Job Discussion Forums

fluffyhamster · Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 10:18 am Post subject: Fight Dub

Quick quasi-poll (TM) here:

You're a non-American AET whose outlandish pronunciation appears to be giving the JTE a slight headache. You're therefore tempted to try sounding American...the only problem is, when you attempt to do this, you invariably end up resembling:

a) Cupid Stunt; or a "Queen of New York"
b) Ed Norton
c) Stimpy
d) Ren
e) Brad Pitt
f) Other (Please describe)

Regarding option f), feel free to tell us which other Americans you can do a mean impersonation of.

Oh, and if anyone fancies making a poll for non-Brits attempting to emulate e.g. RP (not that it's in such great demand in Japan), again, feel free.

ripslyme · Joined: 29 Jan 2005 Posts: 481 Location: Japan

Eddie Izzard does a great American accent.

Eva Pilot · Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 1:31 pm Post subject:

Johnny Cash. Cool

Squire22 · Joined: 06 Jul 2005 Posts: 68 Location: Shizuoka, Japan

I was in a couple of classes where the students were studying similar sounding words, for example "right" and "light", "year" and "ear". One of the pairs of similar sounding words was "base" and "vase". Coming from England I couldn't tell the similarity, they both sound completely different to me - sound wise "bAse" and "vaarse", more or less. So when I said them as I would normally (before the lesson, going through the lesson plan) I was asked to make them sound similar, i.e. American. My problem, option f, is that not only am I not able to make the two ryhme, I just sound stupid when I try because it's unnatural for me in the first place. It actually feels quite difficult trying to "match" sounds in English for the Japanese that do not match in English English, if that makes sense? What I mean is that the English from England doesn't always match the English from America, hence my rhyming words don't always match the American versions, and vice versa.

gaijinalways · Joined: 29 Nov 2005 Posts: 2279

I would think you could do that easily enough, but you shouldn't have to. Use a N. American video or tape, or just get a N. American coworker to make one for you.

Then again, there's my Irish colleague that swears that Americans ask if 'How about a 'quaffe' (coffee)?" Haven't met any of them yet, including myself Shocked

!

Venti · Joined: 19 Oct 2006 Posts: 171 Location: Kanto, Japan

gaijinalways · Joined: 29 Nov 2005 Posts: 2279

Sorry Venti, been there many times, didn't sound like that to me Confused

. That's not how you say, is it Laughing

?

In Boston you get more take the 'caaar' to the 'haarbor' kind of pronunciation.

ripslyme · Joined: 29 Jan 2005 Posts: 481 Location: Japan

johanne · Joined: 18 Apr 2003 Posts: 189

Replace the base-vase pair with different words that do sound similiar in British English.

Venti · Joined: 19 Oct 2006 Posts: 171 Location: Kanto, Japan