Is Shakespeare better in plain English?
A Shakespeare festival in Oregon has commissioned 'translations' of his plays into plain English. Of course, the language of Shakespeare's plays can be difficult, but is it a good idea to change his plays into simple English? Listen to experts talking about Shakespeare and learn new vocabulary.
This week's question
What was the first language that Shakespeare's plays were translated into?
a) French
b) German
c) Portuguese
A Shakespeare festival in Oregon has commissioned 'translations' of his plays into plain English. Of course, the language of Shakespeare's plays can be difficult, but is it a good idea to change his plays into simple English? Listen to experts talking about Shakespeare and learn new vocabulary.
This week's question
What was the first language that Shakespeare's plays were translated into?
a) French
b) German
c) Portuguese
commission
to pay writers for their work
translations
words in another language
plain
(here) simple, easy
globe
world
struck
to have strong feeling or impression
multifarious
many different types
the sense
he general meaning
pace
the speed something is done
to pay writers for their work
translations
words in another language
plain
(here) simple, easy
globe
world
struck
to have strong feeling or impression
multifarious
many different types
the sense
he general meaning
pace
the speed something is done
Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript
Finn
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Finn…
Neil
… and I'm Neil. Hello. Today we are talking about Shakespeare.
Finn
Oh yes… to be or not to be, that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler…
Neil
Yeah. OK, thank you. Thank you very much, Finn. But what does that famous Shakespeare line actually mean, Finn?
Finn
Yeah, well… it's quite hard to explain actually. The English in Shakespeare's work is quite difficult.
Neil
Well, a Shakespeare festival in Oregon in the United States wants to change all of that. They want to pay writers – they want to commission - what they call 'translations' of Shakespeare's plays. Now we usually use the word translation of course to talk about changing words and sentences from one language to another. But these writers have been commissioned to translate Shakespearean English into plain English.
Finn
So Shakespeare in easy, plain English… You know, I'm not sure I really like that idea.
Neil
Well, you're not the only one, Finn. We will talk about that in a moment, but first, as usual, we have our quiz question and it's about Shakespeare and translation. What was the first language that Shakespeare's plays were translated into? Was it:
a) French
b) German or
c) Portuguese
What do you think?
Finn
You know, I really have no idea on this one. I'm going to say b) German.
Neil
We'll see if you're right at the end of the programme. But now we're going to hear from two Shakespeare experts speaking to the BBC. First, Andrew Dickinson. He is the author of 'Worlds Elsewhere: Journeys Around Shakespeare's Globe'.
Finn
In his travels around the world - around the globe – did he find many translations of Shakespeare?
INSERT
Andrew Dickinson, the author of 'Worlds Elsewhere: Journeys Around Shakespeare's Globe'
Someone’s translated Hamlet into Klingon. You know, he exists in all of these different places and all of these different forms and I suppose that what really struck me while working on my book and travelling around the world talking to people about Shakespeare is that he is so multifarious - he exists in all of these places. It feels sometimes that we in the English-speaking world are only just catching up with this.
Finn
Shakespeare expert Andrew Dickinson, who has travelled the world for his new book and knows about many translations, even one from out of this world!
Neil
Yes, he says someone has even translated Hamlet into Klingon. Now that's the language spoken by aliens in Star Trek, which is of course a science fiction TV series, it's not a real language.
Finn
Let's get back to the real world, Neil. Andrew Dickinson says that what really impressed him – what really struck him - while working on his new book and travelling around the world talking about Shakespeare is that Shakespeare is so multifarious. Multifarious - that's quite a difficult word.
Neil
Yes, it is. Well in plain English it means that there are many different types. There are many different translations, many different kinds of Shakespeare.
Finn
He's multifarious.
Neil
Finn! We're using plain English in this programme, like the people in Oregon who want to translate Shakespeare into plain English. That will make his plays easier to understand.
Finn
And that's a good thing. But there has also been strong criticism about this from academics who study Shakespeare as well as from people on social media – on Facebook and Twitter. They think it's a bad idea.
Neil
Our next Shakespeare expert is Greg Doran. He is the Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company. He's done productions outside Britain. Where did he do a production of the Shakespeare play, Merchant of Venice? Here he is talking about the difficulty of translation.
INSERT
Greg Doran, Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company
I think the difficulty with a translation is that it simply translates the sense and there's a lot more going on in the language of Shakespeare's plays. I remember once doing a production of Merchant of Venice in Japan and I was asked – we were having a n
Finn
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Finn…
Neil
… and I'm Neil. Hello. Today we are talking about Shakespeare.
