M
illionth English word imminentSummary
10 June 2009
It is being claimed that the millionth word in the English language is about to be created. A US company which follows the use of language on the internet has made the prediction. However traditional dictionary makers aren't so sure.... .
Reporter:
Lawrence Pollard
Dictionary experts are doubtful
Listen
Click to hear the report
Report
The idea of the millionth word entering the English language is a brilliant bit of public relations for Texas-based Global Language Monitor. GLM runs a powerful search service which monitors web traffic. They make their money telling organisations how often their name is mentioned in new media, such as the internet.
What they can also do is search for newly coined words. Once a word has been used 25,000 times on social networking sites and such like, GLM declares it to be a new word. By their calculations a new word is created in English every 98 minutes, hence the estimate that the millionth word is about to be created.
If you talk to lexicographers, however, dictionary professionals, they tell a slightly different story. Dictionaries have tighter criteria about what constitutes a new word, for example, it has to be used over a certain period of time. Lexicographers will tell you that the exact size of English vocabulary is impossible to quantify, but if you accept every technical term or obscure specialist word then we're already way beyond a million. And if you restrict inclusion of specialist slang, then there are possibly three quarters of a million words in English. All of which is way beyond the 20 - 40,000 words that a fluent speaker would use, or the few thousand you could get by with in English. Basically, with 1.5 billion people speaking some version of the language, it's small wonder English is the fastest growing tongue in the world.
Lawrence Pollard, Arts Correspondent, London
Listen
Click to hear the vocabulary
Vocabulary
Show All | Hide All
public relations
the activity of keeping good relationships between an organisation and the people outside it - sometimes abbreviated to 'PR'
monitors web traffic
checks and keeps records of which websites people are visiting
newly coined
(refers to language only) recently invented or used for the first time
tighter criteria
stricter standards by which something is judged or decided
constitutes
is considered as
quantify
measure or count
obscure
not widely known
restrict inclusion of specialist slang
limit the addition of informal language
small wonder
not surprising
tongue
language
BBC Learning English
Words in the News
10th
June 2009
Millionth English word imminent
Words in the News © British Broadcasting Corporation 2009
Page 1 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
It is being claimed that the millionth word in the English language is about to be created. A
US company which follows the use of language on the internet has made the prediction.
However, traditional dictionary makers aren't so sure…. Lawrence Pollard reports:
The idea of the millionth word entering the English language is a brilliant bit of public
relations for Texas-based Global Language Monitor. GLM runs a powerful search service
which monitors web traffic. They make their money telling organisations how often their
name is mentioned in new media, such as the internet.
What they can also do is search for newly coined words. Once a word has been used 25,000
times on social networking sites and such like, GLM declares it to be a new word. By their
calculations a new word is created in English every 98 minutes, hence the estimate that the
millionth word is about to be created.
If you talk to lexicographers, however, dictionary professionals, they tell a slightly different
story. Dictionaries have tighter criteria about what constitutes a new word, for example, it
has to be used over a certain period of time. Lexicographers will tell you that the exact size of
English vocabulary is impossible to quantify, but if you accept every technical term or
obscure specialist word then we're already way beyond a million. And if you restrict
inclusion of specialist slang, then there are possibly three quarters of a million words in
English. All of which is way beyond the 20 - 40,000 words that a fluent speaker would use, or
the few thousand you could get by with in English. Basically with 1.5 billion people speaking
some version of the language, it's small wonder English is the fastest growing tongue in the
world.
Lawrence Pollard, Arts Correspondent, London
Words in the news © British Broadcasting Corporation 2009
Page 2 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
Vocabulary and definitions
public relations the activity of keeping good relationships between an
organisation and the people outside it - sometimes
abbreviated to 'PR'
monitors web traffic checks and keeps records of which websites people are
visiting
newly coined (refers to language only) recently invented or used for the
first time
tighter criteria stricter standards by which something is judged or decided
constitutes is considered as
quantify measure or count
obscure not widely known
restrict inclusion of specialist
slang
limit the addition of informal language
small wonder not surprising
tongue language
More on this story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8092549.stm
Read and listen to the story and the vocabulary online:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2009/06/090610_witn_dict_page.shtml
Thứ Năm, 18 tháng 6, 2009
Millionth English word imminent
US prepares for digital switchover
U
S prepares for digital switchoverSummary
12 June 2009
More than two million households in the US will have blank television screens today when stations across the country switch off their analogue signal for good. The nationwide digital transition has caused a last minute rush to buy converter boxes and new TVs.
Reporter:
Matt Cleghorn reading report from Greg Wood in New York
The switch to the digital television signal makes old analog televisions obsolete unless a converter box has been purchased
Listen
Click to hear the report
Report
American television viewers have been bombarded with a series of adverts over recent weeks, warning them that the analogue signal would be switched off today and urging them to buy set- top converter boxes if they didn't want to lose reception.
The government has issued coupons, worth 40 dollars each, to cover most of the cost. In total the US authorities have spent two billion dollars to smooth the transition. But, according to the Federal Communications Commission, there are still 2.2 million households which have made no preparations.
Unlike the United Kingdom, where the analogue signal is being switched off region by region, the United States has decided to pull the plug in one go, across the nation, leading to accusations that some groups, especially the elderly and the low income households, have been left behind in the digital rush.
Greg Wood, BBC News, New York
Listen
Click to hear the vocabulary
Vocabulary
Show All | Hide All
bombarded
had lots of information directed at them
adverts
commonly used abbreviation for 'advertisements': films, pictures or songs aimed at selling a product or idea to viewers
analogue signal
the system of broadcasting by which televisions currently receive programmes
urging
strongly encouraging
set-top converter boxes
digital receivers which sit on top of televisions and contain the technology to convert TV pictures and sound into a digital format
reception
the television's ability to receive programmes
coupons
official pieces of paper which can be used instead of money
region by region
one area or location at a time
pull the plug
to stop an activity continuing in the way it has done
digital rush
the changeover to digital technology which is happening very quickly
BBC Learning English
Words in the News
12th
June 2009
US prepares for digital switchover
Words in the News © British Broadcasting Corporation 2009
Page 1 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
More than two million households in the US will have blank television screens today when
stations across the country switch off their analogue signal. The nationwide digital transition
has caused a last minute rush to buy converter boxes and new TVs. Greg Wood reports:
American television viewers have been bombarded with a series of adverts over recent
weeks, warning them that the analogue signal would be switched off today and urging them
to buy set- top converter boxes if they didn't want to lose reception.
The government has issued coupons, worth 40 dollars each, to cover most of the cost. In total
the US authorities have spent two billion dollars to smooth the transition. But, according to
the Federal Communications Commission, there are still 2.2 million households which have
made no preparations.
Unlike the United Kingdom, where the analogue signal is being switched off region by
region, the United States has decided to pull the plug in one go, across the nation, leading to
accusations that some groups, especially the elderly and the low income households, have
been left behind in the digital rush.
Greg Wood, BBC News, New York
Words in the news © British Broadcasting Corporation 2009
Page 2 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
Vocabulary and definitions
bombarded had lots of information directed at them
adverts commonly used abbreviation for 'advertisements': films,
pictures or songs aimed at selling a product or idea to
viewers
analogue signal the system of broadcasting by which televisions currently
receive programmes
urging strongly encouraging
set-top converter boxes digital receivers which sit on top of televisions and contain
the technology to convert TV pictures and sound into a
digital format
reception the television's ability to receive programmes
coupons official pieces of paper which can be used instead of
money
region by region one area or location at a time
pull the plug to stop an activity continuing in the way it has done
digital rush the changeover to digital technology which is happening
very quickly
More on this story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8096438.stm
Read and listen to the story and the vocabulary online:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2009/06/090612_witn_digital_page.shtml
Iran opposition rally
I
ran opposition rallySummary
15 June 2009
The leading opposition contender in Iran's presidential election, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, has cancelled a rally planned for later today. Mr Mousavi has condemned the election result, but President Ahmadinejad insists he was fairly re-elected.
Reporter:
Jon Leyne in Tehran
Tensions are running high in Tehran after two days of clashes
Listen
Click to hear the report:
Report
Just hours before the rally was due to start, the leading opposition candidate, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, announced that the demonstration was cancelled because it had not received official permission. I understand from sources close to Mr Mousavi that he was warned that the police and Basij militia had been given authorisation for the first time to use live rounds if the demonstration went ahead.
A smaller rally is in progress in Tehran University at the moment, being addressed by Mr Mousavi's wife Zahra Rahnavard. She's told students that the rally was cancelled because they were worried that the lives of those attending could be in danger. Reports from her rally indicate that paramilitaries are trying to break it up. Students are taking cover in a mosque.
