Why do Americans need subtitles for english launguage?

jonniebgood1

Why do American programs have subtitles for people speaking english. Not all the time but if the person has a slightly different accent than they are used to. Its annoying, like they are to lazy to actually listen and und understand.

So why is this?

Augmerson

Language.

Wibbs

There's is a very insular culture. They tend to filter the world through their own culture. Look at the "Royale with cheese" scene in Pulp fiction. It's a pretty good example. They're rarely enough exposed to other english language speakers in their media, whereas say the Irish and English would be, so their ear is less "tuned".

Brad768

Have you ever tried listening to a Geordie?

latenia

Plenty of Irish and English people were unable to watch parts of The Wire without subs to give just one example.

Solair

Because, unlike people based in Ireland or the UK, they're rarely exposed to any non-American accents and, other than maybe strong accents Boston, New York, Texas and parts of the Deep South / Louisiana etc, American accents are incredibly standard.

A significant % of Americans simply do not understand non-US standard accents. They really struggle with British, Irish and possibly Aus/NZ accents because there's more elision (running words into each other) and dropping of endings / silent h's in some versions etc etc.

A lot of it is just "Hollywood" (the US entertainment industry) presuming that audiences are completely thick though. To be fair, they may have a point for some audiences

It's even worse when they edit classic literature and have Sherlock Holmes on the sidewalk at Picadilly and High Street.

mikemac1

I use them too

You'd be doing well to understand the Baltimore dialect without it for different crime shows

Or Aaron Sorkin and his rapid fire speeches and statistics and government agencies each with a lot of meaningless letters , hard to catch it all

ArmaniJeanss

jonniebgood1 wrote: »

Why do American programs have subtitles for people speaking english. Not all the time but if the person has a slightly different accent than they are used to. Its annoying, like they are to lazy to actually listen and und understand.

So why is this?

I needed subtitles for about 75% of the dialogue in The Wire.

B.A._Baracus

jonniebgood1 wrote: »

Why do American programs have subtitles for people speaking english. Not all the time but if the person has a slightly different accent than they are used to. Its annoying, like they are to lazy to actually listen and und understand.

So why is this?

UFC fighter Michael Bisping has to get a mention for this one (He is from Yorkshire)
While he was on The Ultimate Fighter they put subtitles for everything he said!


I just think the americans are just that ignorant to english being spoken by anyone outside of north american accent :pac:

3ndahalfof6

accent

Biggins

They were that screwed when to came to The Commitments in the states, they at various cinemas, by default, had the subtitles turned on.
Add to that they had to hand out a booklet to explain some of the expressions and it shows that its just another nation which to be fair, has its own expressions which added to national/regional accents, are just hard to understand.

Tatankbull

I think it's unfair to accuse people of laziness or ignorance for needing subtitles to understand accented speech. I've awful trouble understanding some English and Scottish accents despite being fairly well travelled, having a very international group of friends and making every effort to comprehend what's being said.

Not being able to read a person's handwriting doesn't indicate lack of literacy skills either!

Solair

If you've ever tried watching Rab C. Nesbitt then you know how non-American sounds like to an American.

starbelgrade

This is how Boards would look without the subtitles.

TheBody

jonniebgood1 wrote: »

Why do American programs have subtitles for people speaking english. Not all the time but if the person has a slightly different accent than they are used to. Its annoying, like they are to lazy to actually listen and und understand.

So why is this?

Sorry op, can you type that again? Can't understand your accent. :pac:

B.A._Baracus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drKtozox34M

"garrish" :pac:

Deank

You've been watching Swamp People OP, go on admit it....

Down south they do der talkin mighty differen....:D

mikemac1

The Cajuns from Louisiana are a nightmare to understand, give me subtitles

languagenerd

I guess they're just not used to hearing other accents.

Irish people, in particular, have a good ear for accents because we're a small country so we watch a lot of British & American TV and films (cause we don't have many of our own). Even some of my English friends sometimes ask me to repeat things (and I have a fairly neutral accent) even though I never have any trouble understanding them.

In general, the Americans don't travel outside America as much as we'd travel outside of Ireland too. And there is less variation in accent over there (think how many different accents we have on this island alone, incredible when you consider how relatively small our population is).

But imagine an American trying to understand Paddy Barnes (the boxer). I can't understand 90% of what he says, and I'm Irish...

AnonoBoy

Because Americans love reading!

