That's not a "but," it's a but, pronounced "BOOT-uh" with the OO like the .ue in "flue" only Frenchier. Say it with your lips stuck out as far as you can and you've said "Goal!" just like a French sports commentator.
I watched most of the opening match of the World Cup today, Germany vs. Costa Rica, on TV5. A proper football fan would have watched the whole thing, but I'm not and I had to do this work thing that one does.
The only sport I really follow is sumo, but I love watching the World Cup with French commentary. Sports announcer talk in languages other than English is fascinating because of how closely it parallels sports announcer talk in English, except where it doesn't. Much of what the commentators say you could translate literally and it would sound just like American sports announcer talk, but some aspects of what the French, Japanese, or whatever sports announcers say are so wildly different that it's nearly impossible to translate. So I put on my linguist hat and enjoy it.
The French commentary is so very, very French. Especially after (if) France gets eliminated, the announcers get really bitchy and you have this regular soccer commentary mixed with snotty remarks about the players' hairstyles or the players' looks in general. Although, if a player is particularly good looking, you get something like this snippet:
Announcer A: My, but that [Korean team captain] is quite handsome.
Announcer B: Yes, he really is (very good hair). And did you know that his wife? She is Miss Korea.
Announcer A: Miss Korea! Honh honh honh!
I'm not making this up. Imagine it with French accents. And the "Honh honh honh" seems to be French for "hubba hubba" or whatever is the current slang. I never imagined that French people actually said that. I thought it was a Mel Brooks joke. In the French revolution section of History of the World: Part I, the peasants say, "We are so poor we don't even have a language. All we have is this stupid accent. We all sound like Maurice Chevalier! Honh honh honh!"
Not that it has anything to do with soccer, but IMDB has other quotes from that movie. This one seems worth copying what with the estate tax vote bubbling up again:
Leader of Senate: All fellow members of the Roman senate hear me. Shall we continue to build palace after palace for the rich? Or shall we aspire to a more noble purpose and build decent housing for the poor? How does the senate vote?
Entire Senate: FUCK THE POOR!
Okay. So anyway, tomorrow is Argentina vs. Ivory Coast. As I recall, the Argentines have excellent hair. Even if you know nothing about soccer, really great soccer is fun to watch. The sheer athleticism is awesome and the crowd footage? Also cool. When it comes to wild fan costuming, American fans really don't stand out amid the line-dancing Senegalese ladies in full regalia, the Germans dressed like wizards, and so on. The opening pageantry for each game, where little children from local soccer teams escort the players out to the field, is cute too.
Even if you're not interested in soccer, get thee to a television and check it out.
551 words | June 9, 2006 09:45 PM | Lost in translation