Quoting Lee Van Cleef

In an interview, Lee Van Cleef was asked about the "intercultural communication conditions" in Italy, if everybody involved in making the film "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" was speaking English.



"No. Not then. Everybody speaks English now, for the most part. For your somewhat better films, your major actors do speak English now, mostly; unless they're in there doin' somebody a favor and won't speak anything but their own tongue, which I think they're making a mistake, there. And in some of your cheapies now, they won't. But in the old days - well, I say the old days, it was fourteen, fifteen years ago and ` before that - everybody would be speaking in their own tongue. Leone couldn't speak English to begin with. He speaks it very well now, but in the first picture he could hardly speak it at all, and we had an interpreter on both of the pictures I did for him. There was one scene in For a Few Dollars More that I was in where there were five languages spoken: Greek, Italian, German, Spanish, and a Cockney Englishman that I couldn't understand any better than I could understand the Greek! But I got along in it, because I knew what everybody was supposed to be saying in English by my script. So, when they'd stop speakin', then I would say something. Also, I began to pick up some of the Italian and Spanish which was prevalent over there."
Lee Van Cleef

"Did any of your fellow actors ever express or hint at any resentments towards you, as an American on a European set; as if to suggest you had taken the job away from a more deserving local" I asked.

"No, I never felt it. I think that the people in the know, they understand that as well as an art, it's an international business and a money game. Because it's international, you have people with different nationalities in damn near every film today. Even American ' producers will go over to Europe to get money to pre-sell a picture. As a consequence, to get this money, they may sometimes have to take actors and technicians from the countries they're negotiating with - or I'm sure : in a lot of cases, they want to take them, because there's a lot of fine people abroad. So, if you're going to make a film anywhere, and you're going to want money from Italy, money from Spain, from Mexico, from Canada, then they will own a film for their particular areas, or however you negotiate it - there's no two alike - and you've got people from all over the world in one fllm.
But we got along fine. No problem at all. You'd be surprised how many over there do speak English now, cause the actors have had to learn. It wasn't that way before. I'd usually pal around with somebody who commanded both English as well as the tongues of anybody there around me. The stunt man I had over there for quite some time spoke English very well, and both Spanish and Italian. My wife speaks a little bit of Spanish, too, and I speak enough Italian now to make myself understood."
Lee Van Cleef

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image of Lee Van Cleef (1925-1989) via

The English Language and the Subtle Differences in Transatlantic Understanding

YouGov showed common British phrases to 1.729 Britons and 1.952 US-Americans and asked the participants of the survey to interpret them. The results showed "plenty of common ground" but also "a difference in transatlantic understanding" with many US-Americans being "in danger of missing the serious passive aggression we Brits employ" (via and via).



Here are a few examples:

Statement: "With the greatest respect..."
Interpretation: "I think you are an idiot." (UK: 68%, US: 40%)
Interpretation: "I am listening to you." (UK: 24%, US: 49%)

Statement: "I'll bear it in mind."
Interpretation: "I've forgotten it already." (UK: 55%, US: 38%)
Interpretation: "I will probably do it." (UK: 32%, US: 43%)

Statement: "I hear what you say."
Interpretation: "I disagree and do not want to discuss it further." (UK: 48%, US: 32%)
Interpretation: "I accept your point of view." (UK: 45%, US: 58%)

Statement: "You must come for dinner."
Interpretation: "It's not an invitation, I'm just being polite." (UK: 57%, US: 45%)
Interpretation: "I will send you an invitation soon." (UK: 34%, US: 41%)

For more details see LINK and LINK.

"We have really everything in common with America nowadays except, of course, language."
Oscar Wilde

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photograph (London, 1975) via

Welcome to Salzburg

Inspired by the "Refugee Guide" for Germany and with good intention, the city of Salzburg has just published a "welcome guide" for "new Salzburg residents" to give answers to the many questions "repeatedly asked by many refugees".



You learn that in Austria, people are punctual, say "Grüß Gott" when they greet each other, shake hands, and that children have a right to an upbringing free of violence. Smiling does not necessarily mean flirting, spitting on the ground in public is not tolerated (I wished), religion is considered a private matter (one may still wonder why the registration office includes religious affiliation among the few questions it asks or why hospitals in Austria ask about name, address, telephone number ... and religion), Austrians use toilets instead of urinating in public and afterwards wash their hands.

"It is an offence to urinate in public. You will usually find a public toilet in the vicinity. Toilets usually provide toilet paper, but not bidets. Toilet paper is disposed of in the toilet, not in the rubbish bin next to the toilet. However, sanitary items for women, such as tampons or towels, are disposed of in the rubbish bin next to the toilet. Any residue in the toilet should be removed using the toilet brush. The toilets should be kept as clean and dry as possible. That´s why the toilets should be sat on when used. Where there are no urinals, this also applies to men. For reasons of hygiene, it is important to wash your hands after using the toilet."

