A frequent topic I write about here is languages; the perils, pitfalls and joys in discovering the English language as an English undergraduate student (cue in "What to do with a B.A. in English") and when European languages are messed up on American TV. I have always had a great love for languages and they fascinate me. How they work, how they are connected and how they influence our view of the world. And for this venture of mine, the NCIS franchise has proven to be a minefield. It challenges my language skills and gives me much to think about. Today's topic is a collection of my favorite language moments from both shows.
I have already expressed my appreciation of the language tool that Ziva's use of idioms is and when they are corrected. I can honestly say it has not only taught me new idioms but also explained some old one's to me. Idioms, slang and colloquialism are the hardest parts of a language to grasp properly and it continues to challenge me. So I certainly appreciate it this aspect of NCIS.
This video is one of my favorite one's on youtube and I watch it regularly and laugh.
My favorite language scenes from NCIS are:
-In an episode of season 3 when Ziva tells Abby: "Don't worry Abby, sometimes it's hard to see the jungle through the ferns". I just love it how Ziva says iit consolingly and no one has any clue what she means.
-When Ziva and McGee have the following conversation in an episode of season 8 and Ziva is sitting in a tree while McGee phones her:
McGee: 'How are you?'
Ziva: 'I am up a tree'
McGee: 'Well, then this will only confuse you further'
Ziva: 'Who said I was confused?'
I laughed so hard over that and it taught me a new idiom!
-And "Living off the griddle" is a classic
I love it how the NCIS script plays with language and has little language gems in every episode. The script is always masterful but this pushes it to the next level in my opinion and shows that the script is always well thought it. I always feel like I learn something from an NCIS episode or just have a laugh about how language works. I am a sucker for clever language jokes and NCIS is a treat in that regard.
NCIS:LA is more focused on the use of foreign languages. It it both fun and excruciating at times to watch the actors pull off all sorts of languages. When they do it badly, it is terrible. When they do it well, it is great. Kensi definitely has the best language skills but I always get just a slight delight from hearing Sam speaking with an extremely thick accent in Japanese and Arabic. And Deeks seems to have a strange love for German as a language for some odd reason without speaking it. And he has the worst accents possible so it is absolute gold every time he tries to use another language than English.
My favorite moments have been
-Deeks speaking with a German accent in episode 4x15 and pretending to be Conan the Barbarian. Rarely, if ever has the German accent sounded so badly or so awesome. I loved that scene and I have the feeling the actor relished being able to speak with a terrible accent.
-Eric trying to sound German in season 4. As he is meant to be half-German it was awesome. Not to mention, he pulled of a delightfully creepy and robotic accent which I loved.
-Deeks trying out his British accent in season 2 - as he described it 'a mix between Mary Poppins and Jack Sparrow' - whatever it was, it was awful and hysterical.
-Deeks trying out his German in episode 4x17 trying to figure out if "slon" was a German word. I was eerily reminded of my own near non-existent German skills. I detest German as a language as it sounds simply awful but I have been using bits and pieces of the language since youth and still do and it is fun to play with. And I use basic German words in my everyday conversations.
-In season 3 Kensi says the very simple sentence: "Bien sur, mon ami" when asked whether she could speak French and Deeks replies: "I love it when you speak dirty". Kensi's reaction is hysterical.
-In 4x20 'Purity' when Deeks attempts to speak French and says 'Mon Dieu' in a very growly amd harsh manner - sounding like a stereotypical French male or a truck driver speaking French. Kensi corrects him of course with the right pronunciation but Deeks continues using his awful pronunciation.
I laughed so hard at the scenes where they incorporate French. I speak French somewhat and I used to love the language and find it so romantic. That is until I started studying it and discovered that not only did I hate the spelling but also how it sounded and the grammar was like a thorn in my side. I now fall under the 'detest French' camp and it has lost much of its former splendor in my mind. And French does not sound so good after all. It is not a romantic language in any way in my opinion. But it still has the very romantic image stuck to it and I love the little jab NCIS:LA took at it. It used a very simple sentence which means "of course my friend/dear" and a non-French speaker thinks it sounds dirty. A definite treat for French speakers!