Jon Leyne, BBC News, Tehran
Listen
Click to hear the vocabulary:
Vocabulary
Show All | Hide All
opposition
here, a political power (e.g. a political party or movement) that speak and/or act against the government in a country
announced
said officially and publicly
received official permission
been allowed to go ahead by the authorities
to use live rounds
to fire real bullets and/or shells that can explode and kill people
rally
a gathering of people (usually organised by a political power)
in progress
taking place
attending
taking part in it
indicate
show, tell, prove
paramilitaries
here, people assisting official military forces
to break it up
to stop it, to force the participants to go
BBC Learning English
Words in the News
15th
June 2009
Iran opposition rally cancelled
Words in the News © British Broadcasting Corporation 2009
Page 1 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
The leading opposition contender in Iran's presidential election, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, has
cancelled a rally planned for later today. Mr Mousavi has condemned the election result, but
President Ahmadinejad insists he was fairly re-elected. From Tehran, Jon Leyne reports:
Just hours before the rally was due to start, the leading opposition candidate, Mir-Hossein
Mousavi, announced that the demonstration was cancelled because it had not received
official permission. I understand from sources close to Mr Mousavi that he was warned that
the police and Basij militia had been given authorisation for the first time to use live rounds
if the demonstration went ahead.
A smaller rally is in progress in Tehran University at the moment, being addressed by Mr
Mousavi's wife Zahra Rahnavard. She's told students that the rally was cancelled because
they were worried that the lives of those attending could be in danger. Reports from her rally
indicate that paramilitaries are trying to break it up. Students are taking cover in a mosque.
Jon Leyne, BBC News, Tehran
Words in the news © British Broadcasting Corporation 2009
Page 2 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
Vocabulary and definitions
opposition here, a political power (e.g. a political party or movement)
that speak and/or act against the government in a country
announced said officially and publicly
received official permission been allowed to go ahead by the authorities
to use live rounds to fire real bullets and/or shells that can explode and kill
people
rally a gathering of people (usually organised by a political
power)
in progress taking place
attending taking part in it
indicate show, tell, prove
paramilitaries here, people assisting official military forces
to break it up to stop it, to force the participants to go
More on this story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8099952.stm
Read and listen to the story and the vocabulary online:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2009/06/090615_witn_iran.shtml
Acropolis Museum row
A
cropolis Museum rowSummary
17 June 2009
Workers are putting the final touches to the New Acropolis Museum in Athens in readiness for its opening later this week. The building has been specifically designed to house the Elgin Marbles which are in the British Museum in London.
Reporter:
Malcolm Brabant in Athens
Elgin Marbles on display at the British Museum in London
Listen
Click to hear the report:
Report
This is going to be a very uncomfortable week for Britain. Greece's Culture Minister, Antonis Samaras, has stoked up the pressure by rejecting what he claimed was an offer by the British Museum to loan some of the sculptures that were hacked from the Parthenon at the turn of the 19th Century.
The British Museum said it would consider a three or four month long loan, but only if Greece acknowledged that London was the rightful owner. Mr Samaras said Greece could do no such thing as it would legitimise Lord Elgin's theft and vandalism.
For years, the unsuccessful efforts to secure the return of the long sculpted frieze have been conducted in polite terms by diplomats and academics. Many Greeks have become tired of what one new movement has described as the Athens government's wishy-washy tactics. Over the past four months 100,000 people have signed up for what promises to be a more dynamic campaign. Some of them will demonstrate outside the new museum the night before the inauguration.
The group's leader, Alexis Mantheakis, said that if London could hand back India it should be capable of emptying a room at the British Museum.
Malcolm Brabant, BBC News, Athens
Listen
Click to hear the vocabulary:
Vocabulary
Show All | Hide All
stoked up
literally, added fuel to a fire; here, encouraged and increased
to loan
to give for a certain period of time, not forever
at the turn of
at the beginning of (a set phrase used when talking about centuries)
was the rightful owner
had the legal right to keep
legitimise
confirm the lawfulness of
sculpted frieze
a horizontal band forming part of a classical building, often decorated with sculpted ornaments or figures
wishy-washy
lacking in firm ideas, principles or noticeable qualities
signed up for
decided to join/take part in
inauguration
here, official opening ceremony
hand back
here, to abolish colonial control over
BBC Learning English
Words in the News
17th
June 2009
Acropolis Museum row
Words in the News © British Broadcasting Corporation 2009
Page 1 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
Workers are putting the final touches to the New Acropolis Museum in Athens in readiness for
its opening later this week. The building has been specifically designed to house the Elgin
Marbles which are in the British Museum in London. From Athens Malcolm Brabant reports:
This is going to be a very uncomfortable week for Britain. Greece's Culture Minister, Antonis
Samaras, has stoked up the pressure by rejecting what he claimed was an offer by the British
Museum to loan some of the sculptures that were hacked from the Parthenon at the turn of
the 19th Century.
The British Museum said it would consider a three or four month long loan, but only if
Greece acknowledged that London was the rightful owner. Mr Samaras said Greece could
do no such thing as it would legitimise Lord Elgin's theft and vandalism.
For years, the unsuccessful efforts to secure the return of the long sculpted frieze have been
conducted in polite terms by diplomats and academics. Many Greeks have become tired of
what one new movement has described as the Athens government's wishy-washy tactics.
Over the past four months 100,000 people have signed up for what promises to be a more
dynamic campaign. Some of them will demonstrate outside the new museum the night before
the inauguration.
The group's leader, Alexis Mantheakis, said that if London could hand back India it should
be capable of emptying a room at the British Museum.
Malcolm Brabant, BBC News, Athens
Words in the news © British Broadcasting Corporation 2009
Page 2 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
Vocabulary and definitions
stoked up literally, added fuel to a fire; here, encouraged and
increased
to loan to give for a certain period of time, not forever
at the turn of at the beginning of (a set phrase used when talking about
centuries)
was the rightful owner had the legal right to keep
legitimise confirm the lawfulness of
sculpted frieze a horizontal band forming part of a classical building,
often decorated with sculpted ornaments or figures
wishy-washy lacking in firm ideas, principles or noticeable qualities
signed up for decided to join/take part in
inauguration here, official opening ceremony
hand back here, to abolish colonial control over
More on this story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7381738.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts_and_culture/8096109.stm
Read and listen to the story and the vocabulary online:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2009/06/090617_witn_acropolis.shtml
Mark's Email Mistake: 3: That's Weird!
T
hat's weird…I'm sure I sent it to you… hang on a minute while I check..."
Mark
Episode 3
Listen to Mark
Hang on – hung on – hung on
Meaning: If you hang on, you wait for a short time.
Grammar: This phrasal verb doesn't usually take an object. If you want to say how long someone waited, or what they were waiting for, you can use the preposition 'for'.
I'm hanging on
We hung on for 20 minutes but the bus didn't come
We can't leave yet – we have to hang on for Peter
Example sentence: Mohammed can't talk right now – he's on the other phone. Would you like to hang on?
Synonyms: wait, stick around
BBC Learning English
Face up to Phrasals
Mark's Email Mistake
_________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Face up to Phrasals bbclearningenglish.com ©BBC Learning English 2009
Page 1 of 1
Episode 3: That's Weird!
Mark wrote a bad email about his colleague Peter and sent
it to his other colleague, Ali. But Ali says he hasn't
received the email…
Mark: That's weird…I'm sure I sent it to you… hang on a
minute while I check…
That is weird. What on earth has happened to the email?
Find out in episode 4 of Mark's Email Mistake.
.
Hang on – hung on – hung on
Meaning: If you hang on, you wait for a short time.
Grammar: This phrasal verb doesn't usually take an object. If you want to say how long someone
waited, or what they were waiting for, you can use the preposition 'for'.
I'm hanging on
We hung on for 20 minutes but the bus didn't come
We can't leave yet – we have to hang on for Peter
Example sentence: Mohammed can't talk right now – he's on the other phone. Would you like to
hang on?
Synonyms: wait, stick around
Thứ Ba, 16 tháng 6, 2009
Bruv
J
im Pettiward explains the origin, meaning and use of the word 'bruv' and some of its colloquial synonyms. Click below to listen:
Bruv
Bruv. B-R-U-V. 'What's up bruv?' 'What's happenin' bruv?' You may have heard the word and wondered what it means or where it comes from. 'Bruv' – it's a shortened version of brother. Note the spelling B-R-U-V. Often, in informal writing such as song lyrics and text messages, the spelling of words is shortened. In this case, U-V replaces O-T-H. This reflects a certain kind of pronunciation, especially common in London, where people say V or F instead of TH. In 2008 for example, Dizzee Rascal, a London rapper, released a single called 'Dance wiv me' (W-I-V).
The word is widely used to address another male –usually someone that the speaker shares a common bond with, friends or people they know, often people of a similar age to themselves. Using the word 'brother' in this way is certainly not a new phenomenon, so its current popularity is no real surprise. It was widely used in the 1970s and 80s in Black American speech to refer to another black man and to create a common bond among the black community, which still faced discrimination. When Marvin Gaye sang 'What's Happenin' Brother?' he wasn't referring to his brother but to his fellow man.