Refugees also learn where to stand on escalators, to separate waste instead of throwing it on the ground, that tap water is delicious, not to "kiss or caress the nice children of your neighbours" or "offer them sweets", that haggling over prices in supermarkets is not acceptable, and that staring at people who wear short trousers or mini skirts in summer is impolite. And then there is some information that manages to be useful without being offensive (e.g. from to which age education is compulsory, important telephone numbers, etc.). The photograph on the cover of the booklet shows a couple of people with their thumbs up - a popular gesture in Austria (particularly among Austrian politicians) and probably not the most adequate choice in a transcultural setting where it is no secret that it is considered to be one of the gestures to avoid (e.g. via, via)



"About this guide
This guide is aimed at visitors, refugees and future citizens of Austria. It should make it easier for you to settle in and understand the country’s rules and customs. The purpose of this guide is to offer useful information.
We are aware that some of the information may be considered presumptuous or derogatory. This was continuously critically queried and reflected during the preparation of the document. In order to counter this uncertainty, the guide was drawn up in close collaboration with people from the most varied of countries (with people from Syria, Afghanistan, Sudan, Egypt, Palestine and other countries; as well as with people who have recently immigrated to Austria).
Some of the content was taken from the "Refugee Guide". This has been judged by the ProAsyl Germany (based on the English version) to be faultless, and many immigrants have mentioned that they would have liked such an information brochure.
The guide has been adapted by representatives of the central/integration office of the city of Salzburg. Thank you to www.refugeeguide.de for providing the foundations for the guide."



And now for something slightly different: The University of Salzburg published a "welcome guide" for international students in 2008. The first part of the booklet is about the university system, tuition, courses, scholarships, etc. The second part is about living in Salzburg. Instead of telling international students not to urinate in public and to use cutlery when eating in restaurants, it starts with the location of Salzburg, the city "Where Mozart Was At Home", the climate (and famous Salzburg rain), the city's history and famous people, and the fabulous sweets. It continues with entry regulations for EU/EEA countries and Non-EU/EEA countries, residence requirements, health insurance, accommodation, everyday life (working, shopping, getting around), communication, attractions, sports, art, and culture. This guide may have been an inspirational choice.

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- Refugeeguide.de (n.d.) A Guide for Orientation and Communication in Germany. pdf
- Stadt Salzburg (2015). Welcome Guide. Tips & Information for New Salzburg Residents. pdf
- Universität Salzburg (2008). Welcome Guide. Studium in Salzburg. pdf
- images "Hopscotch" (1980) with Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson, shot in the U.S., UK, Germany, and Salzburg via

Brett Sinclair, Danny Wilde and Accent Prestige Theory

Studies on intercultural encounters lead to the widely accepted findings that individuals who speak with a standard accent (of the dominant group in society) will be rated higher in intelligence, education, social class, success, friendliness, trustworthiness, kindness (Anderson et al., 2007), ... and lower in guilt. Ratings of a recorded exchange between a British criminal suspect and a policeman showed that the suspect was rated as significantly more guilty when he employed a Birmingham rather than a standard accent (Dixon et al., 2002).

Prejudices based on accent can advantage and disadvantage people in job markets. In the US, for instance, Spanish-accented applicants are more likely to be considered for semi-skilled jobs and American-English-accented applicants for supervisory jobs. However, there are differences in the perception of "foreign" accents as British English, the French accent and some Asian varieties do not always seem to be perceived negatively (Nguyen, 2010). According to a study carried out in the US, individuals with a British accent are even rated as having a higher status than those speaking American English (Weyant, 2007).

 

British accent meets US-American accent: "The Persuaders" starring Tony Curtis as Danny Wilde and Roger Moore as Brett Rupert George Robert Mark Anthony Andrew Sinclair, 15th Earl of Marnock. Brilliant.

 

- Anderson, S., Downs, S. D., Faucette, K., Griffin, J., King, T. & Woolstenhulme, S. (2007) How Accents Affect Perception of Intelligence, Physical Attractiveness, and Trustworthiness of Middle-Eastern-, Latin-American-, British-, and Standard-American-English-Accented Speakers. BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology, 3, 5-11
- Dixon, J. A., Mohoney, B. & Cocks, R. (2002) Accents of Guilt. Effects of Regional Accent, Race, and Crime Type on Attributions of Guilt. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 21(2), 162-168
- Nguyen, L. T. (2010) Employment Decisions as a Function of an Applicant's Accent. San Jose State University: Master's Theses. Paper 3882
- Weyant, J. M. (2007) Perspective Taking as a Means of Reducing Negative Stereotyping of Individuals Who Speak English as a Second Language. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 34(4), 703-716
- images via and via