Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English– the show that brings you an interesting topic,
authentic listening practice and vocabulary to help you improve your language skills. I'm Rob…
Watashi no namae wa Neil desu. And that means 'my name's Neil'.
So Neil, here's a question for you – can
you speak any languages other than English of course? I think you can!
Un poco de español that means a little bit of Spanish. Some Japanese,
which I tried at the beginning and also a bit of Czech language - Dobrý den, jak se máš?
Very impressive. So what tips can you give for learning to speak another language?
Well, practise, practise, practise – and don't be afraid of making mistakes as I no doubt have.
Of course. Well my aim this year is to master the Spanish language.
Master means to learn thoroughly.
Muy bien! Well you're not alone. A survey by the British Council found learning a language is a new
year's resolution for about one in five Britons in 2018. So learning Spanish is a good start Rob
but do you know approximately how many languages there are in the world altogether? Are there…
a) 70
b) 700 c) 7,000
Well I know there are many but surely not 7,000 so I'm going to say
b) 700 – but don't expect me to learn all of them.
I won't Rob. But I will give you the answer later.
So, we all know learning another language is a good thing – it brings us many benefits.
Yes, we can communicate with people from other countries
and when we're travelling we can understand what signs and notices say. So we don't get lost.
That's right – but many scientists also believe that knowledge of another language
can boost your brainpower. A study of monolingual and bilingual speakers
suggests speaking two languages can help slow down the brain's decline with age.
All good reasons. But Neil, learning another language is hard. It would take me years and
years to become fluent in say, Mandarin – by fluent I mean speak very well, without difficulty.
Well this depends on your mother tongue. In general,
the closer the second language is to the learner's native tongue and culture
in terms of vocabulary, sounds or sentence structure - the easier it will be to learn.
But whatever the language,
there is so much vocabulary to learn – you know, thousands and thousands of words.
Maybe not Rob. Professor Stuart Webb, a linguist from the University of Western Ontario,
may be able to help you. He spoke to BBC Radio 4's More
or Less programme and explained that you don't need to do that…
For language learners in a foreign language setting – so for example, if you were learning
French in Britain or English in Japan,
students may often really struggle to learn more than 2,000, 3,000 words after many years of study.
So for example, there was a study in Taiwan recently that showed that after nine years
of study about half of the students had still failed to learn the most frequent 1,000 words.
Now they knew lower frequency words but they hadn't mastered those most important words.
So Rob, don't waste your time trying to learn every single word.
Professor Webb spoke there about research that showed students
knew lower frequency words but weren't learning enough high-frequency words.
Right, and frequency here means the number of times something happens – so the important
words to learn are the high-frequency ones – and how many are there exactly?
Here's Professor Stuart Webb again…
For example, with English, I would suggest if you learn the 800 most frequent lemmas – which is
a word and its inflections – that will account for about 75 per cent of all of
the English language. So that learning those 800 words first will provide
the foundation for which you may be able to learn the lower frequency words.
Fascinating stuff. And good to know I just need to learn about 800 words – or what he calls lemmas.
Yes, a lemma is the simplest form or base form of a word. And the inflection here refers to
how the base word is changed according to its use in a sentence. Knowing these things give
you a foundation – the basics from which you language learning will develop. Simple
Thank goodness I am learning just one new language!
But how many languages could you potentially be learning Rob? Earlier I asked you,
approximately how many languages there are in the world altogether? Are there…
a) 70 b) 700
c) 7,000
And I said 700. Was I right?
No Rob, you were wrong. There are around 7,000 recognised languages in the world
but UNESCO has identified 2,500 languages which it claims are at risk of extinction.
A sobering thought Neil. Now shall we remind ourselves
of some of the English vocabulary we've heard today. Starting with master.
To master a new skill, in this context, means to learn
thoroughly or learn well. "Rob hopes to master Spanish before he starts a new job in Madrid."
That's news to me Neil! But it would be good to be fluent in Spanish – or any
language – or to speak it fluently – that's speaking it well and without difficulty.
Now our next word was frequency. Here we are referring to high and low frequency words – so
it means how often they occur. Examples of a high frequency word are 'it', 'the' and 'and'.
And our next word is inflections. These are the changes to the basic form of words according to
their function in a sentence. Such as adding an 's' to the end of a word to make it plural.
And don't forget lemma which is the simplest form or base
form of a word before an inflection is added.
And finally foundation which means the basics your learning grows from.
That just leaves me to remind you that you can learn English with
us at bbclearningenglish.com. That's it for today's 6 Minute English. We
hope you enjoyed it. Bye for now. Na shledanou. Hasta luego. Ja-ne.
And in English, goodbye.
Goodbye. Hello. This
is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Neil.
And I’m Georgina
Can I ask you something, Georgina…?
Mm-mm-hmm.
Georgina? I said, I want to ask you something… are you listening to me?!
Mm-hmm, just a second, Neil, I’m texting a friend…
Ah, has this ever happened you? Someone too busy texting to talk.
With the huge rise of mobile phones in recent decades, communicating by text
has become more and more popular and scenes like this have become increasingly common.
…and send! There, all done! Now, what were you saying, Neil?
In this programme, we’ll be investigating why people often choose to text,
instead of talk to the people in their lives. We’ll be asking
whether this popular form of communication is changing how we interact with each other.
And, of course, we’ll be learning some related vocabulary as well.
Now, Neil, what did you want to ask me?
My quiz question, Georgina, which is this. Young people are often the biggest users of mobile
phones, but in a 2016 study, what percentage of British teenagers said they would prefer
to send a text rather than speak to someone, even if they were in the same room? Is it:
a) 9 percent?, b) 49 percent?, or,
c) 99 percent?
That sounds pretty shocking! I can’t believe 99 percent of teenagers said that,
so I’ll guess b) 49 percent.
OK, Georgina. We’ll find out later if that’s right. In one way, the popularity of texting,
sometimes called ‘talking with thumbs’,
is understandable - people like to be in control of what they say.
But this low-risk way of hiding behind a screen may come at a cost, as neuroscientist, Professor
Sophie Scott, explained to Sandra Kanthal, for BBC World Service programme, The Why Factor:
When we ‘talk with our thumbs’ by text or email or instant message,
we’re often prioritising speed over clarity and depth. But when we can’t
hear the way someone is speaking it’s all too easy to misunderstand their intention.
