English translation: no sh*t! / no kidding! / no joke! / you feel me?
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Just for the record, my 62-year old mother-in-law (highly educated!) says прикинь... Granted, it's more often than not a bit jokingly, but you most definitely do not have to be a particular type to say it... It's quite mainstream now.. I know this discussion has long since been closed, just thought I'd add my two cents! :) As far as the original, I'd say "you know?" "can you believe ____?!" "seriously?!" etc (and the already submitted, ubiquitous in today's talk "right?") are far more neutral that other submitted variants..
Paulina, "прикинь" is not something I can see a "skinny white girl" say, either, unless she is *the* type of white girl that actually speaks street language.
Are we translating slang here?
To say that the phrases in question most likely wouldn't be said by someone not in the hip-hop culture, which spans across the ethnic spectrum at this point.
I'd just like to note that I'm not usually "dead set" in my opinion, unless I'm being accused of making "statements when they are inaccurate."
Especially since (unlike Angela) I've ALWAYS understood what these phrases meant (English mother-tongue advantage).
But I would never use these phrases - it just wouldn't "fly" coming from a skinny white girl.
Of course, different expressions are often used/unused in different regions. However, this discrepancy would indicate that they are probably not the best translation options for the UK.
PS: not even African Americans wear baggy jeans anymore, "skinny" is the new fad..
Judi, the origins of the phrases are nondisputable
21:14 Jan 5, 2011
I actually think that the reason these expressions (especially "feel me") have become so popular in the past several years, is because of the TV show that I have referred to above (The Wire) which was a huge hit around here because it takes place in Baltimore (almost in our back yard). Also, there is a number of rap songs, etc., that have the same expressions.
It's the same as baggy pants that hang below your but. You can't say anymore that only African Americans are prone to this fashion or that only wannabes wear baggy jeans.
I asked my more knowledgeable children (and company) about this last night (without giving away the controversy), and the consensus was: although these expressions are not used exclusively by African Americans, one of the two in particular (I forget which) likely has its origins there. Their initial response gave away an immediate association with African Americans. I guess my 2 cents were worth about that.
Всем большое спасибо за разъяснения и дискуссию!
из всех предложенных выражений наиболее распространенные наверное - no sh*t! / no kidding! / no joke! ?
и - если кто-то знает насчет digging и feel me - это используется в Великобритании? европейцы поймут?
comments on that. I am not going to look for more links to prove the point, since it won't serve any purpose: you are dead set in your opinion.
Also, I don't live in the hood so we don't have wannabes here, but I do live on the other end of the US from you, therefore something that you don't hear maybe very normal on the East Coast (come to think of it, Mark, Judith and I are all from the East Coast).
Sorry, Angela, but I grew up "in the hood" of one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world - I've lived in Los Angeles my entire life, not just "5 years" ago - and continue to do so!
I am copying and pasting the following sentence from the link you yourself provided:
/ "Do you feel me" used by black Americans. /
When I showed my 13-year-old daughter these phrases and asked whether any of her friends ever speak this way, she just rolled her eyes and said it sounds "wannabe".
Your neighbors' sons probably think it's cool to sound like they're "brothers" or "homeboys", when in reality they're just "posers".... ;)
when they are not accurate? I hear it on an every day basis from my caucasian neighbors' sons and my son, too. This is the way young people speak now, no matter what race. You are about 5 years behind with your statement.
When I heard this phrase first time watching The Wire, I didn't understand what they said at all. Now the whole neighborhood high school speaks this way. Go figure.
These expressions both have a heightened "ethnic minority" flavor.
I really don't know anyone who speaks this way unless they're African American (or wants to sound like they are) - even the link provided notes the ethnic connotation.
So I would stay away from using these expressions in your translation, unless the speakers are black.
наши подростки в подобных ситуациях заканчивают предложения так:
He left me standing in the street, are you digging this?
He stabbed me in the back by doing this, you feel me?
Explanation: in the UK this is an extremely common phrase with a similar meaning
it is by now one of these fillers that annoy those language-conscious pedants, you know what i mean?
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 21 hrs (2011-01-05 18:12:54 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
близко по смыслу и по тому, как это выражение характеризует (уровень) говорящего
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 22 hrs (2011-01-05 19:47:19 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
actually if this прикинь is just a filler (several of them on every page), then may be you just could add "like" every now and again, as in
i was walking down the street, like, and then i saw this guy, like, ...
you d be amazed how many people actually do speak like that!
rikka Local time: 03:23 Native speaker of: Russian PRO pts in category: 4
Notes to answerer
Asker: Да, согласна, я часто это слышу. Я думала это скорее - Ну ты знаешь, ну понимаешь. Но по смыслу это близко к прикинь, действительно
The translation workplace 
peer agreement (net): +2
