julian_craster

TV laughter lost in translation
FERGUS SHEPPARD
MEDIA CORRESPONDENT

THE huge success of British comedy TV shows in the United States has created an unexpected spin-off - huge interest in an online dictionary set up by the BBC to explain the finer points of British slang.

Programmes such as the Catherine Tate Show, The Office and Little Britain have riveted American audiences who see them as in the same comedy tradition as Monty Python's Flying Circus.

But some phrases from the new wave of British humour have difficulty crossing the Atlantic. Bemused US viewers have trouble decoding Catherine Tate's "Am I bovvered" and the garbled stream of consciousness from Vicky Pollard in Little Britain. They are similarly uncertain of the Zen-like maxims of David Brent from The Office.

BBC America revealed last night that there were now more than 2,500 British slang terms on its website, as US viewers flock to comprehend the catchphrases they hear in UK exports.

Amy Mulcair, from BBC America, said: "We show a lot of the new, more modern, cutting-edge comedies, as well as old favourites like Monty Python and Are You Being Served. That's led a lot of people to look up terms on the site."

One show which is proving popular in the US is Footballers' Wives, the ITV saga of sex and sport based around a fictional English club. One TV critic with a US newspaper recently offered an explanation of how you could "amaze your friends" with an easy command of terms such as "slapper" and "git".

The online dictionary - to be found at www.bbcamerica.com - offers slang by nation and region, with many definitions submitted by users.

There are no fewer than 13 pages of Scottish slang terms, ranging from the obvious (wee, adj. very small) to the more archaic (Are ya' winchin'? Are you in a steady relationship?).

As with all dictionaries, the most well-thumbed sections doubtless relate to sex and insulting words. In the insults stakes, the Scots tongue is represented by the likes of "bampot", translated as "an insane person, a nutter; a fool", and "wee nyaf" (or "wee naif"), which is described as "an impudent child" or "a person of diminutive stature who has an obnoxious, over-confident nature".

Ms Mulcair said: "We show the best of British TV here, and the website is very much in the style of the channel - it is fun and irreverent."

This article: http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=482042006

Last updated: 29-Mar-06 02:32 BST

foha80

Thats only because nobody ever asks you.

lostintown

Winchin' is still used in Scotland.

This led to some confusion when I was a boy and someone from my street asked in a conspiratorial tone "Is your sister winching?"

I didn't know what he meant and replied, rather embarrassed "She's alright.....but she's my sister...."

Johnny Rico

I'm not sure that its just the language that sometimes prevents Americans from enjoying the nuances of comedies from the UK. There are a whole set of cultural references and "Givens" that UK viewers take for granted.

I was a little surprised that " Curse of the Were Rabbit" was such a huge hit in the US insofar as it trades an awful lot on a received version of " The North" filtered into the viewers minds by everything from George Formby, Coronation Street , 1001 Black and White films saying "It;s Grim Up North" , Hovis Adverts etc . I imagine that it works on a slightly different level for them but we get "an extra layer".

Then again a show like "Coupling" was americanised and flopped. There was a certain British "Rudeness" about the humour which did not survive the transition.

Just as a final note , how much improved would Star Trek - The Next Generation have been if Patrick Stewart had lapsed into his native Doncaster accent at key moments. " 'Appen , launch Photon Torpedoes Lad , Them Klingon's are three sheets t'wind!"

Couldn't You just try acting , Old Boy...It's so much easier