So if I say a phrase like, ‘Oh shut up!’ - has a different meaning than,
‘Oh shut up!’ There’s an emotional thing there but also a strong kind of intonation:
one’s sort of funny, one’s just aggressive. Written down
it’s just aggressive – ‘Shut up!’ - and you can’t soften that. […] We always speak with
melody and intonation to our voice and we’ll change our meaning depending on that. You take
that channel of information out of communication you lose another way that sense is being conveyed.
When reading a text instead of listening to someone speak,
we miss out on the speaker’s intonation – that’s the way the voice rises and falls when speaking.
Intonation, how a word is said, often changes the meaning of
words and phrases - small groups of words people use to say something particular.
Reading a phrase like, ‘Oh shut up!’ in a text, instead of hearing it spoken aloud, makes it
easy to misunderstand the speaker‘s intention – their aim, or plan of what they want to do.
And it’s not just the speaker’s intention that we miss. A whole range of extra information
is conveyed through speech, from the speaker’s age and gender to the region they’re from.
Poet, Gary Turk, believes that we lose something uniquely human when we stop talking.
And there are practical problems involved with texting too,
as he explains to BBC World Service’s, The Why Factor:
If you speak to someone in person and they don’t respond right away, that would be rude.
But you might be speaking to someone in person and someone texts you... and it would be ruder
for you then to stop that conversation and speak to the person over text… yet the person on the
other side of the text is getting annoyed – you haven’t responded right way – it’s like we’re
constantly now creating these situations using our phones that allow us to like tread on mines – no
matter what you do, we’re going to disappoint people because we’re trying to communicate in
so many different ways. Do you prioritise the person on the phone? Would you prioritise the
person you’re speaking to? Who do you disappoint first? You’re going to disappoint somebody.
So what should you do if a friend texts you when
you’re already speaking to someone else in person – physically present, face to face?
You can’t communicate with both people at the same time,
so whatever you do someone will get annoyed – become angry and upset.
Gary thinks that despite its convenience, texting creates situations where we have
to tread on mines, another way of saying that something is a minefield,
meaning a situation full of hidden problems and dangers, where people need to take care.
Yes, it’s easy to get annoyed when someone ignores you to text their friend…
Oh, you’re not still upset about that are you, Neil?
Ha, it’s like those teenagers in my quiz question! Remember I asked you
how many teenagers said they’d prefer to text someone, even if they were in the same room.
I guessed it was b) 49 percent.
Which was… the correct answer! I’m glad you were listening, Georgina, and not texting!
Ha ha! In this programme we’ve been discussing ways in which
texting differs from talking with someone in person – or face to face.
Sending texts instead of having a conversation means we don’t hear the speaker’s intonation – the
musical way their voice rises and falls. A phrase - or small group of words - like ‘Oh shut up!’,
means different things when said in different ways.
Without intonation we can easily misunderstand a
text writer’s intention – their idea or plan of what they are going to do.
Which in turns means they can get annoyed – or become irritated,
if you don’t understand what they mean, or don’t respond right away.
All of which can create an absolute minefield – a situation with many hidden problems,
where you need to speak and act carefully.
And that’s all we have time for in this programme, but remember
you can find more useful vocabulary, trending topics and help with your language learning
here at BBC Learning English. We also have an app that you can download for free
from the app stores and of course we are all over social media. Bye for now!
Bye!
Hello. This is 6 Minute English. I'm Neil.
And I'm Sam.
Now Sam, I assume that you know your alphabet.
Of course, Neil – you mean my ABCs? We learn that at a very young age, you know?
Sorry to sound patronising. But you do you know
why the letters in the alphabet are in that particular order?
No, I don’t. That’s really interesting. Why?
I don’t know either, I was hoping you might! But seriously, no one really knows how the
order became established. However, some research has shown that if your surname,
your family name, begins with a letter later in the alphabet,
you could be at a disadvantage at school and in life. Before we get in to that though,
a question. Where does the alphabet come from in its earliest form? Was it…
a) Ancient Egypt b) Ancient Greece
c) Ancient Rome
What do you think, Sam?
Well, we refer to the English alphabet as having Roman characters, so I’m going with Ancient Rome.
OK. I’ll have the answer later in the programme. In the BBC radio programme Fry’s English Delight
there was a feature about the alphabet and how it can have a negative impact on your school life.
Can you remember all those years ago when you were at school?
What’s the first thing that the teacher would do at the beginning of the day?
She would take the register – that’s what we call it in the UK. You can also call it the roll call.
Yes, this is when the teacher calls out the names of the students to check that they
are all there. This is where the problem starts, according to, ironically, Professor Jeffrey Zax,
from the University of Colorado. The further down that list your name is,
the less noticed you are by the teacher. Why is that? Here’s Professor Zax.
When it begins people are paying attention. As it proceeds, first the people who are already called,
they no longer have any need to take things seriously. And the people who are waiting to
be called, their attention is wandering as well. And so as you make your way through the roll call
somehow the intensity of the engagement diminishes.
So, what is the problem?
Well, it’s a lot to do with paying attention. This means concentrating on something.
At the beginning of the roll call everyone is paying attention - they are quiet and listening.
But after the first names are called, those students don’t need to pay attention any more.
So they lose a bit of interest in what comes next, and the students later in the list
are also now distracted and the teacher, him or herself, is not so focussed.
And by the end of the list the relationship between the teacher and the students whose names
are being called later is not as strong as those at the beginning of the list.
Professor Zax describes this by saying that the intensity of the engagement diminishes.
Diminishes means ‘gets weaker’, and the intensity of the engagement is the strength of the
communication, the level of enthusiasm for being involved. So this is the start of the disadvantage
which can subtly affect students throughout their school years and after. This was discovered after
some research in the US in the 1950s. So what were these disadvantages? Here’s Professor Zax again.
They were less likely to have enjoyed their high school courses,
graduate from college if they applied. They were more likely to drop out. They had first jobs in
occupations that paid less. They were more likely to go to the military
and they were more likely to have jobs whose prestige was lower.
So what disadvantages did they have?
Well, Professor Zax says that the research showed they enjoyed school
less, were less successful academically and more likely to drop out of college
or university. This means that they left the course before it was finished.
And he also said that they were more likely to find jobs that had a lower
prestige. This means the jobs weren’t seen as high status or desirable. Let’s listen again.
