What does she say?

Darek   Sat Mar 07, 2009 11:48 am GMT
Hi,
I'm doing transcription of The Amazing Act (found here: http://www.antimoon.com/other/shaggydog.htm ) and I can't hear what exactly she says at 0:46.
‘Excuse me, Mr. Miller, you __________ Mr. Brilliant’s office now’

Can someone help me with this?

Thanks!
Laura Braun   Sat Mar 07, 2009 12:26 pm GMT
"Excuse me mr. Miller you will be going at mr. Brilian office now."
Jago   Sat Mar 07, 2009 12:49 pm GMT
"Thanks to William Ancker"!! Someone's having a laugh.
Darek   Sat Mar 07, 2009 2:11 pm GMT
Thanks, but I seem to hear: '‘Excuse me, Mr. Miller, you've been going to Mr. Brilliant’s office now’.

Can that be right?
Poliglob   Sat Mar 07, 2009 2:14 pm GMT
"can go into"
Poliglob   Sat Mar 07, 2009 2:19 pm GMT
There's no doubt at all in my mind that this is what she said -- "Excuse me, Mr. Miller. You can go into Mr. Brilliant's office now."
Darek   Sat Mar 07, 2009 2:27 pm GMT
Thanks, Poliglob. But maybe she says 'Excuse me, Mr. Miller. You may go into Mr. Brilliant's office now'?

By the way, I'm doing transcription of all the stories so stay tuned for more conundrums :)
Poliglob   Sat Mar 07, 2009 4:29 pm GMT
You're welcome.

'Excuse me, Mr. Miller. You may go into Mr. Brilliant's office now' would be correct and slightly more formal (some persons prefer 'may' instead of 'can' for permission, but I believe that preference is dying out). I'm sure, though, that what was said in the audio is "Excuse me, Mr. Miller. You can go into Mr. Brilliant's office now."

The speaker pronounces 'can' more like 'kin' or 'ken' than the way many persons pronounce it. That pronunciation of 'can' is common in the United States, though. She sounds as if she's from somewhere in the North, but lots of us in the South pronounce 'can' a bit like 'kin' too. To me it doesn't sound at all like 'may'.

I can only guess that what makes 'can' a little difficult to hear is that in this instance it's pronounced almost as if it were an unstressed second syllable of 'you' -- you-can go (YOU'kin go). The 'can' isn't totally unstressed, though. It's just not as clear as it sometimes is.

Here's an American pronunciation of 'can' that's less like 'kin' (of course, it's being said in isolation, so there would be less of a tendency to slur the 'a').
http://media.merriam-webster.com/soundc11/c/can_1_01.wav
Laura Braun   Sat Mar 07, 2009 7:29 pm GMT
the problem is that she wants to express herself in the office so hidden thing which she speaks nobody can understand instead of listening her very carefully. What she meant to say is not what you hear. Finally we are not going to care if this secretary is stupid of just polite. I worry about the ants. And all that project. Next time if I have a project like this I just don't want someone to step on it... So if someone step on my project I will be completely unaware in the situation. It's so perfectly simple.
Danilo   Sat Mar 07, 2009 8:34 pm GMT
Darek, you'll up this transcription?
can you send to me: comdanilo@gmail.com
thanks very much!
Caspian   Sun Mar 08, 2009 4:35 pm GMT
It's definitely 'can'.

I like this accent, is this Standard American? You don't hear it that much anymore.
Uriel   Mon Mar 09, 2009 11:42 pm GMT
It sounds like regular ol' American, but slowed slightly and enunciated very clearly with exaggerated intonation, a la Old-Fashioned Fifties Movie Speech, or those movies that made us watch in health class in seventh grade. Ah, "Blood On the Highway" and "Reefer Madness"....
jrite   Tue Mar 10, 2009 1:06 am GMT
Actually, it sounds like American English, but specially pronounced so E2Lers can understand it better.

Here's a more realistic clip, still clearly pronounced:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvMbeVQj6Lw
Sidney   Tue Mar 10, 2009 2:09 am GMT
<<‘Excuse me, Mr. Miller, you __________ Mr. Brilliant’s office now’
>>

You *can go* into Mr Brilliant's office now

I heard it very clearly playing it back several times. There seems to be a glitch that occurs at the word "can" which makes it sound like 2 words when it's one
Darek   Tue Mar 10, 2009 8:46 pm GMT
Just to be sure. In The Unknown Girl at 0:36 he says: 'Well, I finally managed to get up enough nerve to ask her to dance...'?

Thanks!