English Topics - Alisha and Michael's Favorite English

Alisha: Hi everybody, I’m Alisha and I'm joined today by..

Michael: Michael. Hello.

Alisha: And today we're going to be talking about our favorite english words.

So let's get right into it.

Let's start with Mike.

Michael: Oh.. man.

Alisha: A favorite English word or phrase please.

Michael: Okay.

So just so you guys know at home before we film this, we each wrote down

a few phrases or words, our personal favorites, and we have not shown them to each other yet.

Alisha: I have no idea he has.

Michael: So..

I'm cheating I'm cheating and I'm gonna give four words that aren't a phrase but

they're about the same..

I’ll just show you.

Okay. lemme, wanna, gimme, gonna.

lemme, wanna, gimme, gonna.

So these are, I know, I'm cheating but these are two words the they're basically contractions

that are used to in slang.

So like “let me know”, “let me know when you're free, let's then go to a

movie together.

Umm…

“I wanna eat a cheeseburger.

“Gimme.”

“Gimme that cheeseburger.

I wanna eat a cheeseburger.”

“I wanna eat a cheeseburger.”

I don’t know why.

I’m hungry I guess.

Alisha: Are you hungry?

I was gonna ask you.

Michael: So those are some of my favorite.

And I think these are totally acceptable to use if your boss, in all contexts in my personal

opinion.

Alisha: Yeah, they're really really common words, aren't they?

They're really in the natural so of many my students would say “let me” “want to”

“going to” and so on but actually we don't really say those things when we are speaking

just normally.

It sounds a little bit, kinda, strict and almost militaristic

to say it like that so..Yeah those are really good words if you wanna sound more natural

when you're speaking with your english-speaking friends.

Yeah..

Okay.

Well I think that took a very different tactics from you.

I didn’t.

I pick some other words that I use a lot and that maybe a little bit..

I don't know unusual to come across.

I did one on each card so bear with me here.

Michael: It’s okay.

I cheated.

Alisha: My first one is.. “gnarly”.

Gnarly is my first word.

This is a phrase not, this word is not really so common but where I'm from.

I was born in California and there's a big surf culture in California and so this was

the word when I grew up with my mom saying and my dad saying.

Hmm.

Gnarly is a word that mean somewhere between awesome and dangerous and so surfers would

use this word whenever they catch a wave that’s really really big, they do like some kind

of crazy trick, and their friends congratulate them afterwards by saying “Well that was

gnarly.”

I still use this today like when I.. when I almost fell down for example and I’m like

“Oh..that was gnarly.” is something like that.

So that’s one of my favorite English word.

Michael: So..

I’m glad you said that.. umm.. because I just used this and some of few the friends

I was with were from the UK, and they were making fun to me.

They said “Oh, gnarly bros.”

And I was like “shut up” “shut up.”

So when we use it, I'm from Colorado and we kinda steal some of the culture from California

through the movies.

It’s all though the states.

So I say that as well.

And you can also use it the way I was using it was just

like that something is really severe.

So it’s like a bad cut.

It looks gross.

And that's how I was using.

And they are still “oh, gnarly.”

Alisha: That’s another use for it too.

I use that as well.

You know, like if you see something kinda nasty looking like on the street, you see,

I don't know maybe a frog got run over by a car something in your neighborhood.

“Oh, that’s gnarly.”

So yeah, it’s really gnarly.

Something that’s just kinda sketchy.

I thought that should’ve been my word; sketchy, anyway.

Sketchy is a good one.

Can we re-do?

Okay.

Michael: So I also use words, those are words that I use all the time.

And I actually typed them out on Facebook.

And this is another one that I use all the time.

One of my favorites phrase “hang out”.

“hang out”.

We use this pretty much everywhere in the United States, even people in UK, Australia

use this phrase.

What I like about it is that you can be ambiguous with it.

Ambiguous it's not one or the other.

So if you're going to ask some girl out.

Instead of saying “Would you like to go on a date with me?”

Oh, that scare you.

You might..

She might reject you and say “no.”

You say “Wanna hang out?”

Alisha: Okay.

Michael: Yeah, or she say “No I’m busy.”

No harm no foul.

Alisha: Right.

Michael: I like this.

I see this all the time.

Do you use it?

Alisha: Yeah.

Absolutely.

“Let's hang out.”

Of course, I still use that.

Or when somebody asks you what you're doing as well, you can use this for yourself.

If you're not doing anything in particular if you're sitting around the house, you can

say..

“Oh, I’m just hanging out at home”.

Yeah, I absolutely use that one.

Yeah, it's really good, really casual I think.

Michael: Absolutely.