'Bruv' is probably the most common term, but there are others which have a similar function and express a similar bond – Bro (B-R-O), blud (B-L-U-D) and cuz (C-U-Z) are just some. Again, notice the spelling changes in 'blud' and 'cuz'.
It's now common to find the word 'bruv' in lots of different contexts – not long ago I saw the headline 'Killers of my hero bruv are cowards' in a popular tabloid newspaper. The reality show Big Brother is also routinely referred to as 'Big Bruv' in many newspapers and magazines.
Bruv is an informal usage. You won't find it in more formal spoken or written English, and many people would see it as 'bad English'. But, language is constantly evolving, and in schools and colleges, you'll find young people from all sorts of backgrounds using some of the slang words we've seen in this series.
BBC Learning English
Keep Your English Up To Date
28th
April 2009
Bruv
Keep Your English Up To Date © British Broadcasting Corporation 2009
Page 1 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
Bruv. B-R-U-V. ‘What’s up bruv?’ ‘What’s happenin’ bruv? You may have heard the word
and wondered what it means or where it comes from. ‘Bruv’ – it’s a shortened version of
brother. Note the spelling B-R-U-V. Often, in informal writing such as song lyrics and text
messages, the spelling of words is shortened. In this case, U-V replaces O-T-H. This reflects a
certain kind of pronunciation, especially common in London, where people say V or F instead
of TH. In 2008 for example, Dizzee Rascal, a London rapper, released a single called ‘Dance
wiv me’ (W-I-V).
The word is widely used to address another male –usually someone that the speaker shares a
common bond with, friends or people they know, often people of a similar age to themselves.
Using the word 'brother' in this way is certainly not a new phenomenon, so its current
popularity is no real surprise. It was widely used in the 1970s and 80s in Black American
speech to refer to another black man and to create a common bond among the black
community, which still faced discrimination. When Marvin Gaye sang ‘What’s Happenin’
Brother?’ he wasn’t referring to his brother but to his fellow man.
‘Bruv’ is probably the most common term, but there are others which have a similar function
and express a similar bond – Bro (B-R-O), blud (B-L-U-D) and cuz (C-U-Z) are just some.
Again, notice the spelling changes in ‘blud’ and ‘cuz’.
It’s now common to find the word ‘bruv’ in lots of different contexts – not long ago I saw the
headline ‘Killers of my hero bruv are cowards’ in a popular tabloid newspaper. The reality
show Big Brother is also routinely referred to as ‘Big Bruv’ in many newspapers and
magazines.
Bruv is an informal usage. You won’t find it in more formal spoken or written English, and
many people would see it as ‘bad English’. But, language is constantly evolving, and in
Keep Your English Up To Date © British Broadcasting Corporation 2009
Page 2 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
schools and colleges, you’ll find young people from all sorts of backgrounds using some of
the slang words we’ve seen in this series.
Jim Pettiward has a BA (hons) in French and Spanish, CTEFLA and Trinity TESOL Diploma.
He has taught EFL, EAP, ESP and Business English in Ecuador, Venezuela, Hungary and the
UK. He has also worked as an ICT trainer for the British Council and the University of the
Arts, London. He is currently teaching English for Academic Purposes in the Department of
Humanities, Arts, Languages and Education at London Metropolitan University.
Buff
B
uff
Jim Pettiward explains the origin, meaning and use of the word 'buff' and some of its colloquial synonyms. Click below to listen:
Buff
Buff – B-U-F-F. ‘That new girl in our class is well buff’. This is an adjective which, in youth slang, means attractive or well-toned. Somebody who is buff has an attractive body, they look ‘fit’.
I guess one of the difficult things for anyone trying to learn English, and trying to keep up with the latest vocabulary, is the fact that some words seem to have so many different, and totally unrelated meanings. How on earth are they supposed to know which is the correct meaning?
Well, of course, context is important. By looking at the context in which you see or hear the word, you should be able to work out which meaning is most likely when you look it up. ‘Buff’ is one of those words which has several meanings and whose latest meaning may not be in your dictionary at all.
As a noun it is often used to describe a person who is really into a particular hobby or pastime. It’s usually combined with the word describing the hobby, so a film buff is someone who really loves film and probably knows quite a lot about it. The word buff here implies an enthusiastic or almost obsessional interest in something.
As a verb ‘to buff’ means to polish or shine something with a cloth, to give something a shiny finish. This meaning is said to come from the word buffalo, an animal whose skin was used for leather and this leather was in turn often used to polish metal objects. From there came the adjective ‘buff’ meaning a dull yellow colour, the colour of the buffalo leather.
And more recently, as an adjective it has come to mean ‘attractive’ or ‘fit’. It’s not exactly clear why. Perhaps because a well-toned, tanned, fit person may look buff, like they’ve just been ‘buffed’, so they have a kind of ‘polished’ look.
There is one last expression with ‘buff’ which you should probably know, and that is ‘in the buff’ – it means naked, with no clothes on. This might be because the original meaning of buff referred to leather or skin so ‘in the buff’ means just in our skin.
Anyway, at least now if you see a ‘buff buff buffing in the buff’ you’ll know what it means!
BBC Learning English
Keep Your English Up To Date
5th
May 2009
Buff
Keep Your English Up To Date © British Broadcasting Corporation 2009
Page 1 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
Buff – B-U-F-F. ‘That new girl in our class is well buff’. This is an adjective which, in
youth slang, means attractive or well-toned. Somebody who is buff has an attractive body,
they look ‘fit’.
I guess one of the difficult things for anyone trying to learn English, and trying to keep up
with the latest vocabulary, is the fact that some words seem to have so many different and
totally unrelated meanings. How on earth are they supposed to know which is the correct
meaning?
Well, of course, context is important. By looking at the context in which you see or hear the
word, you should be able to work out which meaning is most likely when you look it up.
‘Buff’ is one of those words which has several meanings and whose latest meaning may not
be in your dictionary at all.
As a noun it is often used to describe a person who is really into a particular hobby or pastime.
It’s usually combined with the word describing the hobby, so a film buff is someone who
really loves film and probably knows quite a lot about it. The word 'buff' here implies an
enthusiastic or almost obsessional interest in something.
As a verb ‘to buff’ means to polish or shine something with a cloth, to give something a shiny
finish. This meaning is said to come from the word 'buffalo', an animal whose skin was used
for leather and this leather was in turn often used to polish metal objects. From there came the
adjective ‘buff’, meaning a dull yellow colour, the colour of the buffalo leather.
And more recently, as an adjective it has come to mean ‘attractive’ or ‘fit’. It’s not exactly
clear why. Perhaps because a well-toned, tanned, fit person may look buff, like they’ve just
been ‘buffed’, so they have a kind of ‘polished’ look.
Keep Your English Up To Date © British Broadcasting Corporation 2009
Page 2 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
There is one last expression with ‘buff’ which you should probably know, and that is ‘in the
buff’ – it means naked, with no clothes on. This might be because the original meaning of
'buff' referred to leather or skin so ‘in the buff’ means just in our skin.
Anyway, at least now if you see a ‘buff buff buffing in the buff’ you’ll know what it means!
Jim Pettiward has a BA (hons) in French and Spanish, CTEFLA and Trinity TESOL Diploma.
He has taught EFL, EAP, ESP and Business English in Ecuador, Venezuela, Hungary and the
UK. He has also worked as an ICT trainer for the British Council and the University of the
Arts, London. He is currently teaching English for Academic Purposes in the Department of
Humanities, Arts, Languages and Education at London Metropolitan University.
Citizen journalism
Citizen journalism
Jim Pettiward explains the origin, meaning and use of the expression 'citizen journalism' and some of its colloquial synonyms. Click below to listen:
‘Citizen journalism’. ‘Citizen journalism’. You probably know both of those words on their own. A citizen? A member of a city or state. You may even remember ‘netizen’ from Series 2, ‘a citizen of the internet’. I expect you know that a journalist is generally someone who writes for a newspaper or magazine. But what does it mean when you put the two words together?
The incredible rise of the internet has brought countless changes to the way we communicate and get our information. It’s hard to think of any aspect of our daily lives which hasn’t been affected by the spread of the internet and mobile technology, and news and journalism is certainly no exception.
The easy availability of mobile phones which can take high quality video and photographs and record sound means that almost anybody who is on the scene of a newsworthy event is able to record it. News organisations are only too happy to use the public as a vast - and cheap - source of content for its news items, as it’s impossible to have reporters and correspondents everywhere. In fact, in a sense, we have become their eyes and ears on the ground. We can all become ‘citizen journalists’, although many ‘real journalists’ are not happy with the idea that everybody can do what they do…
Think of some memorable recent news events… you can bet that some of the images which you associate with them are examples of ‘citizen journalism’. Coverage of the Asian tsunami, the London bombings in 2005, the floods in New Orleans, or the terrorist attacks in Mumbai all made extensive use of mobile phone photos and video sent in by members of the public. When a plane was forced to land in the Hudson River in January 2009, the most up-to-date news came from ordinary people using Twitter on their mobiles to describe what was happening and send pictures.
