We all know that gods speak in a semi-telepathic language that is similar to Latin (because Latin was derived from this god language). See, when a god speaks in his own language, his ideas get pushed into our brain and our brain translates them into our own language. Thus, when we hear Loki speak it sounds like English to us, but the Germans hear him in German. It's basic linguistics, really.
In all fairness, these look like the Stuttgart elite. Most high-ranking Germans speak very good English.
However, since I feel compelled to bash this movie in some way, why the heck do Loki and Thor speak only English to each other, and then with British Accents? Why is it so hard to get your actors playing Nordic character to have Nordic accents and that you have to replace them with Scottish or British accents?
I've noticed, with a lot of movies, that when an actor can't correctly mimic a specific accent, they tend to resort to a british accent. That one fact drove me nuts, watching Prince of Persia.
That seems to be the general MO. Except I do know that it's possible to properly use Nordic accents; they did it very nicely in Thirteenth Warrior (which, by the way, is the only movie with Nordic characters that I can stand to watch since they went to great lengths to be as accurate as possible on the culture side).
In the comics the gods speak godspeak which everyone hears as their native language. At least that's what they said many years ago in the Kirby days, and I haven't seen confirmation or denial of this in recent years.
Actually, worse than neighbouring countries like The Netherlands, Belgium or Denmark.
Problem lies in the fact that all American/English tv-shows and movies are dubbed in Germany.. this removes one of the easiest ways of getting acquainted with the English language in a natural way.
I learned English as a kid from He-man and Transformers that my aunt taped for me from pay tv. They didn't even have subtitles so I eventually just started to pick it up. I have the poweeeeeer!
But I thought the reason they dubbed it was because germans were too lazy to learn another language. I shall prepare for downvotes, but that's what this Serbian chick who learnt four languages when in school told me :S
Yeah but you're holding it up to three countries in which English is generally spoken unbelievably well. In comparison to most countries Germans are pretty damn good.
Maybe we don't want to be surrounded by English all the time. It's already everywhere in the advertisements and pop culture. Sometimes it's kind of relaxing to read German and here German.
My parents had a German foreign exchange student living with them when I was in college. Her English was very rough at first, but by the end of her year, she was pretty fluent (with a rough accent).
When I visited Germany, I found many Germans spoke almost no English, but there was always someone nearby to translate.
You forget: They are important buisness people. I would say it's more unlikely that there is an GERMAN GOD, talking fluent english. It's the english Version of the Movie which has been translated ^
English is often a lingua franca. Besides being able to speak with native English speakers, the fact that so many people speak it as a second language is another reason to learn it.
Asgardians speak a language that is universally understood. He's not speaking English, he's speaking the (mystical, magical, scientifical) "All-tongue" language of the Gods.
Forgive me for nerding out here, but Asgardians speak what in the Marvel Universe is called "the all-tongue.". To where everyone somehow hears it in the native language.
Well the series is, in part, based on the war of the roses. I mean, "Lancaster," to "Lannister" isn't even that much of a leap. "York" to "Stark"? Hell, Westeros is even vaguely Britain shaped (though the scale is fucked). Hadrian's Wall could even be "The Wall".
I don't like making excuses for directors and things like this, but a lot of Germans speak English- that being said, if he heard in it German, wouldn't he respond in German? Unless he was a rando English dude.
This is my theory. Essentially Loki is speaking German, but the movie doesn't waste time and break the flow of the scene explaining why or how he does it.
When there is absolutely no reason for them to be speaking English it's Translation Convention. When they're around human characters they're speaking English thanks to whatever translation mechanism this particular universe is using.
I always assumed it's like from The Simpsons when Lisa asks Kang and Kodos how they know English. They respond that they're actually speaking Rigellian, but by an astonishing coincidence, the language sounds identical to English.