They were less likely to have enjoyed their high school courses,
graduate from college if they applied. They were more likely to drop out. They had first jobs
in occupations that paid less. They were
more likely to go to the military and they were more likely to have jobs whose prestige was lower.
Well, Professor Zax seems to have done OK. Even with that surname!
Indeed, I guess this doesn’t apply to everyone. Right, well before we
remind ourselves of our vocabulary, let’s get the answer to the question.
Where does the alphabet come from in its earliest form? Was it…
a) Ancient Egypt b) Ancient Greece
c) Ancient Rome
Sam, what did you say?
Pretty sure it’s Ancient Rome.
What does your surname begin with?
A 'B', actually.
Well, you are wrong, I’m afraid. It’s actually Ancient Egypt – so
well done to everyone who got that. OK, now it's time for our vocabulary.
Yes – to pay attention to something means to concentrate on something, to not be distracted.
Then there was the phrase the intensity of the engagement,
which is another way of saying the strength of the relationship, interaction and communication.
And if your surname comes at the end of the alphabet you may find that the
intensity of engagement with the teacher diminishes. Diminishes means gets weaker.
If you drop out from a course, it means that you leave it before it’s finished.
And the prestige of a job is the respect it has.
If it is seen as important or desirable then it has higher prestige.
OK, thank you, Sam. That’s all from 6 Minute English. We hope you can join us again soon.
You can find us at bbclearningenglish online, on social media and on our app. Bye for now!
Bye bye everyone!
Hello. This is 6 Minute English, I'm Georgina.
And I'm Rob.
Are you a punctuation pedant? Do you get upset,
annoyed or angry if you see punctuation being used incorrectly – particularly apostrophes?
Well, it depends. Usually I’m pretty chilled out about it, but sometimes,
just sometimes it really winds me up. For example, if I see a sign for taxis at a train station
and it says taxi – apostrophe - s – aargh! Why – why? The apostrophe is not used to
show there is more than one, it’s used to show there is a missing letter or that the
word is a possessive – it’s just wrong! So that does kind of make my blood boil.
So, when you say you’re pretty chilled about it you mean…
OK, I’m not chilled at all. But maybe I wish I were.
Well, we’re going to be taking a look at reactions to the use and
abuse of apostrophes in this programme. But first,
a question. The word ‘apostrophe’ itself – which language does it come from? Is it:
A: Latin
B: Greek
C: Arabic
What do you think, Rob?
I don’t think it’s Arabic, so it’s a toss-up between Latin and Greek. I’m going to say Greek.
OK. We’ll see if you’re correct at the end of the programme. The apostrophe, it is true
to say, is often misused. It’s put where it shouldn’t be and not used where it should be.
Is it important, though? Does it matter? After all, in spoken English there is no
difference between ‘it’s’ with an apostrophe and ‘its’ without. ‘Your’
and ‘you’re’ – short for ‘you are’ sound the same. So what’s the problem in written English?
In many cases there isn’t a problem at all. There would be very little confusion.
But I don’t think that means we should just ignore the correct way to use them.
Sometimes it can be very important to make clear if it’s a singular or plural or possessive.
Another important thing to remember is that in CVs and job applications a good standard of spelling
and punctuation is expected. Get it wrong and you could miss out on a good opportunity.
There is one group that has tried for nearly 20 years to keep others to these high
standards - The Apostrophe Protection Society. They have publicly pointed out incorrect use
in public signs and communications – a tactic that has not always been welcome or successful.
But like the apostrophe itself, the group is in danger. Here’s a BBC news report on the subject.
They linger above our letters, they wander around the endings of our words,
but apostrophes, it seems, are an endangered species. The Apostrophe
Protection Society – yes there really is one – says their future is, well, up in the air.
How does he describe apostrophes?
Using metaphorical, poetic language, he says they linger above our letters. To linger is a verb
usually used to describe someone or something staying somewhere before finally leaving.
So, we have apostrophes lingering above our letters and also he said
they wander around the ending of words.
Yes, also a metaphorical use. To wander means
to walk slowly around without any real purpose or urgency.
And he went on to say that the future of the apostrophe is up in the air.
When something is up in the air, it means its future is not certain,
it’s not guaranteed. So if, for example, your holiday plans are up in the air,
it means that there is some kind of problem and you might not be going on holiday after all.
The person who founded The Apostrophe Protection Society is John Edwards. Now 96 years old he has
decided to give it up. Partly because of his age, but also because he thinks that due to the impact
of texting and social media he has lost the battle against bad punctuation. So why has it come to
this? Here he is explaining why he thinks people aren’t bothered about using correct punctuation.
I think it’s a mixture of ignorance and laziness. They’re too ignorant to know where it goes,
they’re too lazy to learn so they just don’t bother. The barbarians have won.
So what’s his reason?
He blames ignorance and laziness. Ignorance is a lack of knowledge or understanding of something.
So people don’t know the rules and are too lazy to learn them, according to Edwards.
Quite strong views there!
Yes, and you thought I was a pedant! He actually goes further to say that the barbarians have won.
Barbarian is a historical word for people who weren’t part of
so-called civilized society. They were seen as violent and aggressive, primitive and uncivilized.
So it’s not a compliment then?
Oh no!
Right, before we review today’s vocabulary, let’s have the answer
to today’s quiz. Which language does the word apostrophe come from? What did you say?
I went for Greek.
Congratulations to you and anyone else who got that right. Greek is the right answer.
Now let’s remind ourselves of today’s vocabulary. First, what’s a pedant, Rob?
A pedant is someone who corrects other people’s small mistakes – particularly
in grammar and punctuation – but it’s not the same as an English teacher!
A pedant will correct native speakers’ mistakes too, and not in the classroom.
To linger means to stay somewhere for longer.
To wander is to walk around without a real purpose or intention to get somewhere quickly.
If your plans are up in the air, it means they are at risk and might not happen.
Ignorance is the state of not knowing something that should be known.
And finally, a barbarian is a word for a primitive and uncivilized person. Right, we can’t linger in
this studio as our six minutes are up. You can find more from us about punctuation and many
other aspects of English online, on social media and on the BBC Learning English app. Bye for now.
Bye!
Welcome to 6 Minute English. In this programme we
bring you an expressive topic and six items of vocabulary. I’m Neil…
And I’m Tim. So, we had an argument just before we started the show…
We did, Tim. But no hard feelings?
None. No hard feelings is something you say to somebody you have argued with to
say you’d still like to be friends. We often fall out over silly things…
… Like who’s going to introduce the show…
… Or who’s going to choose the quiz question.
