Dawn

Dawn

Monday, December 22, 2014

Dubbing; Consideration for others; Ooliganism; Skype; Un countrie; Death by tazer; Risk; A foto; and The 1942 Guide for Yanks

A confession - I can't stand the dubbing which is such a feature of Spanish TV and films. One of the worst aspects of this is the bizarre voices of kids and teenagers. This stems from a prohibition on children working in this (protected) industry. So, more money for the adults, of course. My thanks to the Spanish reader who opened my eyes on this.

I've been known to say that - though wonderful on a one-to-one basis - the Spanish can be rather inconsiderate of others. I've attributed this to a lack of antennae and a malfunctioning radar system. Anyway, there was a long article by a Spanish writer in El País today, in which the author possibly went a tad overboard in praising English/British impartiality and fair-mindedness, contrasting this with the egocentricity of his compatriots. The Spanish attitude, he says, is summed up by the common adversarial phrases "Because I say so" and "You're not going to tell me anything". Here's the article in Spanish. If it's published in English, I'll provide the link.

Failing that for now, here's something from the paper on football hooliganism in Spain - Galicia, to be exact. And here, more generally.

I see Skype is shortly to introduce simultaneous translation for those talking in different languages. If Google's written efforts are anything to go by, this is going to have some disastrous consequences. Quite a few divorces, for example.

A new anglicism, but this time from Argentina - un countrie. This is a gated/ walled estate in which security measures are extreme. Hopefully this won't come to Spain.

Talking of criminals . . . A new description of death from the British police - The man became unresponsive. Well, yes. After being tazered, he was dead.

When I drove through Pontevedra last night I saw more than 10 bicycles, not one of which had a rear light. Or a front one, for that matter. Not even a reflector. Normally, I'm at ease with Spain's more relaxed attitude to risk but this just seems to be asking for death.

Talking of the city . . . I have to revise my dismissive view that most of the items in our Sunday flea market come from the house of the latest peasant in the campo to die. Today, many of them clearly came from his shed.

Penultimately . . . Another foto giving the lie to the myth that it rains all the time here in Galicia.


Finally . . .

THE 1942 GUIDE TO AMERICAN FORCES ON THE BRITISH

Introduction

You are going to Great Britain as part of an Allied offensive – to meet Hitler and beat him on his own ground. For the time being you will be Britain's guest. The purpose of this guide is to get you acquainted with the British, their country and their ways.

America and Britain are allies. Hitler knows that they are both powerful countries, tough and resourceful. He knows that they, with the other United Nations, mean his crushing defeat in the end.

So it is only common sense to understand that the first and major duty Hitler has given his propaganda chiefs is to separate Britain and America and spread distrust between them. If he can do that, his chance of winning might return.

And:

No Time To Fight Old Wars

If you come from an Irish-American family, you may think of the English as persecutors of the Irish, or you may think of them as enemy Redcoats who fought against us in the American Revolution and the War of 1812. But there is no time today to fight old wars over again or bring up old grievances. We don't worry about which side our grandfathers fought on in the Civil War, because it doesn't mean anything now.

We can defeat Hitler's propaganda with a weapon of our own. Plain, common, horse sense; understanding of evident truths. 

The most evident truth of all is that in their major ways of life the British and American people are much alike. They speak the same language. They both believe in representative government, the freedom of worship, in freedom of speech. But each country has national characteristics which differ. It is by causing misunderstanding about these differences that Hitler hopes to make his propaganda effective.

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