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Do Americans Need Briticisms Americanized in Books?

On our Facebook group, listeners are debating the pros and cons of adapting the British Harry Potter series for American audiences. Is it really necessary to change distinctly British terms like kippers, jumpers, and trainers to dessert, to kippers, sweaters, and sneakers — especially since young readers also have to make sense of unfamiliar, invented terms like Quidditch and golden snitch? The series has been translated from English into more than 80 languages, including Yiddish. This is part of a complete episode.

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