But we understand each other. That’s the important thing, isn't it?
To fall out with somebody by the way, is another way of saying to argue or disagree with them.
Do you know that you wave your arms around a lot when you’re arguing, Tim?
No, I didn’t know I did that.
That isn’t very British.
I know. Using gestures – or movements you make with your hands or your head
to express what you are thinking of feeling – is common in some countries but not in others.
Then there are some movements – like shaking your head – which mostly means
‘no’ but in some countries can mean the opposite.
That’s right. In which country does shaking your head mean ‘yes’,
Tim? Is it… a) Greece,
b) Japan or c) Bulgaria?
No idea – I’ll guess Greece. I do know that in
India people shake their heads to mean lots of different things.
There are plenty of gestures you need to be careful with
when you’re meeting and greeting people from a culture that’s different to your
own – to avoid offending people – or making an awkward faux pas…
If you make a faux pas it means you say or do something embarrassing in a social situation.
For example, our every day use of the thumbs-up signal might offend people from the Middle East.
And to offend means to make somebody angry or upset.
Let’s hear now from Business Professor Erin Meyer talking about how easy it is
to misunderstand why people behave the way they do
in everyday situations when we don’t belong to the same culture.
A while ago I was in Dubai and one of my students, my Emirati students, was driving me home after a
session and the car stopped at a light and she rolled down the window, and she started shouting
at someone outside of the window. This guy was crossing the street with a big box of cloth. And
he started shouting back, and she opened up the door, and they started gesticulating and shouting
at one another. And I thought, wow, they’re having a huge fight, I thought maybe he was
going to hit her. And she got back in the car, and I said, well, what were you fighting about?
And she said, ‘Oh no, no, we weren’t fighting, he was giving me directions to your hotel.’
And I thought that was a great example of how someone from another culture may misperceive or
misunderstand something as a fight when in fact they were just being emotionally expressive.
Gesticulating – what does that mean?
It means what I was doing earlier! – Waving your arms around to express what you’re feeling.
Erin Meyer was worried because her student and the
man on the street were shouting and gesticulating at each other.
She thought they were having a fight when in fact they were just being emotionally expressive.
And expressive means showing what you think or feel.
You were nodding in agreement, there, Tim. Which reminds me of our quiz question. In which
country does shaking your head mean ‘yes’? Is it… a) Greece, b) Japan or c) Bulgaria?
I said Greece…
And that’s the wrong answer, I’m afraid. The right answer is Bulgaria.
In some Southeastern European areas such as Bulgaria and southern Albania,
shaking your head is used to indicate "yes". In those regions, nodding in fact means "no" as well.
I hope I remember that the next time I meet somebody from Southeastern Europe.OK,
shall we look back at the words we learned today?
‘No hard feelings’ is something you say to somebody you have argued with
or beaten in a game or contest to say you’d still like to be friends.
For example, “I always get the quiz questions
right – unlike you Neil. But no hard feelings, OK?”
That’s not a very realistic example, Tim…
But I’ll let it go. Number two – ‘to fall out with somebody’ means to argue or disagree with them.
“I fell out with my best friend at school. We didn’t talk to each other for a whole week!”
That must’ve been a serious disagreement, Tim! What were you arguing about?
I can’t remember. It was a long time ago. Number three – a ‘gesture’ is a
movement you make with your hands or head to express what you are thinking or feeling.
“She opened her arms wide in a gesture of welcome.”
Or the verb – “I gestured to Neil that we only had one minute left to finish the show!”
Is that true, Tim? You’re nodding your head – but we should also quickly mention
‘gesticulate’ which means to make gestures with your hands or arms!
A ‘faux pas’ is saying or doing something embarrassing in a social situation.
For example, “I committed a serious faux pas
at a party last night – that I’m too embarrassed to tell you about!”
Oh dear, Tim. I hope you didn’t offend too many people – ‘offend’
is our next word – and it means to make somebody angry or upset.
Well, you’ve given us a good example already, Neil, so let’s move on to
the final word – ‘expressive’ – which means showing what you think or feel.
“Tim has a very expressive face.”
Thanks! Another quick example – “I waved my hand
expressively to signal to Neil that it was time to finish the show.”
Taking my cue from Tim, that’s all for today. But please remember to check out our Instagram,
Twitter, Facebook and YouTube pages.
Bye-bye! Goodbye!
Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Neil.
And I’m Rob.
Bonjour, Rob! Kon’nichi’wa!
Excuse me?
¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás?
Rob Oh, OK, I think Neil’s saying
‘hello’ in different languages – French, was it? And then.. Japanese? And… Spanish? Is that right?
¡Si, muy bien!
The English are famously slow to learn other languages. But it seems that Rob and I - and of
course you - our global audience here at 6 Minute English - are good examples of polyglots – people
who speak more than one language, sometimes known as 'superlinguists'. People who speak
multiple languages benefit from many advantages, as we’ll be hearing in this programme.
That word polyglot sounds familiar, Neil. Doesn’t the prefix – poly – mean, ‘many’?
That’s right, like polygon – a shape with many sides.
Or polymath – someone who knows many things.
And speaking of knowing things, it’s time for my quiz question.
The word polyglot comes from Greek and is made up of two parts: poly, which as Rob says,
means ‘many’, and ‘glot’. But what does ‘glot’ mean? What is the meaning of the word
polyglot? Is it: a) many words?,
b) many sounds? or c) many tongues?
Well, there’s three syllables in ‘polyglot’, Neil, so I reckon it’s b), many sounds.
OK, Rob, we’ll find out if that’s right at the end of the programme.
But leaving aside the origins of the word, what exactly does being a polyglot involve?
British-born polyglot, Richard Simcot speaks eleven languages.
Listen to his definition as he speaks to BBC World Service programme, The Documentary:
A polyglot for me can be anyone who identifies with that term – it’s
somebody who learns languages that they don’t necessarily need for their lives,
but just out of sheer enjoyment, pleasure or fascination with another language or culture.
For Richard, being a polyglot simply means identifying with
the idea - feeling that you are similar or closely connected to it.
He says polyglots learn languages not because they have to,
but for the sheer enjoyment, which means, ‘nothing except’
enjoyment. Richard uses the word sheer to emphasise how strong and pure this enjoyment is.
