Askin' Natives About It !

[Bahez]

Hey guys

Wanna ask whether natives can understand films/songs or not ?
I can speak english very well without problems and also with kinda good pronunciation , But sometimes i can't understand Movies,

Do you think that it's from my english or American movies are comlplicated/somethin like that.

And also my english is more informal than formal


Thanks

[IvanV]

As in understanding the meaning of a line, or hearing it well?

[Bahez]

As in understanding the meaning of a line, or hearing it well?

Not meaning, And not hearing (Hearing must be from my TV )

I mean the words they say, When talking fast or say lots of words together like that .

[abaka]

Hey guys!

I want to ask whether natives can understand films/songs, or not.
I can speak English very well without problems and also with kind of good pronunciation. But sometimes I can't understand movies.

Do you think that it's from my English, or American movies are complicated, or something like that?

And also my English is more informal than formal.


Thanks.

Can the movies and lyrics be understood? Yes, as long as the actors and singers speak and sing without mumbling or wailing. But real life is definitely more formal than popular music and Hollywood. Pop music especially is an industrial product for teenagers who do not know yet the real reasons for their rebellion. Adults who do not like the state of the world can express their thoughts without breaking the normal conventions of the language.

Informal speech (like your corrected post) and illiteracy are not the same thing.

[Bahez]

Can the movies and lyrics be understood? Yes, as long as the actors and singers speak and sing without mumbling or wailing. But real life is definitely more formal than popular music and Hollywood. Pop music especially is an industrial product for teenagers who do not know yet the real reasons for their rebellion. Adults who do not like the state of the world can express their thoughts without breaking the normal conventions of the language.

Informal speech (like your corrected post) and illiteracy are not the same thing.

Sorry about my mistakes , I'll try to do not make them again.

Thanks for your answer

[abaka]

You are welcome!

[Barb_D]

I rarely have problems with TV or movies, but even native speakers will sometimes say "What did he just say?"

But pop music is another matter - I have a hard time understand a LOT of lyrics. There's a book someone gave me of misheard lyrics. Thinks like "There's a bad moon on the rise" soundling like "There's a bathroom on the right," or "'Scuse me, while I kiss the sky" as "...while I kiss this guy."

I never understood a single word Stevie Nicks ever sang! And Kurt Cobain was so hard to understand someone once said he needed to buy himself a vowel (a reference to the game show Wheel of Fortune) because he mumbled so much.

[Bahez]

I rarely have problems with TV or movies, but even native speakers will sometimes say "What did he just say?"

But pop music is another matter - I have a hard time understand a LOT of lyrics. There's a book someone gave me of misheard lyrics. Thinks like "There's a bad moon on the rise" soundling like "There's a bathroom on the right," or "'Scuse me, while I kiss the sky" as "...while I kiss this guy."

I never understood a single word Stevie Nicks ever sang! And Kurt Cobain was so hard to understand someone once said he needed to buy himself a vowel (a reference to the game show Wheel of Fortune) because he mumbled so much.

LOL, there's a bathroom on the right

Yea, many times this happens to me . I always gotta see the lyrics then i can understand the whole song .


Thanks for your answer

[Ouisch]

I am notorious for my ability to mis-hear song lyrics... There is a board game called "Song Burst" that was popular years ago; the basis of the game was a person drew a card that listed some lyrics of a Top 40 song, and the person who could "sing" the next five words won points. Anyway, I well remember my embarrassment when playing this game with a very large group of peopleat a convention and Supertramp's "Logical Song" came up on a card. I very confidently sang out "...the searchers in command." Imagine my humiliation when everyone at the party burst out laughing, because the actual lyric was "...for such a simple man."

As far as TV shows and movies go, even as a native English speaker, I find that I rely more and more on the closed captions in order to understand what everyone is saying.

[thod00]

Lol, we all get song lyrics wrong. I recall a set of tv adverts, years ago, for some tape cassette company, playing on this theme.

30 second clips.

YouTube - Maxell Israelites advert

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6gYsRMKDcc&NR=1