Finn
Oh yes… to be or not to be, that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler…
Neil
Yeah. OK, thank you. Thank you very much, Finn. But what does that famous Shakespeare line actually mean, Finn?
Finn
Yeah, well… it's quite hard to explain actually. The English in Shakespeare's work is quite difficult.
Neil
Well, a Shakespeare festival in Oregon in the United States wants to change all of that. They want to pay writers – they want to commission - what they call 'translations' of Shakespeare's plays. Now we usually use the word translation of course to talk about changing words and sentences from one language to another. But these writers have been commissioned to translate Shakespearean English into plain English.
Finn
So Shakespeare in easy, plain English… You know, I'm not sure I really like that idea.
Neil
Well, you're not the only one, Finn. We will talk about that in a moment, but first, as usual, we have our quiz question and it's about Shakespeare and translation. What was the first language that Shakespeare's plays were translated into? Was it:
a) French
b) German or
c) Portuguese
What do you think?
Finn
You know, I really have no idea on this one. I'm going to say b) German.
Neil
We'll see if you're right at the end of the programme. But now we're going to hear from two Shakespeare experts speaking to the BBC. First, Andrew Dickinson. He is the author of 'Worlds Elsewhere: Journeys Around Shakespeare's Globe'.
Finn
In his travels around the world - around the globe – did he find many translations of Shakespeare?
INSERT
Andrew Dickinson, the author of 'Worlds Elsewhere: Journeys Around Shakespeare's Globe'
Someone’s translated Hamlet into Klingon. You know, he exists in all of these different places and all of these different forms and I suppose that what really struck me while working on my book and travelling around the world talking to people about Shakespeare is that he is so multifarious - he exists in all of these places. It feels sometimes that we in the English-speaking world are only just catching up with this.
Finn
Shakespeare expert Andrew Dickinson, who has travelled the world for his new book and knows about many translations, even one from out of this world!
Neil
Yes, he says someone has even translated Hamlet into Klingon. Now that's the language spoken by aliens in Star Trek, which is of course a science fiction TV series, it's not a real language.
Finn
Let's get back to the real world, Neil. Andrew Dickinson says that what really impressed him – what really struck him - while working on his new book and travelling around the world talking about Shakespeare is that Shakespeare is so multifarious. Multifarious - that's quite a difficult word.
Neil
Yes, it is. Well in plain English it means that there are many different types. There are many different translations, many different kinds of Shakespeare.
Finn
He's multifarious.
Neil
Finn! We're using plain English in this programme, like the people in Oregon who want to translate Shakespeare into plain English. That will make his plays easier to understand.
Finn
And that's a good thing. But there has also been strong criticism about this from academics who study Shakespeare as well as from people on social media – on Facebook and Twitter. They think it's a bad idea.
Neil
Our next Shakespeare expert is Greg Doran. He is the Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company. He's done productions outside Britain. Where did he do a production of the Shakespeare play, Merchant of Venice? Here he is talking about the difficulty of translation.
INSERT
Greg Doran, Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company
I think the difficulty with a translation is that it simply translates the sense and there's a lot more going on in the language of Shakespeare's plays. I remember once doing a production of Merchant of Venice in Japan and I was asked – we were having a n
ew translation done - and I was asked if I wanted the translation for meaning, for pace or for poetry and that's the difficulty. You've got to find all three somehow together.
Finn
Greg Doran, Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company. He was doing a Shakespeare production in Japan. He says that the difficulty with translation is that it only translates the sense – it is only the general meaning. But he says that there's more than that.
Neil
They were having a translation done and he was asked if he wanted the translation for meaning or for pace – that’s about the speed of the lines in the play - or was the poetry of the words important?
Finn
And his answer was that you've got to find all three somehow together. It is not just one thing.
Neil
He says that there is a lot going on – there is a lot happening - in the language of Shakespeare's plays.
Finn
And so a simple translation of the words into plain English isn't really… Shakespeare. And I think it's time to answer our quiz question.
Neil
Yes, if you remember, it's about translations of Shakespeare. What was the first language that Shakespeare's plays were translated into? Was it:
a) French
b) German
c) Portuguese
Finn
I said b) German, which I'll admit was a guess.
Neil
And that is the right answer.
Finn
Fantastic!
Neil
Apparently Shakespeare's plays were translated into German as early as the first decade of the 17th Century. And that’s all for now. Please do join us again for 6 Minute English.
Finn
To be or not be...
Neil
Yes, OK. Thanks, Finn.
Both
Bye.