As well as the pleasure of speaking other languages, polyglots are also better at
communicating with others. My favourite quote by South Africa’s first black president,
Nelson Mandela, is: "If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head.
If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart."
How inspiring, Rob – I’m lost for words! Here’s another:
‘To have another language is to possess a second soul’.
So language learning is good for the head, heart and soul – a person’s spirit or the part of them
which is believed to continue existing after death.
Yes – and what’s more, language learning is good for the brain too.
That’s according to Harvard neuroscientist, Eve Fedorenko.She’s researched the effects
of speaking multiple languages on the brains of growing children.
Eve predicted that multilingual children would have hyperactive language brains. But what she
actually found surprised her, as she explains here to BBC World Service’s The Documentary:
What we found – this is now people who already have proficiency in multiple
languages - what we found is that their language regions appear to be smaller,
and that was surprising… and as people get better and better, more automatic at performing the task,
the activations shrink, so to speak, over time, it becomes so that you don’t have to
use as much brain tissue to do the task as well, so you become more efficient.
Eve was testing children who already have language
proficiency – the skill and ability to do something, such as speak a language.
Her surprising discovery was that the language regions of these children’s
brains were shrinking – not because their speaking skills were getting worse,
but the opposite; as they learned and repeated language patterns,
their brain tissue became more efficient – worked quicker and more effectively.
It’s suggested that this increased efficiency is a result of exposure to different languages.
So that proves it, Neil: speaking many languages is good for the head, heart, mind and soul!
You took the words right out of my mouth!
And speaking of words, what does the ‘glot’ in polyglot actually mean? Was my answer correct?
Ah, that’s right. In my quiz question I asked you for the meaning of the word ‘polyglot’.
I said, b) many sounds.
But in fact the correct answer was c) many tongues. You may be a polyglot, Rob,
but you’re not quite a polymath yet!
OK, well, let me get my brain tissues working by recapping the vocabulary,
starting with polyglot – someone who speaks many languages.
The language centres in a polyglot’s brain
are efficient – theywork quickly and effectively in an organised way.
Proficiency means the skill and ability to do something well. And if you identify
with something, you feel you are similar or closely connected to it.
Polyglots learn languages for the sheer enjoyment of it – a word
meaning ‘nothing except‘ which is used to emphasise the strength of feeling.
So speaking many languages is good for mind and soul – a person’s non-physical spirit
which some believe to continue after death.
That’s it for this programme, but to discover more about language learning, including some useful
practical tips, check out The Superlinguists series from BBC World Service’s The Documentary!
Bye for now!
Bye!
Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Neil.
And I’m Sam.
Tell me, Sam, do you think Neil Armstrong
really landed on the Moon in 1969? I mean, that must be fake news! And who shot JFK?
Surely the CIA were involved? Unless it was the giant lizards controlling the government!
Oh dear! It looks like reading online conspiracies has sent Neil down the rabbit hole – an expression
used to describe a situation which seems interesting and uncomplicated at first
but ends up becoming strange, confusing and hard to escape from. Luckily in this programme we’ll
be hearing some advice on how to talk to people who’ve become convinced by online conspiracies.
It seems that during times of crisis, as people feel uncertain and fearful,
they actively look for information to feel more secure.
Nowadays this information is often found online,
and while there are reliable facts out there, there’s also a lot of misinformation.
Somebody who’s the target of many conspiracy theories is Microsoft’s Bill Gates and our
BBC fact checkers have been busy debunking - or exposing – some of the more bizarre accusations
made against him. But what strange behaviour has Bill Gates been accused of recently?
That’s my quiz question for today. Is it: a) being a member of the Chinese Communist Party?,
b) being an alien lizard?, or c) being involved in the assassination of JFK?
They all sounds pretty silly to me but I’ll guess b) being an alien lizard.
OK, Sam, if you say so! We’ll find out the answer later. Now, I’m not the only
one who’s been doing some internet research. Ever since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic there’s
been an avalanche of online conspiracies linking Bill Gates to the coronavirus.
Here’s Marianna Spring, presenter of BBC World Service programme, Trending, to tell us more:
The Microsoft founder is a rich and powerful person
and he’s funded research into vaccines – that’s why he’s become a target.
Some of the claims are bonkers – that he wants to use the virus as a pretext to microchip
everyone in the world. Others say a vaccine would actually kill people rather than save their
lives. These ideas are without any evidence. We should treat them with the disdain they deserve.
Some conspiracies claim that Bill Gates wants to implant microchips in people
and that he’s using the coronavirus as a pretext - a pretend reason for doing
something that is used to hide the real reason.
Claims like these are described as bonkers – an informal way to say silly,
stupid or crazy, and should therefore be treated with
disdain - disliking something because you feel it does not deserve your attention or respect.
But while you might not believe such bonkers theories yourself, it’s not hard to see
how people looking for answers can get sucked down online rabbit holes.
So how would you deal some someone spreading baseless conspiracies
about Covid vaccines or Bill Gates? The BBC’s Trending programme spoke to Dr Jovan Byford,
senior psychology lecturer with the Open University, about it.
He thinks it’s important to separate the conspiracy from the theorist. The former,
the belief, we have to dismiss, but the latter, the person, is more complex.
Here’s BBC Trending'spresenter, Marianna Spring, again to sum up Dr Byford’s advice:
How do you talk to someone who’s at risk of being sucked into the rabbit hole? First, establish
a basis of understanding. Approach them on their own terms and avoid sweeping dismissals or saying,
“you’re wrong!”. Try not to judge. And try to get to the bottom of the often legitimate concern
at the heart of the conspiracy. Present them with facts and research. Try to do this neutrally. You
can’t force anyone to change their mind but you can make sure they have valid information.
While some conspiracies may be harmless, others are more dangerous. People thinking that vaccines
will kill them might worsen the coronavirus situation worldwide, so we need to get to the
bottom of these claims - discover the real but sometimes hidden reason why something happens.
A good way to engage people in discussion is to avoid
sweeping claims or statements - speaking or writing about things in a way that is
too general and does not carefully consider all the relevant facts.
And by doing so calmly and neutrally you might persuade them to reconsider
the funny business Bill Gates is supposedly involved with.
Ah yes, you mean our quiz question. I asked you
what Bill Gates has recently been accused of by conspiracy theorists.
And I said b) being an alien lizard. But thinking about it now, that seems pretty unlikely!
In fact the answer was a) being a member of the Chinese Communist Party.
