It wasn't exactly _wrong_, because Americans don't understand some of the words used in England, and since Harry Potter is there for everyone to enjoy, they should be able to understand them. But I still don't get the Philosopher's Stone change. That makes no sense. But I would prefer to have the original books, and not the altered one. I'm glad Rowling didn't allow them to change words like "mum", though. If they did, it would ruin the whole British Boarding School feel of the books.

Personally, I'm glad for the alterations. I have issues with British English. There's a good chance I might not have read the books if I'd had to deal with the UK version.

I don't even mind the title change. link and link mean completely different things. Had I seen 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' on a shelf and known nothing about it, I wouldn't have guessed it was about magic and probably would've skipped over it. Plus, it's got more of a ring to it.

I think that is was okay to change some of the British English to American English (bin to trash, jumper to sweater, ect) but I think the title should have stayed the same.

I think they should have left them as they were. Most books written in American English are not changed for UK readers. As someone who has grown up speaking UK English, I find some American wording and phraseology baffling - yet I always look it up to find its UK English equivalent. IMO, altering the original works for the American market, somehow implies that Americans are not as intelligent, or capable of using a dictionary, as the rest of us. If I were an American, I imagine I would find it insulting. For example, it's plain to see from the outset, that a 'sherbet lemon' is a type or sweet (or 'candy' to the Americans) There was absolutely no need to change it to 'lemon drop' for the American readers, as I'm sure most were clever enough to discern this for themselves. I've read many books in American English, where terms such as 'jell-o' as opposed to 'jelly', 'jelly', rather than 'jam', 'faucet', instead of 'tap', 'candy', in place of 'sweet', etc were used, yet I understood what each item was, even though I do not use those US terms, myself. As HP is essentially a story with predominantly British characters, set in Britain, any alterations to the original - however slight - somehow dilutes the authenticity of the tale. Well that is just my opinion.

Instead of feeling insulted, maybe some Americans feel grateful that we're important enough to get our own version? ;)

@DarkSarcasm: I suppose it's because I'm a purist when it comes to language and literature. I hate when literary works are altered, it may, in some cases, cause the reader of the edited version to come away with a slightly false view of the culture and characters of the literary work. For example, I have read some HP fanfictions that have left me almost banging my head against my keyboard in frustration. While well written, in other respects, the use of Americanisms, have completely ruined it for me. In one, Hermione refers to a baby's nappy as a 'diaper'. As Hermione is an English character, with no American connections, she would never, realistically, use that term, unless, of course she was talking to an American.

I understand your frustration there, but I think language-swapping is the least of HP fanfiction's problems. (Right, Harry's-Twin-Sister-Who-Is-Also-A-Chosen-O­ne-­And­-In­-Lo­ve-­Wit­h-D­rac­o-M­alf­oy?­)

@Dark Sarcasm: I avoid those type of stories like the plague. If something sounds bad, then I tend to give it a wide berth. I hate OCs full - stop, and don't get me started on all the crossovers - I loathe crossovers. Having said that, nothing has ever made me laugh quite so much, as the infamously atrocious 'My Immortal'. I have to admit, I enjoy some of the parody fics too. I think they add a certain levity, because there is nothing as bad as people who take the whole HP universe a little too seriously. :)

I guess I am used to it that way. I never minded it. But I can understand it bothers some people.