Dubious dubbing

I'm not a fan of dubbing English TV shows, series and films. Not only because Will Smith sounds weird in Italian - or Brad Pitt in German, and the list goes on - but because exposure to the original language is all-important in language learning. Yet some countries seem to be bent on killing daily exposure to English - and it shows.

Subtitling still offers learners a choice, which is why I love the various subtitling options of most Netflix series. Learners can use a translation, read along using English subtitles, or listen to the original. Either way, the spoken input is always there. Dubbing, however, takes it all away. 

Here's a true story to illustrate the importance of spoken resources in English language learning - and what happens if they're absent. 

Years ago, I had to organise a sightseeing tour in Amsterdam for visiting Chinese exchange students and their teachers. The notorious Red Light District was off-limits, of course. Luckily, Amsterdam has so much more to offer, and I've always enjoyed being a tour guide.

The tour turned out a success, but not without me having to feign a severe hearing impediment. What happened? It was near-impossible to understand anything the accompanying teachers said - all English teachers, mind you. Pretending to be half deaf was all I could do so they'd save face. 

At the time, the Chinese had little or no access to English-spoken resources. As a result, even the teachers didn't have a clue how to pronounce English words. A couple of years later, another group of Chinese exchange students clearly showed how much had changed since the first visit.

Having ample access to English-spoken resources is essential in learning English as a foreign language. If anything, the widespread practice of dubbing the original English is doing language learners a grave disservice.

Take a dictionary and look up the word dub and its many meanings. The etymology connecting it to dubbing is off, I admit, but you'll discover that dub is also American slang for someone who is inexperienced or unskilful - at fluency, most likely! I rest my case.

Like, comment and share if you enjoyed reading this GrammarBob post.

GrammarBob's continuing mission: to boldly go where no grammar has gone before and make essential English grammar easy for all.

Have you seen the Friday scOwl on Instagram? @GrammarBob