence:
"Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."
Both the Dutch and Frisian translations ultimately omitted the phrase “thank you very much,” as it proved difficult to render naturally in either language.

No original cover artwork was commissioned for the Frisian edition. Instead, the publisher opted to reuse the artwork from the Dutch edition—a cost-effective decision, especially considering that Dutch was the third language into which the series was officially translated.

For collectors, the Frisian edition is an interesting and accessible regional translation, though its modest print run and linguistic uniqueness give it lasting appeal within the Harry Potter translation community.