Why is Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer Stone in the USA? And what is it called in Australia?
by 
SomewhatDamaged23
ANSWERS: 3
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Publishers often alter vocabulary in the text of a book when publishing in different English speaking nations. This is to accommodate slight variations in typical speech patterns, spelling, and vocabulary. It is not as common to alter words in the title, but it does happen and for the same reason. A similar alteration was made for Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights – when it was published in North America the title was changed to The Golden Compass.
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It's more than that! In the Dutch version I am reading... Hogwarts is called Zweinsteins and Dumbledore is called Perkamentus, Snape is Sneep, quidditch is called zwerkbal, the Weasleys last name is something else and so is the names of most of the school houses and teachers and students. LOL!
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The book title was changed just because the audience was different. I remember there was this big stink because in the British version, Rowling used "crumpet" (or something similar) and in the American version it was changed to "English muffin" which are two different foods. Now, there's a difference between "sorcerer" and "philosopher" as well- sorcerer relates to magic. The real reason, I don't know. But, I think that the American version is the only one whose title really changed. The Spanish version is "Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal" which is nearly "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone."
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