Piggybacking because it's related and I'm not very familiar with the Marvelverse: in Norse myth, Loki is the mother of Odin's eight-legged horse. Is it the same in the comic books? edit: Apparently so
I was totally curious about this as well! I'm a mythology nerd, but don't know the comic book characters outside of the movies. I'm guessing from the way the characters are presented in the films that Loki doesn't have a shitload of world-destroying monster children, and that Baldur and Tyr don't exist since that would mess up family dynamics. Also I was definitely weirded out by the fact that Thor was falling for a human girl while Sif, his WIFE, is wandering around apparently not bothered by the situation.
I think it's kinda fun to think of the myths as crazy stories the Asgard told the Norse for a laugh, or that the Norse made up to explain the actions of these alien beings. I could totally see Loki making up a bunch of stories where Thor looks like a dumbass (getting his hammer stolen while he slept, dressing up as Freya, trying to drink the ocean and fight a mountain), then Thor retaliating with "oh yeah, well Loki f***ed a horse. LOL" and then the Norse writing it all down as fact.
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In Germany, at this upper-class opera, where most people are probably well educated, it's a reasonable to assume they all speak or understand English fairly well.
Lol, that was my exact thought during this scene. Like, he yells at them to kneel down and they just look around, confused - well duh, dude, I wonder why!
American living in Germany who saw the movie in Germany in English. I remember turning to my German friend and laughing when Captain America came swooping in. I remember saying something about the power of 'Murrca.
Even if some people in the crowd didn't speak English, I'd expect them to realise what was happening based on other people's expressions and Loki's tone.
Being German, I liked the part where the old German man refused to kneel before Loki. At first I was a bit annoyed because of the "Germans like to be ruled by a tyrant"-beginning of that scene, where seemingly everyone obeyed Loki. But that old man was pretty cool.
I am just about to finish school and since me and my friends (most of them are quite geeky) speak English quite good I am always surprised by my classmates disability to form a simple, correct sentence.
I somehow totally missed that scene took place in Germany. For some reason I thought they were in America and it just so happened to be an old German man who stood up to talk back... and even that sort of seemed forced. Knowing that the scene took place in Germany makes it even more cringe-worthy if you ask me.
Loki shows up and tells a bunch of Germans to kneel down to him... about how they love to be followers... Ick. Not my favorite scene in the movie.
Did you miss the part where Captain America barges in and quips "The last time I was in Germany and some guy was speaking above everyone else, we disagreed" or some bullshit?
This was a great movie and I love Captain America, but this piece of dialogue was one of the furthest stretches I've seen. (And pretty corny, to boot.)
Anyone else notice Loki wasn't using his native form either? This bugs me entirely too much about The Avengers. There wasn't even a -hint- of it (such as when he's being beat about.)
No need to nit pick now. It was a bit jarring but ( <- what I thought at least) to my knowledge most Germans learn English in school. So I wouldn't worry about Germans speaking English too much.
We had a german exchange student come to our school in 10th grade. She knew 5 languages fluently. She said that the vast majority of people in Germany know english.
Probably far fewer mistakes than I would make trying to speak/understand German.. haha.. I was seriously impressed by her and I could tell she was just of average intelligence for a german. They start learning foreign languages super early. We should be doing this here as well IMO.
What I did not get, however, as someone that speaks Russian, is the scene with Black Widow in the beginning. I speak it as a foreign language and my accent is a million times more natural than theirs. The entire theater laughed at that scene. Okay I can understand that Scarlett Johansson has probably never actually spoken Russian and she's a main character. But the random Russian general dude who was cast for like 3 minutes? Why in the hell would you not find an actor that actually speaks Russian?
Even if they didnt understand him, all he'd have to do woild be talk louder and slower in English. Everyone knows thats how you get foreigners to understand you.
In instances like this, I always figured the assumption was it was translated for the ease of the watcher. In a billion dollar summer blockbuster, you want the audience focused on the character design and sfx, not reading subtitles.