OK. So today we’ve been hearing advice on how to deal with online conspiracy theories,
some of which are totally bonkers – silly, stupid and crazy - or involve
a complicated pretext – a pretend reason used to hide someone’s true motivation.
These can be treated with disdain – dislike because
they are unworthy of our attention or respect.
But with so many conspiracies online, it’s easy to get lost down the rabbit hole – intrigued
by a situation which seems interesting but ends up confusing and hard to escape from.
It’s important to get to the bottom of these
theories - discover the real but hidden reason behind them.
And to present people with facts, avoiding sweeping – or over-generalised – statements.
That’s all for this programme. Goodbye for now!
Bye bye!
Hello. Welcome to 6 Minute English, I'm Neil.
And I'm Rob.
We're going to be looking at a letter from the English alphabet.
It’s a letter which has a particular meaning when used at the end of a
piece of informal writing such as letters, emails, texts and messages.
I’m very EXcited.
Ha ha, very good, very good Rob!
My EXpectations are really high.
Yep, that's another good one.
Is it an EXtraordinary letter?
OK, thank you Rob, that’s enough of your jokes. I’m getting EXasperated! Oh,
now you’ve got me at it! Well, no prizes for guessing what letter we’re focussing on today?
Why?
No, it’s not Y.
No, I didn’t mean the letter ‘y’, I meant the word ‘why’, as in - why are there no prizes?
Because of all the not so subtle clues you’ve been giving. The letter is X.
Yes. Exactly.
Alright, I think we get the idea! Before we go much further,
let’s have a question. English has 26 letters. Which language has 74 letters?
a) Khmer (Cambodian)
b) Hindi or
c) Armenian
Any ideas Rob?
An excellent question but quite obscure, I’m going to say b) Hindi.
Well, I'll have the answer later on. Now,
Rob, what does the letter X all by itself at the end of a message mean?
Well, it means a kiss. The more kisses, the more affection you are showing.
Where does this concept of putting an X to mean a kiss come from? Dr Laura Wright
is from the Faculty of English at Cambridge University and she appeared on the BBC Radio 4
programme Word of Mouth. When does she say this practice started and where does it come from?
Well, we’ve been adding Xs for kisses at the bottom of letters since at least 1763.
The very first one we know of had seven Xs. I have to say, I haven’t gone to seven ever. We get
X from the Roman alphabet which got it from the Greek alphabet, pronounced /ks/ and the Romans...
Presenter: That’s nearly a kiss, isn’t it?
Yes it is, isn’t it? I think a penny’s just dropped there.
Presenter: It has, clunk.
What do we learn about the origins of the X for kisses?
Well, it’s been used since at least 1763,
and it comes from the Roman alphabet and they got it from the Greeks.
And why did this come to mean a kiss?
Well, Dr Wright suggests it’s because of the original pronunciation - /ks/.
And at the point the presenter made the connection, didn’t he?
Yes, he did. And Dr Wright used a phrase for when someone suddenly understands something,
particularly something that is obvious to others. She said the penny has just dropped.
And this has got nothing to do with a penny, which is small coin, actually dropping anywhere. But
the presenter makes a joke by using a word we use for the noise of something falling, clunk.
Although, to be honest, a penny would never really clunk. That’s more like the
noise two heavy metal objects would make - the clunk of a car door, for example.
Let’s listen to that exchange again.
Well, we’ve been adding Xs for kisses at the bottom of letters since at least
1763. The very first one we know of had seven Xs. I have to say I haven’t gone to seven ever. We get
X from the Roman alphabet which got it from the Greek alphabet, pronounced /ks/ and the Romans...
Presenter: That’s nearly a kiss, isn’t it?
Yes it is, isn’t it? I think a penny’s just dropped there.
Presenter: It has, clunk.
One thing to note about putting an X at the end of a communication is that it is not something you do
for everyone. It’s usually only to friends and family members, people you might kiss
in real life. Professor Nils Langer from the University of Bristol told a story about a
colleague of his who wasn’t too familiar with this convention. What was her mistake?
A colleague of mine from Bristol, who... when she came over from Germany
thought that X was just the normal way of closing a letter in England
and so she would finish any letter with Xs, even a letter to the Inland Revenue.
We never heard, really, how the Inland Revenue responded to these letters with these Xs.
Presenter: They docked her another 20 quid, I think!
What was her mistake, Rob?
She didn’t realise that you don’t put an X on every communication. So she even put it
on business letter including one to the Inland Revenue,
which is the government department in the UK that deals with tax.
We don’t know how the tax people felt about the letter with kisses.
But the presenter joked about what their response would have been.
Yes, he joked that they probably docked her another 20 quid. To dock money is to cut the
amount of money you are expecting to receive and a quid is a slang word for a British pound.
Time now for the answer to our question. English has 26 letters. Which language
has 74 letters? Is it… a) Khmer (Cambodian)
b) Hindi or c) Armenian?
I guessed b) Hindi.
Well, I suppose it was a one in three chance, but not correct this time. The answer is a) Khmer.
Very well done if you knew that. Now on to the vocabulary we looked at in this programme.
We started with a penny. A penny is an English coin. A hundred pennies makes one pound sterling.
The phrase, the penny has dropped, means that someone has suddenly understood something.
A clunk is the noise of two heavy objects hitting each other.
The Inland Revenue is the UK’s tax authority.
If you dock money from someone, you reduce the amount of money you pay them.
For example, as an employee in the UK your tax is automatically docked from your salary.
And finally, a quid, which is a slang term for one pound sterling. Right, before they start
docking our pay for being late, it’s time to say goodbye. Find us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter,
YouTube, our App and of course the website bbclearningenglish.com. See you soon, goodbye.
Bye bye!
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Dan and joining me is Rob.
Hello.
Here at BBC Learning English, we're always discussing diets.
I am on a sea-food diet. When I see food, I just have to eat it!
I suppose there's no chance of converting you to a vegan diet,
is there? That seems be the most talked about food fad at
the moment – a fad is something that is popular but only for a short time.
Of course, veganism – that's not eating or using any products that come from animals – may be
more than a fad. It could be a lifestyle that improves our health and the planet.
And it could be here to stay. But personally, me becoming a vegan would take some persuading.
I'm sure it would. And in this programme we'll be discussing the debate about veganism and how it's
sometimes difficult to change people's minds. But first a question to answer. We've mentioned what a
vegan eats but what about a lacto-ovo-vegetarian? Which one of these items can they eat? Is it:
a) pork
b) fish or
c) cheese?
