Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Oddly familiar

Here's another "favourite" script from my recording work, one that exemplifies a different variety of the Chinese ineptitude (or the ineptitude of China's educational publishing houses, at any rate) in dealing with English names.

In one well-worn scenario (I must have recorded this many dozens of times now, with only the smallest of variations), a cub reporter is approaching a small-town college professor for an interview. Something like this....


"Excuse me, Professor Brown. Could you spare me a few minutes of your time to answer some questions? My name's Helen Keller."

"Helen Keller? That name sounds familiar."
[I can't help thinking that this sounds like a sarcastic interpolation from myself or one of my fellow voice-workers, transcribed - unwittingly? - into later versions of the dialogue.]

"Yes. I write a column on the environment for the local paper."

"Ah, of course. Helen Keller! Nice to meet you."


[I am not making this up.]


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