MovieChat Forums > The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015) Discussion > How did Muriel know that Lavinia . . . (...

How did Muriel know that Lavinia . . . (SPOILER)

posted 9 years ago by julesaz
10 replies | jump to latest

was American?

Yes, I was there for the whole film, but Americans sometimes can't understand other accents very well so I figure I might have missed something. And this board has apprised me of multiple other things I missed.

When Lavinia had tea spilled on her at breakfast and yelled, "Jesus Christ, that's hot!" did she fall into her American dialect? I noticed Muriel noticing (thank you, movie) and immediately started to think, "Maybe she's American," but that was partly because I just couldn't think of anything else it could be. Muriel had that long speech about boiling water for tea, but I figured that anyone would yell if hot water was poured on them, whether or not they were expecting it to be hot.

[–] GoldCoin89 9 years ago

I noticed when she took her tea with the bag on the side of the cup and then when she broke into an american dialect!

[–] DigIt 9 years ago

Iirc in the scene of that hot pouring tea she had her suspicions aroused and went into Lavinia's room where we see her looking around: she may have just found her passport or some papers...

[–] dogmatix-4 9 years ago

Early in the film, in San Diego, we had Muriel's request for boiling hot water for her tea, in way of explanation to those audiences who may not 'understand' tea (i.e. Americans) and to set up the unmasking of Lavinia later on. In fact there were two scenes for that: the first in which Lavinia specifically requests warm, not hot, water with a tea bag on the side; Muriel hears this, looks up, but does not react. The second, as already mentioned in this thread, is when the maid splashes hot water on Lavinia and she reacts without thinking in a very obviously American accent. Muriel realises immediately that Lavinia is American, not British, and probably susses what Lavinia is doing there (not entirely correctly, as it turns out), and therefore snoops around her room for proof.

[–] EgyGirl 9 years ago

In my opinion, it is when she said "it is hot."
"Hot" is the word that exposed her. I am not an a native speaker but I studied English phonetics.
In American English, it is pronounced a bit like like the vowel in "cut", "dog" or "hut", so it is "haAt". But the short vowel o is pronounced differently in British English, short and stronger. I wish I could describe it better than that.
Hope that helped.

[–] selkn-asrai 9 years ago

...Hate to inform you, but in no part of the US have I ever heard the vowels in "hut" and "dog" pronounced the same way.

It was when she asked for tea the American way, furthered by her exclamation in her true accent. I don't think Muriel could have given clearer visual cues that these were the cause of her suspicion, really.

"Now, bring me that horizon."

[–] EgyGirl 9 years ago

You are right. Not exactly. I don't know how to describe it really. It is better to hear it. Feel free to check online the difference in pronunciation. But i insist on my opinion that it is the pronunciation of "hot" that gave it away, and don't tell me Americans and British pronounce it the same.

[–] SataiDelen 8 years ago

I won't proceed to tell you that Americans and British say the word the same way, and I don't know where in America you've been, but I live in the Midwest, and nowhere EVER have I heard "dog" and "hut" and "cut" pronounced the same way. Dog is most definitely pronounced with a "log" sound. Nor have I EVER heard "hot" pronounced the same as "hut" or "cut." "Hot" is pronounced (in my area) like "lot" or "rot." Stop presuming that just because you've been in one part of America, that we all sound the same. That would be as insulting as if I went to London and said everyone sounded as if they came from Liverpool, and pronounced everything with a Liverpudlian accent.

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[–] Merrida 8 years ago

Just sharing my thoughts here, but, a possibility is that Egy is not trying to say that the word "dog" and "hut" are pronounced the same. However, the word "hot" may be pronounced similar to either of those words. For example such as "hut" water, or "hawt" (like "dog") water.

I don't think she's comparing "hot" to "dog" in American pronunciation, but as it pertains to the specific word "hot" as it's pronounced.

I'm American as well, so I'm basing this on what I've heard, and how I'm interpreting her examples. Hope this helps. :)

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[–] SataiDelen 8 years ago

The first clue was that she told the waiter/servant that hot water with a bag of tea on the side would be just fine. Sorry, but if she was truly British, that would NEVER have done. The majority of the British drink loose leaf tea and SCOWL at bagged tea. That (like iced tea) is a very American thing.

I didn't catch what about the water being spilled over her hand gave Muriel the final clue, but yes, she may have lost her accent for a moment.

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[–] jewelpandora 8 years ago

Egygirl is correct. The way she said "hot" does sound very much like "hut". There is a huge difference in the way that the British and Americans say "hot". With the Brits saying it with a clear sounding O. Aussies and South Africans say it the same way.