English & the UK: Edinburgh

Introduction

Jack: Hello my name’s Jack

Rowan: My name’s Rowan

Rich: and I’m Rich and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast.

Jack: In the Premier Skills English podcast, we talk about football and help you with your English.

Rowan: Don’t forget you can find the transcript for all our podcasts on the Premier Skills English website.

Rich: This podcast returns to a series of podcasts that we started a while ago where we visited different cities in the UK.

Jack: That’s right in this series we’ve visited many of England’s big cities: London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and many more.

Rowan: But we’ve never visited Scotland in one of our podcasts so that’s where we are going this week.

Rich: Well, I’m not going and neither is Jack but Rowan is. She’s planning a trip to Edinburgh, the Scottish capital, with the football team she coaches.

Jack: Rowan’s never been to Scotland before and asks for some advice and recommendations. Rich and I do our best as we’ve both been to Edinburgh a couple of times but I also decide to call my friend Neil who is from Scotland.

Rich: In our roleplay this week, you will hear Neil talking about Scottish football, language and things to see and try in Scotland.

Rowan: Language? I thought people spoke English in Scotland.

Jack: In Scotland, people speak three languages. English, Gaelic and Scots.

Rowan: And your task this week is to tell us about things you know about Scotland and what you’d like to do and see.

Rich: If you are listening to us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or any other podcast platform, you should also check out our website.

Jack: On the Premier Skills English website, you’ll find 
the transcript, examples and activities to help you understand the language, and a task for you to complete with other listeners.

Rowan: Before we do the roleplays let’s look back at last week’s football phrase.

Last week’s Football Phrase 

Rich: OK, our football phrase. If you’ve not listened to the podcast before, every week we set our listeners a language challenge. We explain a football phrase or word and you have to guess what it is.

Rowan: When you know the answer, go to the Premier   Skills English website and write the word or phrase in the comments section for this podcast. If you’re correct we’ll announce your name on next week’s podcast.

Jack: Thanks for all your answers last week. The first listener with the correct answer was Liubomyr from Ukraine. Well done Liubomyr!

Rich: And congratulations to these other listeners who also got the correct answer to our football phrase: Marco Zapien from Mexico, Alex from Ukraine, Hayato from Japan, Max Alex from Vietnam, Emmanuel from France Elghoul from Algeria and HSN from Turkey.

Rowan: If you didn’t hear last week’s football phrase the answer is at the end of this podcast but we’re going to give you one more chance to guess last week’s football phrase. Are you ready?

Jack: The phrase was ******** *****. The phrase this week is a person whose job is to watch football matches and report back to their club. There are two types of ******* *****: one watches opponents and reports back on their tactics and the other watches individual players that the club might be interested in buying.

Rowan: Remember that the answer and our new football phrase is at the end of this podcast.

Rich: If you remember, our last podcast was all about visiting different places when on a holiday and discovering places that were better than expected.

Jack: Thanks for all your comments on the website. We’re really happy that you enjoyed it.

Rowan: If you haven’t heard this podcast it’s called Travel and Tourism: What to do next and you can find it on the Premier Skills English website or on Apple Podcasts.

Introduction to roleplay: 

Rich: In this episode, we are going to talk about the capital of Scotland - Edinburgh.

Rowan: As we said earlier I’m taking the football team I coach to Edinburgh to play in a tournament but I’ve never been to Scotland before.

Jack: You will hear me and Rich talking about some of the things that we know about Edinburgh.

Rich: To be honest, we don’t know that much about Edinburgh or Scotland so we decide to call our friend Neil who was born and bred in Perth.

Jack: There are three parts to our roleplay. First, you’ll hear the three of us talking about Edinburgh and then you’ll hear my phone conversation with Neil.

Rowan: OK, here’s part one. I’m telling Rich and Jack about my trip and they tell me what they know about Edinburgh.

Rich: After each part of the roleplay, we will ask you to think about the conversation and we’ll talk about the language we use. While you listen, we want you to answer two questions.

Jack: Question one: What can you see at the Edinburgh Festival?

Rowan: Question two: What are Edinburgh’s two main football teams called?

Roleplay 1

Rowan: Hey, guys. I’ve got some news!

Rich: Good news I hope.

Rowan: Great news! The Ludlow Badgers under-14s are going on tour.

Jack: Oh, wow! That is good news. Where are you going?

Rowan: Edinburgh! For a week. We’ve been invited to an international tournament. There’ll be teams from all over: Ukraine, Argentina, Vietnam, Scotland and Ludlow!

Rich: You’ll have a brilliant time. The Scottish capital is a brilliant city to visit.

Rowan: I’ve never been north of the border before.

Jack: Really? I hope your passport is up-to-date.

Rowan: Hilarious, but seriously, have you ever been?

