Lost in Translation

I've always had a not-so-secret appreciation for comedy accents. It's one of the few things I've been able to take away from my linguistics degree, apart from an understanding of the logistics of how speech sounds are conjured up in our gubs. Comes in handy when several previous part-time jobs have involved working closely with Speakers of Other Languages; one particular year spent slogging my ass off in a local Thai noodle bar included helping the chef with his English skills. I'm proud to say that Kunlawat no longer says 'suh-ponge' and 'suh-nowman', a skill which will clearly have a huge impact on his everyday quality of life.

Obviously my current dalliance with The Scotsman has opened up a new world of opportunity.

This week, we were chatting on the phone and he mentioned his boss had shuffled his job role about a bit, and that he would now be in charge of "proper A cars."

DG: "Proper-A cars?? Ooooh what are those, they sound class!!"

Scotsman: "....what?"

DG: "You're in charge of the proper-A cars section, what's a proper-A car?"

A few moments of silence pass...

Scotsman: "PROPERTY and cars, dumdum." Then he proceeded to tut several times.

I'm not going to lie; I was mildly gutted that it was just a case of miscommunication and that there was no secret elite car advertising section. So to equalise the disappointment, I got him to say 'curlywurly', and happiness was immediately restored.

You can always rely on rhotics to brighten your day :)