History, Etymology, and The Case For Unabridged Books
In looking at a mail-order catalog one day, I came upon a page where the company was selling republished vintage books by a favorite children’s author of mine. Glancing down at the description I was very surprised that the company was recommending that before you let your children read the books you should go through them with a bottle of white-out and mark out all of the words that have changed meaning over the years, and are now misunderstood, or considered derogatory or offensive.
I am passionate about unabridged books, particularly children’s books of yesteryear. Here’s why. Or rather, here’s one reason why. This post only deals with the vocabulary aspect abridging books, it doesn’t even touch the other important issues of grammar, old English, or “tedious” passages.
Now, when folks change the vocabulary in a antique book, it is usually for one of three reasons:
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It has changed in definition (or a new definition has become the norm and the old had faded into antiquity).
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It has changed in connotation. Or gathered new connotations.
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It has virtually disappeared from the culture, and hardly anyone knows what it means, or even what it is anymore. No one uses it in writing or in speech.
Every one of those reasons looks like a valid reason on the surface. However, there is one major problem with all three of them. History.
It is important to understand history. In all areas. Economics. Novels. Battles. Culture. Film. Music. Worldviews. Fashion. Architecture. The list goes on. It has been often said that those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it, and that is true. Also, those who don’t know history don’t tend to make advances into the future with many sound foundations or longevity to their plans. Intentional people go places. Educated intentional people, with a sound grasp of history, go the places they set out to go, while typically strongly affecting or even changing the course of things. But enough of that.
My main point is that you need to understand history, and that “edited” vocabulary harms that in two distinct ways:
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It causes a misinterpretation of history. If people edit out all possibly “offensive” elements of the cultures that came before us, so that we never have to see them, and we never study etymology and understand the definitions of the past then we will make grave errors of interpretation when we look back at history. Then when we come across an unabridged work we are surprised by the words that people used and misjudge both the intent and character of the individual as well as acquire a skewed picture of the culture and therefore of the history of that era as a whole. That leads to modern day writers publishing books with slander about men in previous generations, as has happened in many biographies published recently. Many of the falsehoods in them spring directly from an ignorance of the etymology during that time, which changes the appearance of the man’s character and how he is perceived throughout history from now on. Truth is important, and the nation that has a false view of history will suffer. It may seem like little changes in what a word means is not so important, but as in the case of biographies, those little things change history. And the biographies are just one example of it’s many effects. Another example is the songs of the old American songwriters, which, unless viewed with a knowledge of how the meaning of words has changed, will give every person who hears them a false view of the times they came from, and what the culture was like.
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It fosters ignorance, and causes us to be unable to understand primary source documents or other things that have not been “fixed” for us. This leads to one of two things. Either we just never read things that haven’t been updated (which only fosters more ignorance in our lives and means that most primary source documents are never going to be read) or we fall into the trap of point #1, and, because of our reading only edited text previously, we will not understand the true meaning of what we have just read and will come away with a false view of reality and history. For example, anyone who attempts to read the classic economic work The Road To Surfdom by F. A. Hayek will come away with a false view of his economic teachings on account of the complete change in what the word “Liberal” means. It means almost the exact opposite of what it used to, and, without a proper knowledge of that, you will come away from his book confused and thinking the opposite ideas than he had intended. Now, here is where folks say “Well, if it was only published in edited an updated versions then you would have no confusion at all”. That fosters a ignorance of history, and the historical usage of words. It also leaves that individual completely unfit to pick up anything that has not been “pre-digested” for him. Then what happens when that individual finds an old journal in the attic…? Or your father’s grail diary? Or discovers an unknown and hidden letter from a founding father of our country?¹ Or an old letter in the pocket of a soldier’s uniform? Or between the crumbling pages of a book? He’s not equipped to accurately understand them…
So what is the solution to the eradication of old vocabulary from books which is causing parents to hesitate when placing a vintage book in the hands of their children?
The solution is very simple, but does take some work–as do all skills worth gaining. Educate yourself. Almost everybody has access to a dictionary. And the internet is even faster (not to mention housing the old dictionaries that will give you the old definitions!). It has never been easier to find the history of a word, it’s connotations, or the changes it has gone through than it is right now in our current culture. Yes, there is false information out there, but with a few searches and ten minutes or less of studying you should be able to spot them.
As far as children are concerned, read a couple of vintage books aloud to them. Explain the words and the importance of getting your definitions right; then step back and let them at it.
One great thing that I have seen a few publishers do that entirely solves the problem, without altering the original history, is to put a handy little footnote with all the info about the modern meaning vs. the meaning of the word in the book. “Quite nice”, as Watson would say.
Now, go buy those lovely antiques, read them, enjoy them, and learn from them. Our culture will be the better for it. Then when you are reading a page written years ago, you will be perfectly equipped and able to tackle anything with a keen understanding, whether you’re on your next mission, are making an adventurous discovery, are tucked away on the grounds of your estate, or curled up by the fireplace.
¹And that does still happen in America. Just this year a family in the South discovered an authentic, never-before-seen letter by Thomas Jefferson–in their attic.
