British accent problems – Watch what happens when two Scottish men get trapped in a voice control elevator and cannot control it because of their Scottish accent. A great, hilarious sketch!
Can voice recognition technology replace good old buttons? Would our Scottish men have the same problem with automated, multiple choice phone systems? 🙂
Video transcript:
[Iain] Where’s the buttons?
[Rob] Oh no, they’ve installed voice-recognition technology in this lift, they have no buttons.
[Iain] Voice-recognition technology? In a lift? In Scotland? You ever tried voice-recognition technology?
[Rob] No.
[Iain] They don’t do Scottish accents.
[Rob] Eleven.
[VOICE] Could you please repeat that?
[Iain] Eleven.
[Rob] Eleven. Eleven.
[Iain] Eleven.
[VOICE] Could you please repeat that?
[Rob] EL-EV-EN.
[Iain] Whose idea was this? You need to try an American accent. „E-leven. E-leven.“
[Rob] That sounds Irish, not American.
[Iain] No it doesn’t! ELEVEN.
[Rob] Where in America is that – Dublin?
[VOICE] I’m sorry. Could you please repeat that?
[Rob] Try an English accent. „Eelevin! Eelevin!“
[Iain] You from the same part of England as Dick van Dyke?
[Rob] Let’s hear yours then, smart-ass.
[VOICE] Please speak slowly and clearly.
[Rob] SMARTASS.
[Iain] Ee-lev-en.
[VOICE] I’m sorry. Could you please repeat that?
[Iain] ELEVEN. If you don’t understand the lingo, away back home to your own country!
[Rob] Ooo, it’s that talk now, is it, away back home to your own country?
[Iain] Oh, don’t start Mr. Bleeding Heart, how can you be racist to a lift?
[VOICE] Please speak slowly and clearly.
[Rob] Eleven. Eleven. Eleven. Eleven.
[Iain] You’re just saying it the same way!
[Rob] I’m going to keep saying it until it understands Scottish, alright?
[Rob] Eleven. Eleven. Eleven! Eleven!
[Iain] Oh just take us anywhere, ya cow! Just open the doors!
[VOICE] This is a voice-activated elevator. Please state which floor you would like to go to in a clear and calm manner.
[Iain] Calm? Calm? Where’s that coming from? Why is it telling people to be calm?
[Rob] Because they knew they’d be selling this to Scottish people who’d be going off their nuts at it!
[VOICE] You have not selected a floor.
[Rob] Aye, we have! Eleven!
[VOICE] If you would like to get out of the elevator without selecting a floor, simply say „Open the doors, please“.
[Iain] Please? Please?? Suck my wally.
[Rob] Maybe we should just say „please“.
[Iain] I’m not begging that for nothing.
[Rob] Open the doors, please.
[Iain} „Please!“ Pathetic.
[VOICE] Please remain calm.
[Rob] Oh! My! God! You wait until I get up there…just wait for it to speak…
[VOICE] You have not selected a floor.
[Rob] Up yours, ya cow! If you don’t let us through these doors, I’m gonna come to America, I’m gonna find whatever desperate actress gave you a voice, and I’m gonna go to the electric chair for ye!
[Iain] Scotland, you bastard!
[Rob] Scotland!
[Iain] SCOTLAND!
[Rob] SCOOOOOTLAND!
[Iain] FREEDOM!!
[Rob] FREEDOM!!
[Iain] Goin’ up?
Lost in Translation? Try the Real Thing!
To be fair, our two Scottish friends speak perfectly good English. The elevator is the one that desperately needs a language course!
But that is the funny thing about languages. You can spend years perfecting your grammar, only to arrive in another country and discover that nobody sounds quite like the recordings from your textbook. And sometimes, even ordering a cup of coffee turns into an unexpected linguistic adventure.
The best language lessons often begin when the classroom door closes. That is something we have seen time and again with Verbalists Education students. The real breakthroughs happen during conversations with locals, spontaneous encounters, and those wonderfully awkward moments when the right word refuses to appear.
Perhaps your next conversation will be in a London pub during our popular My LONDON language travel program, or with international professionals attending our Study 30+ English program in London. You could practice your English over coffee in Malta, debate the proper ingredients of paella while learning Spanish in Valencia, or discover that speaking Italian in Florence somehow requires using your hands as much as your vocabulary.
Fortunately, nobody expects a perfect accent. A little confidence, some curiosity, and a sense of humor will usually get you surprisingly far.
Thinking about giving your language skills a real-world workout? Browse our most popular language courses abroad for adults.
And remember, whatever your accent, the important thing is to keep the conversation going. Preferably without having to shout “FREEDOM!” at an elevator.
Verbalists Education & Language Network, founded by PRODIREKT, has been helping students and adults discover the world through language learning for more than 20 years. Working with accredited schools and trusted educational partners worldwide, we offer everything from intensive language courses and professional development programs to international summer schools.
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