Maybe less of a discussion on an English forum...

[ZesPak]

So I'm 25, Dutch and something is bothering me for some years.

Since a couple of years we have a couple of "dedicated" networks for kids (Cartoon Network, Nicolodeon,...), and they spout the absolutely generic crap you prob know. This itself is pissing me off, as it is absolutely horrible to watch, and I feel I'm getting dumber if I watch this st for five minutes with the little BiL (now 12).

But, what annoys me even more here is that I know this crap is made in English/Japanese, yet somehow they find voice actors/translators that want to degrade themselves to this kind of crap.
So it's all in Dutch.

Now, I know, that by the time I went to secondary education, having had no English before, I spoke english relatively well (managing better than my parents in the UK for example).
Due to DVD's and this utter horse manure of tv shows the young ones today don't have this advantage.

When we wanted to see a cartoon, we bought the tape and it was prob in English. Now they buy the DVD and just watch it in "Flemish".

I feel that, if they have to watch this crap, can't they just let it be in English/French/Japanese and subtitle it so that at least they could learn something while waisting their young lives in front of the TV?

I know that I would know a word or two Japanese if they didn't translate DBZ in English.

Last time the little BiL was watching a movie he'd seen for the tenth time (Ice Age, so he's forgiven ), and I asked him why he didn't watch it in English once (some other jokes, other voices,...), and he said: well, it's tiring reading the subtitles.

Oh, and the BiL is a good kid, albeit maybe a bit spoiled because he's as good as the only one in the house now (sister being 10y older).
</rant>

Oh, and i'd give myself a 5/10 (because I'm being too sensible )

[OnTheOverrun]

Makes sense to me, but I'm English and therefore believe everyone in the world should be made to speak English on pain of death!

The upside of having those cartoons translated into your local lingo is that you lose the hideous, twangy, nasal American and American-Japanese cute kiddy accents that make me wnat to throw my niece at the TV screen.

[IainT]

SWMBO is Swedish and speaks better English than I do after 39 years of practice.

Much of this is down to Sweden's excellent education but the majority, she claims, is down to undubbed US and Brit TV when she was growing up.

[ZesPak]

OnTheOverrun said:

Makes sense to me, but I'm English and therefore believe everyone in the world should be made to speak English on pain of death!

The upside of having those cartoons translated into your local lingo is that you lose the hideous, twangy, nasal American and American-Japanese cute kiddy accents that make me wnat to throw my niece at the TV screen.

Everybody English is ok for me.
But the French, German and Spanish could disagree with you they are horrible in that way.
But as in Belgium we get a lot of English trough the media (the don't translate all the songs yet, thank god), and we learn French and often German in secondary school, it's easy to get a job in the neighboring countries

[ZesPak]

euroboy said:

(One thing that does amuse me though is when they interview a Dutch/Flemish person with a serious dialect and have to put Dutch subtitles on the screen for the rest of the country!)

True that.
Esp Flemish people in the Netherlands.
Re the balance: I'm not saying it's off balance, but I'm saying that it's more Dutch than it used to be, while you'd expect the other way 'round.

[RB Will]

When my nephews (English) were young my sister in laws mum (French)) would buy them videos of things like Thomas the Tank etc but in french.
It was quite funny as by the time they got to secndary school they could speak french fluently but could not write a word of it.

[ZesPak]

RB Will said:

When my nephews (English) were young my sister in laws mum (French)) would buy them videos of things like Thomas the Tank etc but in french.
It was quite funny as by the time they got to secndary school they could speak french fluently but could not write a word of it.

I learned french esp from working there, and I speak it very well (at least that's what I think), but French is a bh to write, English is a lot easier (write what you hear ).

[Cas_P]

IainT said:

SWMBO is Swedish and speaks better English than I do after 39 years of practice.

Much of this is down to Sweden's excellent education but the majority, she claims, is down to undubbed US and Brit TV when she was growing
up.

Yeah when I lived in England everyone spoke English so well because almost everything on TV was in English and the education is so good there.

[Cas_P]

IainT said:

SWMBO is Swedish and speaks better English than I do after 39 years of practice.

Much of this is down to Sweden's excellent education but the majority, she claims, is down to undubbed US and Brit TV when she was growing
up.

Yeah, when I lived in Sweden everyone spoke English so well because almost everything on TV was in English and the education is so good there.

[ZesPak]

Cas_P said:

IainT said:

SWMBO is Swedish and speaks better English than I do after 39 years of practice.

Much of this is down to Sweden's excellent education but the majority, she claims, is down to undubbed US and Brit TV when she was growing
up.

Yeah when I lived in England everyone spoke English so well because almost everything on TV was in English and the education is so good there.

Cas_P said:

IainT said:

SWMBO is Swedish and speaks better English than I do after 39 years of practice.

Much of this is down to Sweden's excellent education but the majority, she claims, is down to undubbed US and Brit TV when she was growing
up.

Yeah when I lived in England everyone spoke English so well because almost everything on TV was in English and the education is so good there.

So you guys also have a lot of reruns?

[mat205125]

Everything should be in English, which is of course the language that the bible was written in .... The voice of god spoke English!

[JB!]

Cas_P said:

IainT said:

SWMBO is Swedish and speaks better English than I do after 39 years of practice.

Much of this is down to Sweden's excellent education but the majority, she claims, is down to undubbed US and Brit TV when she was growing
up.

Yeah when I lived in England everyone spoke English so well because almost everything on TV was in English and the education is so good there.

you haven't been to Luton, have you?

[HereBeMonsters]

I just paid an extra pound a month to upgrade to the Kids channels, and they've got rid of all the good stuff!

Where's Johnny Bravo, Cow & Chicken, Ed, Edd & Eddy? Powerpuff Girls and Dexter's Lab are on about once a week. I need more!

[havoc]

I prefer watching foreign films in the original language with subtitles.
- Not because I think I'll learn much;
- But because dubbing is usually horrifically done and over-simplifies the meaning in the original language, whereas subtitles are usually a little more comprehensive, and you can still pick up the tone of voice from the original actor.


As for kids? They should all be made to learn 2 foreign languages - one from ~5/6/7 years old, and a 2nd from 10/11/12 years old. This world is becoming 'smaller', and being English has made me lazy - I was inordinately proud of being able to get through ~98% of our French holiday without resorting to English!

[Pigeon]

havoc said:

I prefer watching foreign films in the original language with subtitles.
- Not because I think I'll learn much;
- But because dubbing is usually horrifically done and over-simplifies the meaning in the original language, whereas subtitles are usually a little more comprehensive

Oh, I dunno... I remember some French film where the subtitles had one character saying "the grapes over there have had it", when what he actually said was that they were fked.

[LHD]

The Crack Fox said:

What language does Steve McLaren speak ?

Is retard a language?