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!.