Dumb Americans and US/UK Editions

[roleplayer_m_uk]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at y..., "blpurdom" <blpurdom at y...> wrote:
> So why DIDN'T they change the books for Canadians?  
> That's probably an even better question than "Why DID they change 
> them for Americans?"

I'm sure the answer is the same for both. The changes were made to 
the American editions because of the power of the US as the dominant 
global culture. Canada, not having the same kind of dominance, 
doesn't get the luxury of its own edition.

Although I take the point that the revisions have shed new light on 
some aspects of the books, it does seem to be patronising the 
American audience to make the changes. After all, reading the books 
in their original form would give American kids a little taste of a 
new culture without the effort of learning a new language. Sometimes 
it doesn't pay to pander to people too much - it makes them lazy.

I'm British and living in London with my American girlfriend, so I 
have a pretty good understanding of the cultural divide. She rarely 
needs to explain American lingo to me, since I'm familiar with it 
from books, movies and TV but I often (especially in the early days) 
had to act as thesaurus for her. She's learning fast though - she 
found Don Cheadle's "London" accent in Ocean's Eleven as hilarious as 
I did! And don't even get her started on Daphne's "Manchester" accent 
in Frasier! :)