Search results for 'tag:Jokes tag:Accents' matching tags 'Jokes' and 'Accents'

Swearing in videos

Kooyeen — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 21:49:33 GMT

I've always wondered about this, and after seeing some videos here on EF (in Foo), I thought I had to ask.

In posts, swearwords are censored. I take it the mods don't want to see too much swearing in here. But the problem is... what if people swear in videos? I assume it shouldn't be allowed either, but you can't bleep them out automatically, and removing all of the video just because there are a couple of swearwords here and there doesn't seem sensible either. And editing the video and uploading it again is not convenient at all. So I'd like to know what to do.

I'll tell you what... I had some videos that were funny, some were about accents, and I wanted to hear some opinions too, but in every video I find people seem to curse quite a lot, LOL. Not that it is a problem for me, LOL, but since swearwords are already removed from posts, I figured I'd better know more about your policy before posting.
For example, there was a guy with such a strong southern accent I could understand only a word every once in a while. He didn't even move his mouth, it was like uh-uh-oh uh-uh-oh... what? LOL. So it would have been funny to hear others' opinions, but the problem is that what that guy was doing was telling dirty jokes. I could hear some swearwords, but all the rest was impossible to understand. I'm afraid some native speakers wouldn't understand either... I'd be curious. So, that was an example of something I wanted to post but I didn't.

Waiting for your answers... So long!

EDIT: I just tested censure. It doesn't work for me, I can write whatever I want. Has it been removed or does this privilege only apply to non-basic members?

Re: mask accent?

Thethenothere123 — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 02:49:46 GMT

Anonymous wrote:
Hello,

I am applying to several Ph. D. programs, and I need to learn how to mask or hide my Southern West Virginia accent. It is not cute- it is embarrassing in a business setting. If anyone has ever seen "Matewon" (movie about WV coal country), you will understand. Imagine giving a presentation at Carnegie, sounding like your "grand pappy is the lead McCoy." This is no joke. Any advice?

Thank you,

Worried in WV

I think John Nash has done fairly well with that accent.

Re: mask accent?

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 22:40:56 GMT

Hi,

I am applying to several Ph. D. programs, and I need to learn how to mask or hide my Southern West Virginia accent. It is not cute- it is embarrassing in a business setting. If anyone has ever seen "Matewon" (movie about WV coal country), you will understand. Imagine giving a presentation at Carnegie, sounding like your "grand pappy is the lead McCoy." This is no joke. Any advice?

As long as you are capable of making yourself understood in your speech community (and other relevant speech communities), why change anything? You should ask yourself: Am I the one who need to change my accent, or are they the ones who should change their attitudes?

I don't find any accents intrinsically comical or less prestigious than others. As long as your accent is clear I would be reluctant to change it unless there was a good reason for me changing my accent such as if I had to portray someone from a different locality in a play or the like.

If you still want to change your accent (and I hope you will take my previous comments to heart, because in your particular case what follows is probably not really necessary), you should study the sound system of the target-accent (be it General American or Cultivated Australian, Hiberno English or poshest RP). Work out how the sounds you make differ from those made by speakers of your target-accent. Sometimes you also need to change some things about intonation and rhythm, for example, but such changes are generally more sorely needed in non-native speakers trying to learn a native-speaker accent.

I hope this helps.

mask accent?

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 21:02:02 GMT

Hello,

Thank you,

Worried in WV

Re: I and Me

Dido — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 18:16:06 GMT

Grammar Geek wrote:

Dido wrote:
The British Queen always says "My husband and I" and my British friends usually make jokes about it

Why is that funny?

They just laugh at her accent (My friends do not belong to the Royals

Can someone help me to check out mistakes of my composition

Anonymous — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 20:21:54 GMT

Please help me. Thanks

---------------------------------------------------

Far and away

The dream of Ireland

When I was in high school, there were much TV news about I.R.A., gunshots, and dead bodies everyday. As far as I knew, only a group of youths fought against United Kingdom.

In 1998, I bought the CD of Song of the Irish Whistle in Chengdu. After I came back to Singapore, I chatted with friends on Internet and always played the CD to them. I started to accumulate Irish music CDs since then.

I have a high quality wool shawl, which was made in Ireland; I have an old fashion dress, which was made in Ireland.

A few years ago, I read the book <<Maggie>>, the story about a poor girl who was an Irish. I found lots of jokes about Irish people in this book, it seems that everybody laughed at the poor and unsophisticated country fellows.

All of those are what I pictured of Irish.

I have never been to many places in the world. Some knowledge about the earth I got from the movie, although we know the movies are always far away from reality. Prince Charles said that the << Sense and Sensibility>> showed such beautiful landscapes of England most of which he has never known. I watched the movie many times and was intoxicated in the fantastic views. I doggedly believed in that the movie took in northern Irish. The music in movie seems from somewhere there are vast lawns that extend like sheets of vivid green. Those feeling I cannot explain and describe in clear mind but I know where is Irish.