Finn
Greg Doran, Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company. He was doing a Shakespeare production in Japan. He says that the difficulty with translation is that it only translates the sense – it is only the general meaning. But he says that there's more than that.
Neil
They were having a translation done and he was asked if he wanted the translation for meaning or for pace – that’s about the speed of the lines in the play - or was the poetry of the words important?
Finn
And his answer was that you've got to find all three somehow together. It is not just one thing.
Neil
He says that there is a lot going on – there is a lot happening - in the language of Shakespeare's plays.
Finn
And so a simple translation of the words into plain English isn't really… Shakespeare. And I think it's time to answer our quiz question.
Neil
Yes, if you remember, it's about translations of Shakespeare. What was the first language that Shakespeare's plays were translated into? Was it:
a) French
b) German
c) Portuguese
Finn
I said b) German, which I'll admit was a guess.
Neil
And that is the right answer.
Finn
Fantastic!
Neil
Apparently Shakespeare's plays were translated into German as early as the first decade of the 17th Century. And that’s all for now. Please do join us again for 6 Minute English.
Finn
To be or not be...
Neil
Yes, OK. Thanks, Finn.
Both
Bye.
«دوران (یادگیری انگلیسی با موسیقی)» را در بازار اندروید ببین:
http://cafebazaar.ir/app/?id=co.dorun.lyrics
http://cafebazaar.ir/app/?id=co.dorun.lyrics
بازار
برنامه دوران (یادگیری انگلیسی با موسیقی) - دانلود | بازار
"🎵 یک عالمه آهنگ های انگلیسی و ترکیه ای" خیلی از ما ها تو موقعیت های مختلف به موسیقی های خارجی گوش میدیم. چه خوبه علاوه بر صدای خواننده ...
ترانه های انگلیسی از تمام خواننده های مشهور دنیا،مشاهده همزمان متن انگلیسی و ترجمه فارسی،
IPA Phonetic Transcription of English Text
http://lingorado.com/ipa/
سایت تبدیل کلمات و جملات به فنتیک👆🏻
تلفظ استاندارد زبان انگلیسی
با قابلیت ارائه
فنتیک به لهجه امریکایی و بریتانیایی(انگلیسی)
با قابلیت ارائه کلمات در کنار فنتیک آن
با قابلیت ارائه فنتیک کامل یک متن
با قابلیت ارائه فنتیک و متن در ۲ ستون مجزا
متن یا کلمه انگلیسی خود را در این سایت یا نرم افزار پیست کنید.
لینک دانلود نرم افزار تبدیل کلمات و جملات برای اندرود و IOS در سایت وجود دارد.
دانلود و نصب کنید
http://lingorado.com/ipa/
سایت تبدیل کلمات و جملات به فنتیک👆🏻
تلفظ استاندارد زبان انگلیسی
با قابلیت ارائه
فنتیک به لهجه امریکایی و بریتانیایی(انگلیسی)
با قابلیت ارائه کلمات در کنار فنتیک آن
با قابلیت ارائه فنتیک کامل یک متن
با قابلیت ارائه فنتیک و متن در ۲ ستون مجزا
متن یا کلمه انگلیسی خود را در این سایت یا نرم افزار پیست کنید.
لینک دانلود نرم افزار تبدیل کلمات و جملات برای اندرود و IOS در سایت وجود دارد.
دانلود و نصب کنید
Tophonetics
IPA Phonetic Transcription of English Text - toPhonetics
How to pronounce text in English
Spoken short forms
Gonna, wanna, dunno, whatcha... are these really English words? Who uses them and why? Finn and Catherine give you an introduction to short spoken forms in 6 Minute Vocabulary.
Gonna, wanna, dunno, whatcha... are these really English words? Who uses them and why? Finn and Catherine give you an introduction to short spoken forms in 6 Minute Vocabulary.
gonna – going to
I’m gonna watch a DVD.
wanna – want to
Do you wanna watch too?
whatcha – what are you
Whatcha doing?
dunno - don’t know
I dunno.
gotta – got to (or: got a)
I’ve gotta go now.
hafta – have to
Do you hafta go already?
gimme – give me
Gimme a call tomorrow.
lemme – let me
Lemme know what you think.
kinda – kind of
She’s kinda nice.
I’m gonna watch a DVD.
wanna – want to
Do you wanna watch too?
whatcha – what are you
Whatcha doing?
dunno - don’t know
I dunno.
gotta – got to (or: got a)
I’ve gotta go now.
hafta – have to
Do you hafta go already?
gimme – give me
Gimme a call tomorrow.
lemme – let me
Lemme know what you think.
kinda – kind of
She’s kinda nice.