Alisha: Agreed.

Agreed.

Okay.

Michael: What’s your next one?

Alisha: The next one.

This one is one that I said probably a few times already today in front of you guys.

I picked the phrase “Go big or go home.”

“Go big or go home.”

Ah.. it’s kinda funny funny phrase which means either “Do something with all of your

effort.

Do.. like.. put everything that you have into something, or don't do it at all.

It’s used in casual situations.

Umm..

I will use it if I go to a barbecue restaurant, someone says “Do you want to get the big

platter or the small platter” and I will say “Go big or go home” and then we get

the big thing.

Umm.. so, I love this phrase.

I use it all the time with my friends.

I don’t know.

Is this something that you say?

Michael: Yeah.

I also, I love the phrase actually.

Umm..

When I hear it, it’s from hip-hop.

It’s weird as it sounds is that it's this kind of like you know..

“I give it your all” “Go big or go home.”

You know, don't even try to make it big if you’re not gonna give 100 percent.

I love it..

Um..

Yeah, I use it same yeah I like this.. this example you're giving is kinda like a hyperbole.

That’s like you know that I rarely use it.

I don't think I've ever used it when talking about like my personal dreams and goals.

But usually like eating or something like that, I usually “Go big Go home.”

like wow..

Alisha: Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.

Absolutely.

Michael: So next word is.. our last.

I think lat and least is..Yeah this one..

I like this one.

This is an older phrase.

It sounds kinda weird but we still use it; young generation grandpa everybody.

Yeah it's gonna be a lil bit pretentious.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

So I like this one a lot because you know people..Basically what it means is that it

depends on the person, what they think is beautiful.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

What you see is beautiful, but it's not beautiful for what someone else sees.

So perfect example of this is that in the Western world, we're constantly going

tanning.

We go like in California, Colorado, we go out into the in in the Summer Sun even though

we know it will give us a cancer, and we lay out cuz we want to be dark; that's beautiful

to us.

But maybe in the East of Asia, they will cover up like in Vietnam, they will cover up everything

because the whiter you are means the wealthier.

The farmers outside, they are dark, so it's totally arbitrary I think who cares I think

either, either is beautiful so I like this phrase.

Alisha: That’s a nice phrase.

Like you said, it’s a little bit old fashioned but yet had

still I think it's still used today by a lot of people in a lot of different

situations.

Yeah, that’s a good one.

Nice idea.

Okay.. umm..my last word then I guess is also, Gosh..

Michael: Why..?

Alisha: Quite different.

Quite different from your and another word that I say all the time, but I..

I love this word because it can be used in almost any situation as long as it's

casual.

My last word is “dude.” “dude.” “dude” is my favorite word.

I just it is.

As soon as you said that I need to write three words, I was like well one of them is gonna

be “dude.”

Dude is so useful because you can use it when you're surprised, you can use it

when you're sad, you can use it when you’re excited, you can use it almost any situation

as long as it's a casual situation.

So it's it's an exercise in intonation.

Is that..

Is Dude is the word that you use?

Michael: Oh, yeah.

All the time.

“Dude” and “Man.”

Alisha: “Man” yeah.

Michael: That’s what I grew up.

And I learned from my father.

I'd be talking on the phone and with my my friends

there, I am talking on the phone.

They don't know to whom I’m talking to.

I’m like “Yeah, dude.

Yeah, man.

Yeah, dude.”

And they are like “Who was that?”

“My father.”

“What?”

You’re saying “Dude” to your father?

“Yeah..

HE was the one who taught me to say “dude””.

Alisha: Yeah, Yeah.

Michael: I like..

I was thinking when you were saying that the practice of intonation, you can say “dude”

and it's a totally different meaning- “Hey dude.”

“Whats up, dude?” just means “a friend” or “a buddy.”

“mate” Um..

“Dude” Alisha: Someone gives you bad news, “dude.”

You’re excited about something, “Dude.”

You're disappointed about something “Dude.”

Exactly.

It’s an all-purpose word so that's why I like it.

Alright.

Do you have anything else that you wanted to share?

Michael: Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.

I think they are a perfect example of how to use “dude” correctly in all different

a context, circumstances.

Alisha: It’s a very important movie for American culture, I think.

Michael: Absolutely.

Alisha: Alright.

Okay.

Those are some really interesting words from both of us, two very different people, two

very different sets of words but please share with us some of your favorite words.

Make sure to leave a comment, or email us, or tweet us or whatever it

is what you do.

And let us know what you think.

Anything that you’d like to add?

Michael: No that’s fantastic.

Thanks, and I hope to see you next week.

Alisha: Bye.