I sometimes imagine what it would be like if current mobile technology had been around at key moments in history. Can you imagine watching mobile phone footage of the last moments of the Titanic, or frantic twitterers relating the storming of the Bastille in Paris? Going further back, what if we had mobile phone footage of the Great Fire of London or the Battle of Hastings? If you could be a citizen journalist in any historical period, which one would you choose?
BBC Learning English
Keep Your English Up To Date
12th
May 2009
Citizen journalism
Keep Your English Up To Date © British Broadcasting Corporation 2009
Page 1 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
‘Citizen journalism’. ‘Citizen journalism’. You probably know both of those words on their
own. A citizen? A member of a city or state. You may even remember ‘netizen’ from Series 2,
‘a citizen of the internet’. I expect you know that a journalist is generally someone who writes
for a newspaper or magazine. But what does it mean when you put the two words together?
The incredible rise of the internet has brought countless changes to the way we communicate
and get our information. It’s hard to think of any aspect of our daily lives which hasn’t been
affected by the spread of the internet and mobile technology, and news and journalism is
certainly no exception.
The easy availability of mobile phones which can take high quality video and photographs
and record sound means that almost anybody who is on the scene of a newsworthy event is
able to record it. News organisations are only too happy to use the public as a vast - and cheap
- source of content for its news items, as it’s impossible to have reporters and correspondents
everywhere. In fact, in a sense, we have become their eyes and ears on the ground. We can all
become ‘citizen journalists’, although many ‘real journalists’ are not happy with the idea that
everybody can do what they do…
Think of some memorable recent news events… you can bet that some of the images which
you associate with them are examples of ‘citizen journalism’. Coverage of the Asian tsunami,
the London bombings in 2005, the floods in New Orleans, or the terrorist attacks in Mumbai
all made extensive use of mobile phone photos and video sent in by members of the public.
When a plane was forced to land in the Hudson River in January 2009, the most up-to-date
news came from ordinary people using Twitter on their mobiles to describe what was
happening and send pictures.
Keep Your English Up To Date © British Broadcasting Corporation 2009
Page 2 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
I sometimes imagine what it would be like if current mobile technology had been around at
key moments in history. Can you imagine watching mobile phone footage of the last moments
of the Titanic, or frantic twitterers relating the storming of the Bastille in Paris? Going further
back, what if we had mobile phone footage of the Great Fire of London or the Battle of
Hastings? If you could be a citizen journalist in any historical period, which one would you
choose?
Jim Pettiward has a BA (hons) in French and Spanish, CTEFLA and Trinity TESOL Diploma.
He has taught EFL, EAP, ESP and Business English in Ecuador, Venezuela, Hungary and the
UK. He has also worked as an ICT trainer for the British Council and the University of the
Arts, London. He is currently teaching English for Academic Purposes in the Department of
Humanities, Arts, Languages and Education at London Metropolitan University.
Credit crunch
C
redit crunchListen
Jim Pettiward explains the origin, meaning and use of the expression 'credit crunch' and some of its colloquial synonyms. Click below to listen:
Credit crunch
'Credit crunch'. If you’ve had your head buried in the sand for a couple of years, you won’t have heard this term. If not, then you will certainly have seen, read and heard an awful lot about the 'credit crunch'. CR-edit CR-unch. It has a nice satisfying ring to it. When you have a phrase or expression in which the first consonant sound of some of the words is the same, it's called 'alliteration'.
You'll often find alliteration in poetry, nursery rhymes or 'tongue twisters' like 'She sells sea shells on the sea shore'. 'Crunch' is a very expressive word, it makes you think of a breakfast cereal, or the sound when you’re trying to park your car and you're a bit heavy on the accelerator. 'Crunch!' - oops! 'Le crunch' was even an advertising slogan in the 1980s designed to sell a variety of French apple, 'le crunch' being the sound you made when biting into it.
But credit crunch, despite its nice friendly sound, has a sinister meaning. Although the term itself is not new (it was coined in the 1960s), it's only since 2007 that it has really taken off to become a defining term for the global economic downturn which began in August of that year. A search in the Guardian newspaper reveals that 'credit crunch' was mentioned just once in January 2007. In December of the same year it was used 255 times, while in October 2008, the word was used an extraordinary 686 times!
You may be wondering what the difference is between this and the more usual word for an economic downturn - 'recession'. Well, apart from the fact that it sounds better, the 'crunch' really means that credit has dried up, there’s no more. For many years, credit was freely available – we were all given the chance to be big spenders, particularly in Britain and the US. ''You want to buy a house but you haven't got any money? No problem. How much do you need?'' It seemed too good to be true… and it was. As banks collapsed, businesses folded and governments frantically bailed out, nobody wanted to lend money anymore. If you needed a loan, whether you were an individual, a small business or even a bank, it was increasingly hard to get it. Result? Bankruptcy, unemployment, less consumer spending – in a word, recession.
The term has now become a kind of catch-all for a variety of economic problems. Newspapers talk of 'credit-crunch Britain', the word becoming a compound adjective. One news story even spoke of the 'credit crunch snip' – in other words, a vasectomy, a medical procedure which many men are apparently opting for in the US as they can’t afford the expense of having more children!
BBC Learning English
Keep Your English Up To Date
19th
May 2009
Credit crunch
Keep Your English Up To Date © British Broadcasting Corporation 2009
Page 1 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
'Credit crunch'. If you’ve had your head buried in the sand for a couple of years, you won’t
have heard this term. If not, then you will certainly have seen, read and heard an awful lot
about the ‘credit crunch’. CR-edit CR-unch. It has a nice satisfying ring to it. When you have
a phrase or expression in which the first consonant sound of some of the words is the same,
it’s called ‘alliteration’.
You’ll often find alliteration in poetry, nursery rhymes or ‘tongue twisters’ like ‘She sells sea
shells on the sea shore’. ‘Crunch’ is a very expressive word, it makes you think of a breakfast
cereal, or the sound when you’re trying to park your car and you’re a bit heavy on the
accelerator. ‘Crunch!’ - oops! ‘Le crunch’ was even an advertising slogan in the 1980s
designed to sell a variety of French apple, ‘le crunch’ being the sound you made when biting
into it.
But credit crunch, despite its nice friendly sound, has a sinister meaning. Although the term
itself is not new (it was coined in the 1960s), it’s only since 2007 that it has really taken off to
become a defining term for the global economic downturn which began in August of that year.
A search in the Guardian newspaper reveals that ‘credit crunch’ was mentioned just once in
January 2007. In December of the same year it was used 255 times, while in October 2008,
the word was used an extraordinary 686 times!
You may be wondering what the difference is between this and the more usual word for an
economic downturn - ‘recession’. Well, apart from the fact that it sounds better, the ‘crunch’
really means that credit has dried up, there’s no more. For many years, credit was freely
available – we were all given the chance to be big spenders, particularly in Britain and the US.
“You want to buy a house but you haven’t got any money? No problem. How much do you
need?” It seemed too good to be true… and it was. As banks collapsed, businesses folded and
governments frantically bailed out, nobody wanted to lend money anymore. If you needed a
Keep Your English Up To Date © British Broadcasting Corporation 2009
Page 2 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
loan, whether you were an individual, a small business or even a bank, it was increasingly
hard to get it. Result? Bankruptcy, unemployment, less consumer spending – in a word,
recession.
The term has now become a kind of catch-all for a variety of economic problems. Newspapers
talk of “credit-crunch Britain”, the word becoming a compound adjective. One news story
even spoke of the ‘credit crunch snip’ – in other words, a vasectomy, a medical procedure
which many men are apparently opting for in the US as they can’t afford the expense of
having more children!
Jim Pettiward has a BA (hons) in French and Spanish, CTEFLA and Trinity TESOL Diploma.
He has taught EFL, EAP, ESP and Business English in Ecuador, Venezuela, Hungary and the
UK. He has also worked as an ICT trainer for the British Council and the University of the
Arts, London. He is currently teaching English for Academic Purposes in the Department of
Humanities, Arts, Languages and Education at London Metropolitan University.
End of
e
nd of Listen
Jim Pettiward explains the origin, meaning and use of the expression 'end of' and some other similar expressions. Click below to listen:
When in Rome...
End of
'End of'. Two words. You might have heard someone finish the sentence with this little phrase and wondered if they’d forgotten what they were going to say. ‘We’re not going, end of!’ End of what? End of the debate? End of the sentence? End of the world? Surely that’s not a grammatical way to finish a sentence? The complete phrase is ‘end of story’, which means there is nothing more to discuss. I’m right and you’re wrong. I don’t want to argue with you anymore. ‘I’ve told you already, I can’t lend you the money because I don’t have it! End of.’
Well, this is one example of a phrase, or expression, which becomes so widely used and well-known, such a cliché, that people don’t feel the need to say the whole phrase. They know that other people will understand what they mean, even if they don’t say all the words. Here’s another one… Do you know what I mean if I say ‘When in Rome…’? This is the first part of a very common expression ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do’, meaning, when you go to a different country or region, you should adapt your behaviour to the habits and norms of that place. Now just by saying ‘When in Rome’, people know what we mean.
