MovieChat Forums > Shetland (2013) Discussion > Understanding what they say ???

Understanding what they say ???


I've been watching British TV for years & years and find that this is the hardest for me to understand. I'm just sharing cause I've no one else to comment to but sometimes it's like Chinese to my ears. I figure I get about 3/4 of every sentence.

I love the show & recently joined Acorn TV (all British TV) & will have to re-watch all the episodes. Acorn is only $5.00/month & the only way I have to watch the last season of Poiret & Foyle's War so I think it's way worth it because all these shows are excellent.

Thanks for listening/ reading my lament.



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i love the sound of the accents, but i also miss a lot of what is said.
and i love this series.
if they aim for a broad audience, they might try harder to make the dialogue understandable.

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Agree completely. Thanks for sharing.


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I too have a hard time hearing the dialog especially the men. Perhaps because the women's voices are higher pitched they are easier.

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Is closed captioning available? I have to use that for Scottish programs, particularly.

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#I live in Scotland and have a hard time with the Shetland and Orkney accents. They really are more Scandinavian than Scottish.
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I am the Queen of Snark, TStopped said so. And I have groupies, Atomic Girl said so.

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They really are more Scandinavian than Scottish.

Quite right.
I have just made an entry about Brian Cox (Raven Black) that I love his exit line Wor's do frae?
In NW Jutland they would say exactly the same, though they don't have the lilt there.
And I feel a strange familiarity in the language. Not so strange - since in the old days The North Sea was faster to cross than going over land from NW Jutland to e.g. Copenhagen. The saling and fishing on the same sea gave great similarities in the languages between West-Jutlandish and the English language(s) spoken from York and northwards on. And Scots is even more 'Danish'.
So, after one episode of 'familarizing' (Red Bones - watched it thrice on my HD-recorder) - I feel quite 'at home'.

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It has to be remembered that The Orkney and Shetland Isles were Scandinavian originally. The people who live there now are descended from the Vikings. Of course their accent is Scandinavian.

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I am the Queen of Snark, TStopped said so. And I have groupies, Atomic Girl said so.

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Not only the northern islands.
A great part of England north from a line between London and Chester/Liverpool to at least River Tee, some say far into Scotland (the coastal regions, both east and West) was Dane Law until just before 1100.

The Orkneys and Shetlands were Danish (Norway was part of the Danish Kingdom until early 19th Century) until ultimo 15th Century, when the Danish king, (short of money because of his expensive warfare!!) could not pay his daughter's dowry and then sold the islands (at least the Orkneys).

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It's one of the reasons I like the TV series Vikings. That does show just how much influence the Vikings had.

_____________
I am the Queen of Snark, TStopped said so. And I have groupies, Atomic Girl said so.

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At first I had a hard time also. I realize I have to concentrate on the shows. When I concentrate, I better understand the dialogue.

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