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Subtitles
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Learn English with this subtitles English lesson

Date: Aug 14 2013

Grammar: Past Progressive Tense

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

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2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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With affordable cameras to make movies and the internet to share them, the movie business has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few years. If there’s any barrier, it’s language. When we speak different languages, we have a hard time truly sharing our stories.

Subtitles give us a better chance at understanding a movie. Or do they? Some foreign film fans like subtitles so they can follow the script. But others don’t enjoy reading words and would prefer that a movie is dubbed. They both have their pros and cons. One makes you work harder, but the other sometimes looks and sounds funny.

Which would you rather see, a movie with subtitles or a movie that is dubbed? Find out what Marni and Devan think in this lesson about subtitles.

最近几年,由于人们使用价格实惠的相机拍摄影片并通过互联网共享,电影行业实现了突飞猛进的发展。如果说还有任何障碍,那就非语言莫属了。如果语言不同,我们就很难真正分享我们的故事。

字幕给了我们一个更好地了解电影的机会。难道不是?一些外国影迷喜欢借助字幕来跟上情节发展; 但有些人不喜欢阅读字幕,而是更乐意观看译制好的电影。这两种方式都有其优点和缺点。一种会让你看得有点辛苦,而另一种有时看上去或听起来会有些滑稽。

带有字幕的电影或者译制好的电影,你更喜欢看哪种?在本节以字幕为话题的英语课上,看看玛尼和德凡有何看法。

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Marni

Marni

Devan

Devan

Marni:  Devan, I was recently watching a film. And it was a foreign film and they had dubbed it. And I was looking all over for an option to have the subtitles on, and I couldn’t find it.

Devan:  Why would you want to watch it with subtitles? Who wants to read their movie? I like to watch my movies.

Marni:  Oh, I just think it’s sacrilege! I think a film should always be viewed in its original language as it was intended. And if you’re too lazy to read subtitles, then you’ve got a problem.

Devan:  I don’t see any problem with dubbing movies. They basically paraphrase what they were saying in the original, so you get the whole idea of what the film’s about. I’m fine with it.

Marni:  Really? To me, it’s all about the beauty of the language and hearing the language. And just being able to read it, I think, you get just as good of a sense of the film if not better, because you’re actually really intently engaging in it.

Devan:  But what about when you watch a movie on your laptop or on a really small screen? Is it hard for you to read the subtitles?

Marni:  Not usually, but I guess I have good eyesight. I guess I always make an effort to read the subtitles. I think it’s important.

 

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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Discussion

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Both Marni and Devan have strong opinions about subtitles vs. dubbed movies. Marni thinks that dubbing films is just plain wrong. When you dub a movie, you don’t get to listen to its original language, which is how the writers want you to hear it. Marni feels that people who dislike subtitles are lazy and she doesn’t have a lot of patience for them.

Devan has the opposite opinion from Marni and takes it very seriously. To Devan, watching a movie with subtitles is hard work and it’s just not worth it. She thinks that you can get the same meaning from a dubbed film that you can from one with subtitles, and she prefers to watch and not read during movies. Basically, Devan has an argument for each of Marni’s reasons to hate dubbing!

What would you rather see, a movie with subtitles or a movie that is dubbed? What are the pros and cons of each type of movie?

 

Comments

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quaresma007

Algeria

the dubd destroy the joy of watching a film .iam always watched the movies withe subtitles maybe it harder but it more enjoyable

02:53 AM Aug 14 2013 |

1 person likes this

Ngubo Sixtus

South Africa

i do like both subtitles and dub.

02:01 AM Aug 14 2013 |

1 person likes this

sherryleio

sherryleio

China

I’d rather to see a movie with subtitles and I dislike the movies that are dubbed. Yes, it is kinda funny to see that a foreigner to speaker Chinese in the movie. Just like Marni says, when we watch foreign movies, the beauty of the language is one important part of the movie, it is totally wrong if it is dubbed.  Especially the interpretation of different language is still not so desirable, it might miss something, plus when a movie is dubbed, the shapes of lips need to match, it is harder.

01:51 AM Aug 14 2013 |

CandiceAcclo

China

i’d like to watch a moive is subtitles. Because i can listen the original sound and understand the feeling more really. i just don’t like the dubbed film. it’s always werid for me to hear the dubbed.

01:51 AM Aug 14 2013 |

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