Sorry, I don’t really know how to phrase my question. For example, we know that over here in the USA, a box set of dragon ball z contains the English dub and the original Japanese track. If someone from somewhere else wanted to watch, let’s say SpongeBob on DVD, could they expect the original English track or was it commonplace to only have the local dub? ETA: Of course I’m referring to the time period before streaming, and I mean any type of popular cartoon.
In the Netherlands, we all basically knew (very basic) English BEFORE we could READ ( the subtitles)
Indeed. Infact every smaller country utilizes subtitles. Bigger countries dub their movies and shows. Dubbing is too expensive for smaller countries.
We have a shit ton of dubbed shows and films as well. Some were even way better than the English dub.
True yeah, the ones aimed at younger children. I was talking more in general. Like in Germany for instance where they dub almost everything, for the children and adults alike.
Source: I’m also Dutch ;)
I traveled through the Netherlands briefly. It’s one of the few places where I’ve ever felt uncomfortable with my English. I’m American, an English is my first language.
The homeless people in Amsterdam have better diction than I do.
Says plenty about the US education system, doesn’t it?
I think it says more about the role of English in the world today.
You can travel across a large part of the world only knowing English. It is a Lingua Franca for international trade, even between two countries that don’t speak English.
And along with that, there are local dialects of English that are different an international standard. It is a lot harder to correct the use of a language learned in a community than that you learn from media and education.