I'll say b) they can eat fish.
Well, you’ll have to wait until the end of the programme to find out.
But now back to veganism. According to some national surveys, there are now
around 3.5 million full-time vegans in the UK... and the number is growing!
And what was recently a radical lifestyle choice is slowly moving
into the mainstream – or has become accepted by most people as normal.
Advocates of veganism say their healthy lifestyle would also free up space and
resources for growing food and it would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Yeah, but come on Dan. Having a meat-free
diet means you might not get all the nutrients you need.
Well, this is all part of the debate, Rob. There's always two sides to an argument and
it's something that's been discussed on BBC Radio 4's Farming Today programme.
They spoke to Dr Jutta Tobias Mortlock, a senior lecturer in organisational psychology at London's
City University, who explained why views about veganism are so polarised – that
'means causing people to divide into two groups with opposing views'.
This issue touches on personal beliefs, and beliefs always trump facts and so,
often when we talk about beliefs, we're touching on important values.
Values are the things that guide our opinion over what's right versus what's wrong. And so whenever
people argue over whether it's right or wrong to eat meat, they are in fact not debating the facts
around this issue, they're actually debating the beliefs about what's moral or immoral about this.
So it seems in the whole debate about veganism we are basing our views on beliefs.
A belief is something we feel is true or real.
Our beliefs are based on our values – those are the things we think are right and wrong.
And when we argue over the rights and wrongs of veganism,
we base it on our values – not hard facts. We talk about our view on what is immoral – so what
society thinks is wrong or not acceptable. But basically, there is no right or wrong answer.
That's why we need facts, Rob.
So Dan, what can I do if I want to win you over to becoming an omnivore, like me?
According to Dr Jutta, there are two main routes to winning someone over: a direct,
fact-based approach or a 'peripheral route',
which might be more effective. Let's hear her explain how it works.
If I'm working with you and I'm trying to get you to come round to my side, I might not focus on the
central facts. I might focus on the peripheral stuff around how I'm constructing my argument.
I'd look for ways of how they overlap as people, like what do they have in common?
And that's a way to debate an issue such as this controversial one in a way to get people to feel
connected to each other and to actually feel that they value each other as decent human beings.
Interesting! This is a more subtle way of winning an argument.
She says we should focus on the peripheral stuff – these are the
things that are not as important as the main argument but are connected to it.
So we could say we're looking for common ground – things that both sides agree on
or at least understand. Dr Jutta talked about making both sides feel connected. And it's a
good point. Even if you don't want to be a vegan, you should respect someone's choice to be one.
Yes, it's all about valuing someone as a decent human being.
Decent means 'good and having good moral standards'. Like us, Dan!
Well, they're wise words, Rob! Of course, it would be morally wrong – immoral – not to give you the
answer to our quiz question. Earlier I asked which one of these items can a lacto-ovo-vegetarian eat.
I said b) fish.
Sorry, no – that's something they can't eat – but they can eat cheese. A lacto-ovo-vegetarian
is a person who eats vegetables, eggs, and dairy products but does not eat meat.
No meat! No steak! How can they enjoy eating?!
Rob, remember as a decent human beings, we respect all views here.
Just joking – but now I'm deadly serious about reviewing some of
the vocabulary we've discussed today.
OK. Our first word was fad. A fad is something that is popular but only for a short time.
Next, we mentioned mainstream. Something that is mainstream
has become accepted by most people as normal.
Then we had polarised – that describes a situation
that causes people to divide into two groups with opposing views.
A belief is something we feel is true or real.
And immoral describes something that society thinks is wrong or not acceptable.
We also mentionedperipheral, which relates to things that are not as important as
the main argument, but are connected to it. It also means situated on the edge.
And finally, decent means good or good enough.
Don't forget you can learn more English with us on our website at bbclearningenglish.com.
Bye for now.
Goodbye.
Hello. I'm Catherine.
Hello. I'm Rob.
We both started with what is probably the best-known greeting in English and one of
the first words English language students learn, and that is 'hello'! So today in 6 Minute English
we're digging a little deeper into the world of greetings and the fascinating history of 'hello'.
Surprisingly, the word 'hello' is not as old as you might think.
But when did it first appear in print in English?
Was it:
a) in the 1890s b) the 1950s or
c) the1820s
Well, I think English changes really quickly, so I'm going to say
b) the 1950s. And we'll say 'hello again' to 'hello' a little later in the programme.
First, greetings. They can be a bit of a minefield. A
subject full of unpredictable difficulties.
While in many places a handshake or bow is normal – there's also the tricky question of
kisses and hugs.
Awkward. Should you kiss? How many times? And should your lips touch their cheek?
No, Rob - definitely an air-kiss! Close to the cheek, but don't touch. Much safer.
Greetings are the subject of a new book, by former British diplomat
Andy Scott, called One Kiss or Two: In Search of the Perfect Greeting.
Here he is on a BBC radio show Word of Mouth. Why are greetings so important?
These are the first moments of interaction we have with people. And it's in those first moments,
and using those verbal and physical rituals that we have and we can get in such a muddle about,
that we're kind of recognising each other and reaffirming our bonds or even testing our bonds
and our relationships with each other, we're signalling our intentions towards each other,
despite the fact we might not necessarily be conscious when we're doing them.
Scott says we need to communicate our intentions to each other and acknowledge our relationships.
Well, that's what greetings do. One word he uses to mean 'relationship' or 'connection'
is bond. We can reaffirm our bonds, which means we confirm them and make them stronger.
And we do it through rituals -patterns of behaviour that we do for a particular purpose.
So there are the phrases such as 'hello', 'good afternoon', 'nice to meet you',
and as well as the physical rituals – handshakes, bows and kisses.
Though he also said we sometimes want to test our bonds. We might want to check if our friendship
has grown by offering something warmer than usual – like a hug instead of a handshake.
Now, Scott acknowledges how difficult greetings can be – using the very British
slang phrase – to get in a muddle. If you get in a muddle, you become confused or lost. You
might get in a muddle if one person expects two kisses and the other expects only one.
Though Scott does believe that the details don't really matter, because another important
purpose of greetings is to reduce tension. So if you get it wrong, just laugh about it.
OK, let's get back to the one word we really shouldn't get in a muddle about, 'hello'.
