tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70253573396693005.post3260986830794945783..comments2024-03-12T07:24:52.193-07:00Comments on Interesting Though Elementary: Singularly Adapted to Our Needs [MISS]Rob Nunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02126012014516886064noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70253573396693005.post-9729676866153880992019-02-08T07:21:10.728-08:002019-02-08T07:21:10.728-08:00It doesn't literally dumb the pupils down, at ...It doesn't literally dumb the pupils down, at least not in terms of how bright they are. "Dumb down" has a certain mildly pejorative touch, even though people routinely ask others "can you dumb that down for me".<br />But it does dumb down, that is, simplifies, the text. In fact, that's the point, making it simpler:<br /><br />car -> car<br />trap -> car<br />hansom -> car<br />wagonette -> car<br />brougham -> car<br />growler -> car<br /><br />Now this is an example of obsolete realia, but I suppose the same would be true for other less known groups of words.<br /><br />Children will understand a hansom is some sort of car, and if you would force them to they think about it, horse-driven and typically rented. They don't need to know if it has two or four wheels, and whether the driver sits in front or in the back, unless they're that sort (in which case slip them the Annotated or Les Klinger's New Annotated - quick, before the parents notice.) But I'm confident they understand it's some sort of carriage or car or cab, and they won't stop there because they're frustrated.<br /><br />I realise you have more first-hand experience as a teacher than I as a mere parent, of course.<br /><br />The appeal of the Holmes stories isn't simply about the plot, I think, but also about the atmosphere and the words that evoke it. I understand that language and style have changed since then, and that children - not originally the main target audience - have a different vocabulary at their disposal, but I think changing the language would take more than it would give.<br /><br />If they encounter "riding crop", what do you think would happen? (I actually don't know - it would be interesting to test it somehow.) Would they not understand it at all, and it could as well be in a foreign script they don't know? Or would they have some faint idea about the word and assume it's a sort of whip? Or intuitively guess from the context it's some stick? More importantly, would they be frustrated and lose interest in the story?<br /><br />If there's a scene descripted in which an irrelevant flower is mentioned to be in a vase, the pupil will understand it's a flower, and until some poison is derived from it or its blossoming or lack thereof is important for the plot, it's irrelevant which or what flower exactly, but it won't be necessary to replace it by "flower" or delete the whole sentence. There may be some slight irritation from not understanding, but that's all, and next time, in a story by a different author maybe, the child will be a bit more familiar with it already. <br /><br />In case of a word that may not be understood and can't really be skipped over because it doesn't make a difference, I suggest a short explanation or illustration on the margin.<br /><br />I suppose there's a certain minimum age from the plots already, in terms of interest but also toughness of content (with differences between regions or countries?).Phillip Mindenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16801818752833289089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70253573396693005.post-6510762965595033992019-02-07T10:39:21.103-08:002019-02-07T10:39:21.103-08:00I disagree that adapting or abridging books "...I disagree that adapting or abridging books "dumbs them down." There are millions of people out there, students especially, who can't access the stories because of the language used in them. Should kids be denied the pleasure of reading SPEC because they don't know what a riding crop is?Rob Nunnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02126012014516886064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70253573396693005.post-4144184124708142072019-02-06T22:54:03.873-08:002019-02-06T22:54:03.873-08:00Adapted, abridged... aah, I don't know. And o...Adapted, abridged... aah, I don't know. And on an admittedly larger scale, there will be an inflationary effect of dumbing down. The types of carriages weren't known to the young reader of 1950 either, were they? And that this funny word hansom refers to some sort of carriage or cab is probably understood, even if the reader won't be able to explain how it's different from others. <br />I suppose it would be best to wait a year or three if a child is too young, and it might be useful to have editions not with extensive footnotes that will deter most pupils but with few, necessary marginal notes, some of them just illustrations. Phillip Mindenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16801818752833289089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70253573396693005.post-15784216846255233722019-01-28T05:29:56.643-08:002019-01-28T05:29:56.643-08:00Certainly that tweet was a statement open for conv...Certainly that tweet was a statement open for conversation. I'm so happy to see you expand on that tweet with these thoughts. I love what teachers like Shannon Carlisle and yourself are doing, just wish more teachers were. Of course you do realize my tweets are always news and happenings in the Sherlockian world, and rarely do I comment on them, and simply just report them, so congratulations for drawing me into the conversation. My conundrum in this world is that I love everything Sherlock, even the things that I hate. Howard Ostromhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07974147547261766167noreply@blogger.com