I started thinking about this when viewing/listening to the episode: "The Medium" from the Studio One Anthology set. I've always heard about this early TV series over the years and was pleased to see a company finally released it (Koch Vision). Have only previewed the first two episodes but this is a must for those interested in the early beginnings of television drama. Check out this in-depth review.

The Medium is a condensed version of an opera by Gian Carlo Menotti and I find using the subtitle track a help when listening to some of the singers. However, the english track, for those of you who have English as their native language, all others substitute their languages as appropriate, has proven invaluable in many circumstances:

[li][i]Understanding dialog when surrounding music or sound effects are too loud in the sound mix.
Deciphering heavy accents or poorly recorded dialog.
Understanding lyrics in songs, whether in operas, musicals or other genres.[/i][/li]

Just curious, anyone else finding themselves using these tracks to hear and understand what the heck some people are saying and singing out there?

The [li] & [i] tags don't seem to work across carriage returns.  You'd need to apply them for each line individually.

And i use subtitles to follow the dialog when listening to commentaries.

I've done it before with movies made in England.  I knew they were speaking English, but not the kind that I could decipher.

Quoting xradman:

Quote:
I've done it before with movies made in England.  I knew they were speaking English, but not the kind that I could decipher.

Not so often for British but most Scottish films i need them turned on, and often they are subtitled in the theaters as well.

I use them a lot for garden variety films, especially for films I'm reviewing---I find knowing what the line is allows me to concentrate on the actor's delivery of it.

And boy, are they useful on the Popeye DVDs that Warner released!  I could never tell what the heck he was saying.

A lot of the time when I go to the movies, I wish that there were a subtitle track because I didn't catch the line. 

Quoting xradman:

Quote:
Quoting tweeter:

Quote:
Quoting xradman:

Quote:
I've done it before with movies made in England.  I knew they were speaking English, but not the kind that I could decipher.

Not so often for British but most Scottish films i need them turned on, and often they are subtitled in the theaters as well.

It could have been.  Is there a way for us Yanks to figure out difference between English, Scottish, Wales, and other English variants (accent wise)?

I still have trouble working out what is being said with certain British dialects, and I've lived here all my life!    There are dozens, and with high rates of immigration, the UK has become a melting pot of different accents and language... and that's on top of the pre-existing regional dialects.

Thanks gang!    Shout out to Tweeter - thanks to you as well. Must remember to apply bullets line by line.

I find the English are fine. Scots and Irish only when the accents are VERY thick or they mumble, etc.

I just did some travelling in Dublin, London and Italy last November - first time to Europe. It was great. Maybe I was lucky but I had no issues with communication in London or Dublin.

With all the talk about local dialects and such. I sometimes wonder why Brit actors seem to have a better go at American accents (there are many and regional as in England) they we do with British accents.