I donât like the Tom Cruise & Brad Pitt and refuse to watch the movies they act. They are the cool guys grow up under the American culture. However, I got more appreciation for their acting in <Far and Away> and <the devils own>. One was an Irish country fellow dreamed of his own land who leaved his mother land came to American to find his dream; the other is one of the IRA's deadliest assassins came to American buying weapon in order to fight back U.K. Both of them had dream for better life, but in different means. Tom always with a strong Irish accent said âayeâ instead of âyesâ, Pitt tear liked a kid when he talked with an American-Irish âYou would never understand what my felling is, you have never lived in the land as I haveâ

The music in movie touched me so deeply; I want to know more about Irish now. I wonder what kind land it could be can generate such sorrow-stricken music. It was different with Chinese classic, which, we know, clear your mind, peace your heart. On the other hand, the Irish music rooted in land, the vast lawns, green meadow which thousands sheep across; the music came from the cottages built in the shore of sea, as the wind winding into the sky, into my heart. English has occupied the land for hundred years; the nation, the Irish goatherd lift guns instead of shepherd's crook. The sorrow from heart was injected in the music; the tear was blended into the songsâ¦.

The split of Ireland has come into being in long history and past could not be changed. We have no right to judge the things right or wrong.

My dream Ireland is far and away.

I will be there someday, as a visitor. I know it!

Re: I have Problems understanding English dvd movies

Kooyeen — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 18:26:37 GMT

Hi David,
2 x 3 = 6 movies in 2 days! LOL, that's a lot!
Anyway...

David Little wrote:
My problem is i could"nt understand the dialogues properly without the sub-title turned on.

...hmm, ok, let's try this. Try to answer this question.
When you don't understand, you turn the subtitles on. After you have read the subtitle, do you say something more similar to #1 or more similar to #2?
1) Oh, yeah, they really said that. I could have figured it out if I had listened more carefully.
2) Damn, this is difficult. I would have never guessed a single word. They talk too fast.

If you answered #1, your problem might be vocabulary and common expressions. You just need to get used to common expressions and learn vocabulary. This is my problem, for example. This takes time, an awful lot of time, but you'll notice you improve little by little.
If you answered #2, your problem might be pronunciation. You don't understand because you can't hear the words.

Note 1: there are movies that are difficult. There are movies (or animated cartoons) where I can understand 90% of what it's said, and movies where I hardly understand a single word. I'm not kidding! Many characters have regional accents too.
So, don't always watch movies. Try sitcoms or something else, until you find something that sounds easier to you.
Also, using headphones will help you hear the words better.
Note 2: you don't have to understand everything. Try to understand as much as possible, but don't worry if you don't understand a whole sentence or joke. I never use subtitles, because I find them distracting and I noticed they are often wrong, therefore they could be misleading. If I don't understand... who cares. I don't need to understand everything to follow the story and enjoy it. If I don't understand a joke... who cares. I always think "one day I'll understand almost everything, when I'm better at English". And believe me, I don't understand a lot of things.

Re: fork in knife

Kooyeen — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 22:32:45 GMT

You know what? I didn't even realize there was a kind of joke... you are right! LOL, that's funny...

Hey, you, gimme a forking knife, quick!

Now, if you think of some non-rhotic accent, that might well be... the way they spoke in "This is England" (I didn't see the movie, I just watched some clips on Youtube though).

Re: Discussion: Where are you from?

Elfsleepy — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 08:43:51 GMT

Hi, i am a newbie from south of China, live in Zhuhai of Guangdong province, it is also where i grew up. Currently work in Zhongshan which is about 1 and a half hours drive from Zhuhai, and i also live in the dorm of our factory now. I go back home once per month.

Actually i was born in Shaoguang Guangdong, but both my mother and father are from Hunan province. We speak Mandarine at home, but I think i can speak better Cantonese than Mandarine, like i can make funny jokes and use a lot of slangs in Cantonese but i can't do the same level in Mandarine.

My parents' Cantonese sounds a bit weird, with half Hunan and half Shaoguang accent, lol

When people asked me where i am from, i usually say that i am from Zhuhai, but when i met someone who is from Hunan or Shaoguang in Guangdong, i also say that they are my 'countryfellow'. But i think i am a native Cantonese because i was educated here and get the culture here.

I still like zhuhai a lot after staying in many other cities in guangdong, it has its own unique characters.....

Re: Have a question about British accent.

Prez1dent — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 11:08:15 GMT

My friend Gogi Shevchebadze (he is Georgian) talks me that he's speaking English as good as American. He is a lamer and he talks me that then he taked gashish. It is not a joke!