BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 » Languages

Dramagod · October 7, 2012 12:13 pm

Davina wrote:
I am thinking, in particular, of the episode in the cabin with potential girlfriends/boyfriends.

That episode was so funny. They could easily make a stageplay out of that one.

I can't remember at which point their mother died? Was she more sophisticated than Martin? I was just wondering if they got all their elitism from their mother instead of their father. Anyways, I love the contrast of sophistication between the brothers and Martin. That relationship gives us so many funny jokes.

Davina · October 7, 2012 12:41 pm

Agree that this episode would easily transfer to the stage. Everything about it says stage farce. All the elements are there. In particular the single location, the doors, the misunderstandings. It is just sublime.

I've wondered about their mother too and her influence upon the boys' upbringing.

veecee · October 7, 2012 3:05 pm

Martin says once something about his wife, their mother, being more sophisticated, etc. than he was, but that she didn't look down on him the way Frasier and Niles do. It was one of the serious moments.

There was also an episode -- which I didn't like very much -- in which Frasier is somehow visited by the women of his past, including his mother. As I recall, the mother wasn't very likable.

TTT - right, all of that seems pretentious.

Davina · October 10, 2012 7:24 am

Not languages as such but...I was just watching Inspector Montalbano (which is set in Sicily) where they are questioning an elderly man about a body he has found. When the man answers 'no' he makes a click sound and raises his head upwards to indicate no, rather than shaking his head. I seem to recall reading that this is also done elsewhere, perhaps it was in Greece but I'm not certain. Has anyone else encountered this?

veecee · October 10, 2012 7:09 pm

Just noticing that in Cabin Pressure, they use miles for distance as well feet and inches for height. And our friends who just had a baby in England gave her statistics non-metrically also. Not exactly language, but it sort of fits here. We were discussing it somewhere before, but I don't remember which thread.

The Doctor · October 10, 2012 11:32 pm

Australia has officially adopted the metric system and yet most people still use the imperial measurements.

Quite challenging when precision work is involved!

veecee · October 11, 2012 12:50 am

I'm sure you know about the space mission that was messed up because of confusion between the two. Really terrible. At least no lives were in danger.

It is funny in This is Spinal Tap, though.

veecee · October 12, 2012 7:51 pm

By the way, how do you Brits pronounce Cheltenham? The way it looks or with one of those funny British twists so it ends up "Chism" or something? I'm going to be disappointed if it's the former.

Last edited by veecee (October 12, 2012 7:52 pm)

besleybean · October 12, 2012 8:16 pm

Exactly as it's written:
Chelt.
N
Ham

Davina · October 12, 2012 8:36 pm

The Ham part tends to get shortened a bit to 'Hm'. It is in Gloucestershire which is said 'Gloster sheer.'

Last edited by Davina (October 12, 2012 8:36 pm)

besleybean · October 12, 2012 8:40 pm

Now the British Shire is a whole other story!
Sheer down South,
Shur, for Yorkie me.
Only the Scots actually say it correctly as Shire.

Davina · October 13, 2012 7:45 am

But shire on its own is Shire here. Very confusing.

besleybean · October 13, 2012 7:58 am

Southerners just can't speak properly! Ha Ha!
I love language..

Davina · October 13, 2012 10:34 am

Please don't persecute us for our vowel sounds!

besleybean · October 13, 2012 11:40 am

veecee · October 13, 2012 4:04 pm

Dissappointed about Cheltenham, but can take solace in Glouchestershire.

Speaking of the "ham" to "hm" thing, it seems that John swallows the "lock" part of Sherlock. I think most Americans pronounce it pretty clearly, just like the word "lock."

I suppose you all mostly know, by the way, that we Yanks say aLUMinum, whereas you Brits say aluMINium, as in "The Aluminium Crutch."

Davina · October 13, 2012 5:10 pm

What about 'lieutenant' then? You say LOOtenant and we say LEFTenant.
Colin is another good one too. Eek this is merging with the awkward words in the US thread. Except I guess these aren't awkward...well...unless you are in the forces or are called Colin.

Last edited by Davina (October 13, 2012 5:11 pm)

besleybean · October 13, 2012 5:15 pm

For me:
Colin, definitely the UK way.
Lieutenant: definitely the U.S way.

Soph · April 5, 2013 6:46 pm

Huhu

auch wenn der letzte beitrag dieses threads schon ein weilchen her ist, möchte ich auch was loswerden
meiner meinung nach schränkt es den eigenen wortschatz ein, sich in einer fremdsprache zu artikulieren und man (zumindest ich) kann sich nicht so exakt ausdrücken, wie man manchmal möchte .trotzdem finde ich, dass es eine gute möglichkeit ist gerade hier sein englisch zu verbessern und mit allen mitgliedern kommunizieren zu können
Übrigens hat es mich gefreut, sehen zu können, dass es doch so einige deutsche sherlock- fans gibt

Last edited by Soph (April 5, 2013 6:48 pm)

Mary Me · April 5, 2013 7:01 pm

Of course it isn't an easy task to express yourself in another language. For me it isn't easy either...