EntertainmentFrom Matilda to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Roald Dahl Books Will Have Language ChangedDecades after the works were published, several terms considered offensive will be removed from Roald Dahl’s original works today at 17:00

In 1964, Roald Dahl published The fantastic chocolate factory, one of his most famous works, for the first time. Now, decades later, several of the author’s books will be changed, so that terms considered offensive are removed.

Welshman, Roald Dahl is the author of great titles of children’s literature, such as Matilda, The Good Giant Friend It is James and the Giant Peach. Over the decades, however, many of the British texts generated controversy, mainly for their language.

Therefore, the seal puffin from the publisher penguin decided to adapt many of the original titles in order to remove some of the offensive terms present in the works. Words like “ugly” and “fat”, for example, were removed from the original texts, as well as references to “feminine” women.

“The wonderful words of Roald Dahl can transport you to different worlds and introduce you to the most wonderful characters. This book was written many years ago and therefore we regularly revise the language to ensure it continues to be enjoyed by everyone today,” reads a disclaimer added to the most recent editions of the Briton’s books.

In this way, in Charlie and the Chocolate Factoryfor example, the character Augustus Gloop came to be described as “enormous”, according to the Sheet. As for the Oompa Loompa, gender-neutral terms have been added, and now, Willy Wonka they are “little people” not “little men”. the villain of Matilda, Miss Trunchbullin turn, has gone from being described as the “most formidable female in the world” and is now the “most formidable woman in the world”.

Created in 1983, the text of The witches was also changed by the seal. In one of the paragraphs, which states that witches wear wigs over their bald spots, the editor added the sentence: “There are many other reasons why women might wear wigs and there is certainly nothing wrong with that.”

Still according to SheetThe Roald Dahl Story Company considers that “it is not uncommon to revise the language” in new publications of the works. “Our guiding principle has been to retain the stories, characters and irreverence and sharp spirit of the original text. Any changes made were minor and carefully considered,” the company said.