"But its British!"

[ArenaBoy]

Hmm, someone should sell her Monty Python.

All things being equal, no one does that like the futbol announcers...even if I can't understand half of what they're saying, thanks to my half-arsed grasp of Spanish, I still get caught up in the enthusiasm...and I'm not much for soccer.

I. Cannot. Stand. Spanish-speaking soccer announcers. I can understand getting enthusiastic but holy crap quit repeating "goal" 700 times. Then again, I started watching the English league and I like the laid back commentary. They also seem to get excited at the right moments and I've heard some hilarious comments.

Look up Ray Hudson for hilarious quotes, best one being "I'm higher than a hippie at Woodstock!"

[Gurndigarn]

British English is pretty easy to pick up, but if you've never heard it before, and they have every other word as slang, I could see where it would be daunting.

I want to see a cockney movie with valley girl subtitles.

Honestly, I would probably only handle five minutes of it, but those would be five minutes to remember.

[TryNotToBeThatOne]

BBC America channel, right before the late night comedies, has the following announcement, or a variant: "For our American viewers, you would be able to understand the following if you had not ruined that tea. Since you did, you may want to activate the subtitles on your television" followed by instructions on how to do that. For one of the shows, even being quasi-bilingual in British I only understand about 2/3 of it. I was more than halfway through Calendar Girls before I found out what WI was.

But um, yeah, something like a Nature documentary is unlikely to have the same problem. It's really a comment on her own stupidity.

Although the lady nudging her daughter to translate the re-enactor speaking 17th century English was just as mind boggling to me.

[auntiem]

I believe Trainspotting was subtitled for America.

The scene where they are drunk in the dance club is subtitled - I think that was the only one.

I love the BBC America closed captioning blurbs some of them are hilarious.

[Hon'ya-chan]

I think I got the Japanese equivelent yesterday.

I had someone try to return a Naruto DVD box set. Of course it was opened, and I asked her if one of the discs were damaged, and her reply was "I can't understand all of that "ching-chang choom" type of deal."

One of the Asian cashiers overheard this and remarked: "Howabout being more racist and saying 'Because I can't understand moonspeak?'" and he left the register in disgust.

I refused the return solely on the fact that unless there is a clear defective reason, then we would gladly exchange for it or give her store crredit.

[XCashier]

BBC America channel, right before the late night comedies, has the following announcement, or a variant: "For our American viewers, you would be able to understand the following if you had not ruined that tea. Since you did, you may want to activate the subtitles on your television"

I love that dry British humour!

I've never had any problem understanding British programs. Granted, I've been a fan of them for twenty years, and most BBC actors use standard Received Pronunciation, clear diction and little or no slang. Now, someone with a thick Yorkshire accent using rhyming slang every other word...okay, I can understand American listeners having difficulty with that. (No offense to anyone from Yorkshire intended.)

Somehow, I don't think that was the case in the OP. Perhaps the customer was a lazy listener, or just didn't like the fact that someone spoke better than she did.

[Sliceanddice]

Ok.... i have to side with an SC right now and it makes me feel dirty.... really dirty...
In the US planet wasn't narrated by a brit, it was narrated by Sigourney Weaver....... so i would have been ticked off too if i bought the set thinking was getting Weaver then got a brit guy...

(ps i love brits, im an angleophile, i would go straight for hugh laurie and anthony stewert head...)

[LizaMarie]

I'd hate to be the one to say it but this is sometimes why people don't like americans, they come off looking like they think the sun shines out their ass. Don't get me wrong I have met and travelled with many great americans but there have been too many times when I have been in contact with them and had many WTF moments. This is a classic example.

Hey now. You get those people in every culture. It's called xenophobia. Or just plain, ol' fashioned dumb.

[Rapscallion]

Now, someone with a thick Yorkshire accent using rhyming slang every other word...okay, I can understand American listeners having difficulty with that. (No offense to anyone from Yorkshire intended.)

I'm from Yorkshire. We don't have rhyming slang here, but I had to admit that I've occasionally broadened the accent when over there. The faces I saw were hilarious.

They were best described as, "I know you said something in English, but which English?"

Rapscallion

[Alpha Strike]

Oh oh, someone pass me the Freedom Fries. ^^

U S A! U S A!

[And don't forget the Freedom Toast too!]

And oh how I laughed that one day at the movie theater when some woman told her companion in quite a serious manner, that she didn't want to see a British film because she didn't want to be bothered with reading subtitles.
Yep. I was going to offer to translate English to local, but I didn't. Ah, Louisville.

Without trying to justify this level of stupidity, I will say that I've had... difficulties understanding some English folks when they speak. I've been told that it's because their accents are from particular points in England. It's akin to trying to understand someone from the deep South - doable but it takes practice.

[Demolition Man]

I'm pretty sure the version released in the US is the same way, accentually (is that even a word?) since Canada and the US are both DVD Region 1, to my knowledge.

The only major change is on the first one its "Philosopher's Stone" instead of "Soccerer's Stone." Along with the name "soccerer" changed to "philospher." Otherwise its pretty much the same.

[Dreamstalker]

she wanted it "in American, not in British!"

If the returner had been a guy, I'd swear I know him...what is it with some people and their hatred of things British? I think they just can't figure out the accent...

I <3 the BBC captioning warnings too

[And don't forget the Freedom Toast too!]

Freedom Vanilla coffee, anyone? For a few months, there was a small diner in Los Alamos that had that on their menu board when that stupidity started. Sadly I was unable to get a pic before it was taken down.

I will say that I've had... difficulties understanding some English folks when they speak. I've been told that it's because their accents are from particular points in England.

I have a few problems understanding a Belfast/Northern Ireland accent, but am learning (I can grasp it fairly well in person but not at all over the phone).

[Lace Neil Singer]

^This. I simply can not understand a broad Irish accent over the phone; even face to face is a bit much for me.

And just to clarify; Trainspotting isn't English slang, that's Scottish slang. XD I have American friends who think the UK is all one country; it's not. It's composed of four different countries, all who hate each other equally.

[rvdammit]

^This. I simply can not understand a broad Irish accent over the phone; even face to face is a bit much for me.

And just to clarify; Trainspotting isn't English slang, that's Scottish slang. XD I have American friends who think the UK is all one country; it's not. It's composed of four different countries, all who hate each other equally.

At least it's not Glaswegian.

[TYFSOK]

Somewhat related:

My first job here in Japan was as a JET Programme Assistant Language Teacher. We ALTs came from all over the world, and were sent by the Ministry of Education and stuff to school boards all over Japan.

One of the nearby ALTs was a nice young lady from Ireland. She spoke with an Irish accent, of course, but I found it perfectly understandable to my midwestern American ears. (and, like many midwesterners I know, I believe an Irish accent to be sooooo very se-er, never mind)

After her first year, a couple new teachers transferred into her school. And, they insisted that she teach and speak with an "American" accent. (American midwest? South? Northeast? California?)

She explained quite politely that this was a bad idea, and why.

They stopped letting her teach classes. The school board took the teacher's side.

Parochialism exists all over the world, dammit.