NewSouth Books is planning to release a version of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn with the n-word removed.

Is it political correctness run amok, or a rather good idea? The book has found itself at the centre of controversy ever since its release, but is this the way to do it? And what would Twain have thought?

Linguist Daniel Midgley weighs in on this episode of Talk the Talk.

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6: Huckleberry Finn and the N-Word

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Show notes

New York Times article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/05/books/05huck.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

and one from Publishers’ Weekly
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/45645-upcoming-newsouth-huck-finn-eliminates-the-n-word.html

History on the n-word
http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/751/Nigger.html

This writer (who is African American) will take Twain as-is,
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2011/01/10/taking-mark-twain-and-american-history-straight-up/

while this writer wants it gone.
http://www.seattlepi.com/opinion/394832_nword06.html