Curious Questions
Slang: Dude!
01/24/2010
by asami
in Curious Questions
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Dude! This word is very popular nowadays, especially with young people. You can often hear this word in movies and television shows, or with your Native English speaker friends. It has been around for awhile but young people are using the word dude, more and more. So…dude, what does it mean?
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Maura: You want to use dude with your friends in a casual environment like a party or something like that.
Harp: Yeah, so dude is an old word.
Maura: Yeah, and it has had a lot of different meanings that generally refer to a man.
Harp: Yeah exactly. And dude became popular in the 60s and the 70s in surfer culture and then it made its way into mainstream.
Maura: Yeah, so dude was really first used in a popular way by surfers, I guess maybe in California, somewhere where they surf in the USA.
Harp: Exactly, but we’ll talk about dude in the surfer culture in the Lipservice.
Harp: Yeah, so dude is an old word.
Maura: Yeah, and it has had a lot of different meanings that generally refer to a man.
Harp: Yeah exactly. And dude became popular in the 60s and the 70s in surfer culture and then it made its way into mainstream.
Maura: Yeah, so dude was really first used in a popular way by surfers, I guess maybe in California, somewhere where they surf in the USA.
Harp: Exactly, but we’ll talk about dude in the surfer culture in the Lipservice.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Video: Dude – Bud Light
No matter what
09/13/2009
by Culips
in Curious Questions
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
| No matter what is a common expression used by English speakers. The question in this episode comes from Ae Sun who heard this expression used while she was watching TV. There are also other similar expressions like, no matter what happens and no matter who/when/why/where/which/how. Check out this episode to find out how to use this expression like a native speaker. |
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Maura: We use the expression no matter what when we’re talking about doing something, some kind of action. When we say we will do something no matter what, it means that we will do the action even if it’s difficult. We will do it.
Harp: Yeah, it’s like saying that it isn’t important what happens. You will complete the action. So, it shows a strong feeling about the action. So even if something is difficult, or if you have to try really hard different ways, it’s still the same result.
Maura: Let’s give an example.
Harp: Hey, are you going to the party? Did your parents say you could go, or are you grounded?
Maura: I’m going to the party no matter what.
Harp: All right! See you there
Harp: Yeah, it’s like saying that it isn’t important what happens. You will complete the action. So, it shows a strong feeling about the action. So even if something is difficult, or if you have to try really hard different ways, it’s still the same result.
Maura: Let’s give an example.
Harp: Hey, are you going to the party? Did your parents say you could go, or are you grounded?
Maura: I’m going to the party no matter what.
Harp: All right! See you there
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Video: No Matter What – Badfinger
Culture: Wedding anniversaries
07/26/2009
by Culips
in Curious Questions
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Eliza from China emailed to ask us about Wedding Anniversaries. Here we talk about different ways to wish someone a happy anniversary, what couples do on their anniversaries and the special names of some anniversaries. If you’re married or not, listen below. |
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Harp: And for other more special anniversaries people celebrate with parties, with their family and friends.
Robin: Right, but this is only for big anniversaries, like 25 years, maybe 30, 40 or 50 years. Usually big parties come after the couple has been married a long time.
Harp: Yes, sometimes it is the children of the couple who plan a big party for the parents’ wedding anniversary. You know I actually did this for my parents’ 25th Anniversary.
Robin: Did you?
Harp: Yeah I planned a party with my 2 sisters.
Robin: Really? Were there a lot of people?
Harp: Yeah, there were actually about 60 people.
Robin: Right, but this is only for big anniversaries, like 25 years, maybe 30, 40 or 50 years. Usually big parties come after the couple has been married a long time.
Harp: Yes, sometimes it is the children of the couple who plan a big party for the parents’ wedding anniversary. You know I actually did this for my parents’ 25th Anniversary.
Robin: Did you?
Harp: Yeah I planned a party with my 2 sisters.
Robin: Really? Were there a lot of people?
Harp: Yeah, there were actually about 60 people.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: amandabhslater
Pronunciation: Silent P
06/27/2009
by Culips
in Curious Questions
E-Book PDF: Open in New Window | Download
Sometimes English pronunciation is very difficult. Sometimes we spell words quite differently from how they sound. This happens often because the word originally comes from another language. This is the case with the silent P that comes at the beginning of some words. (As we don’t hear the P when we speak, this could be a more difficult podcast for some. Check out our Lipservice.) |
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Maura: So she is really asking if we can give some other examples of words that are spelled with the letter P as the first letter – but we don’t pronounce the P. She is asking for more of these words that start with a P that we don’t pronounce.
Harp: Did everyone out there know this already? That when we say the word psychology, we do not pronounce the p at the beginning. Psychology is the science and study of the mind and human behaviour.
Maura: Of course if you’re listening, you only hear the s sound but when we write the word psychology it actually starts with the letter p which is not pronounced.
Harp: So to answer Anais’s question, there are not very many words where we do not pronounce the p. But there are a few words.
Harp: Did everyone out there know this already? That when we say the word psychology, we do not pronounce the p at the beginning. Psychology is the science and study of the mind and human behaviour.
Maura: Of course if you’re listening, you only hear the s sound but when we write the word psychology it actually starts with the letter p which is not pronounced.
Harp: So to answer Anais’s question, there are not very many words where we do not pronounce the p. But there are a few words.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: Asami
Expression: Call Someone Names – Is this an insult?
03/21/2009
by Culips
in Curious Questions
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Have you ever been called a name? It is not a nice experience. Mohammed from Egypt wrote to us and asked us about this expression, to call someone names? He wanted to know if it was insulting or not. To find out about this expression and to hear some example of names check out this episode! |
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Maura : Yeah, there are all sorts of possibilities of calling people names.
Robin : Absolutely.
Maura : So, for example we could say, “John called Paul an idiot and a jerk”. So John called Paul names.
Robin : That’s right
Maura : Hey, I got another example.
Robin : What is that?
Maura : Robin, did you hear that Sarah was calling Peter names?
Robin : Oh really, what was she calling him?
Maura : She was calling him stupid. Yup, not very nice.
Robin : Absolutely.
Maura : So, for example we could say, “John called Paul an idiot and a jerk”. So John called Paul names.
Robin : That’s right
Maura : Hey, I got another example.
Robin : What is that?
Maura : Robin, did you hear that Sarah was calling Peter names?
Robin : Oh really, what was she calling him?
Maura : She was calling him stupid. Yup, not very nice.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: Leonid Mamchenkov