Latchy

I was always impressed at how knowledgeable Tony Soprano was on Anglo Saxon culture, traditions and sayings and he also was a regular viewer of the History Channel to :cool:

eth0

Cause they're yanks. Most can't even drive cars that havn't been fitted with a prundlebox

Red Hand

There are a lot of American accents that are incomprehensible to us, as well as them.

mikemac1

Irish people are great at accents

Girl from Tipperary heads off to UCD first year and by time she comes home that Christmas she sounds like a Yank

These people didn't forget their accents :cool:

You've probably seen it before but it's still interesting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QHYFXDGf4Y

El Horseboxo

It's the same in other languages too. I struggle to understand parts of Spanish from Argentina or various dialects from Spain despite being a native speaker. I may get 90% of dialogue in a scene but there could be 10% I wasn't sure of. So while I'm trying to figure that out I'm missing other parts of the film or whatever. Subtitles can help a lot. I don't live in Spain or Argentina so why should I expose myself to their accents? Same goes for America. Why should someone from the arsehole of Oklahoma expose themselves to Scottish accents on the off chance they may need to understand them without subtitles one day? It's not ignorance or laziness. It's just not necessary. Especially in a country as big as the US in which each state can feel like a foreign country.

TAlderson

Honestly, most times I've seen this (I'm an American) is for other American accents, especially on older people who tend to have thicker accents and also have problems speaking.

The other thing in play is the fact that most Americans don't watch British, Irish, Scottish, etc. TV shows and the like regularly, so we're overall less used to those accents. America is also huge, and Europe is a long plane ride away, so people tend to travel more inside the US, rather than going over to the UK or Ireland, where they'd be exposed to other accents.

That said, it is too bad we don't get more exposure to other accents. I showed a few of my friends some Rubberbandits videos and they just looked at me blankly...

-Tyler

kowloon

mikemac1 wrote: »

You've probably seen it before but it's still interesting

I hadn't. Give these people passports!

mike65

TAlderson wrote: »

That said, it is too bad we don't get more exposure to other accents. I showed a few of my friends some Rubberbandits videos and they just looked at me blankly...

-Tyler

I'm in Waterford and also stare blankly at Rubberbandits videos esp when yer wan is on screen!

Stupid Channel in the States isn't the only one guilty of this - the BBC are increasingly titling people who have "tricky accents" while speaking English. I find that if I ignore the subs I quickly tune in to the speech whereas if I read the titles I feel I'm missing more (possibly important) unspoken communication.

The King of Moo

Ah cannae fae the life a me ken i' a' aw pal. No reet in ther fa' heids.

Where To

Great Lakes accent and dialect is brutal too.

brummytom

The first time I watched The Wind That Shake The Barley, I had to put subtitles on; and my family are from Cork!

4zn76tysfajdxp

jonniebgood1 wrote: »

Why do American programs have subtitles for people speaking english. Not all the time but if the person has a slightly different accent than they are used to. Its annoying, like they are to lazy to actually listen and und understand.

So why is this?

I know some people for whom English isn't their native language, but who are fairly proficient in speaking it, who find it a bit helpful.

Reindeer

As an American, originally from Texas, I find I have to flatten my accent often or else folks in Ireland have trouble understanding me and start to turn the subtitles on.

ahnowbrowncow

Reindeer wrote: »

As an American, originally from Texas, I find I have to flatten my accent often or else folks in Ireland have trouble understanding me and start to turn the subtitles on.

From Texas eh?

You can't fool me, I know reindeers don't come from Texas :cool:

mike65

mike65 wrote: »

Stupid Channel in the States isn't the only one guilty of this - the BBC are increasingly titling people who have "tricky accents" while speaking English. I find that if I ignore the subs I quickly tune in to the speech whereas if I read the titles I feel I'm missing more (possibly important) unspoken communication.

Noticed that more and more for particularly Scottish accents.


Just a general wondering, is there more actual variation in accents this side of the Atlantic than in America? There's 3 or 4 distinct, even to my ear, Yorkshire accents, a load around Liverpool and Lancashire, the Scottish ones, Welsh ones, West country, Devon, Cornwall, Tyne, etc. etc. before even getting into the Irish ones. To my ear, even though I can tell the different American accents apart fairly easily there's only about half a dozen very different ones.

DazMarz

Red Hand wrote: »

There are a lot of American accents that are incomprehensible to us, as well as them.

Reindeer wrote: »

As an American, originally from Texas, I find I have to flatten my accent often or else folks in Ireland have trouble understanding me and start to turn the subtitles on.

