MovieChat Forums > Little Shop of Horrors (1986) Discussion > Steve Martin's Commentary Hacked Me Off ...

Steve Martin's Commentary Hacked Me Off Big-Time

posted 9 years ago by yourauntgussie
3 replies | jump to latest

Commentaries can be fascinating (e.g. Criterion Collection's version of Charade) or downright tedious (e.g. a commentary by some rambling guy on a version of Yellow Submarine). Martin's bit of commentary for Little Shop is one of the very few that made me furious.

He said something to the effect of, "I wanted to show that my character was really stupid, so Ah mayd hee-um tawk lahk thee-us."

Yep, that's right, Martin. All us Southerners are lazy and stupid. That's why we talk slower and pronounce things differently. But let me just clue you in on something: A lot of very smart people are Southern, and have Southern accents.

Love him or hate him, Jimmy Carter is a very smart guy, and is arguably the most effective former president the U.S. has ever had. It used to drive me nuts that Daddy (many Southerners call their parents "Mama and Daddy" long after they reach adulthood) mispronounces "nuclear" as "nucular." In the wake of the Three Mile Island meltdown, however, it was forcibly brought home to me that, not only does Mr. Carter use the same pronunciation as Daddy, he is a nuclear engineer. He, therefore, certainly knows the "correct" pronunciation. He simply chooses to continue using that one.

An interesting thing to note: For quite some time, I had a paying gig tutoring young Korean students in conversational English as a Second Language (ESL) via telephone. One of my students, a budding musician, had an exceptionally quick ear. After a few sessions, she commented that I didn't sound quite like her previous teacher who, like myself, lived in Ohio. She said I sounded more like a Brit.

Hyo-jin was 100% right. Southern vowel sounds are far more similar to those uttered by the British than the flat, nasal sounds emitted by many Midwesterners, especially Clevelanders.

dolceri ac dolcere

[–] drunkbear 8 years ago

Have you ever seen a play called 'The Foreigner?' It features an Englishman in southern America, masquerading as a Russian who speaks no English. The well-meaning southern folks set out to 'teach' him English, which includes 'fork' as a two-syllable word: 'fow-erk.'

I don't mind the stereotypes; I was born and raised in the Kansas City area, and the natives here have just about every dialect and accent from the entire continent. I like being able to pick and choose my regionalisms.

- What are you gonna do, when the world catches on?

[–] yourauntgussie 8 years ago

I've never heard of that play, drunkbear, but I'll certainly have to hunt up a script -- it sounds freakin' hilarious!

At present, I have an ESL student who is from Iran. She was *hideously* surprised to find that, although she had taken years of English in HS and in college (she's a teacher), she *still* couldn't comprehend a syllable.

I said, "Ah! You must have learned English English, not American English!"

A *huge* smile of relief. "Yes. It was a problem."

Like my Korean student, Hyo-jin, she found me easier to understand than midwesterners. I told her that I speak as standard an American English as possible, but the Southern drawl shines through when I'm angry or tickled. As an example of how my speech differs, I chose the word, "down." When I say it slowly, it almost sounds like two syllables -- dah-yown.

Instant lightbulb moment. "Ah! I see! My difficulty is not with your consonants, it's with your vowels! Thank you, teacher! that will help me a lot!"

And, apparently, it has! Now on to get Zahrah through her Citizenship test in December. I don't think she'll have a problem. She's smart, and she's determined. How can she miss?

Thanks for the response. I was afraid it'd be along the lines of, "Well, ya sound like a moe-ron to me, so you obviously *must* be a moe-ron."

And again, thank for the tip-off on the play! It oughta be a fun read.

dolceri ac dolcere

[–] drunkbear 8 years ago

The U.S. 'Southern Drawl' comes directly from the accents of rural England and - especially in the Eastern mountains - from the classic 'Cockney' accent. The word 'ain't' didn't originate in the U.S., after all. Many of the immigrants who settled the Eastern U.S. territories came direct from England, and their accent came with them, along with Eastern U.S. 'bluegrass' and 'country' music, which originated from rustic English folk songs.

- What are you gonna do, when the world catches on?