Business Quote by Larry Trask
“Not long time ago there was a striking example of the extent to which English has diverged: a television company put out a programme filmed in the English city of Newcastle, where the local variety of English is famously divergent and difficult, and the televised version was accompanied by English subtitles!”
About This Quote
Language variation can be so extreme that even native speakers need subtitles to understand regional dialects.
In simple terms: Regional accents can be unintelligible without translation.
Key Takeaway
Recognize and respect dialect differences.
Themes
linguistics
regional variation
communication
Mood
analytical
critical
Type
linguistic
cultural
When to use this quote
- television production
- subtitle creation
- language education
- cross‑cultural communication
Key Concepts
dialectology
language diversity
media adaptation
Questions to Reflect On
- How do subtitles affect perception of regional speech?
- What can be done to preserve authenticity while ensuring comprehension?
A Different Perspective
Subtitles may oversimplify or misrepresent the original speech.
![“[S]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once, for example, when I was just starting out in the food business, I was hired by the caper people to develop a lot of recipes using capers, and it was weeks of…” quote by Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d79/nora-ephron-1217_business_s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-th_980.jpg)
![“If the State does not acquire supremacy over [vast private] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State.” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bad/bertrand-russell-69_acquire_if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy_1379.jpg)