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    A Bit of Fry & Laurie Concerning Language

    Fun English Lessons

    1 HN recommender · recommended in 4 months, 2023–2026

    YouTube

    7:24 · 773K views · Apr 27, 2015

    A Fry and Laurie sketch about language, full of absurd phrases and wordplay, which also plays on the distinction between langue and parole.

    HN quotes it jokingly when talk turns to nonsense language, and one commenter points out its underlying linguistics.

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    4 comments from Hacker News

    1. @OfSanguineFireJun 2023· in “Eastern philosophy says there is no “self.” Science agrees”

      Fry & Laurie had a sketch[0] that, behind the silliness and ridiculous characterization, sets out Ferdinand de Saussure’s distinction of langue versus parole that is the foundation of modern linguistics. [0] this video

      RecommendsView on HN
    2. @jareklupinskiMar 2023· in “Not by AI”

      Our language, Tiger, our language, hundreds of thousands of available words, frillions of possible legitimate new ideas, so that I can say this sentence and be confident it has never been uttered before in the history of human communication: "Hold the newsreader's nose squarely, waiter, or friendly milk will countermand my trousers." A Bit of Fry & Laurie Concerning Language: this video

      AsideView on HN
    3. @gib444Jun 2026· in “How many of the 170k English words do you know?”

      > stephen fry "May I compartmentalise? I hate to, but may I? may I?" "Hold the newsreader's nose squarely, waiter, or friendly milk will countermand my trousers" "...saying the same weary things time after weary time: I love you. Don't go in there. Get out. You have no right to say that. Stop that. Why should I. That hurt. Help. Marjorie is dead" this video (fantastic sketch!)

      AsideView on HN
    4. @gesshaMar 2025· in “NCSC, GCHQ, UK Gov't expunge advice to “use Apple encryption””

      Reminds me of this sketch from A bit of Fry and Laurie: Hugh: And by demagoguery you mean ...? Stephen: I mean demagoguery, I mean highly-charged oratory, persuasive whipping up rhetoric… Transcript: [LINK] Video: this video

      AsideView on HN