I present, the greatest American accent ever:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GGA1a4nyVs

Overheal

My brother was visiting way back in the day, and he asked me to flip the subtitles on while we were watching Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

Big wtf from me :pac: and it made a mess of the actually subtitled scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu7aj1SCE8k

TAlderson

Deleted User wrote: »

Just a general wondering, is there more actual variation in accents this side of the Atlantic than in America? There's 3 or 4 distinct, even to my ear, Yorkshire accents, a load around Liverpool and Lancashire, the Scottish ones, Welsh ones, West country, Devon, Cornwall, Tyne, etc. etc. before even getting into the Irish ones. To my ear, even though I can tell the different American accents apart fairly easily there's only about half a dozen very different ones.

Yes and no. There are tons of accents in the US, and some very strong ones, but if you think about it, English has only been around a few hundred years in the US. Any area in England has had much longer to develop their own accents, and the Irish, Welsh, and Scottish accents come from speakers of other languages (Irish, Scots, Scots Gaelic, Welsh).

That being said, it's easier for me to distinguish between, say, a Worcester accent and a South Boston accent than various London accents. It comes from growing up around people with those accents, you get to hear the little variations and quirks. I was with a guy from Arkansas and two Brits once, and they said that us two Americans sounded exactly the same to them, which sounded ridiculous to us. Of course, they sounded pretty similar to us, so it's all a question of perspective.

-Tyler

Overheal

Overheal wrote: »

My brother was visiting way back in the day, and he asked me to flip the subtitles on while we were watching Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

Big wtf from me :pac: and it made a mess of the actually subtitled scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu7aj1SCE8k

Pick that up from someone walking around with a shopping trolley? :pac:

Overheal

mikemac1 wrote: »

The Cajuns from Louisiana are a nightmare to understand, give me subtitles

Cajuns are one thing, Gullahs quite another. They rightly have their own language.

Good Luck understanding them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullah

TAlderson

TAlderson wrote: »

Yes and no. There are tons of accents in the US, and some very strong ones, but if you think about it, English has only been around a few hundred years in the US. Any area in England has had much longer to develop their own accents, and the Irish, Welsh, and Scottish accents come from speakers of other languages (Irish, Scots, Scots Gaelic, Welsh).

That being said, it's easier for me to distinguish between, say, a Worcester accent and a South Boston accent than various London accents. It comes from growing up around people with those accents, you get to hear the little variations and quirks. I was with a guy from Arkansas and two Brits once, and they said that us two Americans sounded exactly the same to them, which sounded ridiculous to us. Of course, they sounded pretty similar to us, so it's all a question of perspective.

-Tyler

I know I'll be biased based on where I live but I would like to know just how different they are. I remember reading a description a while back and apparently on paper (can't remember the "technical" term for studying accents) there are only subtle differences in Irish accents, despite the fact I can struggle to understand someone from 10 minutes down the raod. :pac:

BOHtox

The deaf?

Killer Wench

OFFS.

It's for the hearing impaired.

MadsL

Maybe because Americans speak more than 322 languages. And not all of them have English as their mother tongue?

Presume much?

old_aussie

jonniebgood1 wrote: »

Why do American programs have subtitles for people speaking english. Not all the time but if the person has a slightly different accent than they are used to. Its annoying, like they are to lazy to actually listen and und understand.

So why is this?

So they can understand whats going on in the movie.

You can turn subtitles off if you don't need them.

Chuck Stone

MadsL wrote: »

Maybe because Americans speak more than 322 languages.

Not all of them surely?

sholegg

Subtitles is a good thing. It helps people who came from other countries learn language because it is a lot easier to read than recognize a speech.

MadsL

Chuck Stone wrote: »

Not all of them surely?

I surely don't need to explain that. And don't call me Shirley.

Reindeer

DazMarz wrote: »

I present, the greatest American accent ever:

I know a few folks that can put on a Broomhauer. No Country For Old Men is also a good example of the Texas accent:

MadsL

Reindeer wrote: »

I know a few folks that can put on a Broomhauer. No Country For Old Men is also a good example of the Texas accent:

Mostly filmed in New Mexico

Best thing with a Texan accent has to be Miranda Lambert, Gawd Damnnn....(bites knuckles)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB7ONnfIjaI

MadsL

Jack Black did great recently with Bernie = awesome accent in that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEs7l6JTAc4