CNN subtitled a Cajun

[EMom]

I was watching CNN yesterday and they were giving extensive coverage to the oil spill and its impact on Louisiana. They were interviewing fishermen. First they interviewed a man originally from Vietnam, speaking English with a pretty pronounced Vietnamese accent. No subtitles, but I could understand him okay. Next, they interviewed an older Cajun man (probably around 70 y.o.) and they DID subtitle him. Every word out of his mouth, spoken in English with a Cajun accent, was in subtitles. BTW, I could understand what he was saying as well.

I kept wondering who made the decision to subtitle his interview, but not the Vietmanese man. If it was a CNN person based in Atlanta, surely they've heard Cajuns. Or did they think a Vietnamese accent would be understandable to most in the US but that a Cajun one was beyond the comprehension of the average American??? At any rate, I did have to chuckle at the thought of all those Cajuns watching CNN that day, wondering why the old man's words had subtitles .... I met a Cajun at a car dealership today and he thought it was hysterical.

 

[mrsbert]

Aw man. I wished I could have seen that. I grew up with two grandparents that spoke Cajun French and spoke English with a thick accent. Trying to decipher is half the fun.

 

[arminnie]

I remember
1 - when there were still department stores on Canal
2 - they all had signs in the window that said "ici on parle francais" (French spoken here)

 

[HamTown]

In "The Princess and the Frog" when Naveen and Tiana meet the firefly Ray in the bayou, Naveen (with an accent) tells Ray (the cajun) that he has a strange accent.

So it's not just CNN that has trouble with Cajun, Disney does too

 

[rie'smom]

There was a subtitled episode of wife swap when one of the wives was Cajun.
FWIW, sometimes I have to figure out what someone with either a strong Boston or a strong southern accent is saying.

 

[sunshine1178]

I thought that this thread was going to be about (Kentucky Derby winning jockey) Calvin Burrell. I lived in Louisiana for four years, and I still can't understand Calvin when he gets excited! (Bless his heart!)

 

[Robinrs]

Sometimes I wish they'd subtitle the HORRENDOUS English killers they usually push a microphone into the face of at every crime scene or story!!

Whoever edited that segment made that call, may not be consistent or right but their "decision".

 

[merryweather20]

I don't think that its all that unusual. Heck, they even subtitle Sterling Marlin on the sports chanel.

 

[starstruck93]

I'm originally from Alabama. We lived in Tampa for 3 years (2003-2006) before moving to D.C in 2006. I have a VERY thick southern accent. DH is from Michigan and he still has a hard time undertanding me and we've been married for 7 years! LOL! Oh... the people at the drive throughs, they NEVER understand anything I say!

 

[JCJRSmith]

Reminds me of this video from Iraq:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYKBPvjj68I

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

I've seen subtitled Cajun folk many times. The first one that comes to mind was that family on Wife Swap or Trading Spouses.

It's a good thing because I have no idea what they are saying, at least those with a thick enough accent.

 

[SydSim]

I think the Op point was that there were two people with very thick accents, but CNN only subtitled the Cajun one - and what was the criteria that determines which accent is more difficult to understand

 

[Jennasis]

My guess is the producer could understand the Vietnamese guy but not the Cajun. That's who makes the call on subtitles.

 

[Took]

Reminds me of this video from Iraq:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYKBPvjj68I

ONE OF MY FAVS! LOL I love this video!

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I'm happy every time TV shows subtitle Cajuns. It makes us seem more exotic and romanticizes South Louisiana, which is a positive and which makes us seem more sympathetic to viewers. And lord howdy, with this oil spill, we need everyone's support!

 

[JimmyPicker]

Yes, snarlingcoyote, southern Louisiana does need support right now. It's a very tragic thing that's happening and it's only going to get worse.

As far as subtitling Cajuns, there have been a couple episodes of Dirty Jobs that has done it too.

 

[Luv2Scrap]

I lived in South Louisiana for a few years from 1996 to 2001, and I love the Cajun accent! I was a blackjack dealer and then a server while I was down there, and it took me a long time to get used to the accent. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I watched the Princess and the Frog!

My son's dad was offshore when the oil rig explosion happened and I didn't know whether or not his crew was involved until he came in about 4 days later. I feel terribly bad for everyone that has been or will be affected by this tragedy.

 

[bumbershoot]

My son's dad was offshore when the oil rig explosion happened and I didn't know whether or not his crew was involved until he came in about 4 days later. I feel terribly bad for everyone that has been or will be affected by this tragedy.

Yikes! My friend's husband is on a different rig, and thankfully he was able to send word to his wife almost immediately. They actually have a house in Houston, so they aren't right there dealing with the physical aftermath (though I'm not sure if her husband came back or is still out there), but I'm sure there's some big emotional stuff right now.


I personally can figure out a Vietnamese accent more easily than a Cajun one...I would have appreciated the subtitles if I were watching.

 

[Luv2Scrap]

Yikes! My friend's husband is on a different rig, and thankfully he was able to send word to his wife almost immediately. They actually have a house in Houston, so they aren't right there dealing with the physical aftermath (though I'm not sure if her husband came back or is still out there), but I'm sure there's some big emotional stuff right now.


I personally can figure out a Vietnamese accent more easily than a Cajun one...I would have appreciated the subtitles if I were watching.

Yeah, I'm guessing he probably did send word to his family that he was ok, but I didn't feel like I should call his mom and ask her until I was sure she had heard about it from someone else. I didn't want to be the one to make her worry. I tried to reach him on his cell phone and email, but much of the time they don't have access to either when they're offshore.

About two days in, she called and spoke with my son and didn't mention it, so at that point, I figured everything must be okay.

 

[arminnie]

I shared a train car (2 seats facing each other) for about an hour outside of London many years ago.

It took me about halfway through the trip to figure out what language the guys (inches away from me) were speaking.

It was Cockney English. I really had no idea what they were saying. As I said it took me at least 30 minutes to figure out that the conversation was in english.