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Bad English Stereotype
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If they were going for broke, they could have at least thrown in a Knight and Squire reference.
C'mon SV, you could've shown Cyril Sheldrake and Beryl Hutchinson some love.
(For those who are not familiar, they're a sort-of "British" Batman and Robin in the DCU )Comment
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----- Added 47 Seconds later -----
Really we say "Mate" these days not "Chap" . It's a way of saying buddy or pal.
----- Added 2 Minutes later -----
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"Chap" is English slang for "man", equivalent to "guy". Nowadays, it has fallen out of favour in general speech, and using the word would mark you down as old-fashioned and/or upper class (London Mayor Boris Johnson still talks about men as "chaps", but he generally sounds like an eccentric aristocrat from a P.G. Wodehouse novel and is hardly typical).
Incidentally, if we removed the swearing (and the inevitable "Oh great, another 'Fathers for Justice' demo(!)" comment), here is how English people might have phrased things:
"Look up there! Who's that?"
"It's, um...its 'The Blur'!"
"Can't be. He's in America."
"Not now, he isn't!" (or possibly "Try telling him that!")
To be honest, it would sound more realistic with a bit of mild swearing, but I will spare you that. Actually, actors who could manage realistic English accents, as opposed to graduates of the "Dick Van Dyke Academy of Cockney Speech (as heard in Walt Disney movies)" would make a bigger difference. On the other hand, the sheer awfulness of some American TV attempts to pretend they are in England - a red double-decker bus will not automatically make an American-styled Hollywood exterior look like London; if an Irish-American actor tries sounding a little more Irish, they will not sound like an English spy (yes, Murder She Wrote, I'm looking at you!) - are so unintentionally funny that I don't mind them that much.
P.S. At least it wasn't as bad as the movie Euro Trip - Vinnie Jones, who used to play soccer for Wimbledon F.C., not only playing a fan of Manchester United (oh, Vinnie, selling your soul for thirty pieces of Hollywood silver), but doing so wearing a supposed Man. Utd. replica shirt that looked nothing like the real thing (even the shade of red was wrong). I suppose the only realistic part was that none of the "fans" appeared to come from Manchester!Last edited by newbaggy; 02-24-2011, 04:03 PM.Comment
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I have to agree, I'm not English but I don't get the problem with them showing Clark on Big Ben. It was either that or have him on top of Buckingham Palace. There are certain land marks each country has that is largely established with that country whether they have hundreds more or not.
England= Big Ben, Buckingham Palace
America= Statue of Liberty
France=Eifel Tower
Egypt= Pyramids
Australia= that unique building structure that I really can't think of the name of, but Im pretty sure everyone knows what it is.
Italy= Coliseum, maybe The Vatican
Anyway this clip made me cringe so much. I've never heard anyone say 'chap' in a serious conversation in my whole life here. Never.
If they were going to try to be more realistic, the line would go more like this between two blokes (men):
'Oi who the heck/hell/f*ck is that?'
'Its the Blur!'
'Nah can't be. His suppose to be in America!'
'No, trust me mate. Its him.'
Now that is how people I know in London speak.Last edited by numberonekid; 02-24-2011, 06:25 PM.Comment
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