Finn
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute Vocabulary with me Finn…
Catherine
And me Catherine. Today we’re talking about short spoken forms.
Finn
That's words like gonna, wanna and gotta that we use a lot in spoken English. Let’s start by listening to Jason and Yuki talking about their plans for the weekend.
Catherine
And here’s a question: Who’s Yuki meeting on Saturday night? Have a listen.
INSERT
Jason
Whatcha doing at the weekend, Yuki?
Yuki
I dunno. I’m probably gonna meet Lucy on Saturday night.
Jason
Oh, right. Do you wanna come to the cinema in the afternoon?
Yuki
No, thanks. I’ve gotta finish an English essay for Monday morning.
Jason
OK. Lemme know if you change your mind.
STING
Finn
Well that was Jason and Yuki. We asked you: Who’s Yuki meeting on Saturday night?
Catherine
And the answer is: she’s probably going to meet Lucy.
Finn
That’s right. But instead of saying going to, Yuki said gonna. She’s probably gonna meet Lucy.
Catherine
Yes, and that’s what we’re looking at in this programme. English speakers often say the words going to very fast – and it sounds like gonna. They usually do this in informal situations when they’re talking to friends.
Finn
So does that mean that you shouldn’t say gonna when you need to speak carefully and politely, like in a job interview?
Catherine
Well, not necessarily. If gonna comes out naturally, it’s probably ok. But a job interview is formal, so it’s probably a bit more polite to say going to. And you don’t usually use gonna in writing, unless you’re actually writing down a dialogue.
Finn
In fact some people never use it, even informally. Although it’s probably more common in American English.
Catherine
That's right. And one other thing about gonna is that we only use it to replace going to when it’s followed by a verb.
Finn
That's true. If you say: I’m going to Paris, you can’t use gonna to say: I’m gonna Paris. You’d have to add a verb, like this, and say: I’m gonna go to Paris.
Catherine
I'm gonna go to Paris. Let’s have another clip with some more short spoken forms.
INSERT CLIP 1
Jason
Whatcha doing at the weekend, Yuki?
Yuki
I dunno. I’m probably gonna meet Lucy on Saturday night.
Finn
So Jason said whatcha. Whatcha. That’s a short form of what are you. Or sometimes what do you.
Catherine
And Yuki said I dunno. I dunno. That’s a short spoken form of I don’t know.
Finn
Let’s have another clip. See if you can spot any more.
INSERT CLIP 2
Jason
Oh, right. Do you wanna come to the cinema in the afternoon?
Yuki
No, thanks. I’ve gotta finish an English essay for Monday morning.
Catherine
Did you get them? We heard wanna. That’s a short form of want to. Do you wanna come to the cinema in the afternoon?
Finn
And there was also gotta. Gotta. I’ve gotta finish an English essay. Here, gotta is short for got to. But gotta can also be short for the possessive got a, like in I’ve gotta new mobile.
Catherine
And now for the last clip.
INSERT CLIP 3
Jason
OK. Lemme know if you change your mind.
Finn
Can you guess what lemme is short for? It’s let me. Let me know if you change your mind.
Catherine
Yes. And there are others like hafta, hafta, for have to or gimme, that's gimme, for give me.
Finn
Now what about kinda, kinda, for kind of? Like She’s kinda nice.
IDENT
6 Minute Vocabulary from BBC Learning English.
Finn
And we’re talking about spoken short forms. So Catherine, whatcha gonna do in the quiz?
Catherine
Let's go. Quiz question number one: what’s a more informal way to say I’ve got to phone the bank?
Finn
It’s I’ve gotta phone the bank.
Catherine
Good. And number two: you want to know what your friend is doing tonight. How can you ask them, using a spoken short form?
Finn
You could say: whatcha doing tonight?
Catherine
And number three: you think it’s going to rain. Tell your friend using a spoken short form.
Finn
You could say: I think it’s gonna rain.
Catherine
And that’s the end of the quiz. Well done if you got them all right. Now before we go, here’s a vocabulary tip. Try to watch TV, movies and video clips regularly in Eng
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute Vocabulary with me Finn…
Catherine
And me Catherine. Today we’re talking about short spoken forms.
Finn
That's words like gonna, wanna and gotta that we use a lot in spoken English. Let’s start by listening to Jason and Yuki talking about their plans for the weekend.
Catherine
And here’s a question: Who’s Yuki meeting on Saturday night? Have a listen.
INSERT
Jason
Whatcha doing at the weekend, Yuki?
