How Do We Re-Balance America?

[Opsa]

The Brits are not fully free of the same vice. Lazytown got partially redubbed for the UK. American words like 'candy' were replaced by British like 'sweets'. Given that in that case it was the rhyming word in a song it became really obvious (it spoils the rhythm too by having a syllable less).

Examples such as this really bother me. I love to hear colloquialisms (if that's the proper term), particularly when they present the challenge to figure them out on my own. They're charming. I cannot see the sense in changing "candy" to "sweets" as I'd imagine most British people would recognize the word "candy". Maybe I'm wrong, or maybe "candy" means something else in the U.K.

Recently in another thread (parrots, I think) someone referred to a gasket around a  car windsheild (okay- windscreen!) as a "rubber"- which in the US is slang for a common contraceptive device. It made me look twice, but it also taught me that particular usage.

[Aggie]

Heh, that was me, and I'm not sure if it's anything near a valid usage, but given the pirate-talk going on, I was purposefully implying something bawdy. 

However, the term is validly used for the desktop item we'd call an eraser (and the French term is une gomme - brings a little more validity to a sight-gag used in the movie Coneheads).


I'm guilty with peppering my posts (and speech) with odd bits of regional usage, especially British-isms.  It's not uncommon for people to give me a blank stare when some phrase from a random part of the English-speaking world pops out of my mouth.  Some of my British Columbian slang (possibly very local) completely mystifies the Albertans.  'Let's go wop some nuts' is my favourite example.

[Opsa]

LOL! I have heard of tires (tyres!) being referred to as rubbers, so I thought it was along those lines.

  'Let's go wop some nuts'

Ouch! What does that mean?!

[Aggie]

To spin donuts in one's vehicle, generally in a snow-covered parking lot.

[Opsa]

*whew!*

Fun! I'll try to find an excuse to use it on others real soon! We're expecting snow this coming Tuesday, maybe it'll be then!

[Aggie]

They will have no clue what you're talking about - I tried googling the phrase and the only thing that comes up is the Monastery.   It's possibly local to the area I grew up.

If you have a front-wheel-drive car, I recommend spinning 'em in reverse.  E-brake slides are nearly as fun, especially if you put a couple of serving trays under the rear wheels and set the e-brake (or so I've heard).  The front wheels drive and the rear wheels slide...

[Opsa]

One might think this was off topic, but maybe it's not. Maybe in order to re-balance America we should lighten up, wop some nuts and stop taking ourselves so doggoned seriously!

[Swatopluk]

The Brits are not fully free of the same vice. Lazytown got partially redubbed for the UK. American words like 'candy' were replaced by British like 'sweets'. Given that in that case it was the rhyming word in a song it became really obvious (it spoils the rhythm too by having a syllable less).

Examples such as this really bother me. I love to hear colloquialisms (if that's the proper term), particularly when they present the challenge to figure them out on my own. They're charming. I cannot see the sense in changing "candy" to "sweets" as I'd imagine most British people would recognize the word "candy". Maybe I'm wrong, or maybe "candy" means something else in the U.K.

I think the official reason was that British children should learn/use the British terms, so a TV series directed at small children (the pervs would be intested only in hard candy) should be free of American words and accents because the kids could get infected.
In the case of Lazytown the things becomes completely absurd since 'Stephanie' is not dubbed (despite being American) and the other two non-puppets are native Icelanders.

Thinking about writing an essay about Lazytown with special emphasis on the topic of language (the German dub is a total disaster btw)

[Scriblerus the Philosophe]

You'd think if the "OMG INFECTIOUS AMERICAN ACCENTS!" thing had an validity, all Americans would talk like we do on the West Coast (Hollywood actors more or less sound like us, as do most news figures, in my observation). But, there're still other accents.


Back on topic: I still think it would take something deliberate and serious, perhaps on the scale of 9/11. I can't see conservotards being willing to work with smelly, super liberals unless something on par with that happened.

[pieces o nine]

...
Top-level politicians are expected to be close to fluid in both French and English
...

Since they're no longer wet behind the ears, is that just from being all wet, from the liquid lunches, from being slippery in general, from raining on other people's parades, or a colloquialism starting with "taking the"?

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

All that talk about films with translators and dubbing, reminded me of a scene in the movie Airplane...

.. wherein the stewardess (as flight attendants were called then) was trying to take the dinner from two homeys from the hood.  According to the movie, neither could understand each other.

So a woman offers to translate, and does.  And they sub-title the conversation, which was were the joke was going from the start, I expect.

*sigh*  good times.

[Swatopluk]

Back on topic: I still think it would take something deliberate and serious, perhaps on the scale of 9/11. I can't see conservotards being willing to work with smelly, super liberals unless something on par with that happened.

Yeah, but 'working together' for said tards means 'you do what I want otherwise we will paint you as unpatriotic scum immediately (instead of next week)'

[Opsa]

I'm still hoping that The Rapture will clear things up here on Earth. All the conservatives will be swept off to Heaven like dust bunnies and all the heathen liberals will be left like rats to sort out what's left. It could be clean-up day.

Of course, I don't believe it will go like that. I do hope that there will be some sort of tipping of the scales from Old Behavior (wars, intolerance, thoughtless waste) to a generally accepted New Behavior (taddy-like efforts to communicate through mutual respect, taking more care to preserve our planet). It's time to scrape off a little more reptilian brain to make room for further (dare I say it?) human evolution.

Is this too rainbows and unicorns?

[Scriblerus the Philosophe]

Is this too rainbows and unicorns?

Probably.

Back on topic: I still think it would take something deliberate and serious, perhaps on the scale of 9/11. I can't see conservotards being willing to work with smelly, super liberals unless something on par with that happened.

Yeah, but 'working together' for said tards means 'you do what I want otherwise we will paint you as unpatriotic scum immediately (instead of next week)'

I was, oh, twelve, I think, when 9/11 happened, but I don't remember the division between Left and Right being important in the aftermath. If we could get that again, and don't immediately go to war afterward, I think the rift could mend some.

Of course, this is also rainbows and unicorns.

[Aggie]

One thing that could plausibly occur in the not-immediate but not-too-distant future is that America could lose it's position as international top dog, and be forced to confront the fact that it doesn't have absolute power in the world.  IMHO it'd cause much weeping and gnashing of teeth but could do some good in the long run.  It's hard to be humble as individuals when the nation has an overarching superiority complex (and is relatively justified in that position).

Of course, I'm from Canada, so what the heck would I know?  

...
Top-level politicians are expected to be close to fluid in both French and English
...

Since they're no longer wet behind the ears, is that just from being all wet, from the liquid lunches, from being slippery in general, from raining on other people's parades, or a colloquialism starting with "taking the"?

I was demonstrating the necessary level of language profligacy. One can't expect prefection.