B1 – Intermediate
Roald Dahl and Ian Fleming are famous authors. Roald Dahl wrote “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and Ian Fleming, the “James Bond” novels. Their novels are classics.
However, many things have changed in our society since these books were written more than 50 years ago. Language that were considered acceptable then, might be offensive now.
So, some classic novels have to be edited by what we call “sensitivity readers”. Publishing companies let “sensitivity readers” check for words that might not be politically-correct now.
Read the article on sensitivity readers.
https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2303/230302-sensitivity-readers.html
Vocabulary Questions:
- What does ”upset” mean here, ”They are worried that language in older books might upset people today, especially children.”? Give two synonyms of the word ‘upset’ and use it in your own sentence.
- What does the expression “belong to another time” mean, “A lot of the language they check belongs to another time.” Use this idiom in your own sentence.
- What does “character” mean, “The recent edits of the James Bond books are because of insensitive language about black characters and women.” Use this word in your own sentence.
Discussion Questions:
- Why are sensitivity readers important?
- What do you think of the job of sensitivity readers?
- Should classic novels be edited to be politically-correct? Why/why not?
- How would you feel reading a book that contains language that might be considered offensive now?
- Name one classic book that you read. Were there parts that you thought were offensive?