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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Software & Reviews

Which parts of the dialog indicate that this is not American English ?

Hi,

I've been watching Family Guy cartoon recently (episode "Former lif of Brian") and there is funny dialog which goes like this:

Stewie: Brian, this is painful. It's like listening to those two foreign guys down at the coffee shop who've been living in the US almost long enough to sound American.
(scene cuts to coffee shop)
Guy #1: Oh man, what a good bunch of partying at that disco-tech. They played one of my audience requests.
Guy #2: Way awesome! I myself drank like five liters of beer. Any more and I would have ended up in hospital man.
Guy #1: Oh you said it friend, but I wanted to stay, because I almost had sex on this girl.
Guy #2: Oh yeah, but it was so expensive. Each drink was like six dollars forty!

Now, it is far beyond my skill to resolve which parts of the dialog / expressions indicate that these guys are not American. I would appreciate if anyone could also explain what words/expressions would a US native use instead.

Thanks !

mg
  

Top answer

The dialogue is in fact composed primarily of Americanisms. No doubt the humour is in the accent and awkwardness with which the characters speak them.

  • The dialogue is in fact composed primarily of Americanisms.
  • No doubt the humour is in the accent and awkwardness with which the characters speak them.
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7 Answers
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The dialogue is in fact composed primarily of Americanisms. No doubt the humour is in the accent and awkwardness with which the characters speak them.
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Every sentence in that dialogue is rife with strange phrasing and wording. There are exchanges between these 2 guys in at least 2 other episodes too, they crack me up!

"good bunch of partying" - No one says this!

"audience requests" - The 'audience' is unnecessary and awkward.

"Way awesome" - No one says this!

"I myself" The 'myself' is unnecessary and awkward.
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I also forgot to mention: "disco-tech". An american would call it a club Emotion: smile
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I don't think you get out much, Anon. Discotheques (note spelling) or discos and clubs are different, though we might consider a disco one kind of club. As an American partier, I have been to both many times.

Your earlier post also shows considerable parochiality. Many younger people say 'Way awesome', while older folks like me address friends as 'friend', for inst
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Hi, my perspective comes from northeastern America. I have no formal education in English, but my mother did her best to teach me right.

1. "what a good bunch of partying..." - This might be normally said as "what a great party...".

2. "They played one of my audience requests" - In this case, 'audience' is redundant. That is impl
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This is in fact not American English, despite what the above poster said. Here is a list of the reasons:

1) We do not use the word disco-tech. We use the word "club" to refer to a bar where dancing and drinking are the main forms of entertainment (as opposed to a "bar", where there is no dancing or the dancing is not as prominent).

2) We do not say "a good bunch", and we do not
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I'll translate the excerpt you posted into "native sounding" American English.

Guy #1: Oh man, that club last night was crazy. I even got the DJ to play [insert song name].
Guy #2: Yeah, it was awesome. I was totally wasted, though. A couple more beers and I'm pretty sure I would've ended up in the hospital.
Guy #1: Haha, yeah, definitely. I actually w

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