apparently people from Northern England are hard to understand
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jschumacher-1 — 14 years ago(April 30, 2011 07:56 AM)
I think the major problem with the dialog in this film is the poor sound mastering. Though American, I'm typically good with UK dialect and slang but had trouble simply because the voice track was muddy compared to the music. I had to fuss with the volume constantly.
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JapanGaijin — 14 years ago(April 30, 2011 09:44 AM)
Also, a lot of young British kids have their own type of slang which most are not familiar with. I only know because I listen to a lot of garage and grime music. This movie is not as hard as other movies I have seen.
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Captain_Haddick — 14 years ago(April 30, 2011 06:02 PM)
The thing is, I would understand if English wasn't your first language, that would be more understandable. I must admit, that if I watch a movie which isn't in English, I put on subtitles as I don't understand the language. I only speak English, so if a movie is in German, I can't understand what they are saying as I don't speak German. Same with other 'Foreign' languages. Maybe American is it's own language?
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fleaaaaaa — 14 years ago(May 31, 2011 07:23 AM)
If I have the DVD, I generally put on english subtitles as not to miss anything and have to rewind. I am from the UK for the record, I will be watching this film later tonight I think on sky without the subtitles but I think I will manage.
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rayhanky-614-875809 — 14 years ago(August 28, 2011 03:43 PM)
Sound mastering is a problem, but even more are the originally mics/positioning- totally amateur in execution. I've seen HS productions yiled better results.
The dialect only makes it slightly harder for some of us, but a clear sound without the enormous volume jumps would solve everything -
mattjegan — 14 years ago(July 06, 2011 01:44 PM)
Why is it that a seemingly huge number of American viewers have trouble understanding English when it isn't spoken by Americans? I don't just mean in relation to this film, but others too. It seems that the majority of non-native speakers, for whom English is a second or even third language, can understand most English films without requiring subtitles or the service of a paid translator! Please don't think I'm being mean, my American friends, it's just that, in a country where English is so widely spoken, in a variety of dialects, accents and pidgin-English ways, it seems strange that many Americans can't understand basic Cockney English.
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aghinem — 14 years ago(August 07, 2011 01:53 PM)
I think Frog on my Toe has an important point. I'm going to make some broad assumptions and say that Americans CAN generally understand what's being said (the gist of things), but we'd like to know the exact words.
Instead of slamming all Americans for being stupid or not getting out enough or the other ridiculous attacks/responses I've seen in this thread, how about considering this thought: We believe that dialog is important. We're not asking for it to be watered down or "translated" for us we're asking for the chance to fully understand each and every word. That's called appreciation.
P.S. I don't think you're being mean or making attacks, mattjegan. I do think you're jumping to conclusions. -
agnieszka01 — 14 years ago(October 23, 2011 09:56 PM)
I guessing you were seeing in a theater, because obviously you can turn the subtitles on on the DVD. For those who don't get why Americans can't understand British accentsI'd say that's not always the case. Personally, I found Michael Caine, the Len character, and the cops easy to understand. I'm not an expert in English dialects, but clearly some are a lot "thicker" than others. It was the thug kids with their clipped slang that I found difficult to make out. Apart from a bit of slang that's hard to make up, this accent is just very "grunty" and not as clear as the more "proper" English of the detectives. There are a lot of movies and TV shows from England that I love, and I find that some of them have accents that are more difficult to understand than others. Northern English and Irish accents tend to be some of the "worst" offenders. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy hearing them; I just usually prefer "subtitles on" in those cases (same with Footballers Wives, Gavin & Stacey, etc.). It sucks to have them on when it's in my own language (basically), since it takes up screen space; but better that than to have to keep rewinding to make sure I hear what what said. When watching movies I'm always kind of OCD about making sure I hear all the dialogue (I like to get every word basically, rather than just the "gist" of it). But anyway, you have to admit that these are not all "standard" forms of English.
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scarlettbees — 14 years ago(October 28, 2011 09:13 AM)
What the hell is wrong with you people who are using someone's difficulty in understanding thick accents as an excuse to not only insult them personally, but condemn their entire country and/or culture? Did your dad not hug you enough?
Such an easy-to-solve problem that many people have already repeated.SUBTITLES OPTION ON DVD. It is not a goddamn commentary on anyone's culture or intelligence to use this convenient feature in order to understand a thick accent.
If you CAN understand it without the subtitles, GOOOOOOD FOR YOOOOOOOUUUUUU! Give yourself a pat on the back and a big bowl of ice cream!
Quit being a prick just because of the benefit of anonymity.
I hate your stupid signature