Ayo!
Based on an 70's show of the same name, Battlestar Galactica is an Emmy and Peabody-winning science fiction television show chronicling the struggle of the last surviving Humans against their mortal enemies, the Cylons.
Wait, wait, don't go! I know that might be a little too nerdy for you, but I'm just getting to the good stuff!
Battlestar Galactica is an intense, high brow show, but since it airs on basic cable's SciFi Channel, and can subsequently be broadcast on network television, there can be no extreme nudity or naughty language. While it is easy to skirt around certain nudity issues, it is much harder to get away with foul language on television.
So, what did the writers of Battlestar Galactica do, faced with such puritan choices? They created an entirely new word.
Frack.
Frack you. Frack your mom. What's the big fracking deal? Wanna frack? I was so fracked last night! I think you can guess which word it's replacing.
In the original 1970's series, frack was more of a descriptor of a person than a four letter expletive. In the new, re-imagined series, frack has every bit as much power as its counterpart, and has even garnered a real-life following. Well, at least with me and my sister, to say the least.
Now, I often find the word frack has more bite to it than the word it has replaced.
Even in social settings I have been known to squeeze out an occasional frack at the lack of variety at the food crafts table. "Frack this", I might mutter, at the thought of waiting in an extremely long line at the grocery store. This sends some into knowing chuckles while others will raise an eyebrow, having no clue as to the meaning of what I've just said. Ah, Nerdom. Such hidden power.
Frack will never replace the original word, of course, but it has a lifelong fan in me, and is a testament to how even a television show has the power to change language. Well, at least in me, anyway.
Oh, and if you haven't already, check out Battlestar Galactica every Friday at 9pm Eastern on the SciFi Channel, for frack's sake!
ETA
Just to note, in the original series, the word is spelled, "Frack." In the re-imagined series, it's spelled "frak".
Showing posts with label fake english. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fake english. Show all posts
24 February 2009
Fake English?
Ayo!
Can you speak fake English?
That's the question a Youtuber called Crenquist asked his subscribers nearly two years ago, after giving them his own impressions of what French, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish sound like to his non-native speaking ears.
The video is not meant to offend, nor reinforce stereotypes about the speakers of those languages, but is actually being used as "edutainment" piece. Not only is it a fun activity, but you can learn something from it. It offers a real glimpse into what certain languages sound like to non-native speakers.
We've all heard that English speakers have this retroflex "r" thing going on, that German has a biting edge, and that the French language sounds like a rush of syllables, but nothing is as honest as seeing another person from another part of the world imitate your language.
Here is Crenquist giving us his impression of 7 fake languages, each based on Chinese, French, Italian, Russian, Spanish, German and Japanese.
.
You can click around Youtube to watch other videos of people imitating what English sounds like to them. All of those videos are insightful, not to mention hilarious, but I will leave you with a cute young girl from Quebec. She really hits the nail on the head with the sounds and idosyncrasies of English phonetics.
Once I get my camera up and rolling, I will upload myself speaking fake Italian and fake Arabic. I invite all of you out there to do the same!
Until next time, peace out!
Can you speak fake English?
That's the question a Youtuber called Crenquist asked his subscribers nearly two years ago, after giving them his own impressions of what French, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish sound like to his non-native speaking ears.
The video is not meant to offend, nor reinforce stereotypes about the speakers of those languages, but is actually being used as "edutainment" piece. Not only is it a fun activity, but you can learn something from it. It offers a real glimpse into what certain languages sound like to non-native speakers.
We've all heard that English speakers have this retroflex "r" thing going on, that German has a biting edge, and that the French language sounds like a rush of syllables, but nothing is as honest as seeing another person from another part of the world imitate your language.
Here is Crenquist giving us his impression of 7 fake languages, each based on Chinese, French, Italian, Russian, Spanish, German and Japanese.
.
You can click around Youtube to watch other videos of people imitating what English sounds like to them. All of those videos are insightful, not to mention hilarious, but I will leave you with a cute young girl from Quebec. She really hits the nail on the head with the sounds and idosyncrasies of English phonetics.
Once I get my camera up and rolling, I will upload myself speaking fake Italian and fake Arabic. I invite all of you out there to do the same!
Until next time, peace out!
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