Posted by Peter Hyland on July 30, 1999 at 16:06:46 from 194.128.172.70:
In Reply to: Re:Harry Potter (was: What a scene!!) posted by Edwin M. Kiser on July 30, 1999 at 04:56:31:
Ed, I agree. I made up a bit of spoof American-Ransome and you'll find it in 'Huh - a dream' if you scroll way down to the bottom of Tarboard. For me, the language in books is sacrosanct. Can you imagine anglicising Mark Twain?
I am always interested in American reactions to Ransome's text. I love reading Twain, but I feel there are always one or two nuances I am not going to get because I am not American-born. Would not the same be true for trans-atlantic AR readers? I am talking about shifts and subtleties of meaning. Capt Flint is a good example - essentially English in his economic speech and attitudes, but we (ie British readers) know what's really going on. Maybe this isn't a problem. 95% of Capt Flint still makes a cracking good character, just as the 95% I can get of Huckleberry Finn is still magic. What do you think?