Rich: To Edinburgh? I’ve been a couple of times. I went to the Edinburgh Festival one year. It was really good. The city was packed and there were loads of things going on in the street: music, magic, entertainment and I went to three or four comedy gigs.

Jack: The Edinburgh Fringe. Yes, I’ve been to that too - it’s in August and it’s huge. I think I read that only the Olympics and the World Cup sell more tickets. There’s a lot of comedy but also theatre, music, cabaret …

Rowan: It sounds great but the festival won’t be on when we’re there. We’re going next month - it’ll only be April. I’m sure there are lots of other things to do and see.

Jack: Yes, there are. Edinburgh Castle is very good, Princess Street is like Oxford Street in London but better, museums, art galleries, the Royal Mile …

Rowan: It all sounds great. What I really need to find though is somewhere to take the team after the tournament finishes. It will be like a treat - somewhere we can celebrate the end of our mini-tour.

Rich: You could go and see Hibs play at Easter Road - that’s in the middle of the city. Or Hearts - I’ve always liked their name - Hearts of Midlothian.

Rowan: I think we might have had enough football by the end of the week.

Jack: I tell you what. Why don’t we give Neil a call? He’ll have some ideas.

Language Focus 1

Rich: Before the roleplay, we asked you two questions. The first question was:  What can you see at the Edinburgh Festival?

Rowan: The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is the biggest arts festival in the world. You can see lots of comedy but also things like music, theatre and cabaret.

Jack: Our second question was: What are Edinburgh’s two main football teams called?

Rich: Their full names are Hibernian FC who play in green and white and Heart of Midlothian FC who play in maroon.

Rowan: They are usually called Hibs and Hearts.

Jack: Let’s look at a bit of language before we talk more about Edinburgh. Did you hear me joke about Rowan needing a passport in the roleplay? Listen to this section again:

Rich: You’ll have a brilliant time. The Scottish capital is a brilliant city to visit.

Rowan: I’ve never been north of the border before.

Jack: Really? I hope your passport is up-to-date.

Rich: Rowan is going to visit the Scottish capital. Edinburgh is Scotland’s capital. It is the capital city.

Rowan: The capital city is usually where a country’s government is based.

Jack: Edinburgh is Scotland’s capital city but it’s not Scotland’s biggest city. Scotland’s biggest city is Glasgow.

Rich: Sometimes big cities are called economic or financial capitals and the actual capital is called a political or administrative capital.

Rowan: Jack was joking about my passport in the roleplay but sometimes people forget that Scotland is a country and there is a border between England and Scotland.

Rich: A border is a line that divides two countries.

Jack: Rowan said she’d never been north of the border before. This is a phrase that is used mainly by people in England and Wales to refer to Scotland.

Rich: Scottish people use the phrase south of the border to refer to England and Wales.

Rowan: Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland are all separate countries or four nations. They are all within one state which is called the United Kingdom or the UK for short.

Jack: It can be quite confusing, can’t it? You might have also heard Britain or Great Britain. Great Britain is the island that includes Wales, Scotland and England.

Rich: On my passport, it says the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Rowan: When someone asks you where you are from, what do you say?

Jack: I say I’m from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. No, not really, I usually say I’m from Britain or maybe England.

Rich: Do you say you’re English?

Jack: Sometimes and sometimes British.

Rowan: I think I say I’m from the UK.

Rich: My mum’s Scottish so I can say I’m half-Scottish and half-English but I was born and brought up in England so I’m more English, really.

Jack: You could just say British, you know.

Rowan: Let’s move on with our roleplay.

...

Jack: In the second part of our roleplay I’m calling Neil, a friend from Scotland.

Rich: Here is one question we want you to answer as you listen.

Rowan: The question is: What’s the old firm?

Roleplay 2

Neil: Hello?

Jack: Hey, Neil. How are you doing?

Neil: Good thanks. You?

Jack: Actually, I need a bit of help. I’m calling because Rowan is going up to Scotland next week. You remember Rowan - you met her at my wedding - remember?

Neil: Of course. How could I forget? Don’t tell me - she’s going to Edinburgh.

Jack: How did you guess?

Neil: Everyone always goes to Edinburgh. Why doesn’t she go to Glasgow? Best city in the world - bar none.

Jack: Yeah, well, there’s a football tournament. Rowan’s a coach - she’s taking her team up to Edinburgh. They’ll be there for a week. She’s never been to Scotland and wanted to tell her team a bit more about it.

Neil: Well, what do you want to know?

Jack: I’d like to know a bit about football in Scotland, places to see, things to do and maybe a few words or phrases that would be good to know.  

Neil: No problem. Well, Scotland is very much a football country for sure. People are passionate about football everywhere in the world, but it’s a big part of almost everyone’s life in Scotland. The two biggest clubs Celtic and Rangers are pretty dominant, but smaller clubs are very close to their local communities and you can really see that in the makeup of the teams. And that passion leads to real rivalries and means the football itself is very direct and very fast-moving.

