Sunday 15 April 2012

Britain's Got Talent - accentwise

Some of you probably know the TV show 'Britain's got talent'.
Here's a tiny extract from one of the shows which was recorded in Edinburgh this year. It's a dialogue between a member of the jury, Simon Cowell (= SC), and one of the contestants, a 14-year-old girl by the name of Paige Turley (= PT). Try to understand what she says. Enjoy!

credit: ITV


If you are at a loss, let me know and I'll be happy to post subtitles!
Oh, by the way: She's going to sing 'Skinny Love' by Birdie.


SC: Tell me something about you, Paige, tell me something interesting about you.
PT: I'm currently still in school, but I love to sing. I'm always singing out of school.
SC: What do your parents think about you doing this?
PT: They are sure so proud.
PT: About three years ago I started singing.
SC: Right. OK. And what are you going to sing?
PT: I'm going to sing 'Skinny Love' by Birdie.

Scotland Rulez!
credit: http://www.crossed-flag-pins.com

14 comments:

  1. I have an unfair advantage, two Scottish nephews

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  2. Let Sidney tell us and put us out of our misery.

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  3. NO! The time of suffering is not over yet. Be patient!

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  4. My particular take on the whole affair is that the title of the show is a whopping lie!

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  5. John, you're right as regards the show. But don't you think that the general sententia holds true?

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  6. No, because I'm a grumpy old buzzard.

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    Replies
    1. A dirge on the Untergang des Abendlandes?

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  7. Now let's have a phonetic transcription of what she sed.
    Sidney? I'll give you a start:[ˈeːm]...
    I understood evrything she sed but I coudn believe my ears.
    I was convinced I was only guessing.

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  8. JWL: Thanks for your initiative! Anyone intimately familiar with Scottish English (due to birth, marriage, divorce, hanky-panky, ...) is cordially invited to transcribe at least one of PT's utterances.

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    Replies
    1. Petr.

      I like the henky-penky bit ;-)

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    2. John, experience of life tells us that hanky-panky increases interpersonal familiarity, probably more than w... ;-)

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  9. I'm quite sure that she says of her parents "They're so proud" rather than "They're sure proud".

    My attempt at transcription. I'm not sure how to transcribe the "gunna" at the end.

    am pedʒ tərli ənd am fortin
    am kʌrɛn?le stɪl in skʉ:l bə? a lʌv tə sɪŋ. am ɔlwɪz sɪŋɪŋ ʌʊ? ə skʉ:l
    ðɛr so: prʌʊd. əbʌʊ? ðri: jɪrz əgo: a startɪd sɪŋɪŋ
    am gə?ə sɪŋ skɪni lʌv bəi bɪrdi

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