When did ‘end of story’ become simply ‘end of’? It’s hard to say. I have often heard it used by footballers and D-list celebrities (see Series 3). It’s quite common to hear it on reality TV shows and on some comedy programmes, and it seems to have been only in the last few years that some people have started to drop the ‘story’. You might hear a footballer being interviewed after a game say something like ‘we didn’t create enough chances and didn’t deserve to win the game. End of.’ Nothing more to say. That’s the whole story. Only without the ‘story’.
BBC Learning English
Keep Your English Up To Date
26th
May 2009
End of
Keep Your English Up To Date © British Broadcasting Corporation 2009
Page 1 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
'End of'. Two words. You might have heard someone finish the sentence with this little phrase
and wondered if they’d forgotten what they were going to say. ‘We’re not going, end of!’ End
of what? End of the debate? End of the sentence? End of the world? Surely that’s not a
grammatical way to finish a sentence? The complete phrase is ‘end of story’, which means
there is nothing more to discuss. I’m right and you’re wrong. I don’t want to argue with you
anymore. ‘I’ve told you already, I can’t lend you the money because I don’t have it! End of.’
Well, this is one example of a phrase, or expression, which becomes so widely used and well-
known, such a cliché, that people don’t feel the need to say the whole phrase. They know that
other people will understand what they mean, even if they don’t say all the words. Here’s
another one… Do you know what I mean if I say ‘When in Rome…’? This is the first part of
a very common expression ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do’, meaning, when you go to
a different country or region, you should adapt your behaviour to the habits and norms of that
place. Now just by saying ‘When in Rome’, people know what we mean.
When did ‘end of story’ become simply ‘end of’? It’s hard to say. I have often heard it used
by footballers and D-list celebrities (see Series 3). It’s quite common to hear it on reality TV
shows and on some comedy programmes, and it seems to have been only in the last few years
that some people have started to drop the ‘story’. You might hear a footballer being
interviewed after a game say something like ‘we didn’t create enough chances and didn’t
deserve to win the game. End of.’ Nothing more to say. That’s the whole story. Only without
the ‘story’.
Jim Pettiward has a BA (hons) in French and Spanish, CTEFLA and Trinity TESOL Diploma.
He has taught EFL, EAP, ESP and Business English in Ecuador, Venezuela, Hungary and the
Keep Your English Up To Date © British Broadcasting Corporation 2009
Page 2 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
UK. He has also worked as an ICT trainer for the British Council and the University of the
Arts, London. He is currently teaching English for Academic Purposes in the Department of
Humanities, Arts, Languages and Education at London Metropolitan University.
Sick
s
ick
Listen
Jim Pettiward explains how some words and expression change their meaning over time. Today's example is 'sick'. Click below to listen:
He’s got a sick car!
Sick
Say the word ‘sick’ and what’s the first thing that comes to mind? A time when you were off school or work, maybe, or perhaps when you had too much to drink, or ate something that had gone off?
You might be surprised, then, to hear that in fact, for many young people today, ‘sick’ is used as an adjective to describe something good, amazing or cool. “That game was sick!” or “He’s got a sick car.”
The dictionary publisher Harper Collins has enlisted the help of social networking site, Bebo, which has 10.5 million UK users, to vote on which new slang words should be included in the 30th edition of their dictionary. The words which users will be asked to vote on were chosen by a panel of 14 – 18 year-olds. ‘Sick’ was one of the words on the shortlist, a reflection of its widespread use among today’s teenagers in Britain. It is part of a wider trend of words which have taken on an additional meaning, in this case changing from an originally negative meaning to something more positive. Other examples of this are ‘bad’ (meaning good of course), or ‘wicked’ (see Series 2).
This inversion of the meaning of words can lead to some confusion for anyone who’s been around a bit longer and is used to the more conventional meaning of the word. You know the word ‘sick’ can mean something negative or positive, depending on the context, so you might occasionally hear someone say ‘That’s sick!’ and just for a moment ask yourself, hmmm, I wonder, do they mean ‘good’ or ‘bad’?
About Jim Pettiward
Jim Pettiward has a BA (hons) in French and Spanish, CTEFLA and Trinity TESOL Diploma. He has taught EFL, EAP, ESP and Business English in Ecuador, Venezuela, Hungary and the UK. He has also worked as an ICT trainer for the British Council and the University of the Arts, London. He is currently teaching English for Academic Purposes in the Department of Humanities, Arts, Languages and Education at London Metropolitan University.
BBC Learning English
Keep Your English Up To Date
9th
June 2009
Sick
Keep Your English Up To Date © British Broadcasting Corporation 2009
Page 1 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
Say the word ‘sick’ and what’s the first thing that comes to mind? A time when you were off
school or work, maybe, or perhaps when you had too much to drink, or ate something that
had gone off?
You might be surprised, then, to hear that in fact, for many young people today, ‘sick’ is used
as an adjective to describe something good, amazing or cool. “That game was sick!” or “He’s
got a sick car.”
The dictionary publisher Harper Collins has enlisted the help of social networking site, Bebo,
which has 10.5 million UK users, to vote on which new slang words should be included in the
30th
edition of their dictionary. The words which users will be asked to vote on were chosen
by a panel of 14 – 18 year-olds. ‘Sick’ was one of the words on the shortlist, a reflection of its
widespread use among today’s teenagers in Britain. It is part of a wider trend of words which
have taken on an additional meaning, in this case changing from an originally negative
meaning to something more positive. Other examples of this are ‘bad’ (meaning good of
course), or ‘wicked’ (see Series 2).
This inversion of the meaning of words can lead to some confusion for anyone who’s been
around a bit longer and is used to the more conventional meaning of the word. You know the
word ‘sick’ can mean something negative or positive, depending on the context, so you might
occasionally hear someone say ‘That’s sick!’ and just for a moment ask yourself, ‘hmmm, I
wonder, do they mean ‘good’ or ‘bad’?’
Jim Pettiward has a BA (hons) in French and Spanish, CTEFLA and Trinity TESOL Diploma.
He has taught EFL, EAP, ESP and Business English in Ecuador, Venezuela, Hungary and the
Keep Your English Up To Date © British Broadcasting Corporation 2009
Page 2 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
UK. He has also worked as an ICT trainer for the British Council and the University of the
Arts, London. He is currently teaching English for Academic Purposes in the Department of
Humanities, Arts, Languages and Education at London Metropolitan University.
North Korea jails US journalists
N
orth Korea jails US journalistsSummary
8 June 2009
The US State department says it is deeply concerned about the fate of two American journalists who have been found guilty in North Korea of 'hostile acts' against the country. They were arrested in March by North Korean border guards.
Reporter:
Chris Hogg
Laura Ling
Listen
Click to hear the report
Report
American diplomats say they are using all possible channels to release the two journalists, but the reality is it's not going to be easy. The United States and North Korea don't have diplomatic relations. Messages are passed using officials from third countries. The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il has wanted direct talks with the United States for years, and may use the two Americans, Euna Lee and Laura Ling as 'bargaining chips' to try to win concessions from Washington.
Guards from the North arrested the pair while they were working near the country's border with China on March 17th. They have now been convicted of hostile acts against the country, and entering the North illegally. They face the prospect of being sent to one of the North's prison camps. The US State Department has described conditions in these institutions as 'harsh' and 'life-threatening'.
Before the verdicts came in, the US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton had described the charges against the two women as 'baseless' and said they should be allowed to return home. She is thought to be exploring the possibility of sending an envoy to try to secure their release. There's been speculation in recent days that the former US vice president Al Gore might travel to Pyongyang. He's the co-founder of the media company the two women work for.
Chris Hogg, BBC News, Seoul
Listen
Click to hear the vocabulary
Vocabulary
Show All | Hide All
all possible channels
every method they can think of to communicate
diplomatic relations
an arrangement between two countries where each has a representative in the other country
direct talks
an opportunity for 1-2-1 discussion without another person or party being there
bargaining chips
something which someone else wants that you are willing to lose in order to reach an agreement
win concessions
gain special rights or favours
convicted of hostile acts
found guilty of actions that might damage a country, its people or its buildings
harsh
unnecessarily severe
life-threatening
could cause death
baseless
not based on facts
an envoy
someone who is sent as a representative from one government to another
BBC Learning English
Words in the News
8th
June 2009
North Korea jails US journalists
Words in the News © British Broadcasting Corporation 2009
Page 1 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
The US State department says it is deeply concerned about the fate of two American
journalists who have been found guilty in North Korea of 'hostile acts' against the country.
They were arrested in March by North Korean border guards. Chris Hogg reports.
American diplomats say they are using all possible channels to release the two journalists,
but the reality is it's not going to be easy. The United States and North Korea don't have
diplomatic relations. Messages are passed using officials from third countries. The North
Korean leader, Kim Jong-il has wanted direct talks with the United States for years, and may
use the two Americans, Euna Lee and Laura Ling as 'bargaining chips' to try to win
concessions from Washington.