Jack: Is Celtic - Rangers the biggest rivalry in football?

Neil: Well, it certainly feels that way if you’re in Glasgow during an Old Firm match.

Jack: What’s the old firm?

Neil: That’s what everyone in Scotland calls Rangers and Celtic. I don’t know if I’d call it the biggest rivalry - I mean you'd have to ask Manchester United and Manchester City or Liverpool and Everton fans, not to mention AC Milan and Inter and lots of others! But it’s certainly one of the oldest and most passionate.

Language Focus 2

Rich: Did you get the answer to our question? We asked you what the old firm was. The answer is two football clubs from Glasgow: Celtic and Rangers.

Rowan: Let’s talk a little about some of the language Neil used when he was talking about Scottish football.

Jack: When he was speaking about matches between Rangers and Celtic he described the rivalry as very passionate.

Rich: Let’s look at those words: rivalry and passionate. A rivalry describes strong competition between two people, groups of people or even businesses or football clubs.

Rowan: There is a fierce rivalry between Celtic and Rangers. They are the biggest teams in Scotland and the fans, players and clubs want to win. Celtic and Rangers are local rivals and are usually fighting to win the league title.

Jack: The matches between the two are usually very passionate. There is a lot of emotion involved both on and off the pitch.

Rich: When you are passionate about something you show strong feelings towards something. You might be passionate about your team but you might also be passionate about music or human rights or the fight against climate change.

Rowan: Neil described old firm matches as intense. Again we use intense to describe something that involves a lot of emotion or feelings.

Jack: These matches are very atmospheric and I would love to experience that intense atmosphere as a fan one day.

Rich: We have an activity on the website so you can check your understanding of all of this vocabulary.

Rowan: Let’s go back to the telephone call with Neil. Jack is asking him about words and phrases that are common in Scotland.

Rich: While you listen we want you to answer a question. The question is:

Rowan: What will make things easier for you to understand?

Roleplay 3 

Jack: What do visitors to Scotland find difficult to understand?

Neil: It really depends on where in Scotland you go. We have lots of very different accents and dialects as you travel from Glasgow to Edinburgh to Dundee, Perth, Aberdeen and the north and that can be a challenge. But on the other hand, lots of visitors say that the English spoken on the islands on the west coast is really easy to understand.

Jack: I sometimes find it a challenge.

Neil: Well ... I think it’s the same in a lot of big cities, people in Glasgow often speak really fast and that can cause problems too, but people are really really friendly, so my advice is never to be shy about asking them to slow down a bit - they’ll be happy to.. And of course we have lots of different words and phrase that are different from standard English.

Jack: How difficult is it for learners to understand people in Scotland? What Scots words should learners know?

Neil: You need the basics. You need to know that people in Scotland don’t say yes, we say aye and we don’t say little we say wee - that’s going to come up in every conversation you have.

Jack: I’ve heard these words.

Neil: Another thing to be aware of is negative contractions. So in English, you’d say don’t and can’t and wouldn’t, but in Scotland, people say dinnae, cannae and wouldnae.

Jack: Can you think of any other examples?

Neil: I dinnae ken, I’ll have to think about it.

Jack: Hold on ... ken?

Neil: Ah, yes. That’s another common Scots word. It means know. I dinnae ken means I don’t know. There are some more words that I really like. Have you ever heard the word dreich?

Jack: I’m sorry? Dreich?

Neil: Yes. It means wet and miserable. I can’t think of an equivalent in English. It’s used to describe a typical Scottish day when the sky is heavy and overcast and it’s raining and cold.

Jack: And you like this word?

Neil: It’s very expressive. How about peely-wally? What do you think it means?

Jack: My sister uses this with her kids when they are unwell.

Neil: Yes - it does mean unwell, but it really means pale and sickly looking. So you might describe someone as peely-wally if they haven’t left the house for a long time and just look a bit pale and unhealthy.

Jack: That’s is nice - I think I might start using that.

Neil: How about blether?

Jack: I think I’ve heard this one. I’ve heard the phrasal verb to blather on. Is that the same?

Neil: Not quite. What we’re doing now is blethering. We’re having a blether. To blether means to chat. It can be used as a verb or a noun. It’s good to catch up and have a blether.

Jack: And ... how about things to do? After the tournament, Rowan wants to take her team out for a treat. What would you recommend?

Neil: There’s plenty of stuff to do in Edinburgh. There’s the National Gallery and fantastic museums. The old town in Edinburgh is unspoilt - it’s a wonderful place to just wander about. From the Royal Mile to the Grass Market - when you’re walking around you’re on the same streets and seeing the same sights that visitors have enjoyed for hundreds of years. It has an incredible atmosphere. I’d suggest just going for a walk around the old town and you’ll find loads of things to do and great places to eat.

