Yersinia Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 When buying an e-book in English, I can usually choose between different editions, some published in the US, some in the UK. Lately I sometimes find myself partway through a book when I realize that I've gotten the wrong edition and that the original text has been altered. This often subtly changes the entire mood/setting of the book and irritates me to no end. And yes, it happens in both directions.My questions are:Why do publishers change spellings and word choice between UK and US editions of books (and vice versa), considering that they are (for the most part) mutually intelligible forms of English? Do readers even want this? How do authors feel about this? Is it just a necessary evil in order to sell books in another market?My apologies if this doesn't really fall under the topic of literature, but it seemed too book-related to be general chatter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jet199 Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 I think it is just to prevent the thousands of letters and emails from angry pedants if they didn't change it. It is probably more work to go through those letters than to go through the whole book and change the spellings.Personally I will buy US editions if they are cheaper so it doesn't really bother me. If anything I would prefer to read it as the author intended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maltaran Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 1. So that the edition uses the correct language of its country2. I expect most readers don't notice/care Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farseer2 Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Do readers even want this? I can only speak for myself, but I don't want it. I consider it a lack of respect for the readers. I have a different perspective from many of you since English is not my first language, and I think that the differences between US and UK English are too small to justify a translation. Just let me read the book as the author wrote it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farseer2 Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 A good example is the first Harry Potter book. They actually changed the title in the US because they felt readers there would be too dumb to handle the original title. Lack of respect, as I was saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Tyrion I Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 I don't want changes. Simple as that. Reminds me of my American copy of "A Clockwork Orange". Its cover said that it would be the first edition to contain the whole novel and the final chapter. My English edition does have all chapters. Isn't that ridiculous? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altherion Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 There are two varieties of changes. The first consists of stuff like color vs. colour and boot vs. trunk (when referring to the storage compartment of a car). These are harmless and probably for the best -- they do not change the meaning and avoid annoying or confusing the reader. The second variety usually applies to titles. For example, "Sorcerer's Stone" vs. "Philosopher's Stone" or "Thirteen" vs. "Black Man". These alter the meaning and are almost always bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yersinia Posted August 8, 2014 Author Share Posted August 8, 2014 There are two varieties of changes. The first consists of stuff like color vs. colour and boot vs. trunk (when referring to the storage compartment of a car). These are harmless and probably for the best -- they do not change the meaning and avoid annoying or confusing the reader. The second variety usually applies to titles. For example, "Sorcerer's Stone" vs. "Philosopher's Stone" or "Thirteen" vs. "Black Man". These alter the meaning and are almost always bad.In some cases, I can understand why a title change was made for marketing purposes, not that I'm defending it, of course. The changes to spelling and word choice annoy me even more because they serve no real purpose.Come to think of it, sometimes they even change the author's name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterbound Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 I want it and think it's needed. Lived in the uk, and half the shit they say is still a fucking mystery. Boot, trolley, flat, bonnet, pram, garden (for a back yard), tea (for a meal time), 1st floor actually being the second floor, stones, inexplicable uses of the letter 'u', ending obvious statements with a question (inninit?), a shit ton more. Ya. I'm glad they change it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 They should translate books into British English, but not the other way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Bangs for fringe. Hate that one. Bleargh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yersinia Posted August 8, 2014 Author Share Posted August 8, 2014 Bangs for fringe. Hate that one. Bleargh.Here they call it a f*cking "pony". *shrug*Reading the UK edition of Wool gave me some seriously wrong assumptions about the setting, and switching publishers mid-series can be jarring. I had bought American editions of Altered Carbon and Broken Angels without thinking and then made the effort to get the UK edition of Woken Furies. As a result, it had a slightly different feel for me than the others, in addition to any actual differences in tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo498 Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 The "international" English is probably by now closer to AE (but I am not sure). In any case I do not think books should be revised or changed. Even in German (with less than 100 Million native speakers) there are words used regionally (most obviously in Switzerland and Austria, but also between German regions) and if the author choses to use these words, expressions, phrases they should not be changed.Most people old enough to read should be able to use a dictionary, shouldn't they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yersinia Posted August 9, 2014 Author Share Posted August 9, 2014 Even in German (with less than 100 Million native speakers) there are words used regionally (most obviously in Switzerland and Austria, but also between German regions) and if the author choses to use these words, expressions, phrases they should not be changed.My husband remarked that it would be unthinkable to translate a book from Flemish to "Hollands". Not being a native speaker of Dutch, I can't really comment on how different the written forms are, but I'm starting to suspect that this peculiar custom with English-language books has more to do with tradition than with function. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo498 Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 yep, I cannot really comment on the AE/BE divide. The spelling differences are fairly trivial and as a non-native speaker who started with BE in school, but really learned to speak and understand English years later as a university student in the US, I am quite neutral about the issue. It depends on context which words I have to look up... ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigei Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 There is one exception though - books for children, especially if they are used for school. Just too confusing if the kid is just learning to read and there are different spellings. Adults can handle the whole torch=flashlight thing but this would just be an added difficulty for children. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maltaran Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 There is a certain type of British person who will get very upset about any perceived Americanisation of British culture - to them, allowing UK ediitons of American books to be published with the incorrect spelling would be the start of the slippery slope. The only time it's ever caused even mild annoyance to me was with Small Favour, because it broke the Dresden Files pattern of every book having a two-word title with both words the same length. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altherion Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 In some cases, I can understand why a title change was made for marketing purposes, not that I'm defending it, of course. The changes to spelling and word choice annoy me even more because they serve no real purpose.But they do serve a purpose. First, most people don't like it when words are spelled "wrong". For me, seeing "color" written as "colour" is distracting in the same way as a typo even though I know the reason for it. Second, sometimes it's just plain confusing -- all of the words on peterbound's list have the potential to make a reader misinterpret a scene. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetrusOctavianus Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 A good example is the first Harry Potter book. They actually changed the title in the US because they felt readers there would be too dumb to handle the original title. Lack of respect, as I was saying. Here in Norway they changed the title of the movie The Curse of the Were-Rabbit to "Varulvkaninen" which means "The Werewolf Rabbit". So obviously Norwegian kids are stupider than British ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sj4iy Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 I studied British and American literature extensively in college. I have worked for British and American bosses. I have British, American and Australian friends that I chat with all the time. At this point, I can say that I honestly don't even notice the differences anymore because I am so used to reading them both. I don't see the point in changing the spelling myself, because I think that the spelling of the words is part of the culture of that particular piece of literature. Same with changing words...although I find that more blasphemous. I couldn't imagine reading Jane Austen or Charles Dickens updated for American audiences. It's just wrong. Same with Mark Twain or Harper Lee updated for British audiences. I'm all for leaving it as is and pushing people a little bit out of their comfort zone for once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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