Britcent - [S6E6] age

Steph  00:02

Hi, Dalya. 

 

Dalya  00:04

Hello, hello, hello. How are you?

 

Steph  00:06

Hello. I'm very well, thank you. How are you?

 

Dalya  00:09

I'm pretty cold. 

 

Steph  00:11

Yes. 

 

Dalya  00:11

Not gonna lie. 

 

Steph  00:12

Yes, same, same. I've been wearing about four jumpers all week. You know, not the same four jumpers every day but, yes, four jumpers, three pairs of socks. You know. It's been snowing--

*all week 일주일 내내

 

Dalya  00:26

This sounds like a riddle.

*riddle 수수께끼

 

Steph  00:27

--in case anyone was wondering what we're going on about, it's been snowing in the UK.

*go on about ~에 대해 계속 이야기하다.

 

Dalya  00:31

Yeah and I'm gonna say it: Are we going to have a white Christmas? Who knows?

 

Steph  00:35

Who knows? Well, we've got a week to go, roughly. 

*to go 남아 있는

*roughly 대략

 

Dalya  00:39

Oh my god, only a week?

 

Steph  00:40

Only a week. Yeah. 

 

Dalya  00:41

Oh, no. 

 

Steph  00:42

Have you done all your shopping, Christmas shopping?

 

Dalya  00:46

Well, it never ends, does it? So, not all of it, no.

 

Steph  00:48

No, me neither. Most of it, but not all. Yeah, I like to leave a few things to the last minute, you know, just to make life a bit more--

 

Dalya  00:54

Just to stress you out, yeah.

*stress out (자) 스트레스를 받다, (타) 스트레스를 주다.

 

Steph  00:56

--exciting. Yes. And, of course, after Christmas comes New Year. And-- 

 

Dalya  01:04

Indeed.

 

Steph  01:06

--another year begins. And we've heard that in Korea when the new year begins, normally, people in Korea turn a year older, right?

*turn a year older 한살 더 먹다.

 

Dalya  01:21

To be honest, is it a year, two years? It's so complicated, I don't know. 

 

Steph  01:25

It is very complicated, yeah. I've tried to understand. My students have explained a number of times but...bit confusing. But there's been big news lately, I believe.

 

Dalya  01:35

Yeah. Apparently, they're gonna scrap that whole system.

*scrap 폐기하다, 버리다.

 

Steph  01:41

Exactly. Yeah. I think it's something that the government had been talking about for a little while in South Korea and they finally announced that it's actually happening.

*for a little while 잠깐

 

Dalya  01:52

Yeah, well, according to one of my students, Korea is the only country in the world that does it officially. Because I know in a lot of other countries, people kind of informally say they're a year older than they are. 

 

Steph  02:03

Do they? 

 

Dalya  02:04

But in Korea, I think it's different because it's sometimes one year and then it's sometimes two years. And it's, I think it's an actual, official thing. Like when you're at the hospital, you're one age, when you have a driving licence, you're another age. I was saying to my student that I think there should be like, you know, those cartoons you see in newspapers? I think a great one would be asking someone their age and they have to go away and do like a maths calculation, like an equation. And she said, "Oh, that already exists!" 

 

Steph  02:36

Oh, really? Oh my god. Tricky, tricky. So before we continue this conversation, let's just remind our listeners that you should be listening out for three interesting phrases or words that we're going to be using today.

 

Dalya  02:50

Yep. And today they're all related to age.

 

Steph  02:53

Of course, of course. That is the topic of the day: age. And we'll reveal them at the end and give you some more information about them later. 

*reveal (비밀등을) 드러내다, 밝히다.

 

Dalya  03:02

Yeah. 

 

Steph  03:04

So yeah, age. What can we say about age? "Age is just a number"?

 

Dalya  03:11

"Age ain't nothing but a number." I love that song.

 

Steph  03:13

Mm, exactly. So when-- mm, yeah, talking about this Korean age thing, I suppose that in Britain, you are zero, right, when you're born, and then you become, like, one month, two months, three months, or whatever. And then first year of birth, you're one year old. But I think in Korea until now, it would be two, I think?

 

Dalya  03:38

Well, I've heard two different things. It changes in-- something like if you're, if you haven't had your birthday yet, you're one. And then when you have you're two or it changes in October or January or something. 

 

Steph  03:54

Okay. 

 

Dalya  03:54

It's very confusing.

 

Steph  03:55

If anyone would like to, you know, clarify, please do in the comments.

*clarify 명확하게 하다, 분명히 말하다.

 

Dalya  04:00

I've given up. I just say to my students-- I don't say, "How old are you?" I just say, "Which year were you born?" And then I know. I can calculate from there.

 

Steph  04:08

So talking of that, like, is it okay to ask people their age, generally, would you say, in the UK?

 

Dalya  04:15

Well, this is something interesting because I often ask my students-- I say, you know, "I hope it's not rude but can I ask how old you are?" Because, you know, it's helpful to know how much experience they've had speaking English, blah, blah, blah. And they say, "Oh, no. In Korea it's, it's not rude at all" because they say it's actually pretty normal because once you know how old someone is, you know how to address them. So should you be calling them older sister? Should they be paying for the meal?

 

Steph  04:41

Oh, really? Okay. So if someone's older, they pay for the meal?

 

Dalya  04:46

I think that's how it is traditionally; I don't know if it's always like that. 

 

Steph  04:49

Okay, that's interesting. 

 

Dalya  04:51

In Britain, it's generally considered-- after a certain age, it's I suppose it's considered a little bit rude.

