This is an audio clip from the 1964 movie Mission to Venice.
I have trouble understanding some words in it.
This is what I hear: It’s horrible, Mr. Newman. My husband disappeared. I don’t know what to do. A month ago John left on a trip to Vienna, he had some business to take care of. Since then no news. Neither sight, except for this card. It was mailed in Venice a week ago.
I’m a bit unsure about “left on a trip”, have I heard it correctly?
And I have a doubt about “neither sight”. I’m sure the last word is sight or side, but I can’t make out the first word in the phrase - is it really neither?
The first time I heard it it was obvious that it was “not a sign” because this is what makes perfect sense. Listening a second and third time it sounded like “not a side”, which makes no sense. I think the intent must be “Not a sign” and a tiny extra sound crept in some how.
@Arinker I completely agree with you. When I listened to it a third time, now with my headphones on, I also heard ‘Not a sight’ and indeed, it would be better to use ‘No sign’.
‘I finally caught sight of someone.’ has a very different meaning, because catching sight of someone or something is just a brief and sudden moment or a glimpse. Probably, the actress made a mistake which happens in a lot in films and TV-series. I’m sure, the director must have heard it, but since the actress said her other lines correctly, he didn’t find it necessary to do the scene all over again. Bear in mind that producers are budget-bound. They cannot spend more money than a Film Corporation or a network wants to invest in a film or TV-series
I think the T sound is an audio artifact in the recording. There are ‘dit’ or click sounds throughout the recording. You can hear it other places, but it’s more noticeable when she pauses after a consonant.
It’s horrible Mr Newman(dit).
My husband disappeared(dit)
Not a sign(dit)
for this card(dit)
I think this is what’s called a plosive in audio recording.
Say the word ‘sign’ out loud. Say it once and keep the tongue on the palate until the air flow has fully stopped. Say it again, but remove the tongue while air is still flowing. The second time has more of a plosive sound.
This is the purpose of those wire meshes or foam in front of microphones. It reduces the plosive sounds.
You can do the same thing by putting your hand close to your mouth and saying ‘cap’. You can feel the burst of air on your hand. Now place a thin piece of tissue paper between your mouth and hand. The tissue will not block much sound, but you will not feel the burst of air on your hand.
