A Brit Difficult: Recent Episodes
August
A Brit Difficult is a podcast for intermediate learners of English that focuses on British English. Too often, people think of British English speakers all being White and speaking like the Queen, but there is a rainbow of voices and accents in the UK. We'll explore vocabulary, grammar, and hear interviews with native speakers and English learners from around the UK.Contact us with ideas, questions and feedback at abritdifficult@gmail.com. Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
Hello, it's me again!
If you'd like to connect and stay up to date, you can now follow the podcast on Instagram @abritdifficultpodcast !
Words and phrases that might be new:
- bicycle lane: sometimes just called a cycle lane. A part of the road reserved for cyclists
- remote: far away, not well connected
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
Hello! I'm back after a short break :) let's learn about the passive voice.
Words and phrases that might be new :
- spam: unwanted mail or emails from people or businesses
- subject: the actor or focus of a sentence
- object: a person or thing which is receives the action of the verb
- present progressive: sometimes called the '-ing form'. Describes an ongoing action in the present
- context: a situation or information that makes it clear what people mean
- to attend: to go to an event
- brownie points to you: a phrase used to mean 'well done'
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
I chat with Ammar about his experience learning English as an Urdu/Punjabi speaker. We get some wise final words at the end of the episode!
Words and phrases that might be new:
- South Asian - people from the region of Asia that contains the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. There is a large amount of people with South Asian heritage in the UK :)
- come again - a phrase used in the UK that means 'please repeat that'
- to make sense - to have meaning, to understand the meaning of something
- chunks - pieces
- manoeuvre - when talking about driving, this refers to technical movements made with the car e.g. reverse parking
- spoiler - telling somebody the plot of a story before they have seen / read / heard it
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
Let's have a look at how politics work in the UK! Remember to listen until the end for some comprehension questions :) Sorry for the edits in this episode!
Words and phrases that might be new for you:
- to get something out of the way: to do first; to give priority to something
- monarchy: royal family; queens, kings, etc.
- a great deal: a lot
- broad: general, not specific
- petition: a written document with signatures from people asking for something to change, be done, etc.
- mayor: a local leader (the word for a female leader is a mayoress)
- to inherit: to get something from somebody when they die. This could be money, objects, or even a title (such as with the House of Lords)
- coalition: sharing power by joining two parties
- referendum: a public vote to make a decision
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
Let's look at how to tell the time in the UK as well as a few common time-related idioms!
Transcript coming soon!
Words and phrases that might be new to you:
- straightforward: easy
- quarter to: 15 minutes before an hour
- quarter past: 15 minutes past an hour
- half past: 30 minutes past an hour
- twenty to: 20 minutes to an hour
- twenty past: 20 minutes past an hour
- five to: 5 minutes to an hour
- five past: 5 minutes past an hour
- ten past: 10 minutes past an hour
- ten to: 10 minutes before an hour
- the other day: any point of time in recent history
- fortnight: a period of two weeks
- what on earth: what / what the hell
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
In this episode, we take a whirlwind adventure through what it's like to date in the UK! We will only touch briefly on the general trends and in this episode only focus on heterosexual couples, but I'd be happy to talk about other kinds of dating if you're all interested!
Transcript coming soon!
Words and phrases that might be new for you:
- heatwave: sudden, hot weather
- heterosexual: attracted to the opposite sex
- hookup; casual sex
- minefield: a situation where there are likely to be difficulties
- tendency: a trend
- flirting: talking and acting in a way that shows you are romantically interested in someone
- a top: a word sometimes used to refer to a t shirt or shirt
- sogetting: a Korean practice of setting up blind dates for a friend where the friend also attends
- terms of endearment: pet or cute names used with family, friends or partners
Some common pet names for your boyfriend/girlfriend: https://www.thortful.com/blog/lovers-pet-names/
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
In this episode, I will introduce you to the region of the West Midlands!
Words and phrases that might be new:
- kick something off : to start
- social deprivation: lacking resources to various things such as jobs, education, higher incomes, etc.
- play out: to become; to unfold; to turn out
- breweries: factories where beer is made
- specific: clear; exact
- basin: a special term used to describe where water empties into from canals, rivers or even the sea
- balti: a type of curry
Transcript coming soon.
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
Let's look at some common phrases and abbreviations used when talking to someone on an app or via social media :)
Transcript coming soon.
Words and phrases that might be new:
- sidenote: additional piece of information
- affiliated with: to have some kind of connection to something / someone
- now and again: sometimes
- colloquial: not formal
- btw: by the way
- omw: on my way
- dw: don't worry
- bc: because
- eta: estimated time of arrival
- fr: for real
- idc: I don't care
- idk: I don't know
- imo: in my opinion
- jk: joking
- np: no problem
- thnx, ty: thanks
- Wuu2: what are you up to?
- come across as: to seem
Not sponsored by the following, just some sites/apps you can check out!
https://www.tandem.net/
https://www.hellotalk.com/
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
In this episode, I speak with Farhana, an Urdu native speaker living in the UK. We talk about the importance of support when learning a language and being brave and having fun as you learn!
