Really funny article! (may be offensive to Americans!)

[Shadow]

That is very funny! I'm not offended, I just think that's weird.

[RavenEye]

omg lol! that was the funniest thing I've read, and I'm American! I was laughing when I read it, very amusing.

[Lizzy Bennet]

And once again, I shall probably be the voice of dissent.

Seriously, I wasn't offended by that article, but it did bring up a point I've given some thought to. Changing covers of books for different countires is something that doesn't bother me a great deal . . . as they say, "shouldn't judge a book by its cover" (I just had to throw that in there! )

However, changing words and the text of a book simply for other cultures to understand I *do* have a problem with.

If the author is British and the text and characters of the book are British, why should that change . . . for anyone? Think about it a moment . . . the books, in their original form, clearly reflect the setting and the origin of the characters, most (not all!) of whom are English. Why on earth would an English person call a 'jumper' a 'sweater'? Why wouldn't an English person say 'blimey'? Why would English children walk around speaking like Americans? That's totally unrealistic, not to mention, *not* how J.K. Rowling originally wrote her books.

Now, from a marketer's standpoint, I see the wording was changed so that American people (particularly kids) were not confused by the different terminology. However, let's give the kids of America (and kids the world over, as I'm sure the British expressions would be foreign to other countries) some credit . . . would unfamiliar words turn a child (or person) off? Isn't that what reading is about? Gaining new vocabulary? Using context clues? Learning about other people, places, situations, cultures, and lifestyles?

The kind of school, besides being a boarding school, which isn't run-of-the-mill, described in these books is *totally* different than anything in America . . . we don't have house teams or prefects or head boys/girls or anything like that. And *that* wasn't Americanized for us . . . and since it wasn't, all sorts of people (myself included!) know about schools very different from our own . . . I unashamedly admit that I was unaware schools like that existed at all . . . I thought J.K. Rowling made everything up regarding the school . . . that it was all part of the *magic* (if you will) of Hogwarts.

Wow, this is long . . . sorry. Just a topic I'm *really* passionate about! If reading is an escape/exploration/learning tool/comfort to people, isn't changing the author's intent and art robbing, to a some extent if not a great one, the reader of that experience? If J.K. Rowling was good enough to get published, I don't see why her 'work' should have been modified for any country to understand, and on behalf of my country and what my country's people really need to learn about the world (myself included!), I am sorry this happened and moreso, that it happened because of kids (open-minded and quick to learn) were reading this series. I don't recall Nick Hornby's, Helen Fielding's, or JRR Tolkien's books being altered in this way. Reading broadens the mind . . . the last thing this world needs is more 'watering down' and less expanding of the mind and heart.

Ok, end rant! Thanks for reading . . . guess that was my post for the evening! hehehehe

[Neo]

But the idea of writing is to transmit something in your book, so if the language has differet meanings waht you try to say is modified; like for example Sorcerer and Philosopher (I know there have already been several discussions about this), but I tink it is more important for an author to clearly transmit what he/she wants, rather than having the book exactly like he/she wrote it.

[Lizzy Bennet]

Indeed, I can see the point in that, but I still feel that a great part of reading is learning about other cultures and figuring out how they speak, behave, and live. Particularly if you'll never have the opportunity to travel there yourself. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree (though, I do see your point!). Other books, written by non-American writers have kept their words and culture in tact in their books . . . I think kids can handle that, but I realize that is my opinion.

[Blaise Zabini]

I absolutely agree with you Bumblebee. I think it's sickening that a publisher feels the need to change a work of literature in order to market it to another country. I mean, what if the same had been done to what we think of as now being classics? What if modern publishers started editing Shakespeare because it sounded too old and British'? And furthermore, one of the things I love the most about A Clockwork Orange was having to figure out what some of the foreign words in it meant. It definitely added to the reading experience (and taught me quite a lot!) And for goodness sakes, if an American child is turned off of a book because they see the word 'colour' instead of 'color,' then we have a serious problem.

And an a less ranting note, the article was absolutely hilarious! (Must figure out why the laughing face is green.)

[Neo]

I think that in that case, people that are really interested should read both; the one that is adapted for them, and the original to understand the culture of which it comes from entirely.

[Holly Golightly]

Well, I totally agree in principal, but... in all honesty, I dont' care what they do to the books, as long as it gets all those lazy a** kinds of the upcoming gereration out from infront of a puter game and reading a book!!!

*hrmm, how old did I just sound???*

[Lizzy Bennet]

Well, I totally agree in principal, but... in all honesty, I dont' care what they do to the books, as long as it gets all those lazy a** kinds of the upcoming gereration out from infront of a puter game and reading a book!!!

*hrmm, how old did I just sound???*

Hehehehe! About as old as me, which isn't much older than you! I completely agree about reading making a comeback!!! And, though I still stand by my original thoughts, I do agree with Neo that the themes are every bit as important to convey.

[Neo]

Okay, I will have a Holly reaction.

I'm so happy Liz agree with me

[Holly Golightly]

Your macking me again Neo..>?

Dont' worry, you will pay on 21st of June,when all my theories are RIGHT!!!

nah-nah-nah-nah-nah

[Neo]

No, Holly I was really mocking Mint.

You will wish that June 21 never had arrived when all my theories are right.

[techjohn]

I totally and utterly agree! Lets keep the books British, in their original and best form, as the author intended!

[Nothlit]

American English and British English are different. No kidding, huh? I can understand changing words like "football" to "soccer," since the British and American terms for that sport are different. Especially since this is a children's book, and kids don't know all the nuances between the two "languages."

After all, you don't think they use all the same figures of speech when they translate the books into French or Russian or something, do you? A little bit of translation is needed to make the text understandable by American kids.

I do agree that they go a bit overboard, though. Most Americans know that jumper and sweater are the same thing, but most Americans don't know (I didn't) that skip and Dumpster are the same thing (however, Dumpster is actually a brand name, and I don't actually remember it ever appearing in HP...why do people keep bringing it up? ). And I do agree that they should leave British spellings alone, like colour/color or realise/realize. No point in changing things that mundane, but they do.

You also have to remember that the book business is just that -- a business! Publishers are in this to make money, and Scholastic figured that American children would not be interested in a book that they thought had to do with philosophy, even though that's not what Philosopher's Stone is about. People do judge books by their covers, and titles. If JKR had already been a popular author when that book came out, perhaps she would have had more leverage to keep them from changing the title. However, she just wanted to get published, and changing one word doesn't ruin the whole book.

Believe me, if it didn't cost an arm and a leg to buy the British editions and have them shipped to me, I would. But I find that I get a very distinct British "feel" even from the American editions when I'm reading them. So don't worry, they haven't been completely Americanized.

[Malachim]

I don't get it....

must be all those big words.