Alan's Weekend Words 17th June

Hello everyone

Thanks for all your feedback on my podcasts – I really appreciate it.

Today I want to talk some more about the way we speak in normal conversation as opposed to the language you read in text books or in English language classes.

Obviously I can only talk about my own experience in England,

When people speak quickly, it happens that some words become harder to distinguish and this can be difficult for English language learners I think.

For instance, If I asked a friend of mine, “would you like to go to the cinema?” it can often become “would yer like t’go to the cimema?” You can hear that the word “you” becomes more like “yer” and “to” becomes more like the letter “t”

This can be considered lazy speaking, but between friends, with work colleagues etc it is just easier and doesn’t mean that we are lazy.

Another example is “Do you want to?” which often becomes “do yer wanna?”

Here is a list I have made of some common phrases that can often be shortened.

I have got to go – I’ve gotta go
When I come back – when I’m back
What time is it? = what’s the time? (what time do you make it?)
I need to put some fuel in my car – I need to fill up (my car)
Do you sell sandwiches? Have you any sandwiches (sarnies)
Do you have a pen I can borrow please? Have you a pen please?
Could you pass me the salt please – could I have the salt please?
Did you take any good photographs when you were on holiday? did you take any good pictures(photos) on your holidays?

I’m trying to show you examples of where we use alternative sentences to those that would normally be taught in English classes.

I’m also trying to avoid (as much as I can) using examples of dialect – because some dialects in England shorten words as a feature of the dialect.

I’ll give you an example: Do you have a pen I can borrow please – often becomes Have you got a pen please? and in my dialect, I could say “d’y’ave a pen please?”

So I’m not trying to show you dialects in this podcast – I’m simply discussing how we choose different sentences sometimes – because they seem less formal, friendlier, easier to say – for quite a number of reasons. Often it may be simply because of habit. Do y’want a coffee? is much more common to ask as a question to a friend or member of the family than “would you like a cup of coffee?”

This type of “everyday speech” is, I think, what can make it more difficult for English learners to understand when listening to spoken English – it is quite often not like the written standard forms.

Some other examples:

Hello! it’s very nice to see you, please come in – “Hi, come on in!”
Well, I am really tired so I should go to bed – “I’m off to bed - I’m tired”
Did you enjoy that TV programme that was shown yesterday evening? Did you like that programme on telly yesterday evening?

Hopefully, you’ll be able to hear and read these differences and it may give you more understanding of why English may seem more complex – when in fact, it is often being made simpler to make it easier and quicker to have a conversation between friends and family.

See you next time

Bye!