Is talking on the phone embarrassing? 6 Minute English

Neil: Hello, and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Neil.

Sam: And I'm Sam.

Neil: Sam, do you know Stephen Fry?

Sam: Not personally, but I know of him.

Stephen Fry is an English writer and comedian

and is well known for being extremely intelligent

and very knowledgeable about many things

cultural, historical and linguistic.

Neil: To be knowledgeable

means 'to know a lot about something'.

I wish I was half as knowledgeable as he is!

Sam: I wish I were a quarter as knowledgeable!

Neil: There is still time, Sam!

And maybe this week’s question will help you become

just a little bit more knowledgeable

on the topic of the telephone.

The first long distance telephone call

was made in 1876.

Approximately what was the distance of that call?

Was it: A: 10km?

B: 15 km?

Or C: 20 km?

What do you think Sam?

Sam: So when you say long distance ……?

Neil: For the time, yes.

Remember the telephone was only a baby in 1876.

Sam: In that case, I’ll say approximately 15km.

But that’s just a guess

- a long distance guess.

Neil: We’ll find out if you’re right

at the end of the programme.

Stephen Fry is also known as a technophile.

The suffix ‘phile’ means 'a lover of that thing'.

So a technophile is someone who loves technology.

Fry was a guest on the BBC podcast Word of Mouth

and was talking about the technology of

communication.

It seems he’s not a fan of the telephone.

But why not?

Stephen Fry: I think the telephone was

a really annoying blip in our communications and that's

old technology. I mean that's 1880s, 90s.

When you're on the telephone to someone,

especially if you're British – you know, that

Bernard Shaw thing,

oh, you know - the moment one Englishman opens his

mouth another Englishman despises him

- when you're speaking to someone on the telephone

all the age, class, education, vocabulary

all come into play

because it's in real time

and it's embarrassing. I hate being on the

telephone to people

- especially strangers in shops and things like that

because it's embarrassing and awkward.

Neil: So, why doesn’t he like the telephone?

Sam: Well, he uses a quote from the writer

George Bernard Shaw.

It’s not the exact quote but the meaning is that

as soon as an English person speaks,

another English person despises them.

To despise someone is a very strong emotion

and it means 'to really hate someone'.

Neil: So, what is it about the English person’s voice

that leads others to despise them?

Sam: Stephen Fry goes on to explain

that there is a lot of information about someone that

people get from their voice.

You can make a judgment about someone’s age,

level of education and class

from the way that they speak

and the vocabulary they use.

Neil: 'Class' refers to your economic and social position

in a society.

In Britain, we talk about three classes:

upper class, middle class and working class.

The family into which you are born dictates your class.

These used to be a lot more important in British society

but there are still different prejudices and negative

feelings related to the relationship between the classes.

Sam: Exactly, so hearing someone’s voice on the

telephone might make you think something negative

about someone based on very old-fashioned

ideas of class.

What makes it worse is that these conversations

happen in real time.

This means they are 'happening live', 'not recorded',

so you have no time to really think about it.

Neil: So he may be a technophile,

but he’s not a fan of the phone!

Sam: Indeed. He called it a 'blip',

which is a word for when something is not quite right

- when there is a fault or a mistake which is usually

not long lasting.

Neil: So do you think he’s right?

Sam: Well, actually,

I don’t like to talk to strangers on the phone very much

myself, but that’s just me.

But I do think that although

the class divisions in British society

are much less obvious and much less important

than in the past,

we still do make judgements about people based on

how they speak

and those judgements can often be completely false.

Neil: Right, nearly time to review our vocabulary,

but first,

let’s have the answer to today’s question.

The first long distance telephone

call was made in 1876.

Approximately what was the distance of that call?

Was it: A: 10km?

B: 15 km?

Or C: 20 km?

What did you think, Sam?

Sam: I guessed 15km. But it was just a guess.

Neil: Well, sadly, on this occasion

it was not a correct guess.

The correct answer is approximately 10km

or 6 miles.

Congratulations if you go that right.

Now on with vocabulary.

Sam: We started with the adjective 'knowledgeable',

which means 'knowing a lot about something'.

Neil: A technophile is someone who loves technology.

Sam: To despise someone is to hate someone strongly.

Neil: 'Class' refers to a group in society you are

said to belong to from your birth.

Certain stereotypes are often attached to different

classes to do with intelligence and education,

for example.

Sam: 'In real time' is an expression that means

'happening live, without any pauses or breaks'.

So for example,

you aren’t listening to this programme in real time,

Neil: Well, I am.

Sam: Well, of course, you are Neil,

because you are here with me as we are recording.

But if you’re listening to the podcast,

it’s no longer real time.

It’s been recorded and edited.

Neil: And we had one other word, didn’t we?

Sam: Yes, a 'blip',

which is a temporary fault, or mistake.

Neil: Well, that's all we've got for this programme.

For more, find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

and our YouTube pages and, of course, our website

bbclearningenglish.com,

where you can find all kinds of other programmes

and videos and activities

to help you improve your English.

Thank you for joining us and goodbye!

Sam: Bye!