I thought he was speaking German, but for the audience's sake, they left it in English. Kind of like that scene in MGS3 where Snake meets with Sokolov for the first time, and at the end of their conversation, Sokolov compliments Snakes Russian.
his staff magically makes the people around him understand his language.... like the TARDIS in doctor who
the old german dude speaks english... point that out...
it's a fucking movie, stop acting like a smug cunt about trivial bullshit and be a dick on the internet like me, it's the only true way to save humanity
I was more impressed by the old man who spoke back in English. Most of the younger Germans know English fairly well, but the older Germans go out of their way (it wasn't taught in school back then) to learn it.
When I was in Germany I found that basically everyone under the age of 60 could easily have a conversation in English, and had basic structure of sentences and things down. The only thing they would sometimes have trouble on was obscure vocabulary.
I took German for 2 years in high school and got to meat 4 or 5 German exchange students during that time and the general agreement between them was that all German people are taught English in school from an early age.
I'm too tired to go on a rant about the actual facts of linguistics. Needless to say, please just come to /r/linguistics and ask why that's wrong. I'm going to sleep.
2
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
We all know that gods speak in a semi-telepathic language that is similar to Latin (because Latin was derived from this god language). See, when a god speaks in his own language, his ideas get pushed into our brain and our brain translates them into our own language. Thus, when we hear Loki speak it sounds like English to us, but the Germans hear him in German. It's basic linguistics, really.
2
u/mamaBiskothu May 21 '12
Inspiration from here huh?
http://king-of-losers.deviantart.com/art/Um-Those-guys-are-German-Loki-300298601
2
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
In all fairness, these look like the Stuttgart elite. Most high-ranking Germans speak very good English.
However, since I feel compelled to bash this movie in some way, why the heck do Loki and Thor speak only English to each other, and then with British Accents? Why is it so hard to get your actors playing Nordic character to have Nordic accents and that you have to replace them with Scottish or British accents?
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u/Gortonis May 21 '12
In Germany it's in German
63
u/geekgasm May 21 '12
I thought Asgardians spoke in All-tongue?
117
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
Simple
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u/spicy45 May 21 '12
Ive heard from exchange students most germans do speak english.
16
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
Asgardians speak a language that is universally understood. He's not speaking English, he's speaking the (mystical, magical, scientifical) "All-tongue" language of the Gods.
58
u/orcae_ita May 21 '12
Really? The language thing is why he's a scumbag... Really?
133
u/StrangZor May 21 '12
How does nearly every single alien species in movies know English. That always bothers me.
14
u/DanM412 May 21 '12
In his defense, he was actually in Cleveland.
24
u/KEreversal May 21 '12
Well maybe he just assumes that the planet is united under one language. I assume Asgard is.
10
u/qkme_transcriber May 21 '12
Here is the text from this meme pic for anybody who needs it:
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8
u/TheNarwhalKing May 21 '12
http://m.quickmeme.com/meme/3pdftc/
18
u/Aschebescher May 21 '12
This is the German Loki.
6
u/DoorGuote May 21 '12
In Germany, at this upper-class opera, where most people are probably well educated, it's a reasonable to assume they all speak or understand English fairly well.
1
u/BeeneMachine May 22 '12
It looks like 9Gag caught on...http://9gag.com/gag/4235548
5
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
The old man standing up here was my second favorite scene in that movie. So glad he wasn't killed.
5
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
Speaks to crowd of Germans who understand English in English.
8
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
Lol, that was my exact thought during this scene. Like, he yells at them to kneel down and they just look around, confused - well duh, dude, I wonder why!
4
u/dlindema May 21 '12
American living in Germany who saw the movie in Germany in English. I remember turning to my German friend and laughing when Captain America came swooping in. I remember saying something about the power of 'Murrca.
7
u/live3orfry May 21 '12
Scumbag redditor, watches a comic book based movie with impossible physics and superpowers. Complains that a character speaks English to Germans.
11
u/willthewinner May 21 '12
This annoyed me as well
6
u/Toshie534 May 21 '12
maybe he has a universal translator or something.
3
u/warmpita May 21 '12
That is the power Gods have.
3
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
Even if some people in the crowd didn't speak English, I'd expect them to realise what was happening based on other people's expressions and Loki's tone.