Jack: What would you recommend people try to eat?

Neil: I’d go for cullen skink followed by haggis, neeps and tatties.

Jack: You’re going to have to explain that I’m afraid. I’ve heard of haggis, but ...

Neil: Cullen skink is a soup made with smoked haddock, potatoes and milk. It’s really hearty and warming when the weather’s a bit dreich. It’s like a chunkier chowder.

Jack: Sounds delicious.

Neil: And haggis is, well, it’s a kind of savoury pudding made from sheep offal, you know, organs. It doesn’t sound that appetising but it’s cooked with pepper and spices and is really good. You can get good vegetarian versions too.

Jack: and neeps and tatties?

Neil: Neeps is what we call turnips and tatties is what everyone in Scotland calls potatoes.

Jack: That’s brilliant, thanks, Neil. I’ll pass this on to Rowan.

Neil: No problem - glad to be able to help.

Language Focus 3

Rich: Did you get the answer to our question? The question was: What will make it easier for you to understand people in Scotland?

Rowan: The answer is asking people to slow down a little when they are speaking too fast. I think that’s some very good advice.

Jack: Neil explained quite a few words and phrases that are common in Scotland.

Rich: Yes and some were very difficult and I’m not going to try to pronounce them. So, instead, we’ve got a little task for you. We’re going to give you a list of words and we want you to listen to this part of the conversation again and tell us the words Neil used instead.

Rowan: Here are the words: yes, small, don’t know, chat ...

Jack: ... and a word that is used to describe the weather when it’s grey, wet and miserable.

Jack: What do people in Scotland often say instead of these words? Let us know in the comments section.

Rich: At the end of the conversation Jack asked Neil for some recommendations of things to do in Edinburgh. Listen to this part of the conversation again. What does Neil recommend that you do?

Neil: There’s plenty of stuff to do in Edinburgh. There’s the National Gallery and fantastic museums. The old town in Edinburgh is unspoilt - it’s a wonderful place to just wander about. From the Royal Mile to the Grass Market - when you’re walking around you’re on the same streets and seeing the same sights that visitors have enjoyed for hundreds of years. It has an incredible atmosphere. I’d suggest just going for a walk around the old town and you’ll find loads of things to do and great places to eat.

Jack: What would you recommend people try to eat?

Neil: I’d go for cullen skink followed by haggis, neeps and tatties.

Jack: You’re going to have to explain that I’m afraid. I’ve heard of haggis, but ...

Neil: Cullen skink is a soup made with smoked haddock, potatoes and milk. It’s really hearty and warming when the weather’s a bit dreich. It’s like a chunkier chowder.

Jack: Sounds delicious.

Neil: And haggis is, well, it’s a kind of savoury pudding made from sheep offal, you know, organs. It doesn’t sound that appetising but it’s cooked with pepper and spices and is really good. You can get good vegetarian versions too.

Jack: and neeps and tatties?

Neil: Neeps is what we call turnips and tatties is what everyone in Scotland calls potatoes.

Jack: That’s brilliant, thanks, Neil. I’ll pass this on to Rowan.

Rowan: There are some very good recommendations there and it should help you with this week’s task which we are going to tell you about now.

Task

Jack: This week your task is to tell us what you know about Scotland and what you would like to do and see if you visited.

Rich: Here are some questions to help you. What do you know about Scotland? How is it different from England and the rest of the UK?

Rowan: Do you know any famous Scottish people, footballers, events, customs or stories?

Jack: Which places would you like to visit in Scotland?

Rich: Use the information you heard in the podcast to say what you learned about Scotland or what you already know about the country.

Rowan: Write all your comments about Scotland in the comments section on the Premier Skills English website.

Football Phrase

Jack: It’s time for this week’s football phrase. Have you got one Rich?

Rich: I have. This week’s football phrase is to **** *** ****** *** ***** ***. This phrase is often used when there is a penalty. The penalty taker makes the goalkeeper think they are going to shoot in one corner of the goal but then shoots in the other. The ball goes one way and the goalkeeper the other - she’s  **** *** ****** *** ***** ***.

Rowan: It’s all in the eyes. Look at one corner of the goal and then kick the ball in the other.

Jack: Let’s see if anyone gets it right and who is first this week. If you are still wondering what the answer was to last week’s football phrase it was football scout.

Rich: Right, that’s all we have time for this week! Don’t forget to write your answers to our questions and make a guess at our football phrase in the comments below. If you get it right, we’ll announce your name on next week’s podcast.

Rowan: If you have a question for us about football or English you can email us at premierskills@britishcouncil.org

Jack: or you can leave your questions and comments on the website in the comments section or on our Facebook page.

Rich: or you could give us a rating and a fantastic review on Apple Podcasts.

Rowan: Bye for now and enjoy your football!