Transcript coming soon!
Words and phrases that might be new for you:
- colony - a country that has been invaded by another country and is controlled from that country
- theoretical - knowing how to do something but not practicing the actual skills itself
- tricky - difficult
- rote learning - memorising content to be used or recreated in an exam
- incident - an event, usually negative
- A Level - a type of exam taken in the UK around the age of 18
- smug - feeling confident in a way that makes you act like you're better than other people
- put a dampener on something - to discourage somebody or ruin their fun
- jist - the general feeling or meaning of something
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
In this episode, I'll explain what cockney rhyming slang is and provide a few examples of phrases that many people understand, even outside of London, where this coded language was created.
Transcript coming soon.
Words and phrases that might be new
- Cockney - refers to people / way of speaking in East London
- soap - short for soap opera, dramatic, long-running tv shows
- to rhyme - to make the same sound e.g. bone and phone
- to pinch - to steal
- you better not - don't
- butcher - person who works cutting and selling meat
- piss - a swearword meaning urine / pee
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
It's time for another conversation episode!
In this episode, I have a chat with Judit, a native Hungarian speaker who has lived in the UK for a number of years, experiencing both Scotland and England.
Transcript available soon.
Words and phrases that might be new for you:
- bless her / him: an expression often used to express that someone did something nice OR that they are going through something hard and you are expressing empathy
- to be conscious of something: to be very aware of something
- every so often: sometimes
- put it together: to figure something out; to understand what something means
- to cringe: to feel very embarrassed, usually for someone else's actions
- wee: in Scotland, this is another word for 'small' whereas in most of England it refers to urine - hence the confusion Judit described :)
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
A brief overview of the East of England! We'll look briefly at how the accent differs here, some history fun facts, and what you can do if you visit. Sorry if you can hear the football fans shouting in the background in this episode!!
Transcript coming soon.
The Suffolk Accent (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q5IzLBwWaQ
Words and phrases that might be new:
- to be familiar with something - to have knowledge of or to know something
- chunk - a large piece of something
- sticks out - to protrude or extend outside of something
- garrison - a military or army base
- personnel - staff or employees
- punting - a river-based activity where you use a pole/stick to drive yourself down the river
- river bed - the bottom of a river
- give it a go - try to do something
- in a nutshell - in summary
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
Let's talk about some stereotypes! Do all British people love tea and the Queen?? p.s. sorry about the geese in the background haha
Transcript coming soon!
Words and phrases that might be new for you:
- confrontational - being ready for an argument or fight with people
- be serious about - care a lot about; committed to something or someone
- diplomatic - fair and avoiding taking sides in a situation
- refrain from - to not do something
- oral hygiene - the health of the teeth
- Cockney accent - an accent found in certain parts of London, often heard in films and other media
- orphan - a child without parents
- Oliver - a famous play about an orphan in England. The accents in this play / film might be considered Cockney
- wrap up - to finish
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
Let's look at some idioms and phrases! These can be really hard to understand as a non-native speaker.
Transcript coming soon.
Words and phrases that might be new:
- Bank Holiday - a public holiday where people tend not to work
- tl'dr - too long didn't read - an acronym used often on the internet to give a summary
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
What is a diphthong? Simply defined, a diphthong is a combination of vowels that together create a particular sound. They usually combine the sounds of two or more vowels. As you probably already know, English has some weird spellings and it can be hard to guess how to pronounce words. In this episode, I'll introduce you to the 7 main diphthongs in English with examples to try and help you make a better guess at how to pronounce a new word!
Transcript coming soon!
Manchester Voices project: https://www.manchestervoices.org/talking-about-voices/
Words and phrases that might be new
- vowels: the letters a, e , i, o and u
- so on and so forth: etc.
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
Today I will introduce you briefly to the North East of England, home to cities like Newcastle, Durham and Sunderland. Remember, you can always visit these places yourselves or read about them to learn more. These is just some basic information :)
Transcript coming soon.
Words and phrases that might be new:
- comprised of - made up of
- Labour - one of the main political parties in the UK
- Celts - a group of people that can be found around the UK and Ireland
- hen do - a party for a bride before she gets married
- stag do - a party for a groom before he gets married
- Geordie - a term sometimes used to describe people from Newcastle and surrounding areas
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
Today we will talk about how you can invite someone to do something and about how a behaviour of some British people can lead to confusion and disappointment.
Transcript coming soon.
Some words and phrases that may be new
- make up for - to compensate for; to do something because you didn't do something else
- to be in the mood to / for - to want to do something
- grab dinner - to have dinner
- munch / scran - snacks
- crisps - a potato snack, known in other places as potato chips
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
Today, I'll introduce you to the region of Yorkshire and the Humber. Have you ever visited a town or city in the area?
Transcript coming soon.
