Myanmar: Military takes control: BBC News Review

Hello and welcome to News Review from BBC Learning English.

I'm Neil. Joining me today is Tom. Hi Tom.

Hi Neil. Good morning and hello to our audience.

What's our story today?

Our story today is about Myanmar,

where the military has taken control of the country.

OK. Well, if you want to test yourself on any of the vocabulary

you learn in this programme, don't forget there's a quiz

on our website at bbclearningenglish.com.

Now, let's find out some more about this story from this BBC radio report:

So, there was an election in Myanmar in November 2020.

The army, or the military, in Myanmar claim

that this election was fraudulent or a fake.

As of the time of recording, the army have taken control of Myanmar

and for one year they have created a state of emergency,

and the military have detained several politicians,

including the famous Aung San Suu Kyi.

OK. Well, you've been looking at this story

and how it's being reported in the headlines.

You've picked out three words and expressions, which are really useful.

What have you got?

'Coup', 'at a crossroads' and 'deal a killer blow'.

'Coup', 'at a crossroads' and 'deal a killer blow'.

So, let's have a look then at your first headline with that word 'coup'.

My first headline, Neil, is from right at home at the BBC – the headline:

'Coup' – takeover of government by force.

Now, this is a funny little word, isn't it?

Because it sounds really different to how it's spelt:

we say 'coo' not 'coop'. Why is that?

Well, yeah, we should note the irregular pronunciation.

C-O-U-P: we pronounce it 'coo' – no 'p'.

This is because it originally comes from the French language...

OK. ...which has a different set of rules.

Yes, OK. And this word often goes with other words.

It works in combination with some other words commonly, doesn't it?

What are they?

Yeah. So, some common collocations of 'coup':

we have 'major' – a 'major coup';

'attempted' – an 'attempted coup';

a 'failed coup' – one that didn't work;

and my favourite collocation is 'bloodless' – a bloodless clue... sorry!

A 'bloodless coup' – a 'bloodless coup' is a 'coup' when there is no violence

and this is interesting because it sort of suggests

that normally we could expect violence in a 'coup'.

That's right. When we talk about 'coups' we're not talking about

the democratic transition of one government to another; we're talking about

usually an army or armed forces taking control of a government...

Yeah, by force. ...illegally

That word 'force' is really important, isn't it?

Yeah. I have seen this word though used differently,

in connection sometimes with sport. So, let me give you an example:

My favourite football team is Portsmouth Football Club

because that's where I'm from, but unfortunately Portsmouth are not

a very good football team at the moment – they are in the lower divisions.

So, if I read in the news that Portsmouth had signed Lionel Messi

to play for them, I would say: 'Wow, what a coup for Portsmouth!'

That means an unexpected success – it's got nothing to do with military takeovers.

Yeah. So, we can have a 'coup' as an important and unexpected achievement.

Now, Neil, I don't know anything about football,

so I don't really know what you're talking about in that respect.

I'm going to give my own example:

say the Queen came to the BBC buildings and I said to her:

'Would you like to come and do news with us... News Review next week?'

And the Queen said, 'Yes. That would be great.'

And she came and did News Review with us – that would be a 'coup':

an unexpected and important achievement.

It would indeed be a 'major coup' for BBC Learning English;

nothing to do with military takeovers...! OK. Let's get a summary:

If you'd like to watch another video about seizures of power,

we have the perfect one for you: an anniversary – what's it all about, Tom?

It is a hundred years since the Russian Revolution.

This is an old News Review – or a News Review from the archive –

and you can find it by clicking the link.

Yeah, it's from 2017, which was a hundred years from 1917, of course.

Let's have a look at your next headline.

My second headline is from Sky News – the headline:

'At a crossroads' – at a point of change.

Yeah... Now...

I know what a 'crossroads' is, Tom. It's when one road crosses another one.

Yeah, and it makes a cross form.

Yeah, 'crossroads' are where, for example, four roads meet.

And what do you have to do there, Neil?

Well, when you approach a 'crossroads', you have to make a choice:

a choice about which direction you are going to go in future.

So, that is the literal meaning, but we're not talking literally here are we?

No, it's figurative. So, if 'at a crossroads' is at a point of change,

we are at the point of change because one way or another

we need to make a decision about which way to go.

Yeah. OK. For example, when I was eighteen years old

I'd finished what we call A Level in the UK, or in England,

and you have a choice then:

are you going to then study further – go to university?

Or perhaps get a job? And that is like being 'at a crossroads'.

We'd say, 'That's a crossroads in your life.'

You have a choice about what direction to take in the future.

You've wrapped it up perfectly. I'm not sure what else I can tell you on that one.

'At a crossroads' – at a point of important change

and we need to make a decision about which way to go.

OK. Shall we get a summary of that:

We've been talking about 'crossroads'

and we have a story about roads, don't we, Tom?

We do. It's a 6 Minute English – keeping cars out of city centres.

You can watch this: click on the link and drive across to YouTube or the site.

OK. Let's have a look at our next headline please.

My next headline is from The Telegraph – another UK paper. It says:

'Deals a killer blow' – ends something suddenly and violently.

Now, this is an interesting expression:

it's made up of lots of words that I know

but I can't really get the sense overall,

so shall we start with 'killer' and 'killer blow'?

Yeah. So a 'killer blow' – I imagine – probably comes from boxing.

So, a 'blow' is a strike or a hit,

so a 'killer blow' would be the one that ends the fight –

the one that knocks your opponent out.

Yeah. It's got a very, kind of, violent sense, hasn't it?

Yes, definitely.

What about this word 'deal'? I know in cards, playing cards, you 'deal'.

It means you hand out or give something. Is there a sense connected here?

Yeah. If you give – if you 'deal a killer blow',

you 'give' someone a 'killer blow', which... it's just the verb that it takes.

Yeah. OK. And of course when we're talking about boxing,

that's – kind of – literal, isn't it?

We're not using it literally here, we're using it figuratively.

This is figurative here. So, in the headline it's talking about

the 'killer blow' to Myanmar's fledgling democracy.

'Fledgling' means young, so it's ended – the opinion of the writer

is that this military coup has suddenly ended this young democracy in Myanmar.

OK. And we hear this often – this expression – used

in connection with business, don't we?

Yes. In your everyday life you could use it with relation to business.

For example, Covid: if you're in a struggling... if you own a struggling business

and then Covid comes and there's all these economic changes,

we could say: 'Covid has dealt your business a killer blow.'

Yeah. If it, sort of, ends it – if it finishes it.

Yeah. OK. Well, let's get a summary of that:

Time now, Tom, for a recap of our vocabulary please.

A recap of today's vocabulary: 'coup' – takeover of government by force.

'At a crossroads' – at a point of change.

And 'deals a killer blow' – ends something suddenly and violently.

If you want to test yourself on the vocabulary,

there's a quiz on our website: bbclearningenglish.com.

And you can find us all over social media.

Stay safe. Join us again next time. Goodbye.

Bye.