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#195615 01/07/11 02:39 AM
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125 years ago, Mark Twain wrote the book Huckleberry Finn which has become a classic, now a new edition is to be released but with two words replaced. I know one word used most frequently, the n-word is to be replace with 'slave' but not the other word, which is injun.

Is this censorship gone mad?

Candy #195627 01/07/11 09:26 AM
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It sounds like they are doing to Twain what they did to Enid Blyton...replacing names and words of that era with new ones so as not to offend people who probably wouldn't have minded because they know it is of an older origin when those words were the norm.


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bexter #195635 01/07/11 12:19 PM
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True
and at least 'they' are not banning the original version.
read it here
but what about copy-write...can they change what the author originally said?

Candy #195638 01/07/11 02:02 PM
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I believe that works are turned over into the public domain 50 or so years after the authors death...so they may be able to...if the descendants/owners have protection on the works then it might not be allowed...not entirely sure!


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Candy #195653 01/07/11 03:46 PM
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what about copy-write...can they change what the author originally said?

The book is long out of copyright and into the public domain as bexter asserts.

I have seen this posted on a number of words-related forums. I wonder why the term fig-leaf edition was used instead of bowdlerized edition. This is a perennial topic. People have been changing words in books or outright banning them all in the name of preserving the next generation from the great unpleasantnesses of the last ones.


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Ah but how is the next generation supposed to move on and not make the same mistakes if the mistakes are removed? (see also: who writes the history books? ans: the victors moral: if you win, you can change whatever you want)


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bexter #195656 01/07/11 04:18 PM
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It is the nonsense we have in this country called
Political Correctness, perpetuated by the media.


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funny thing about that: political correctness is itself politically incorrect crazy


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bexter #195665 01/07/11 05:01 PM
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True, that.


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It is the nonsense we have in this country called
Political Correctness, perpetuated by the media.


It's only called political correctness when the person disagrees with the change. If they agree, it's usually called common sense. I just call it politeness. If somebody does not want to be called chief or injun or Indian, who am I to continue calling them that. If they want to be called First Nations or Native Americans or people or what-have-you, it's little bother to me.

Bringing it back to language, I have noticed that peevers usually get all hot and bothered by language change, whether it is unconsciously or consciously applied.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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