Words and phrases that might be new to you:
establish - to create or begin something
abbey - a type of church
mining - taking materials like coal out of the ground
affluent - rich
rivalry - a long conflict or competition between two sides
secondary school - high school
Celebrities and media mentioned to hear some Yorkshire accents: Sean Bean, Happy Valley, Emmerdale, Educating Yorkshire
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
Do British people apologize too much? Yes, we do - sorry :D
Transcript coming soon.
Words and phrases that might be new for you:
- to struggle with something: to find it difficult
- to be keen on: to be enthusiastic about something
- to cut somebody off: to interrupt somebody when they are speaking
- brief: short
- unusual: strange
Example of ordering at a cafe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijpeOyhax9w
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
Today, I'll introduce you to the North West of England. Have you ever visited a town or city in the area?
Transcript coming soon.
Some vocabulary that might be new for you in this episode:
- region: an area of a country
- to consist of: to be made of; to include
- it just came to me: I just remembered
- to depict: to show
- to pass away: to die
Celebrities mentioned to hear some North West accents: Paddy McGuinness, Cilla Black, Aitch, The 1975, Craig Charles, Marcus Rashford
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
This time I talk about the gerund form of verbs and how to use this form.
Transcript coming soon.
Some vocabulary that might be new for you in this episode:
- continuous / present progressive: a verb form to describe an ongoing action
- gerund: a noun form of a verb that ends in -ing e.g. I like **reading
- preposition / postposition: a small word that explains the relationship between words, the location, etc. A preposition comes before a verb whereas a postposition comes after a verb.
- vase: a container used for decoration or to hold flowers
- tune in: to listen to something or watch something**
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
This time I chat with Sonjide, a Bengali speaker raised in Sweden who now lives in London. We talk about how to learn English with music and TV, weird phrases in English and
the power of curiosity. P.S. please sponsor me, Gramamrly :D
Transcript coming soon.
Some vocabulary that might be new for you in this episode:
to be thrown into something - to suddenly be in a situation you are not prepared for
Liverpuddlian - somebody from Liverpool
Mancunian - somebody from Manchester
idiom - a phrase that makes no sense literally but has a set meaning
the best of both worlds - to enjoy the benefits of two different situations
learning curve - the time and difficulty of learning a new skill (usually used as 'big learning curve' to mean something that is difficult to learn)
gist - the loose meaning of something
nuance - the feeling or small difference in a situation
init - slang for 'isn't it'; used mostly by younger people to seek confirmation
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
I chat with Tori, who is from the United States, to discuss what it's like to interact with people who speak the same language but use different words and have a different accent. We discuss hot topics like how the UK does not stock enough different types of peanut butter, The Great Jaffa Cake debate, why British people need x's on their text messages, and ponder the question: why do you sit IN a car, but ride ON a bus or train??
Transcript coming soon.
Words and phrases that might be new for you:
- Jaffa Cake: a biscuit with chocolate on top and an orange filling
- to consume: can mean to eat, can also mean to enjoy media, whether that's watching or reading
- halls: dormitories/dorms - a place where students stay whilst at university
- to go blank: to suddenly not know what to say in a situation
- to be on you: to be your fault
- variation: difference
- colleague: work mate
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
We look at three ways to use the conditional in English and how each way can tell us how likely the condition is to come true.
Transcript coming soon.
Words and phrases that might be new for you:
- condition: describes a situation that needs to come true for another action or situation to happen
- modal verb: verbs like could, should and would
- drop (in the case of prices dropping): this mean the prices are getting lower
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
This time I chat with Dmitry, a native Russian speaker who has spent time in Ireland and England. We talk about small talk in English, how memes can help with your language learning, gaming in your second language, and how different English is in the classroom versus real life.
Transcript coming soon.
Some vocabulary that might be new for you in this episode:
diction: the way that a person speaks, including their accent, pronunciation, and many other things
Geordie: a word used to describe people and the accent from the city of Newcastle
conjugation: the way a verb is changed to match tense
tricky: difficult
dialogue: a conversation
to observe: to watch carefully
to encounter difficulty: to experience difficulty
response: answer
to engage: to take part in something; to get someone's attention in a conversation
quid: pound (covered in the last episode)
irony: saying the opposite of what you mean, often to be funny
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
We look at a few interesting words and phrases from British slang. Got a question, suggestion or request for an episode theme? Email us at abritdifficult@gmail.com!
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
Transcript coming soon.
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
In this episode, I talk with my friend, Irina, a native Romanian speaker who has learned English as a second language. We talk about how she learned English, some tips for English learners and the importance of media and music in language learning.
Transcript coming soon.
Some vocabulary that might be new for you in this episode:
- plateau: a period when you stop improving at doing something
- context: another way to say situation
- euphemism: usually a more polite way of saying a controversial or rude thing
- extract - a small piece of a text
- have cause to - have a reason to do something
- to operate - to act
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.
In this episode, we look at the difference between should and must and when to use each of them. We also explore the phrase 'get on with' and its meanings.
Transcript will be available soon.
Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.