Guards from the North arrested the pair while they were working near the country's border
with China on March 17th. They have now been convicted of hostile acts against the country,
and entering the North illegally. They face the prospect of being sent to one of the North's
prison camps. The US State Department has described conditions in these institutions as
'harsh' and 'life threatening'.
Before the verdicts came in, the US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton had described the
charges against the two women as 'baseless' and said they should be allowed to return home.
She is thought to be exploring the possibility of sending an envoy to try to secure their release.
There's been speculation in recent days that the former US vice president Al Gore might
travel to Pyongyang. He's the co-founder of the media company the two women work for.
Chris Hogg, BBC News, Seoul
Words in the news © British Broadcasting Corporation 2009
Page 2 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
Vocabulary and definitions
all possible channels every method they can think of to communicate
diplomatic relations an arrangement between two countries where each has a
representative in the other country
direct talks an opportunity for 1-2-1 discussion without another person
or party being there
bargaining chips something which someone else wants that you are willing
to lose in order to reach an agreement
win concessions gain special rights or favours
convicted of hostile acts found guilty of actions that might damage a country, its
people or its buildings
harsh unnecessarily severe
life-threatening could cause death
baseless not based on facts
an envoy someone who is sent as a representative from one
government to another
More on this story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/8088601.stm
Read and listen to the story and the vocabulary online:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2009/06/090608_witn_korea_page.shtml
Iran opposition rally cancelled
I
ran opposition rallySummary
15 June 2009
The leading opposition contender in Iran's presidential election, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, has cancelled a rally planned for later today. Mr Mousavi has condemned the election result, but President Ahmadinejad insists he was fairly re-elected.
Reporter:
Jon Leyne in Tehran
Tensions are running high in Tehran after two days of clashes
Listen
Click to hear the report:
Report
Just hours before the rally was due to start, the leading opposition candidate, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, announced that the demonstration was cancelled because it had not received official permission. I understand from sources close to Mr Mousavi that he was warned that the police and Basij militia had been given authorisation for the first time to use live rounds if the demonstration went ahead.
A smaller rally is in progress in Tehran University at the moment, being addressed by Mr Mousavi's wife Zahra Rahnavard. She's told students that the rally was cancelled because they were worried that the lives of those attending could be in danger. Reports from her rally indicate that paramilitaries are trying to break it up. Students are taking cover in a mosque.
Jon Leyne, BBC News, Tehran
Listen
Click to hear the vocabulary:
Vocabulary
Show All | Hide All
opposition
here, a political power (e.g. a political party or movement) that speak and/or act against the government in a country
announced
said officially and publicly
received official permission
been allowed to go ahead by the authorities
to use live rounds
to fire real bullets and/or shells that can explode and kill people
rally
a gathering of people (usually organised by a political power)
in progress
taking place
attending
taking part in it
indicate
show, tell, prove
paramilitaries
here, people assisting official military forces
to break it up
to stop it, to force the participants to go
BBC Learning English
Words in the News
15th
June 2009
Iran opposition rally cancelled
Words in the News © British Broadcasting Corporation 2009
Page 1 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
The leading opposition contender in Iran's presidential election, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, has
cancelled a rally planned for later today. Mr Mousavi has condemned the election result, but
President Ahmadinejad insists he was fairly re-elected. From Tehran, Jon Leyne reports:
Just hours before the rally was due to start, the leading opposition candidate, Mir-Hossein
Mousavi, announced that the demonstration was cancelled because it had not received
official permission. I understand from sources close to Mr Mousavi that he was warned that
the police and Basij militia had been given authorisation for the first time to use live rounds
if the demonstration went ahead.
A smaller rally is in progress in Tehran University at the moment, being addressed by Mr
Mousavi's wife Zahra Rahnavard. She's told students that the rally was cancelled because
they were worried that the lives of those attending could be in danger. Reports from her rally
indicate that paramilitaries are trying to break it up. Students are taking cover in a mosque.
Jon Leyne, BBC News, Tehran
Words in the news © British Broadcasting Corporation 2009
Page 2 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
Vocabulary and definitions
opposition here, a political power (e.g. a political party or movement)
that speak and/or act against the government in a country
announced said officially and publicly
received official permission been allowed to go ahead by the authorities
to use live rounds to fire real bullets and/or shells that can explode and kill
people
rally a gathering of people (usually organised by a political
power)
in progress taking place
attending taking part in it
indicate show, tell, prove
paramilitaries here, people assisting official military forces
to break it up to stop it, to force the participants to go
More on this story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8099952.stm
Read and listen to the story and the vocabulary online:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2009/06/090615_witn_iran.shtml
Dancing into old age
W
e meet a ballet dancing grandfather of 11 who has had his stage debut at a surprisingly respectable age!
This week's question:
How old do you think he was at the time?
Listen to the programme
Dancing into old age
a) nearly 70
b) almost 80
c) close to 90
Listen out for the correct answer in the programme!
Vocabulary from the programme
Show All | Hide All
to grow old gracefully
a commonly used expression meaning to become more tolerant, accepting and patient about your age
the ballet bug really took hold of him
he became very passionate about learning and practising ballet dancing
tap dancing / tap
a type of dance in which you mark the rhythm by the noise of your dancing shoes on the floor
ever since
a very common way of saying that something that is continuing even now was started by a certain event, or situation in the past
to let yourself go
to allow yourself to become less attractive or healthy
effeminate
womanlike
BBC Learning English
6 Minute English
Dancing into old age
NB: This is not an accurate word-for-word transcript
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2009
Page 1 of 4
Dima: Hi, welcome to this edition of 6 Minute English with me, Dima Kostenko
Jackie: and me, Jackie Dalton.
Dima: As usual, I'll be relying on your help with the language Jackie. But first, I'd
like to ask you a question…
Jackie: Responds
Dima: How do you see yourself when you've grown quite a bit older than you are
now? What kind of person do you think you'll be?
Jackie: Responds (active - not very active; hobbies - what likely hobbies? travelling?
other activities? family? etc.)
Dima: Well, I suppose we'll have to wait a few decades before we find out for sure -
but this brings us nicely to the topic of this programme. Today we'll be talking
about old age - and how some people just refuse to grow old gracefully.
Jackie: 'To grow old gracefully' - this is a common way of saying to become more
tolerant, accepting and patient about your age, and to know and accept the
limitations of what your body can do.
Dima: And while some people do exactly that, others are the opposite: they do
everything they can to challenge their new, older selves. They take up
activities that their peers from the past generations didn't dare to dream of!
Like for example modelling, or even ballet dancing…
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2009
Page 2 of 4
Jackie: Ballet dancing? Surely you don't mean dancing on stage, in front of an
audience?
Dima: That's exactly what I mean Jackie! John Lowe, a grandfather of 11 who we'll
be hearing from in a moment, has had his stage debut in a production by a
dance company in Ely in eastern England. His performance in Prokofiev's
classic ballet, The Stone Flower, drew quite a bit of media attention last year.
And all that thanks to his rather respectable age… And here comes my
question to you Jackie. How old do you think he was at the time:
a) nearly 70
b) almost 80
c) close to 90?
Jackie: Answers
Dima: We'll check your answer later but first let's hear from the man himself. John,
formerly a soldier, a teacher and a theatre company manager, says it wasn't
until some ten years ago, after a long period abroad, that the ballet bug really
took hold of him.
Jackie: 'The ballet bug really took hold of him' - in other words, he became very
passionate about learning and practising ballet dancing.
Dima: As you listen, look out for these words and expressions:
Jackie: 'Tap'. 'Tap' is a type of dance in which you mark the rhythm by the noise of
your dancing shoes on the floor. And the expression 'ever since' - a very
common term used to say that something that's continuing even now was
started by a certain event, or situation in the past. Most often you will hear this
expression in sentences that use the present perfect or, like in this example, the
present perfect continuous. That's 'tap' and 'ever since'. Ready? Listen:
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Clip 1 0'11"
When I returned to this country, I asked if I could do tap and ballet at the local dance school
in Ely. They said, 'of course you can!' Well, I was seventy-nine then and I've been doing it
ever since.
Jackie: John says, when he went to the local dance school in Ely, he asked if he could
do ballet and tap dancing. Even though he was 79 then, the answer was - yes,
and so he's been dancing there ever since.
Dima: With practice, he's developed a better flexibility and strength, and he finds it
very difficult to understand why many of his contemporaries decide to let
themselves go!
Jackie: 'To let themselves go' - a useful set phrase that means to allow themselves to
become less attractive or less healthy.
Dima: John says, there is a sure way of staying fit regardless of your age. And that is -
ballet dancing!
Jackie: Listen to him again and try to answer this question: according to John, what is
the reason why many men in Britain wouldn't want to take up ballet? Here is
your clue: listen out for a word that means womanlike.
Clip 2 0'12"
I recommend it to anybody. Of course, men in this country, they think it effeminate to dance. I
don't find it effeminate. I used to box for the army, so that's not effeminate!
Jackie: So why aren't many men in this country keen on ballet dancing? Well
according to John, the answer is they don't feel it's something a man should do
- it's too womanlike, and the word he used was 'effeminate'.
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Dima: Now, before we hear the answer to this week's question, could you go through
some of today's key words and phrases again Jackie?
Jackie: We began with to grow old gracefully, a commonly used expression meaning
to become more tolerant, accepting and patient about your age. Then we had
the expression the ballet bug really took hold of him, that's when you
become very passionate about learning and practising ballet dancing.
We mentioned tap dancing, or simply tap - a type of dance in which you mark
the rhythm by the noise of your dancing shoes on the floor. And then we heard
the phrase ever since, a very common way of saying that something that is
continuing even now was started by a certain event, or situation in the past. We
had the expression to let yourself go, meaning to allow yourself to become less
attractive or healthy, and then the adjective effeminate - in other words
womanlike.
Dima: Thanks Jackie. Finally, back to the question I asked you earlier. I asked how
old John was when he had his stage debut?
Jackie: I'm quite good/not too good at doing sums…(79 about ten years ago so… )
Dima: Quite a character! I'm afraid that's all we have time for today. Until next week.
Both: Goodbye!
Who on Earth are we? -Part 12
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Callum: Hello and welcome to the last in our series about culture and inter-cultural
communication Who on Earth are we?
Over the course of this series, we’ve heard about some of the ways that we can
explore cultural differences, we’ve come closer to understanding the nature of
‘culture’ - and found ways that can help us communicate better with people
from different cultural backgrounds. But have we come any closer to
understanding what our own cultures are like - do we know ‘who on earth we
are?’
We’ll try to answer that question at the end of the programme. Before that,
though, let’s look back at some of the main points covered during the series -
and then consider how we can make practical use of this knowledge.
We heard that the nature of the culture we grow up in is invisible to us. We
don’t look at our own culture because, for us, it’s normal.
We looked at language – and how languages are different, not just in the way
they sound or the words they use, but because different languages represent
both the different ways people experience the world, and influence the way the
people of a culture think and behave.
We considered the differences between verbal cultures, where people value
talk and verbal reasoning – and non-verbal cultures, where silence is
considered a positive thing because it can help to maintain social harmony.
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Then, we heard about the different ways people from different cultures use
body-language, touch and gesture – and how this can affect, and be affected by,
different cultural attitudes to time and space.
One of the most important ideas we covered, was the distinction between
cultures where the individual is seen as central, and those where the group is
seen as the most important unit.
We looked at cultural dimensions - at how we can begin to see what a culture is
like by considering things such as a culture’s attitude to power, whether a
culture tries to avoid uncertainty, or to what extent a culture values masculine
or feminine characteristics.
And in recent programme we looked at some of the barriers to successful
communication between people from different cultures, and the problem of
culture shock. But what are the practical implications of all this? What use can
we make of this information? Over to series writer and presenter, Marc Beeby.
Marc: Well, we need to turn these theories into action –when we meet and talk to
people from other cultures, for example – or, more particularly, when we go to
live in a foreign country. And how do we do that? Sit back and listen as people
from around the world help Rebecca Fong – a teacher of intercultural
communication from the University of the West of England, present a guide to
turning theories about culture into successful - and beneficial - intercultural
practice
Rebecca Fong
First and foremost the biggest barrier to adjusting to a new culture could well be assuming
that it'll be easy and that you'll be OK. If it is - obviously that's fantastic - if it isn't - which it's
much more likely to be - then don't panic - this is normal, you're normal. Focus on the idea of
cultural relativism - no one culture is right. We shouldn't use our own standards to judge other
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cultures with. Begin the process of asking questions about how and why different cultures do
things differently.
Eilidh Hamilton
We all believe that our culture is the right way of doing it because we've always been told this
is right, this is how you behave, this is what you must say, this is what you must do. When
you move to another culture often you have to realise that what you have learnt is not
intrinsically right - it's just one way.
Rebecca Fong
Prepare: Arm yourself with the facts before you go - find out about the geography and the
history the food the customs. Learn the language - this will give you control in your new
culture - it will also give you an opportunity to meet people and socialise and a window on the
way the culture works as you come to understand how the language is used.
When you get there: When you get there, try and make friends as soon as you can. A good
way of making real friends in a culture is by joining local cookery courses or music or drama
courses or sports clubs. Whatever your local neighbourhood has to offer.
Emma Kambangula
Having travelled all over the world and met people from different cultures, I feel it made me
quite a rich person. When I go home I know how to treat other people from other cultures and
to inform my people how to respect people with their cultures – because sometimes you find
them rude, but it’s not that they’re rude, it’s how they take it in their country. But it really
educated me quite a lot and I'm really happy about that.
Rebecca Fong
Work on yourself: This is probably the most important thing of all. Raise your self-awareness
and remember that culture is not only about what we believe - but much harder to get control
of - it's about the way that we behave - so be observant - watch what's going on around you
and notice behavioural differences. Listen to yourself. Even when you get frustrated, try not to
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lose your temper; be restrained, reserve judgement, wait until you've really made an effort to
find out the reasons for your frustrations.
James Keegan
Making cultural change, it isn’t necessarily that you have to adapt and become part of that
culture. But the one thing you owe it, to any other culture, is to be aware. Just be aware that in
France you know, things are done differently. Just be aware that when you go to Japan, things
are done differently. And don’t stand there and say: oh this isn’t the way we do it, and how
strange or how peculiar. You’ve got to sort of recognise that different cultures do things
differently.
Rebecca Fong
Be sensitive: When situations are difficult consider that it may in fact be you that is doing
something wrong. Be introspective learn to ask yourself questions especially if you can't
understand why it is that things are happening differently around you. Be open and tolerant -
try not to dismiss things you don't know about. Criticising or rejecting the culture's favourite
food or their favourite pastime or their favourite sport might turn out to be offensive. Don't be
judgmental. Try to put yourself in the shoes of the other culture and imagine why their world
is as it is.
Be sociable and extrovert: Nobody knows you in this culture - you don't have your old
reputation to live up to. So even if you're a shy person back home, adopt a new identity - be
the person that you've always secretly wanted to be. Be wary of stereotypes - remember you
can be so busy looking for stereotypes that you blind yourself to all the other characteristics
that are also there.
Mahmood Jamal
Just like probably English people saw people from Pakistan or Bangladesh or India as being
one homogenous group, I also used to see English people as one homogenous group. So that
was the first breakdown of my stereotype of English people - that English people are a
variety of people from a variety of classes, a variety of backgrounds, a variety of regions. In a
way what I am saying is that that is the way one should look at almost every country, every
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nation and every culture because there's no such thing as a monolithic person, you know, or a
culture.
Rebecca Fong
Situations to avoid: A common reaction to difference is to seek what you know in the
company of other expatriates in the place where you go. This can end up really slowing down
your learning process and worse it can turn into super ethno-centric moaning situations where
everyone sits around idealising the home country and downgrades the benefits of the host
culture. Along the same lines - if all you're going to do when you go abroad is to try to
replicate your home country as closely as you can by eating the same food and dressing the
same and kitting your house out the same and doing the same activities - then why did you
bother to go at all?
Kyung-ja Yoo
I'm quite fortunate I'm quite the lucky one - because I now have a comparison - comparison of
Eastern culture and Western culture so I could possibly understand why people are behaving
like that better than the people who never left the country. But sometimes I feel like I don't
really belong to anywhere - in a way it makes me free, much more free.
Rebecca Fong
As soon as you make the decision to change your external behaviour and your habits a little
bit to match the culture you're in you'll be simply amazed by how much doors open for you,
how people will admire the effort you're making to fit in and how they respond to this by
taking you into their inner circles and confiding in you.
Devon Krohn
I think what I've learnt from being abroad is just to be more open-minded I know that sounds
like a cliché but you meet so many different kinds of people and doing different things and
behaving in different ways that you think to yourself - it works that way as well - it doesn't
just work my way. and you become a lot more tolerant.
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Rebecca Fong
Above all try to maintain a sense of humour through thick and thin. See the positive side.
Nothing is ever all bad or all difficult. If you make a real effort to acculturate in the time that
you have then living in a foreign culture will doubtlessly remain with you as one of the best
experiences that you'll ever have in your life.
Callum: Rebecca Fong, with a practical guide to successful inter-cultural
communication. You also heard from Eilidh Hamilton and Devon Krohn from
Britain, Emma Kambangula from Namibia, James Keegan in the USA,
Mahmoud Jamal from Pakistan, and Kyung-ja Yoo from Japan. My thanks to
them, and to all the people from around the world who have taken part in this
series. I know they’ve helped me become a better inter-culturalist. But my
special thanks goes to our cultural guide, Rebecca Fong. And I’ll leave the
final word in the series to her.
