Good day, dear students.
My name is Jade Joddle or Lady Jade Joddle for today's lesson.
And I'm going to teach you how to speak like a knight.
We could also call this chivalrous communication.
The word chivalrous comes from an old French word,
'chevalerie'.
And this word meant knighthood or nobility.
If we go back to this word, the word chivalrous
is to do with medieval knights and chivalry is
the code of behavior that knights of that time followed.
I am not talking about the Game Of Thrones style knights,
which don't oftentimes follow the chivalric code.
I'm talking about the ideal form of knightly values
from the medieval period, which was all about honor, doing
things in the right way.
Nobility, being part of the aristocracy.
Bravery; knights fought in battles.
It was also about service.
They believed in what they were doing
and they served the monarch.
It was also about courtly love.
We could say this is the beginning of romance.
The knights were in love with being in love
and often it was unattainable.
They never joined, let's call it,
with the object of their affections,
but they loved to express their love
for the ladies of the court.
And the way they behaved was governed by, well,
self-governed by the chivalric code, which was
the right way of doing things.
Their honor was very, very important to them.
So what we're going to look at next is why.
Why would someone today want to have the ability
to speak like a knight?
Well, a good reason is because nowadays we
are so far away from those values
that a person who is able to communicate according
to strong and brave values in a very
dignified manner and a very polite manner often stands out.
Let's move on now and talk about how
you can learn from the medieval knights of Europe.
We're going to talk about all the things
that you shouldn't do in order to speak like a knight.
You shouldn't use much slang because when
we think about knights, we're thinking about tradition.
You shouldn't swear because that's not very noble of you.
You shouldn't slander.
This means you shouldn't say things
that are untrue about others.
You shouldn't be boastful.
That means you shouldn't go around saying
how great you are to everyone.
And if you're a knight, you should also
avoid loquaciousness.
This means just too much talking about things
that aren't important.
A knight is not going to say too many words
because when they speak, they want to be listened to.
OK, now we're going to go through some specific phrases
that you can start using in your English
to have a more noble impact in the way that you speak,
like a knight.
I give you my word.
This is a phrase that you can use whenever you're
making a promise to someone.
Because it was very important to knights to be honorable,
they kept their promises.
So if you ever want to reassure someone
that they can trust you fully, say
to them, "I give you my word".
But obviously, don't use this phrase
if you're soon going to let them down.
And that applies to all the phrases
that I'm going to teach you now.
Don't say them, don't use them, unless you're
going to do your best to live by those words.
My pleasure.
This is a phrase that you can use after someone
has thanked you for something.
Sometimes people use the phrase, no problem here.
But a much more elevated phrase that is more polite
and sounds more like a knight is to say, "my pleasure".
Everything is taken care of.
This is another reassuring phrase
that you could use sometimes at work
if somebody is checking up on you, finding out
if something has been done.
The reason a knight would use this phrase
is because they want you to know that you
can rely on them fully.
And that's why you would say, "everything is taken care of".
It's like saying, "don't worry about it",
but a more formal version.
I'm always here, whenever you need me.
A knight might to use a phrase like this with a friend
to let them know that whatever they need,
they'll be there for them.
And because being of service is so important to a knight,
it doesn't matter what time of day
it is, they will be there for a friend in need.
Allow me to do that for you.
This is a phrase that you could use if you see
an opportunity to help someone.
Imagine for example, somebody is struggling
with a heavy suitcase trying to get up the stairs.
You don't know that person but you
would like to help them out.
You can say, "allow me to help you with this".
Thank you so much for your kind consideration.
Thank you so much for thinking of me.
Thank you so much for your kind words.
These are all variations of a phrase
that you can use just to thank someone for their kindness.
Whatever it is they've done for you,
a knight thinks it's very, very important to thank people
properly for all the small things that they do,
even if it's just giving a small compliment
or showing us a small kindness.
It's been an honor serving with you.
Now, this phrase you might not have an opportunity
to use because that one is specifically
for people who have been brave and fought
in a battle alongside each other.
But we can update it with a more modern version
which is, "it's been an honor working alongside you"
or "it's been an honor learning from you".
That could be in a teacher-student situation.
This is a very grand phrase to let someone
know the depth of experience that you've had,
and it will make that person feel very honored
to have been beside you in that manner.
I'm afraid not.
People misunderstand knights sometimes.
Because although they know they were brave, of course,
they'll think all of this kindness
means that in some respects they were weak.
And that's not true at all.
A knight is not worried about saying no,
but they'll just say no in a polite way; "I'm afraid not".
That is a line I will not cross.
This is another phrase a knight may
use to give that absolute no.
The line you will not cross is fixed.
There is no way I'm going to do that thing.
That's a line I'm not going to cross.
And this is a very strong way of saying,
no, I'm not going to do that and you can't persuade me.
You can't change my mind because my honor is more
important than anything else.
I will take that to my grave.
This is a phrase that you can use
when somebody tells you something
that's a secret for them.
Because a knight will never betray a confidence,
they're letting the person know, don't worry,
I'm not going to tell anyone, but it's a more formal version
of saying that.
Don't worry I'll take that to my grave.
OK, there we are.
Now you know some useful phrases that you
can use in your English to speak like a knight, which
is going to help you make a more noble impression
and to give you a very polite and honorable bearing.
Thank you so much for watching this English communication
lesson.
Be sure to come back again soon for future videos on my channel
and I'll see you then.
And before I go, I'd just like to remind
you to join my email, newsletter,
where I'm in touch with offers about my courses and classes.
And until next time, bye.