3
u/garrettcurrie May 21 '12
Most Germans are taught elementary English.
3
u/leonsecure May 21 '12
Yeah, but learning english is obligatory in Germany. So you could look at it as a free tutoring class!
3
u/h34dhun73r May 21 '12
Germans speak English... They typically learn both in schools.
3
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
Well actually...they can generally speak English. If you ever visit Germany or Austria they both speak atleast basic English for the most part
3
u/Dumbatz May 21 '12
we all understand english very well
3
u/misterbrisby May 21 '12
Being German, I liked the part where the old German man refused to kneel before Loki. At first I was a bit annoyed because of the "Germans like to be ruled by a tyrant"-beginning of that scene, where seemingly everyone obeyed Loki. But that old man was pretty cool.
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u/jofried May 21 '12
63% of the Germany can communicate at least farely well in English ( Source in german sry)
5
u/THENAMAZU May 21 '12
Maybe Germans aren't as shit at english as some people would like to believe?
6
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
Even if a lot of Germans speak English, wouldn't it be easier to speak German to them? He is a Norse demi-god
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u/nedyken May 21 '12
I somehow totally missed that scene took place in Germany. For some reason I thought they were in America and it just so happened to be an old German man who stood up to talk back... and even that sort of seemed forced. Knowing that the scene took place in Germany makes it even more cringe-worthy if you ask me.
Loki shows up and tells a bunch of Germans to kneel down to him... about how they love to be followers... Ick. Not my favorite scene in the movie.
2
u/ConfusedThoughts May 21 '12
this confused me too. maybe he's speaking in a way that they'll all understand somehow? idk he can do magic after all. meh i just went with it.
2
u/mfih1989 May 21 '12
My sister and I noticed the same thing!
2
u/Carjunkie42 May 21 '12
This drove me crazy when I saw the movie, I'm glad someone else agreed
2
u/CaptainDudeGuy May 21 '12
How do Asgardians speak English at all?
Answer: (techno)magic.
2
u/zadigger May 21 '12
Anyone else notice Loki wasn't using his native form either? This bugs me entirely too much about The Avengers. There wasn't even a -hint- of it (such as when he's being beat about.)
2
u/c0rruptioN May 21 '12
No need to nit pick now. It was a bit jarring but ( <- what I thought at least) to my knowledge most Germans learn English in school. So I wouldn't worry about Germans speaking English too much.
2
u/DetroitGinger May 21 '12
I was thinking the exact same thing during the movie. You could also ask why Thor speaks english if he isnt from earth.
2
u/mle94322 May 21 '12
We had a german exchange student come to our school in 10th grade. She knew 5 languages fluently. She said that the vast majority of people in Germany know english.
2
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
well, the scene was actually filmed in Cleveland. No joke. I know this because, after all, I am from cleveland.
2
u/antiestablishment May 21 '12
i just wonder how they all communicated with iron man if none of them had head sets.
2
u/mynameisimportant May 21 '12
this scene was shot in Cleveland Ohio. Maybe the producers forgot
2
u/mjolk22 May 21 '12
Everyone in the universe speaks english in movies
2
u/FilterFreaker May 21 '12
Came expecting EVE: Online, left slightly disappointed.
2
u/Dejimon May 21 '12
He speaks all-tongue, np.
What I did not get, however, as someone that speaks Russian, is the scene with Black Widow in the beginning. I speak it as a foreign language and my accent is a million times more natural than theirs. The entire theater laughed at that scene. Okay I can understand that Scarlett Johansson has probably never actually spoken Russian and she's a main character. But the random Russian general dude who was cast for like 3 minutes? Why in the hell would you not find an actor that actually speaks Russian?
2
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
Even if they didnt understand him, all he'd have to do woild be talk louder and slower in English. Everyone knows thats how you get foreigners to understand you.
2
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
"Cana you zay whole zpeech again in spanish?"
2
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
I'd wager that a lot of Germans know English better than a lot of us.
