LANGUAGE EXPLORER

I talk about the way we ask questions in English - well, in England anyway

I hope you find it interesting

As usual, the text is on my blog

www.alanpalmer.blogspot.com

It’s interesting how many ways we can ask questions in English.
I wanted to explain a little in this podcast about the different ways do this. In fact I had to think about this a lot before I recorded the podcast – as a lot depends on the situation and who were are talking to.
Regarding asking people for things. In English we use the “conditional” form a lot. This is where the question sounds more polite.
For example:
“Could I have a cup of tea please?” sounds more polite that “Can I have a cup of tea please?”
The reason is that English people usually ( but not always of course) try to be polite and the word “could” means that the person who is being asked would feel that the person asking the question was not demanding a cup of tea – almost that the person being asked has a choice. Of course if you were in a café asking this question, it would seem a bit silly that they would not want to give you some tea – but this way of asking questions still stays in our language.
“I would like…” is similar
” Could I trouble you for….?” Is very polite and fomal
Between friends and family, it is less formal:
“Can you lend me a garden rake?” is perfectly acceptable.
“I want a….” is not normally used – as it sounds impolite. However as always, there are exceptions. ” I want a holiday – I’ve been working too many hours” could be used as a statement. But, if you were to ask your boss for a holiday, you would say “Could I have next week off please? I want to go on holiday”
“Have you got some stamps?” is ok to use when asking for stamps in a Post Office
Also,
“Do you have some(any) stamps?” Would be the right question to see if the place selling stamps had any e.g. Newsagents
“Do you sell stamps?” would also be ok – if you were in a shop and wanted to see if they sold stamps
To add emphasis, we often say:
“I really would like…… do you have any? (or “could I have?)
“Do you mind if I take….?” A useful phrase in, say a Tourist Information office and they offer leaflets and you think that they are being offered for free – but you are not sure.
“Will you come to my party?” a direct question to a friend – which means that they should give you an answer “yes” or “no”
An alternative (and more polite) would be ” Would you come to my party?” this means that the person being asked might say “no thanks – I have to visit my mother – thanks for asking me”
“Shall we go to the seaside for our holidays?” is more direct than “should we go to the seaside for our holidays?” and usually you would get a different response.
The first question would normally mean the person being asked would say “Yes, it sounds a good idea” or “No, I don’t want to go to the seaside this year”
The second question would normally mean the person being asked would say “Let me think about it, it might be worth doing” or ” I’m not sure – whether I like the idea or not”
So, it is worth learning the different ways to ask for things in English and see what response you get. If you find that the question seems too direct – then try using:
Could I/you/we?
Should I/you/we?
Would I/you/we?
Might I/you/we?
Another very polite way is “is it ok if?” or “do you mind if?”

More direct ways or asking questions are
Can I/you/we?
Shall I/you/we?
Will I/you/we?
Don’t be worried about using these ways of asking if you need help or are in trouble or you need a direct “yes” or “no” answer.

Here’s another French song I recorded for my French language group presentations. It is a song originally recorded by Francis Cabrel:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Cabrel

Here is Francis himself “en chantant”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPjH0pMiITs

Song words (in English and French) are on my blog:

www.alanpalmer.blogspot.com

I haven’t had time to record my voice this weekend - but here’s a web link that you might find interesting about British dialects.

You will need Realplayer to play the recordings. This is the home page:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/recordings/

and this is my region - so you might be able to hear my accent when you listen to these ladies from Burnley - which is a town near to where I live.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/recordings/group/lancashire-burnley.shtml

I hope you find it interesting

Bye for now

Alan

As I walk along I wonder a-what went wrong
With our love , a love that was so strong
And as I still walk on, I think of the things we’ve done
Together , a-while our hearts were young
I’m a-walkin’ in the rain
Tears are fallin’ and I feel the pain
Wishin’ you were here by me
To end this misery
And I wonder
I wa-wa-wa-wa-wonder
Why
Ah-why-why-why-why-why she ran away
And I wonder where she will stay
My little runaway , run-run-run-run-runaway

Loin de toi je me demande
Pouquoi ma vie ressemble
A une terre brûlée
Mais quand l’amour prend ses distances
Un seul être vous manque
Et tout est dépeuplé
Vanina rappelle-toi
Que je ne suis rien sans toi
Vanina si tu m’oublies
Je serais pour la vie
Seul au monde
Oh ! Mon… mon… mon…monde
Toi, toi…… si loin de toi
Et le monde
N’existe pas
Si tu es loin de moi, loin loin loin loin de moi

Original version by Del Shannon
French version by Dave
This version by me!

Here’s a song that was a hit by Del Shannon as “Runaway” and by Dave in French as “Vanina”.

I combined the two together - one for american-french relationships perhaps?
as usual - songwords on my blog: alanpalmer.blogspot.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Del_Shannon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_(singer)

I talk about how we shorten sentences in conversation with friends and family

You can find the transcript here: alanpalmer.blogspot.com

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!

A guitar interlude for you - I hope my playing gets you on your feet!

The title is actually “rockabilly” - but I decided that it looked better as “Rock Abby Lee”

I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils