Do People Still Say That?
2024-12-28
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1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Emmanuel in France about how to know if an expression is still popular in English.
2Dear Teacher,
3Sometimes when I am reading or watching the older films, I find some interesting expressions.
4But I do not know if the people are speaking them nowadays.
5How can I figure this out?
6Thank you,
7Emmanuel
8I'm happy to answer this question, Emmanuel.
9It can sometimes be very difficult for learners of English to know if a word or expression sounds like it belongs to an earlier time.
10For example, if you watch an older American film from the 1930s, you might hear the expression:
11Gee, that's swell!
12The expression "that's swell" means that something is good, and that the speaker is pleased.
13But nowadays people do not commonly say that.
14And if they do say it, they are probably saying it in a joking way because they know the expression is rare and not currently used.
15Here are some ways to help you find out if an expression belongs to an earlier time:
16Find a native English language partner.
17Then you can ask him or her if expressions are no longer used very much.
18Our VOA Learning English article "Five Tips for Great Language Exchanges" gives advice on how you can do a language exchange.
19Note, however, that native English speakers can have different opinions about what expressions are still popular.
20That is because people in different age groups use different expressions.
21For example, a 20-year-old person might not even know a few of the expressions that older people still use.
22And some older people do not know expressions that young people, such as teenagers, use.
23Also, some older people might not even know that expressions they use are becoming less popular over time.
24You can also use technology to get more information about expressions.
25Language researchers have collected over one billion words in the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA).
26The examples come from American printed writing, video, and sound recordings.
27You can use COCA to get information about how often an expression is used.
28It will not tell you if an expression sounds out-of-date.
29But an expression might rarely be used because it sounds old.
30This VOA Learning English Education Tips article gives information on how to use COCA.
31Lastly, dictionaries will show if a word belongs to an earlier time by putting the word "archaic" before its definition.
32Remember that it is more important to understand idiomatic expressions than to be able to use them.
33That's because you can always express your ideas without using idioms in simple language.
34For our readers and listeners, what are your questions about American English?
35We want to hear from you!
36Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.
37And please let us know where you are from, too.
38And that's Ask a Teacher.
39I'm Andrew Smith.
1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Emmanuel in France about how to know if an expression is still popular in English. 2Question 3Dear Teacher, 4Sometimes when I am reading or watching the older films, I find some interesting expressions. But I do not know if the people are speaking them nowadays. How can I figure this out? 5Thank you, 6Emmanuel 7Answer 8I'm happy to answer this question, Emmanuel. 9It can sometimes be very difficult for learners of English to know if a word or expression sounds like it belongs to an earlier time. 10For example, if you watch an older American film from the 1930s, you might hear the expression: 11Gee, that's swell! 12The expression "that's swell" means that something is good, and that the speaker is pleased. But nowadays people do not commonly say that. And if they do say it, they are probably saying it in a joking way because they know the expression is rare and not currently used. 13Here are some ways to help you find out if an expression belongs to an earlier time: 14Language exchange partners 15Find a native English language partner. Then you can ask him or her if expressions are no longer used very much. Our VOA Learning English article "Five Tips for Great Language Exchanges" gives advice on how you can do a language exchange. 16Note, however, that native English speakers can have different opinions about what expressions are still popular. That is because people in different age groups use different expressions. For example, a 20-year-old person might not even know a few of the expressions that older people still use. And some older people do not know expressions that young people, such as teenagers, use. Also, some older people might not even know that expressions they use are becoming less popular over time. 17Using a corpus and dictionaries 18You can also use technology to get more information about expressions. 19Language researchers have collected over one billion words in the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA). The examples come from American printed writing, video, and sound recordings. 20You can use COCA to get information about how often an expression is used. It will not tell you if an expression sounds out-of-date. But an expression might rarely be used because it sounds old. 21This VOA Learning English Education Tips article gives information on how to use COCA. 22Lastly, dictionaries will show if a word belongs to an earlier time by putting the word "archaic" before its definition. 23Remember that it is more important to understand idiomatic expressions than to be able to use them. That's because you can always express your ideas without using idioms in simple language. 24For our readers and listeners, what are your questions about American English? We want to hear from you! Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com. And please let us know where you are from, too. 25And that's Ask a Teacher. 26I'm Andrew Smith. 27Andrew Smith wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 28______________________________________________ 29Words in This Story 30out-of-date -adj. old, not current, or no longer in use 31archaic -adj. from an earlier time, not used any longer 32idiomatic -adj. related to the use of idioms which are terms that do not mean what the words that form them would suggest