se session 5: bits and bobs
DESCRIPTION
A few final odds and ends that might be of interest to my class as they try to speak EnglishTRANSCRIPT
Spoken EnglishA few bits and pieces
Common English slang words
Slang words are not universally used, but they are commonly heard in informal conversation.Bob’s Your Uncle – There you go, you’ve got it!Gobsmacked – Amazed, awed by something
Give You A Bell – Call youBlimey! – My GoodnessGutted – DevastatedChuffed – ProudFancy – Like
Lost the Plot – Gone CrazyFortnight – Two WeeksSorted – ArrangedBee’s Knees – Awesome
Dodgy – SuspiciousWicked – Cool!Whinge – complain, moanTad – Little bitTenner – £10Fiver – £5Quid – £1Skive – to avoid doing something
Cockney rhyming slangCockney rhyming slang originated in the East End of London.This is a different world to “normal” English - but sometimes on tv shows etc. you hear these phrases:Butchers’ – look, from butcher’s hook - “Would you like to have a butchers?”
Adam and Eve – believe - “Would you Adam and Eve it…?”Apples and pears – stairs - “I’m off up the apples and pears to bed.”Barney Rubble – trouble - “You’re going to be late home again, you’re in for some Barney Rubble from the wife.”
Plates of meat – feet – “Sit down and take the weight off your plates?”Ruby Murray – curry – “Do you fancy having a ruby murray tonight?”Trouble and strife – wife - “Time to go and pick up the trouble and strife…”Skin and Blister – sister – “That’s my skin and blister over there…”
A few websites that might be helpful in Learning English
Excellent general sites:http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/
More general sites:http://www.okey-dokey.co.uk/index.phphttp://www.learnbritishenglish.co.uk/
Specifically for speaking with a British accent:http://www.wikihow.com/Speak-in-a-British-Accent
These videos looking at English language are on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-I_jNXdVbRIAGDl27NPLKAhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwk6ifONlkvqnoMF2uyA05g
This one focusses on culture:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAm0yDpqqVEvBbqwlTAJNfg
If you like football this is a fun site to learn English:http://premierskillsenglish.britishcouncil.org/
An online pronunciation dictionary:http://www.howjsay.com/
Different wordsEnglish and American people speak the same language but use different words:A film becomes a movie, a wardrobe is a closet, a toilet / lavatory becomes a restroom
TrousersNappy
RubberHoliday
PetrolFlat
Biscuit
PantsDiaperEraser
VacationGas / Gasoline
ApartmentCookie
BonnetWindscreen
BootReversing lights
Exhaust
HoodWindshield
TrunkBack-up lights
Tail pipe / Muffler
British English words that end in -re often end in -er in American English:centre centerfibre fiberlitre litertheatre theater
British English words ending in -our usually end in -or in American English:colour colorflavour flavorhumour humorlabour laborneighbour neighbor
Other examples include: Words ending in -yse are always spelled -yze in American English:analyse analyzebreathalyse breathalyzeparalyse paralyze
Other examples include: Words that include two (or more) vowels together are spelled without one of the vowels in American English:leukaemia leukemiamanoeuvre maneuveroestrogen estrogenpaediatric pediatric
And so on…defence defenselicence licenseoffence offenseanalogue analogcatalogue catalogdialogue dialog