Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Theme of Language and Communication

Magic is at the center of the Wizarding community, and at the heart of magic is language and the ability to communicate in just the right way. In Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts we see how language is manipulated and how communication is a means of deception. We are exposed to the many diverse languages and to the many different ways of communicating that one must know in order to survive. Communication can both save and destroy.

Questions About Language and Communication

  1. What different kinds of language do we see in this story?
  2. How is communication important to magic?
  3. When does communication break down or malfunction in this story?