Roald Dahl's iconic books are being rewritten to remove offensive language
No longer will words like 'fat' be used...
We are in the business of words, of language and in that business, it is obvious (or maybe not so much) that we understand that the language we use makes an impression.
Many people aspire to become impressionable. They look at becoming an icon when it comes to impacting people with the language they use.
But that comes with great responsibility. Because ultimately language can distinguish between a harmonious bond and a war.
Recently, Prime Minister of the UK, Rishi Sunak has expressed his distaste with regards to the changes that were made to legendary author, Roald Dahl's books.
"The works of children's author Roald Dahl are changing, with multiple edits being made to his books more than 30 years after his death.
References to things like characters' appearances and weight have been removed, sparking a fierce debate online." (Instagram)
The big deal now is that many people besides the Prime Minister, are up in arms about the edits.
Many feel like they should just let kids read Roald Dahl's books from his perspective.
Here are some of the changes that were made. Courtesy of BBC News.
- Augustus Gloop, from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, is now described as "enormous", with the word "fat" removed from every book, according to the Telegraph
- Mrs Twit, from the Twits, is no longer "ugly and beastly", but simply "beastly"
- In the same book, "a weird African language" is no longer weird
- The words "crazy" and "mad" have also been removed as a result of an emphasis on mental health, the newspaper reported
- A threat to "knock her flat" in Matilda has become "give her a right talking to"
Check out more from East Coast Radio
The issue that many also have is that the changes are made to books that were written in a different time.
These apparent 'offensive' pieces of language may be deemed that to today's modern audience, but the very nature of using it during Dhal's era was not in fact offensive but descriptive and raw.
Laura Hackett, deputy literary editor of the Sunday Times, said "I think the sort of the nastiness is what makes Dahl so much fun," she told 5 Live.
"You love it when, in Matilda, Bruce Bogtrotter is forced to eat that whole chocolate cake, or you are locked up in the Chokey [a torture device] - that's what children love.
"And to remove all references to violence or anything that's not clean and nice and friendly, then you remove the spirit of those stories." (BBC News)
Image Courtesy of Pexels