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!

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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