Why is it sorcerers stone not philosophers

Did more people see the 8 Harry Potter movies or read the 7 Harry Potter books? In the Harry Potter stories who takes care of Harry after his parents die? We ask our submitters to thoroughly research questions and provide sources where possible. Feel free to post corrections or additions. John, Wellington New Zealand Having worked with American kids for 2 years, I would imagine the thought behind it is that 'philosopher' is too highbrow, and that 'sorcerer' is much more mystical and appealing It was merely changed because it was assumed - quite rightly - that Americans would neither know or care whether the first two Georges were mad or not.

I have no doubt that the connotations of the Philosophers Stone are completely alien to kids in most countries including the UK. In fact recent surveys have shown our youngsters to be every bit as ignorant of recent history as anyone else. It is the merketeers in the US who seem to refuse to accept that popular arts can educate and improve the mind, so as soon as they see any sort of a barrier to instant access they attempt to remove it.

I'm sure very few Americans understood what "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" referred to but it was still a massive success. I think the name change was simply because some suit in a US publishing house decided Philosopher was a hard word and Sorcerer, bathed as it is in the culture of Mickey Mouse, was more accessible. It was an error of judgement and I'm glad to hear the author, with the power that comes with success, is refusing to accept this sort of nonsense with the movie.

For instance here in The Netherlands it is 'HP and the stone of the Wise' Being a wise person is a bigger value then being a philosopher here. Dorine, Amsterdam the Netherlands There is another reason why the US was keen to avoid identifying which George was the subject of the film 'The madness of King George III ': the film portrays as a sympathetic character a man most Americans have been brought up to think of as a villain.

Quentin Langley, Woking, UK Whether or not your correspondents are being harsh on American children and their incomprehension of what a philosopher could be, they are certainly being harsh on philosophers.

Speaking as a person who plies that trade, I can tell you that it is exceedingly exciting and full of thrills and spills, and it far outstrips what sorcerers get up to, if any of them actually exist, which I doubt. Rowling knew what she was doing! Phil Cole, Barnet Hertfordshire Not that this is really an answer to the question but I just wanted to add something more about changes made. As I am still only a teenager I have had the oppurtunity to read all of the books and I have seen the American versions in Canada it remains Philosopher' Stone and the title is not the only thing changed.

Throughout the book in the U. And whether it was corporations and media mougals who made the desion to do this or not, the fact still remains that most children in the U. She was just happy someone wanted to publish it and wanted to keep them happy. However, fortunately, all the rest of the books have kept their original names. And quite rightly!

Which name do you prefer for the first Harry Potter novel? Share in the comments below. Harlots season 2 review: Episode 5 by Lacy Baugher. More from Harry Potter. Culturess 11 months Alan Rickman's diaries will be published as a book and we're already crying. Culturess 1 year Johnny Depp departs from Fantastic Beasts 3 after losing libel case.

Culturess 1 year Vera Bradley has released a collection of Harry Potter purses and accessories. Streaming More Netflix News ». However, these sweets aren't common in America, and because of that, it was changed to a lemon drop in order for more people to understand what was being discussed when this particular confectionary came up.

Any time a letter is written in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone , the font is changed to a different script depending on who is writing the letter. In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone , the letters are simply changed to an italic font with no other special fonts used to represent each character.

This may have been an issue of practicality, as the publisher may not have wanted to put the extra effort into creating fonts for specific characters for the first book in a series that wasn't guaranteed to be popular. One Hogwarts textbook, in particular, has a different name between the UK and the US version of the book. Towards the end of the novel, Harry is studying for his finals and looking up the word 'Dittany' in the textbook 1, Magical Herbs and Fungi.

This is one of the few books that has yet to find its way onto Muggle bookshelves, however, it seems that the US version is the preferred title for most fans. And the most popular question that fans have, concerns the title differences between Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. It seems strange enough that book publishers are willing to change such minimal details in the books in order to make it more understandable for the children, however having completely separate book titles is something that is rarely done.

The simple fact of the matter is that American publishers think that the word "sorcerer" sounds more enticing and magical than the word "philosopher. Tiffani is a writer turned cosplayer. When she's not writing, she's drinking unhealthy amounts of coffee so that she can work late into the night on her latest costume.