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I can guess why the Dutch are better english speakers than we here in Germany. In the Netherlands movies and tv-shows are not dubbed - only subtitled. In German

by leon_ 16y ago

I can guess why the Dutch are better english speakers than we here in Germany. In the Netherlands movies and tv-shows are not dubbed - only subtitled. In Germany everything is dubbed. Since I decided to watch movies and shows in english my (actively spoken) english improved (reading and understanding was never a problem). It's not perfect but it's far better than the english I was speaking after I left school. Blame the TV :)

antirez 16y ago
Yep, same reason strongly applies to Italy too. (also Italian dubbers are among the best in the world, Italian versions of popular US shows won prizes for the best dubbed edition, so from time to time I even happen to see original versions thinking I enjoyed more the Italian one). I tried to put my son in front of a TV with just English things, but it is hard for a 10 years old to accept to understand just one word from time to time in a moment that should be about relax (cartoons time).
- hessenwolf 16y ago
  No kidding: As a result of the quality of Italian dubbers, Italians do not see anything unusual in Keanu Reeves acting skills. I brought this up in conversation multiple times a few weeks ago in Italy near Bologna. They think he can act.
- fkcek 16y ago
  Another problem of Italy is how English is taught. In 12 years I never had to speak a single word of English or write something longer than 80 words. Most of my peers (21 y/o) can't understand the dialogues in non-dubbed videogames. Your son will learn more English from tv than from school
- wazoox 16y ago
  > Italian dubbers are among the best in the world It's well known that during the Italian cinema golden age in the 60s and 70s, the general habit was to entirely dub sound in post-production, for some reason. So all movies were dubbed, Italian and foreign alike :)
dspillett 16y ago
A bit of an off-topic tangent: is it true that Arnold Schwarzenegger once asked if he could dub his own part in a film for the German release, as he wasn't happy with the dubbing done for a previous picture, but was rejected due to his accent? The story goes that his accent is from a part of Austria that is seen as rural so to many, particularly in urban parts of Germany, he'd "sound like a farmer" which wouldn't be right for the part - implying that his accent suffers from a stereotype like that associated with strong west country accents in England. I heard that "fact" some time ago, and I dearly want it to be true!

by leon_ 16y ago

antirez 16y ago

Yep, same reason strongly applies to Italy too. (also Italian dubbers are among the best in the world, Italian versions of popular US shows won prizes for the best dubbed edition, so from time to time I even happen to see original versions thinking I enjoyed more the Italian one). I tried to put my son in front of a TV with just English things, but it is hard for a 10 years old to accept to understand just one word from time to time in a moment that should be about relax (cartoons time).

hessenwolf 16y ago
No kidding: As a result of the quality of Italian dubbers, Italians do not see anything unusual in Keanu Reeves acting skills. I brought this up in conversation multiple times a few weeks ago in Italy near Bologna. They think he can act.
fkcek 16y ago
Another problem of Italy is how English is taught. In 12 years I never had to speak a single word of English or write something longer than 80 words. Most of my peers (21 y/o) can't understand the dialogues in non-dubbed videogames. Your son will learn more English from tv than from school
wazoox 16y ago
> Italian dubbers are among the best in the world It's well known that during the Italian cinema golden age in the 60s and 70s, the general habit was to entirely dub sound in post-production, for some reason. So all movies were dubbed, Italian and foreign alike :)

dspillett 16y ago

A bit of an off-topic tangent: is it true that Arnold Schwarzenegger once asked if he could dub his own part in a film for the German release, as he wasn't happy with the dubbing done for a previous picture, but was rejected due to his accent? The story goes that his accent is from a part of Austria that is seen as rural so to many, particularly in urban parts of Germany, he'd "sound like a farmer" which wouldn't be right for the part - implying that his accent suffers from a stereotype like that associated with strong west country accents in England. I heard that "fact" some time ago, and I dearly want it to be true!