UP

Hey.

You were talking to a rock.

Hey, that one looks like a turtle.

Look at that one! That one looks like a dog.

It is a dog!

What?

We’re not allowed to have dogs in my apartment.

Hey, I like dogs.

We have your dog!

Whoa!

Wonder who he belongs to.

Sit, boy. Hey, look, he’s trained.

Shake.

Uh-huh. Speak.

Hi, there.

Did that dog just say, “Hi, there”?

Oh, yes.

My name is Dug.

I have just met you, and I love you.

My master made me this collar.

He is a good and smart master, and he made me this collar so that I may talk. Squirrel!

It is a dog!

What?

We’re not allowed to have dogs in my apartment.

The word allow is used when you want to say that you give permission for someone to do a certain thing.

Example: I allow you to read my diary.

By saying this phrase, Russell is saying that he does not have permission to have pets in his apartment.

Let’s listen again to the way that he pronounces the word apartment.

We’re not allowed to have dogs in my apartment.

Here we have an interesting case of native pronunciation. In American English when a syllable or word ends in NT, the T becomes a glottal T.

With a glottal T we cut off the sound at the back of the throat instead of at the front of the mouth.

So here instead of saying apartment, Russell says [apartmenh].

We’re not allowed to have dogs in my [apartmenh].

You can also hear this type of sound morphing [the transformation of the T] in other words, such as:

Mint [minh]

Mountain [mounh-in]

Can’t [canh]

Let’s see some more examples

Master! You can’t leave me.

He wants me to be the teacher’s assistant.

Uh, No, not exactly.

Well, I am so honoured. I have never been a teaching assistant before.

Whoa!

Wonder who he belongs to.

Sit, boy.

In cases like this one, the word wonder is used to express a wish to know about something.

If you own something, you might say that that thing belongs to you.

So by saying this, Carl is trying to figure out who could be the owner of the dog.

In this sentence, you can see something that natives do often, which is to remove the pronoun ‘‘I’ at the beginning of a sentence. So, instead of saying “I wonder,” Carl just says “wonder.”

Even though this is not grammatically correct, you can hear it all the time.

Wonder who he belongs to.

Sit, boy. Hey, look, he’s trained. Shake!

To train means to teach a skill.

It is very common to see people that train their dogs to do certain things, such as sit, or to do certain tricks.

As you can see in this scene, Russell is trying to figure out which of the common tricks the dog can perform and these are sitting when he is told to do so, shaking his paw, and also speaking!

My name is Dug. I have just met you, and I love you.

Did you notice the pun intended in this character’s name?

He is a dog and he is called Dug.

The name Doug is a common name for a person, while “dug” is the past tense of dig, something dogs often do.

My master made me this collar.

A collar is a strap worn around the neck. It looks like these:

Dug’s master [owner] made him a very special collar that give him the ability to speak.

He made me this collar so that I may talk. Squirrel!

This is a squirrel.

One hilarious thing if you have seen UP is that while the dog characters can all speak, they still have the behavior of a dog, and get distracted with the same things that a normal dog would, such as a squirrel.

Beta! Gamma! Mayhaps you desire to – Squirrel!

My master is good and smart.

It’s not possible.

Oh, it is, because my master is smart.

Cool! What do these do, boy?

Hey, would you— I use that collar— to talk with.

I would be happy if you stopped.

Russel, don’t touch that! It could be radioactive or something!

I am a great tracker. My pack sent me on a special mission all by myself.

Have you seen a bird?

I want to find one, and I’ve been on the scent.

I am a great tracker.

Did I mention that?

Hey, that is the bird. I have never seen one up close, but this is the bird.

May I take your bird back to camp as my prisoner?

Yes, yes, take it. And on the way, learn how to bark like a real dog.

I can bark. And here’s howling.

Can we keep him? Please, please, please!

No.

But it’s a talking dog!

It’s just a weird trick or something. Let’s get to the falls.

Please be my prisoner. Oh, please, oh, please be my prisoner!

I would be happy if you stopped.

Russell, don’t touch that!

It could be radioactive or something!

Radioactive is a scientific term for a particular type of energy-emitting substance or thing.

Being exposed to radioactive things can be very dangerous for humans, and even deadly, and even though it is unlikely that this collar is radioactive, for this reason Carl is warning Russell not to touch it.

I am a great tracker.

Tracking refers to a dog’s ability to detect, recognize and follow a specific scent [smell].

As you might have noticed, Dug is a Golden Retriever, which is a breed known for its great abilities to detect, track and locate the source of certain odors; and for this reason it is common to see this type of dog working for the police.

My pack sent me on a special mission all by myself.

A pack is a group of dogs or wolves.

In this sentence we have a great pronunciation example, let’s listen to it again:

My pack sent me on a special mission all by myself.

It is very common to hear the ending -sion pronunciation like “shun,” so Dug pronounces this as mission

Let’s hear it again, fast and slow.

My pack sent me on a special mi-shun. My pack sent me on a special mi-shun. Let’s see some more examples of this type of pronunciation:

Naughty.

A pinch of passion.

An entire scare floor out of commission.

What else can go wrong?

I have never seen one up close, but this is the bird.

Up close is another way of saying very close.

As you can see here, Dug has finally found the bird that he has been tracking, and they are extremely close to each other.

May I take your bird back to camp as my prisoner?

Yes, yes, take it.

The word prisoner refers to someone that has been captured and is not allowed to leave.

As Dug thinks that the bird belongs to Carl and Russell, he is asking them permission to take him back to his camp, where his pack is.

Do you know how else you can ask this question?

That’s right, both “can” and “may” can be used when asking this question, although “may” is considered more formal.

And on the way, learn how to bark like a real dog. When dogs bark they make this loud sound in order to communicate with other dogs and people.

As Dug communicates by speaking like a human, Carl is asking him to act like a normal dog and bark.

I can bark. And here’s howling.

When dogs or wolves howl, they produce a long loud sound that sounds like this:

Garry, quit it. You’re going to start a howl.

I didn’t start it.

Hey.

You were talking to a rock.

Hey, that one looks like a turtle.

Look at that one! That one looks like a dog.

It is a dog!

What?

We’re not allowed to have dogs in my apartment.

Hey, I like dogs.

We have your dog!

Whoa!

Wonder who he belongs to.

Sit, boy. Hey, look, he’s trained.

Shake.

Uh-huh. Speak.

Hi, there.

Did that dog just say, “Hi, there”?

Oh, yes.

My name is Dug.

I have just met you, and I love you.

My master made me this collar.

He is a good and smart master, and he made me this collar so that I may talk. Squirrel!

My master is good and smart.

It’s not possible.

Oh, it is, because my master is smart.

Cool! What do these do, boy?

Hey, would you— I use that collar— to talk with.

I would be happy if you stopped.

Russel, don’t touch that! It could be radioactive or something!

I am a great tracker. My pack sent me on a special mission. All by myself. Have you seen a bird?

I want to find one, and I’ve been on the scent.

I am a great tracker.

Did I mention that?

Hey, that is the bird. I have never seen one up close, but this is the bird.

May I take your bird back to camp as my prisoner?

Yes, yes, take it. And on the way, learn how to bark like a real dog.

I can bark. And here’s howling.

Can we keep him? Please, please, please!

No.

But it’s a talking dog!

It’s just a weird trick or something. Let’s get to the falls.

Please be my prisoner. Oh, please, oh, please be my prisoner!