2012-05-08
Original: 2012-05-08 on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1:
Narration: There is a sound called a "glottal stop," which is made by halting air flow with your glottis. In English, we often associate it with the Cockney accent and mid-word Ts.
(Three identical smiling women, each with a nameplate.)
Woman labeled STANDARD BRITISH: Glottal.
Woman labeled STANDARD AMERICAN: Gloddle
Woman labeled COCKNEY: Glo'al
Panel 2:
Narration: But if you speak with a standard American accent, you use glottal stops all the time. Try saying "mint condition" or "pet dog."
Woman: Min' condition. Pe' dog OH MY GOD I'M LIKE A DICKENS CHARACTER!
Panel 3:
Narration: Go ahead. Try. Pretty much any time T is followed by a consonant, you're making a glottal stop.
Man: Ra' trap. Elephan' gun. Interne' porn.
Panel 4:
Narration: You may think this comic is educational. WRONG. It's a trap. From now on, one of your favorite characters will sound Cockney, and you won't be able to unhear it.
Batman: I am Ba'man.
Votey:
Batman (close-up, leering): Ge' down, ca'woman! I'm Ba'man!
Narration: There is a sound called a "glottal stop," which is made by halting air flow with your glottis. In English, we often associate it with the Cockney accent and mid-word Ts.
(Three identical smiling women, each with a nameplate.)
Woman labeled STANDARD BRITISH: Glottal.
Woman labeled STANDARD AMERICAN: Gloddle
Woman labeled COCKNEY: Glo'al
Panel 2:
Narration: But if you speak with a standard American accent, you use glottal stops all the time. Try saying "mint condition" or "pet dog."
Woman: Min' condition. Pe' dog OH MY GOD I'M LIKE A DICKENS CHARACTER!
Panel 3:
Narration: Go ahead. Try. Pretty much any time T is followed by a consonant, you're making a glottal stop.
Man: Ra' trap. Elephan' gun. Interne' porn.
Panel 4:
Narration: You may think this comic is educational. WRONG. It's a trap. From now on, one of your favorite characters will sound Cockney, and you won't be able to unhear it.
Batman: I am Ba'man.
Votey:
Batman (close-up, leering): Ge' down, ca'woman! I'm Ba'man!
Alt text
A four-panel SMBC comic explaining the glottal stop. Panel 1: orange narration says a "glottal stop" is made by halting airflow with the glottis, associated with Cockney accents and mid-word Ts. Three identical smiling women are labeled by accent: "Standard British" says "Glottal," "Standard American" says "Gloddle," and "Cockney" says "Glo'al." Panel 2: narration notes standard American speakers use glottal stops constantly; try "mint condition" or "pet dog." A woman says "Min' condition. Pe' dog OH MY GOD I'M LIKE A DICKENS CHARACTER!" Panel 3: narration says nearly any time a T is followed by a consonant you make a glottal stop. A man says "Ra' trap. Elephan' gun. Interne' porn." Panel 4: narration warns the comic is actually a trap, and from now on a favorite character will sound Cockney unstoppably. Batman declares "I am Ba'man." Votey: a close-up of a leering Batman saying "Ge' down, ca'woman! I'm Ba'man!", his lines dropped Ts making the Dark Knight sound Cockney.
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.