So a hobby linguist like me continues to love how TV plays with languages.
I have already expressed my appreciation of the language tool that Ziva's use of idioms is and when they are corrected. I can honestly say it has not only taught me new idioms but also explained some old one's to me. Idioms, slang and colloquialism are the hardest parts of a language to grasp properly and it continues to challenge me. So I certainly appreciate it this aspect of NCIS.
My favorite language scenes from NCIS are:
-In an episode of season 3 when Ziva tells Abby: "Don't worry Abby, sometimes it's hard to see the jungle through the ferns". I just love it how Ziva says iit consolingly and no one has any clue what she means.
-When Ziva and McGee have the following conversation in an episode of season 8 and Ziva is sitting in a tree while McGee phones her:
McGee: 'How are you?'
Ziva: 'I am up a tree'
McGee: 'Well, then this will only confuse you further'
Ziva: 'Who said I was confused?'
I laughed so hard over that and it taught me a new idiom!
-And "Living off the griddle" is a classic
I love it how the NCIS script plays with language and has little language gems in every episode. The script is always masterful but this pushes it to the next level in my opinion and shows that the script is always well thought it. I always feel like I learn something from an NCIS episode or just have a laugh about how language works. I am a sucker for clever language jokes and NCIS is a treat in that regard.
NCIS:LA is more focused on the use of foreign languages. It it both fun and excruciating at times to watch the actors pull off all sorts of languages. When they do it badly, it is terrible. When they do it well, it is great. Kensi definitely has the best language skills but I always get just a slight delight from hearing Sam speaking with an extremely thick accent in Japanese and Arabic. And Deeks seems to have a strange love for German as a language for some odd reason without speaking it. And he has the worst accents possible so it is absolute gold every time he tries to use another language than English.
My favorite moments have been
-Deeks speaking with a German accent in episode 4x15 and pretending to be Conan the Barbarian. Rarely, if ever has the German accent sounded so badly or so awesome. I loved that scene and I have the feeling the actor relished being able to speak with a terrible accent.
-Eric trying to sound German in season 4. As he is meant to be half-German it was awesome. Not to mention, he pulled of a delightfully creepy and robotic accent which I loved.
-Deeks trying out his British accent in season 2 - as he described it 'a mix between Mary Poppins and Jack Sparrow' - whatever it was, it was awful and hysterical.
-Deeks trying out his German in episode 4x17 trying to figure out if "slon" was a German word. I was eerily reminded of my own near non-existent German skills. I detest German as a language as it sounds simply awful but I have been using bits and pieces of the language since youth and still do and it is fun to play with. And I use basic German words in my everyday conversations.
-In season 3 Kensi says the very simple sentence: "Bien sur, mon ami" when asked whether she could speak French and Deeks replies: "I love it when you speak dirty". Kensi's reaction is hysterical.
-In 4x20 'Purity' when Deeks attempts to speak French and says 'Mon Dieu' in a very growly amd harsh manner - sounding like a stereotypical French male or a truck driver speaking French. Kensi corrects him of course with the right pronunciation but Deeks continues using his awful pronunciation.
I laughed so hard at the scenes where they incorporate French. I speak French somewhat and I used to love the language and find it so romantic. That is until I started studying it and discovered that not only did I hate the spelling but also how it sounded and the grammar was like a thorn in my side. I now fall under the 'detest French' camp and it has lost much of its former splendor in my mind. And French does not sound so good after all. It is not a romantic language in any way in my opinion. But it still has the very romantic image stuck to it and I love the little jab NCIS:LA took at it. It used a very simple sentence which means "of course my friend/dear" and a non-French speaker thinks it sounds dirty. A definite treat for French speakers!
So a hobby linguist like me continues to love how TV plays with languages.
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