Rebecca Fong
Learning about other people's cultures is one of the most fantastically rewarding things that
any of us will ever do and in asking ourselves questions about how other cultures operate
we'll inevitably have to compare and contrast them with our own cultures so that an
unexpected by-product of studying other cultures will be learning more about the way that our
own cultures operate - which brings us nearer to being able to answer the question - who on
Earth are we?
Who on Earth are we? - Part 11
BBC Learning English
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Callum: Hello, and welcome to this edition of Who on Earth are we? with Marc Beeby.
Today Marc looks at culture shock and we start with Dr Rajni Badlani from the
British Council in India describing an experience she had when she first visited
Britain.
Rajni Badlani
When I first went to England I was absolutely, absolutely shocked. There were three of us.
Two of us Indians and there was one English person. Right in the middle of the conversation
he takes out a banana, peels it and starts eating it, without even saying ‘excuse me’ or
whatever. We expect to be offered.
Marc: Dr Badlani describes a moment when two cultures collided, a moment of
‘culture shock’. People who spend time living in another culture have many
moments like this. But ‘culture shock’ isn’t simply a series of small incidents
that upset or puzzle us. It’s more a process - and, in fact, it’s a process that
many of us will have experienced without ever leaving home. To explain
further, here’s Rebecca Fong, a teacher of intercultural communication at the
University of the West of England.
Rebecca Fong
Most of us tend to think of culture shock as a kind of exotic illness that we get when we get to
far-off places - but actually it’s not just related to far-off places - it’s extremely similar to
something that we go through whenever we go through any kind of change in our life or any
kind of transition. We’re constantly having to deal with the kinds of changes that come with
different stages of personal development and different events in your life like moving house
or getting a new job or divorce or bereavement and all of these things involve us giving up
something that we were familiar with and trying to adjust and adapt to something new.
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Obviously changes like this are traumatic in different degrees and they’ll be worse for some
people than others.
Callum: Rebecca Fong. The degree to which people experience culture shock when they
visit a foreign country depends on several things. One of the most important of
these is ‘cultural distance’ - how different is the culture that you’re visiting
from the one that you’ve grown up in. Then, what is your role in the new
culture? Do you have people to talk to or do you feel terribly lonely? To some
extent, this will depend on your personality. But despite these individual
differences, there are certain stages to the process of culture shock that most
people experience. Rebecca Fong guides us through those stages now, with
help and comments from people from around the world. We begin in a positive
frame of mind.
Rebecca Fong
Culture shock has been divided up into a process that has roughly five different phases. First
of all there’s what’s called euphoria or exhilaration and I’ve also heard it being called the
honeymoon period. It often takes from a few weeks to a few months depending on the cultural
distance, your personality and all the factors that we’ve already mentioned. You’ve got over
the panic of the travel and the departure and saying goodbye to your friends and the journey
was very exciting and you’ve got lots of things to look forward to - and you arrive and you’re
so busy looking for accommodation and the things that you need in that country and getting to
know the new people at work, and you tackle all your problems with good humour - and you
are far too busy to get at all negative or depressed. It’s not until after this has worn off a little
bit that you start to run into some of the problems. The climate will be different, the traffic
problems may be very different or you may find that the food is not to your liking.
Mahmoud Jamal
When I was about 18 my aim was to go abroad to study. I decided to come to London. When I
first arrived I was only probably about 19 - what surprised me was the journey from the
airport, it was drizzling, it was middle of October, I was in a bus, I was looking at the dark
rooftops - it all seemed very, very strange. But soon enough I managed to find my ground - I
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managed to find a place to live in and go and start working in the City of London. Now the
interesting thing is that I did not know that I was that different - which is so obvious now - but
at the time somehow the issue of race was not an issue that I had ever confronted in my life -
so I think this is something that can happen to people who move from one racial group or
culture to another.
Rebecca Fong
You begin to realise that you are an outsider and although the people from that country are
being polite and fairly kind to you, you start to realise that they don’t actually understand
what the problems are for you. And you start asking questions but in a way they are veiled
criticisms - you can feel yourself being critical about the culture. You might begin to lose
your sense of balance, you might begin to lose your sense of humour. You might begin to
think about your own culture very fondly and you might without knowing it idealise or over-
idealise your own culture, romanticise it, think about how everything at home is wonderful,
you could get quite exaggerated ideas of how it is back home in this particular stage. A lot of
people get to this stage, suffer it for a while and then give up.
Devon Krohn
When I was abroad I started to feel quite homesick for England, which is part of the reason
why I came back. I was missing the kind of politeness that you get in English society in every
day life in the supermarket, in the post office, where people greet you and they say thank you
and goodbye - just in the kind of way that acknowledges that you are talking to another
human being. When I came back to England I found it’s not really that different, but actually
it’s the same as it was abroad.
Rebecca Fong
If you can get past this stage you come into what’s been referred to as recovery or technically
the process that’s called acculturation - the learning process, the process of change over time
where your contact with that culture seems to improve and you integrate better with the
culture. Language skills of course improve over time and this is one of the things that helps
you in this stage. You might find your sense of humour coming back and you actually make
more effort to become part of the community - make friends and find out about the manners
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and customs of the particular place that you’re in. So in this stage you’re learning and that
brings you rewards which will eventually help you recover from your culture shock. But at
this stage you can still feel superior to the host culture and have some difficulty in completely
letting go of your own ideas and supplanting them with the ideas of the new culture.
Mahmoud Jamal
When I first came to Britain I did not know who I was and over the years. As I discovered
Britain I also discovered myself - and this is also very important when people move from one
culture to another, one place to another because it’s not just discovering the other place you
also discover who you are - that discovery took place over a number of years. You know the
first instance you wanted to be embraced by the culture you went into - you wanted to feel at
home - then you had a sense that oh well they were not quite accepting you - so you had to
find out who you were in order to relate to something that belongs to you. So it can be quite a
severe battle between the culture you are in and the culture that you belong to - and then
slowly you reach a compromise and you learn to live with it and you learn to live with
yourself.
Rebecca Fong
It’s not until the next stage - which is stage four - that you really adjust properly and start to
appreciate the culture for what it is - you start to understand the values and the norms of that
culture and its customs for what they really are. You might even begin to believe that some of
their values are better than your own. But that’s not necessarily the end of the wave because if
you ever find yourself going back home after your period abroad you might find quite some
difficulty re-adapting to your own culture. People will be pleased to see you of course and
you’ll have been longing to talk to your family and friends about your experience - but pretty
soon they won’t be interested in asking you questions about your having living abroad and
you’ll find yourself wanting to convey the information that you’ve learnt but having no real
audience to do it with. So it can be quite a challenge going back home and sometimes this can
be referred to as re-acculturation or re-entry shock.
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Kyung-ja Yoo
People change. I’m really conscious of changing. Every year I go back to Tokyo and then as
soon as I see my family my friends - first couple of hours, that’s all right, but after that I feel
that I’m distancing myself from their emotion. Sometimes even my parents says that I get
cold towards them. I’m not but the way I show my affection is changing. But you can’t really
explain that to the people who’ve never been out of the country.
Rebecca Fong
If we go on holiday for a couple of weeks to another culture we don’t necessarily need to go
through any of these phases - we’ll really be in phase one - the euphoric stage and not get past
that. We’ll never really have to deal with the culture - we’re actually cushioned from it during
our time there. People who stay a bit longer - periods of say up to 6 months to about 5 years -
have obviously got a much more demanding job on their hands. You’ll have to find
accommodation, you’ll have to learn the language, you’ll have to learn the culture but you
know that at the end of that time you will be able to go home. There’s an escape clause if you
want one. There are groups of settlers however who’ll stay for long periods - immigrants, for
example, whatever the reason they come - they’re not planning on going home.
Ilse Meyer
I came to this country on the 6th of October 1933 among the first refugees from Nazi
Germany, as the British Government officially called us. By living in this country for 67 years
I have been changed. I have become more tolerant than I was. I shall never be English - one
remains what one was as a child because childhood impressions are the strongest. I would
describe myself as anglicised because I’m no longer German the way I was.
Callum: Ilse Meyer, who was brought up in Germany, ending our survey of the stages
of ‘culture shock’. You also heard from Mahmoud Jamal from Pakistan, Devon
Krohn from England, Kyung-ja Yoo from Japan and, of course, Rebecca Fong
from the University of the West of England. Next week, in our last programme,
we’ll be reviewing some of the main points we’ve covered during the series,
and hearing some useful tips on how to communicate better with people from
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different cultures.
Before we finish today, though, a final message from Rebecca on the subject of
‘culture shock’ - and the message is….don’t despair. Join us next time.
Rebecca Fong
One of the most important things that’s happened to me in my life I suppose is reading about
these different phases of culture shock and realising that they’re an inevitable part of learning
about another culture. They’re the most difficult part and the most profitable part and they do
take time. So one of the things that can really help us is to realise that however frustrated we
feel at some point in our cultural journey, there will be a way out and there is a light at the end
of the tunnel - and the more times we experience culture shock the easier it’s going to get for
all of us.
