The Tribune

By VICTORIA SARNE

As a writer, author and lover of words and the nuances of language, I was shocked, as many have been in the last few days, to read that Puffin, the English publisher of Penguin Random House has made hundreds of changes to the text of Roald Dahl’s books: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Witches, James & The Giant Peach, and others, having deemed many of his words inappropriate.

It is well-known that he was anti-semitic, and while it is unacceptable to me and many people, it doesn’t change the fact that he held that opinion; nor that he used words in general usage then but which have become unacceptable today, particularly to the ‘woke’ thinkers - personally I think they need to go back to sleep!

So, as an example: his use of the word ‘fat’ has been replaced with ‘enormous’ - in whose world does that sound better? Not in mine.

Language changes in form and usage over time, history doesn’t. That was the language in use at that time. It is reflective of what was acceptable whether we now reject or accept it. It is what it is and it makes no sense to me to attempt to re-write, re-interpret or attempt to sanitise it because we now have a different point of view. Who’s to say our thinking won’t change in the future and our current use of words may become outdated or unacceptable? Will we then do the same thing all over again? If we are to grow and learn as individuals, societies or countries, we need to understand that perceptions also change. If we can’t or won’t recognise the fact that this kind of revisionism is counter-productive, how are we to develop as a mature society?

Much of history is ugly and every country on this planet has skeletons in their closets, things they would rather forget but at some point in their history whether through waging wars with related atrocities or those committed in the context of social injustices, discrimination or any malfeasance, illegal, immoral or unethical act, they happened. Erasing it from the records because of shame or guilt or for any reason, is not a positive act, but detrimental and dangerous. Surely it makes more sense to reveal or keep that history intact, after all we can’t change it, the perpetrators or purveyors are long dead, but we can make a conscious decision with more intelligent thinking that history will not keep repeating itself (although sadly it seems to) and we as human beings can do better, be better, than previous generations or ancestors. In my mind, it is also incredibly disrespectful to the victims who suffered any injustices, because if we erase selective parts of history, we erase them and they become invisible or forgotten.

But, to return to the specific subject of language, my imagination is taking me to another level: what if we just stopped using any descriptive words, removed all the adjectives, adverbs, nouns, pronouns and so on? We could eventually erase language altogether and stop talking to each other. Oh wait! Isn’t that happening already with so many people heads down, thumbs franticly twitching and switching on their cell phones? In sarcastic mode, I wonder if we will soon stop talking to each other entirely and communicate only with electronic devices or with grunts and nods. Oh, wait again! Wasn’t that what the cavemen did? Perhaps we are not evolving at all but will soon be back in pre-historic mode!

But to be serious; words have tremendous power - they can be beneficial, inspirational or deadly and dangerous. They can be healing and calming in dire circumstances; conversely, they can provoke hatred and incite riots and wars - let’s learn to wield words wisely, thoughtfully and judiciously. Context and clear communication for understanding where each generation is at in their evolvement is essential for continuing growth and understanding. Let history mean something. Let it speak for itself and let’s listen.

• The Associated Press reported that following the backlash, publisher Penguin Random House announced that 17 of Dahl’s books will be published in their original form later this year as “The Roald Dahl Classic Collection” so “readers will be free to choose which version of Dahl’s stories they prefer.”