Yuki
I dunno. I’m probably gonna meet Lucy on Saturday night.
Jason
Oh, right. Do you wanna come to the cinema in the afternoon?
Yuki
No, thanks. I’ve gotta finish an English essay for Monday morning.
Jason
OK. Lemme know if you change your mind.
STING
Finn
Well that was Jason and Yuki. We asked you: Who’s Yuki meeting on Saturday night?
Catherine
And the answer is: she’s probably going to meet Lucy.
Finn
That’s right. But instead of saying going to, Yuki said gonna. She’s probably gonna meet Lucy.
Catherine
Yes, and that’s what we’re looking at in this programme. English speakers often say the words going to very fast – and it sounds like gonna. They usually do this in informal situations when they’re talking to friends.
Finn
So does that mean that you shouldn’t say gonna when you need to speak carefully and politely, like in a job interview?
Catherine
Well, not necessarily. If gonna comes out naturally, it’s probably ok. But a job interview is formal, so it’s probably a bit more polite to say going to. And you don’t usually use gonna in writing, unless you’re actually writing down a dialogue.
Finn
In fact some people never use it, even informally. Although it’s probably more common in American English.
Catherine
That's right. And one other thing about gonna is that we only use it to replace going to when it’s followed by a verb.
Finn
That's true. If you say: I’m going to Paris, you can’t use gonna to say: I’m gonna Paris. You’d have to add a verb, like this, and say: I’m gonna go to Paris.
Catherine
I'm gonna go to Paris. Let’s have another clip with some more short spoken forms.
INSERT CLIP 1
Jason
Whatcha doing at the weekend, Yuki?
Yuki
I dunno. I’m probably gonna meet Lucy on Saturday night.
Finn
So Jason said whatcha. Whatcha. That’s a short form of what are you. Or sometimes what do you.
Catherine
And Yuki said I dunno. I dunno. That’s a short spoken form of I don’t know.
Finn
Let’s have another clip. See if you can spot any more.
INSERT CLIP 2
Jason
Oh, right. Do you wanna come to the cinema in the afternoon?
Yuki
No, thanks. I’ve gotta finish an English essay for Monday morning.
Catherine
Did you get them? We heard wanna. That’s a short form of want to. Do you wanna come to the cinema in the afternoon?
Finn
And there was also gotta. Gotta. I’ve gotta finish an English essay. Here, gotta is short for got to. But gotta can also be short for the possessive got a, like in I’ve gotta new mobile.
Catherine
And now for the last clip.
INSERT CLIP 3
Jason
OK. Lemme know if you change your mind.
Finn
Can you guess what lemme is short for? It’s let me. Let me know if you change your mind.
Catherine
Yes. And there are others like hafta, hafta, for have to or gimme, that's gimme, for give me.
Finn
Now what about kinda, kinda, for kind of? Like She’s kinda nice.
IDENT
6 Minute Vocabulary from BBC Learning English.
Finn
And we’re talking about spoken short forms. So Catherine, whatcha gonna do in the quiz?
Catherine
Let's go. Quiz question number one: what’s a more informal way to say I’ve got to phone the bank?
Finn
It’s I’ve gotta phone the bank.
Catherine
Good. And number two: you want to know what your friend is doing tonight. How can you ask them, using a spoken short form?
Finn
You could say: whatcha doing tonight?
Catherine
And number three: you think it’s going to rain. Tell your friend using a spoken short form.
Finn
You could say: I think it’s gonna rain.
Catherine
And that’s the end of the quiz. Well done if you got them all right. Now before we go, here’s a vocabulary tip. Try to watch TV, movies and video clips regularly in Eng
lish. Listen out for short spoken forms and practise repeating them. It will help you to understand better when you listen and sound more natural when you speak.
Finn
There’s more about this at bbclearningenglish.com. We’ve gotta go now, but do join us again soon for more 6 Minute Vocabulary.
Both
Bye!
Finn
There’s more about this at bbclearningenglish.com. We’ve gotta go now, but do join us again soon for more 6 Minute Vocabulary.
Both
Bye!
BBC Learning English
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About BBC Learning English
Some people are funny whatever they do. Others... well, when they try to make us laugh all they do is embarrass themselves. Alice and Neil discuss humour and teach you related vocabulary. Neil is a bit of a comedian but will he manage to make Alice laugh?
This week's question
Which Greek word means the study of laughter and its effects on the body? Is it…
a) risology?
b) gelotology?
c) comology?
This week's question
Which Greek word means the study of laughter and its effects on the body? Is it…
a) risology?
b) gelotology?
c) comology?