Seriously, Cockney accent ≠ unintelligible. Amy Winehouse seems pretty sober in that clip. I'm not even English, and I didn't find it pretty easy to understand what she said: "Dad, I've got something for you. Watch me play drums on this. You'll like this. I'm not as good as you." and then she says "Hello, Ducky" to the woman who's with her dad. Not rocket science.
Seriously though, it's not just cockney. I keep catching these American reality shows where any native English speaker with a hint of an accent gets subtitles to "translate" what they're saying -- the Brits, Aussies, South Africans, etc. It's English, people. Aside from obvious differences in slang, it's not unintelligible.
@Breamworthy: Nobody said anywhere that she wasn't sober...but you're right, it is far from unintelligible. She is talking pretty fast, though. And it is boring.
@heatherwritesstuff: True fact: They do this for my mother-in-law. (She can't understand someone speaking even the mildest Indian or Caribbean accented English. Which is their first language.)
Seriously, though, it's ridiculous. In the US (but not in Canada that I've seen) they also do it for French Canadians.
@cactuswren: No, I guess you're right that it wasn't stated. But when you write "here's a video of Amy Winehouse saying something unintelligible," I think the implication is that she's wasted, when in fact she's just English!
@mbot says Spock yeah!: Girl wakes up, trips (cutely) up some steps, gets caught (picturesquely) in the rain, misses (comically) a bus and lets herself into her apartment by herself, sadly, to feed her cat and wear fluffy cardigans. Phone rings.
@ElleL: ooh, not bad, taking into account that it's supposed to be him who chucked her out... but is 'beauty' a good description of her? I mean, she is pretty in her own way, but surely... 'glamourous beauty' or... surgery fan... or something would suggest her more strongly.
It's ok Katharine Heigl, I would have walked away from that movie as soon as I saw Ashtons name. Has he been in a hit movie since 'Dude Where's My Car?'.
@BabyJane: you think we were the only two to read that stupid enough to click through and see it? It was way too early for me to see that and now it's seared into my memory.
@Benevolent_Dictatrix (patently absurd): I think it has to do with Brazil being colonized/settled by the Portuguese while the rest of Latin America was colonized/settled by the Spanish?
@Benevolent_Dictatrix (patently absurd): I always thought speakers of romance languages in the Old World were Latin and speakers of romance languages in the New World were Latino/a. This would make the Portuguese Latin and Brazilians Latino. But I could have just made that up in my own head.
@Benevolent_Dictatrix (patently absurd): I had to read a really boring book called Hispanic/Latino Identity for a survey course on the history of Latin America. It basically argued that Hispanic is an umbrella term for everyone in Mexico & South America. But, if you know what county they come from, you should probably use that name. Despite the books thesis, Latino would work because it refers to Latin America.
@CurtCole: WTF? Oh my god I think my head just exploded. In latin america brazilians ARE just as "LATINOS" as the rest of us. Though WE don't call ourselves LATEENOUS, we call ouselves LATINO AMERICANOS and it's because we all live in AMERICA and are speaking a romance language, based in LATIN, you know, like, french, italian, romanian. Oh and by the way, we call people from the USA Estadounidenses, not Americans, something you guys should also start doing, since, you know, the continent is not just YOURS.
@Benevolent_Dictatrix (patently absurd): I was under the impression that "Latino" refers to people from Latin America (so Brazil would count), but Hispanic refers to people who speak Spanish (so Brazil wouldn't count). But that's just going off what a Spanish teacher told me. It seems like the terms have some fluidity.
@save jinger: Agreed. I am sadly not Brazilian (or Hispanic or Latino) but I worked for a non-profit cultural society that put on "Expo Latino" every year -- and this included performers from Brazil. My Brazilian friends refer to themselves as Latino, but not hispanic, because that implies Spanish-speaking.
@CurtCole: Sorry, I didn't mean your reference to the book, it was intended for the whole conversation, not you in particular, sorry if it came across like that.
@shnuguel: Hispanic 1: of or relating to the people, speech, or culture of Spain or of Spain and Portugal 2: of, relating to, or being a person of Latin American descent living in the United States ; especially : one of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin
I've wondered about people such as Haitians or Bajans, etc. I know they typically refer to themselves as Caribbeans, but do they think of themselves as Latinos too?
You know, I do have a soft spot in my heart for Lady GaGa and I think she is much more talented than people give her credit for, but for the love of Elvis, Ziggy Stardust, and Freddy Mercury, amazing and raw artists don't have to constantly remind people that they are ARTISTS! Just sayin.
Katy Perry and John Mayer might just work out. Maybe they'd both get sick of the others constant yammering and STFU once and for all, for the sake of all humankind.
Could someone please explain why they're remaking The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3? I like Denzel Washington as much as the next girl, but seriously, Hollywood, stop remaking my favorite films from childhood.
@Fate'sBitch: I see your point, but the Brits (especially younger ones) are using more and more American slang, so shouldn't it go in the opposite direction as well? It's globalization, y'all!
Related side note: A while back I was in the Hebrides. There were some teenagers hanging out on a corner, talking. Half the time they had the same accents as their parents, but half the time they sounded totally American. In the fucking Hebrides!
@Fate'sBitch: Dudes, it's a British pub. She didn't actually say "shag" -- she probs said "bang," "fuck," "rail," what have you, and the quote was de-Americanized for clarity. Happens ALL THE TIME.
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And Dad said, "Er... yeah... chicks... I love those..." while blinking away tears.
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Seriously though, it's not just cockney. I keep catching these American reality shows where any native English speaker with a hint of an accent gets subtitles to "translate" what they're saying -- the Brits, Aussies, South Africans, etc. It's English, people. Aside from obvious differences in slang, it's not unintelligible.
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Seriously, though, it's ridiculous. In the US (but not in Canada that I've seen) they also do it for French Canadians.
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...Is this how he's paying for his sabbatical?
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-girl walks into door, cutely
-girls commiserate over breakup whilst sharing ice cream straight from the carton
-girl leaves series of increasingly embarrassing (but cute!) voicemails on boy's phone
-girl giggles in kitchen with best guy friend; suddenly make out
What am I leaving out?
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John Cusack should be in this movie.
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Hispanic
1: of or relating to the people, speech, or culture of Spain or of Spain and Portugal
2: of, relating to, or being a person of Latin American descent living in the United States ; especially : one of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin
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@Benevolent_Dictatrix (patently absurd): Yes, that's correct. Portuguese, Italians, Romanians...
I've wondered about people such as Haitians or Bajans, etc. I know they typically refer to themselves as Caribbeans, but do they think of themselves as Latinos too?
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shite, arse, shag and snog among others.
You are from Santa Barbara Katy Perry, don't use use the word shag and especially don't use it when you're talking about John Mayer.
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And I will say it all with a proud Southern accent. It's just part of my vocabulary now. I'm assimilating! More importantly, they are terrific words.
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Related side note: A while back I was in the Hebrides. There were some teenagers hanging out on a corner, talking. Half the time they had the same accents as their parents, but half the time they sounded totally American. In the fucking Hebrides!
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Plus why do we need European slang, we have such great slang of our own.