New version of classic book sparks debate over the role of English grammar

Last month, Publisher's Weekly reported that Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn will be edited for political correctness, and that a new version is slated to be released. The updated edition will replace the word "nigger" - which appears 219 times - with "slave" and eradicate all instances of the word "injun."
The move has sparked a great debate in the literary world. While some scholars support this attempt to bring the text into the context of modern times, others are saying that changing the prose detracts from Twain's original intention.
"It is important to emphasize the historical context and dialect used by Twain," Kate Smolick, an Ohio-based high school English teacher, told the Crescent-News.
"There's a lot of bad grammar, too. But the students are able to decipher all of these factors."
Others are expressing their opposition to the move in more sarcastic ways. For example, Bill White, a writer for The Morning Call, recently penned an article that suggested the book should be revised to include characters of all ethnic backgrounds and sexual preferences as to ensure that no people are excluded from the story.  


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