Let's listen to Dr Laura Wright, a linguist from Cambridge University,
also speaking on the BBC Word of Mouth radio programme. Where does 'hello' come from?
It starts as a distant hailing: "I see you miles over there and I've got to yell at you." It's not
until the invention of telephones we really get to use hello as a greeting to each other, and
even then it wasn't initially used as a greeting, it was used more as an attention-grabbing device:
"You are miles away, the line is about to be cut, I need to attract the attention of the operator
as well." And so everybody would call 'hello' to each other as this long-distance greeting form.
Laura says 'hello' hasn't always meant 'hello' – originally it was just a shout
to attract someone's attention. And we call this kind of shouting hailing.
The shout would vary in form – it could sound like a 'hollo'! Or a 'hulloa'!
We continued this kind of hailing when telephones first appeared.
People would keep repeating 'hello, hello' while they were waiting to be connected.
And before long, this became the actual way to greet somebody on the telephone. Anyway,
before we say 'goodbye' to 'hello' – let's have the answer to today's question.
I asked when the word first appeared in print in English.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it was in 1826. Other spellings appeared before that.
Ah, you see – I was thinking English changes really quickly, but not that quickly.
Not that quickly.
So before we go, let's have a look at today's vocabulary again.
A minefield is something that is full of uncertainty and even danger.
This sense comes from the literal meaning – a field full of explosive landmines!
And then we had air-kiss – which is when you kiss the air beside someone's face,
instead of the face itself! Like this: mwah.
And we had bond – a connection. There's a close bond between us I think, Rob.
Which is good, because when I get in a muddle, you're always very understanding!
Yeah.
To get in a muddle means to become confused.
Ritual was another word – rituals are certain behaviours
that people perform in certain contexts. I have a morning ritual, for example: brush my teeth,
eat breakfast… I didn't say it was an interesting ritual, Rob!
No, that's true. Finally, to hail – it's to greet someone loudly,
especially from a distance. I hailed my friend when I saw her at the airport.
And that's it for this programme. For more, find us on Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, and of course our website! Bye!
Bye!
Hello. This is 6 Minute English, I'm Sam.
And I'm Georgina.
Georgina, what languages do you speak?
Well, my mother tongue is English and I also speak Spanish and French badly!
OK. It’s interesting that we say ‘mother tongue’, isn’t it? Like many languages,
English has a number of gender-specific terms that don’t refer to gender-specific ideas and concepts.
And this complicated relationship between language and gender
is what we will be talking about today. But first, this week’s quiz question,
which is also on the topic of languages. Which of these languages is the newest? Is it:
A: Esperanto
B: Afrikaans
C: Light Warlpiri
What do you think, Georgina?
Well, I’ve only heard of two of these - Esperanto and Afrikaans – so I think I’m going to choose the
other one, Light Warlpiri, purely as I’ve never heard of it, so I think that must be the one.
OK, well we’ll find out if your intuition is correct later in the programme. Professor Lera
Boroditsky is a cognitive scientist who was a guest on the BBC World Service programme,
The Conversation. She was asked about why we use the term ‘mother tongue’ in English.
Different languages actually do it differently, but definitely there’s a strong association
between mothers as primary caregivers and people who teach us things, and so there’s that
point of origin metaphor that applies in a lot of languages.
So, how does she explain the use of mother tongue, Georgina?
Well, she says it’s a form of metaphor. A metaphor is a way of describing something by comparing it
to something else. In a metaphor,though, you don’t say that something is like something else,
you say that it ‘is’ something else. For example, having good friends is the key to a happy life.
It is indeed. In this metaphor, language is seen as coming from your primary caregiver,
the person who looked after you most when you were young, and traditionally this was mothers.
So, this is perhaps the point of origin, the starting place,of the metaphorical
phrase, mother tongue. Let’s listen again.
Different languages actually do it differently, but definitely there’s
a strong association between mothers as primary caregivers and people who teach
us things, and so there’s that point of origin metaphor that applies in a lot of languages.
Language is very powerful in society and culture,
and when it comes to gendered language, it can cause some issues. Here’s Lera Boroditsky again:
… in English of course we have some words that are gendered, like ‘actor’
and ‘actress’ or ‘waiter’ and ‘waitress’, and very commonly when there are those two gender
forms people perceive the masculine form as being a more prestigious job or the more
skilled job than the feminine form, so an actor is a fancier job than an actress and a waiter
is a fancier job than a waitress, and so they could then come with pay disparities and so on.
So, what’s the subconscious difference in attitude towards, for example, an actor and actress?
Well, she says that people perceive those roles differently. This means that we are aware of, or
believe there is a difference in the jobs because of the vocabulary. The male form is perceived
to be more prestigious – more important, more respected, even though it’s exactly the same job.
And this attitude can lead to problems such as disparities in pay.
A disparity is a difference, an inequality, and in the world of work it can mean men
getting paid more than women for the same job. Here’s Professor Boroditsky again.
…in English of course we have some words that are gendered, like ‘actor’
and ‘actress’ or ‘waiter’ and ‘waitress’, and very commonly when there are those two gender
forms people perceive the masculine form as being a more prestigious job or a more
skilled job than the feminine form, so an actor is a fancier job than an actress and a waiter
is a fancier job than a waitress, and so they could then come with pay disparities and so on.
OK, before we take another look at today’s vocabulary,
let’s reveal the answer to this week’s quiz. Which of these languages is the newest, is it:
A: Esperanto
B: Afrikaans
C: Light Warlpiri
Georgina, what did you say?
I thought it had to be Light Walpiri, but just because I had never heard of it before.
Well, congratulations. Your instincts were good,
that is correct. Let’s move on to vocabulary and look at today’s words and phrase again.
A primary caregiver is a person who has most responsibility for looking after someone.
A point of origin is the place or time when something begins.
A metaphor is a way of describing something. We can say that something
is something else that has similar qualities.
You’re a star!
Aw, thank you.
No, I meant, you're a star, is an example of a metaphor.
Oh, OK. Of course, I knew that.
Mmmm, if you say so. To perceive is to think of something in a particular way.
We might perceive the value of different jobs based on the vocabulary used to describe them.
Something prestigious is important and respected.
And finally, a disparity is a difference, an inequality and is often used when
talking about how men and women aren’t always paid the same for the same job.
And that is all from us. We look forward to your company again soon. In the meantime,
you can always find us online, on social media and on the BBC Learning English app. Bye for now.
Bye!