2. Dialect.
The soliloquies and conversations in the novel follow some general rules. Twain introduced some variations in the spelling of dialect, and sometimes the sound of dialect, but the end meaning seems to be the same thing. Below is a table of some of these words, and alternatives found in the text:
| English | Dialect, | Alternative, | Another |
|---|---|---|---|
| and | en | ||
| against | agin, | ag’in, | ag’in’ |
| because | ’ca’se | ||
| going | gwine, | gwyne | |
| more | mo’ | ||
| that | dat | ||
| the | de | ||
| then | den | ||
| there | dere, | dah | |
| these | dese | ||
| they | dey, | deh | |
| this | dis | ||
| was | ’uz | ||
| with | wid | ||
| where | whah |
The above table was presented as a foundation which played into the decision to make some emendations, below, that were not authorized by Twain in 1899. One curious notation is that there was sometimes pronounced dere, but also dah. Along the same lines, they most often became dey, but in one case, deh.
3. This version.
Our version is based on the 1894 publication of this novel in Hartford. This was Twain's original American release of the novel in book form. A scanned copy of this book is available through Hathitrust. The book contained some spaces in contractions: I 'll, dat 'll, had n't, could n't, dis 'll, 't ain't / t ain't, and dey 'll are some examples. These spaces were not retained in our transcription, and are not identified. We did make a few other emendations. These emendations were checked with the 1899 version of Pudd’nhead Wilson published by Harper & Brothers.
4. Notes on emendations.
The errors on [Page 233] and [Page 288], were not changed in the 1899 book, so the case for making those changes may be found in the Detailed Notes section. The remaining errors were corrected in the 1899 publication, presumably authorized by Twain, who essentially made the case for those emendations.
In the HTML version of this e-book, you can place your cursor over the faint silver dotted lines below the changed text to discover the original text. The Detailed Notes section of these notes describe these emendations.