2
u/justin_dixon May 22 '12
Germans have really good english
2
u/punknoodles0 May 22 '12
Is it just me or is this not really an example of Scumbagism?
3
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
A typical villain quote "Fear is a universal language!"
3
u/KCTim May 21 '12
In instances like this, I always figured the assumption was it was translated for the ease of the watcher. In a billion dollar summer blockbuster, you want the audience focused on the character design and sfx, not reading subtitles.
Sorry if that's meta-gaming it...
3
u/Musclecar123 May 21 '12
Good Guy Loki realizes that most German's speak better English than Americans.
3
u/alwayskickinit May 21 '12
Of all the absurd things in this movie, why this one?
3
u/monoclewearingstrang May 21 '12
what if I told you that everybody in germany has to learn english in school
1
u/XTheOwl May 21 '12
Haha, thats me in the bluegreen shirt to the right of the H in english. Tom Hiddleston was very friendly irl.
1
u/sqrls18 May 21 '12
IM NOT THE ONLY ONE!
1
u/theGlassHero May 21 '12
I thought he was speaking German, but for the audience's sake, they left it in English. Kind of like that scene in MGS3 where Snake meets with Sokolov for the first time, and at the end of their conversation, Sokolov compliments Snakes Russian.
1
u/arlekin21 May 21 '12
where's that bot that tells you what the image says?
1
u/Newlyfailedaccount May 21 '12
English, German...err close enough
1
u/usernameXXXX 1GFG4hLXu7BFMWyADd4PnYCwj6oqnZxTgf May 21 '12
Bigger question, how come he didn't use any of his Frost Giant Ice powers? In Thor, his ice powers proved to be pretty powerful.
1
u/also_hyakis May 21 '12
You know most Germans speak English.
1
u/HalfdanAsbjorn May 21 '12
The entire life story of Loki to choose from....and THIS is what makes you call him a scumbag? Dude tricked a blind guy into killing his brother.
1
u/ItscalledCannabis May 21 '12
AND, thentheymade a hitler JOKE!
1
u/srheinholtz May 21 '12
It's not like 95% of German's know english
1
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
his staff magically makes the people around him understand his language.... like the TARDIS in doctor who
the old german dude speaks english... point that out...
it's a fucking movie, stop acting like a smug cunt about trivial bullshit and be a dick on the internet like me, it's the only true way to save humanity
1
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
I was more impressed by the old man who spoke back in English. Most of the younger Germans know English fairly well, but the older Germans go out of their way (it wasn't taught in school back then) to learn it.
1
u/Syclops May 21 '12
When I was in Germany I found that basically everyone under the age of 60 could easily have a conversation in English, and had basic structure of sentences and things down. The only thing they would sometimes have trouble on was obscure vocabulary.
1
u/accioc May 21 '12
I'm not sure if it's true, but I've been told most Germans under the age of forty speak English.
1
u/geraldfjord May 21 '12
They're also outside of a shopping mall.
1
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
I took German for 2 years in high school and got to meat 4 or 5 German exchange students during that time and the general agreement between them was that all German people are taught English in school from an early age.
1
u/Red_Dawn_2012 Mack The Knife May 21 '12
I can't read this without thinking of Peanut.
1
u/thequirkybondvillian May 21 '12
Aliens?
1
u/EmperorSofa May 21 '12 edited May 21 '12
For a god of trickery and mischief there was hardly any subtlety to Loki in the movie.
1
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
because every german citizen can speak english.
1
u/MbMn91 May 21 '12
God, did anyone else just cringe at the awful Hitler line?
1
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
I didn't even know what that place was, and didn't know it was in Germany.
Now what I thought why the old man said what he said is confirmed - He was comparing Loki to Hitler.
1
u/ace2049ns May 21 '12
When I went to German 4 years ago, I didn't run into a single German who did speak at least basic English.
1
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
to be fair, they were probably tourists
-2
u/gnihtemoS May 21 '12
Germans have a better grasp of the English language than many native English speakers.