The American Editors are Idiots! (spinoff on Hermione in US/UK)

[catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk]

No: HPFGUIDX 16091

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Haggridd" <jkusalavagemd at y...> wrote:
> I abhor the changes that the editors of the U.S. editon of the 
books 
> made in their patronizing assumption that American readers--
> including kids-- would not appreciate the British locutions.  First 
> and foremost, of course, is the loss of the title of PS. I won't go 
> into all of the rich alchemical history associated with the search
> for the Philosopher's Stone; suffice it to say that the U.S. 
edition 
> suffers from the lack of any such associations.  The differences of 
> expression add to our enjoyment of the HP books; the editors should 
> have left well enough alone.  Their capital crime, however, is that 
> those editors have eliminated a correct word, and, in their supreme 
> ignorance actually have made an error in its stead.  The verb "to 
> career" is used properly by JKR.  The editors have replaced it with 
> the verb "to careen", which means "to dock or beach a ship for 
repair 
> or refitting".  The intended meaning of "to career", "to lurch 
wildly 
> or unexpectedly from place to place", is not by any means an 
alternate
> or secondary meaning of the verb "to careen".  I apologize for
> ranting this way, but it really annoyed me the way the editors 
> condescended to American readers of all ages.
> 
> Haggridd

I wholeheartedly agree with everything you say.  It is condescending, 
inaccurate AND not what JKR wrote in the first place.  Going back to 
Amy's original post - I'm sorry, but I prefer the "timidly."  It was 
obviously there for a purpose, and the second sentence is 
meaningless.  The context of the UK edition is much better.  BTW, I'm 
glad also that JKR put her foot down about "mom" and "mum" - the 
children are English.  Why on earth would they say "mom" ???

Catherine