Charles Dickens’ novels get ‘yo speak’ treatment!
By ANIFriday, June 4, 2010
LONDON - Martin Baum has translated 16 Charles Dickens novels into text-speak or the language of the street.
It implies that sentences have received a dialectical touch. For example, the sentence, “Please Sir, I want some more,” now reads, “Oi Mate, Gimme Some More”.
Baum believes the translation of the novels into “yoof speak” will increase Dickens’ readership.
“There are many people who love and understand great literature but many more who don’t. My book is the bait to draw them in and get them interested in some wonderful stories,” the Times quoted him, as saying.
Baum, who has rewritten ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ as ‘Da Tale of Two Turfs,’ claims his son Josh, 15, inspired him to pick up the language spoken by youngsters.
He added: “When you try and get kids into literature they often just don’t get it.
“This is aimed at breaking some of the barriers and making some of the text less intimidating while still retaining the beauty of the original stories. It is not meant to replace the original works but to encourage young people who are unfamiliar with the novels.
“The stories are about nine or ten pages long and I’ve used some modern words like ASBO and chavs, but I remain true to the story.”
The opening lines of Baum’s version of ‘Oliver Twist’, renamed ‘Oliva Twist’, reads: “Oliva’s life was so screwed after his muvva popped him out of da womb and then came over all dead.
“Even his own farva had legged it, da swine, which meant that not only was da poor kid up da creek without da paddle, but dere was no other choice but to dump him in da workhouse for unwanted nippas and it sucked.”
Baum has rewritten Shakespeare’s plays in the past too.
He said: “I was criticised by some people for my last book on Shakespeare, but many more congratulated me, and a prison education officer said how useful it had been.
“Some people see it as a joke but it isn’t. I just want to break down barriers and it is better that children are reading something rather than nothing.” (ANI)