 

Steph  04:58

Yeah, I mean, if you're a child, you can easily say to your friend, like, "Oh, how old are you?" Although I guess most of your friends would be around the same age, right? Because you would probably be in the same class at school or something. But you talk about your age quite easily when you're younger. But, yeah, I guess after a certain age--

 

Dalya  05:19

After 30s, maybe?

 

Steph  05:20

Maybe, yeah? Once someone hits their 30s, maybe 40s? I'm not really sure. Especially women, though, I think. 

*hit (특정한 수준에) 이르다, 달하다.

 

Dalya  05:29

I don't care about it, really.

 

Steph  05:30

I don't care about it that much, either. But I still think, like, you know, someone just goes, "How old are you?" to me, like I do feel like, "Oh, you know, should I be asked that question?" Like, I don't know, it just seems-- 

 

Dalya  05:45

A bit personal. 

 

Steph  05:46

Yeah. It seems a bit personal. It's not really something that people ask that much.

 

Dalya  05:52

Yeah, something that the doctor asks you, right, like when you're filling in a form.

*fill in ~을 채우다, 작성하다.

 

Steph  05:56

Exactly. Yeah. Something like that. And even then, you might get a bracket, right? Between 20 and 28, for example. 

*bracket 괄호

 

Dalya  06:04

Oh, yeah, the age range. 

 

Steph  06:05

Yeah, the range. Yeah.

 

Dalya  06:06

Yeah. True.

 

Steph  06:08

When would you ask someone their age? Like, let's say, like a British friend, in what situations might you ask it without it being weird? Do you know what I mean?

 

Dalya  06:18

I suppose, like we said, in a formal situation, if you needed to know for something like filling out a form or something like that. But I suppose-- actually, that's an interesting question; I don't know. I suppose you wouldn't, really. There aren't many occasions where it's--

 

Steph  06:31

Unless it's something about the birthday, like if it's someone's birthday on that day, or, you know, their birthday's coming up, you might say, "Oh, so how old are you today?" Or something like that. 

 

Dalya  06:44

Yeah. 

 

Steph  06:46

Or somebody might mention it themselves and say, "Oh, you know, it's an important birthday coming up." Because, for us, again, I don't know if this is the same in South Korea, but for us, like every 10 years is considered like a kind of milestone birthday, like an important birthday. So when you turn 30, it's like, oh, you know, the end of your 20s, you're now 30. Or, 40, 50. It just keeps going like that, basically.

 

Dalya  07:12

Yeah, I think it's probably the same in Korea. Also, I know that 60 is a big deal because of the, what's it called, I can't remember the name, the-- you know, all the different Chinese years. Year of the Rat, Year of the Snake. 

 

Steph  07:27

Oh, yeah. Okay. Yeah. 

 

Dalya  07:28

It's related to that, so 60 is a big deal. I probably just butchered that; I apologise to everybody listening.

*butcher ~을 엉망진창으로 만들다.

 

Steph  07:35

I don't know about that. But yeah, it could very well be, although, I guess 60 is, you know, as we just said, like, 60 is important to us, too. I remember celebrating my mum's 60th. It was like a whole thing. You know? So...yeah.

 

Dalya  07:51

That'll probably change as we start to live longer, though. 

 

Steph  07:53

I guess so. Yeah. Well, maybe more people will reach 100. The biggest milestone of all, yeah. Do you know anyone who is that sort of age?

 

Dalya  08:07

100? No, I don't. But I did watch a great video with a woman - she's 100 - talking to these little kids. It's really cute. 

 

Steph  08:13

Oh really?

 

Dalya  08:13

And the little kids are saying, you know, "How did you live so long?" And she claims that it's because of her mental health. Positive mindset. And she said something interesting; she said, "Other people my age can't do things for themselves but I can." 

 

Steph  08:27

Oh! 

 

Dalya  08:28

She tries to look after herself and I thought that was interesting. 

 

Steph  08:32

She sounds like she's quite young at heart then, as well. 

*young at heart 젊게 사는

 

Dalya  08:35

Yes, indeed. 

 

Steph  08:36

That's-- I think that's important, as you said, mentally, like to be more mentally active maybe than somebody of a similar age who isn't. It makes a big difference to how you seem to others, also, I guess. 

 

Dalya  08:50

Yeah. And your attitude and your lifestyle.

 

Steph  08:52

Yeah, that's right. Yeah. Yeah. I don't-- I'm trying to think if I know anyone who's in their 100s. No, I don't know anyone who's 100. But I know...ooh, one or two people who are nearing 100. But they're kind of like, you know, waiting for that big, big birthday, to hit that 100 mark.

*near (시간/거리상으로) 가까워지다.

 

Dalya  09:18

I feel like when it-- maybe when it actually happens, they're like, "Oh, it feels the same."

 

Steph  09:22

Yeah. Although you do get a letter, right, from the Queen, or in this case King, I suppose. 

 

Dalya  09:28

Do you? I didn't know that! 

 

Steph  09:29

Yeah. Oh, yeah. 

 

Dalya  09:31

Oh, I've got to live till I'm 100, then. 

 

Steph  09:32

Yeah, you need to get a letter from King Charles if-- well, no, surely he will have passed on when you reach 100.

*pass on 사망하다.

 

Dalya  09:40

Who will he get a letter from if he reaches 100? 

 

Steph  09:43

That is a very good question. Who knows? Who knows? Yeah, I mean, he is no spring chicken right now. How old is he? I think he's in his 70s, mid-70s or something? 

*no spring chicken 더 이상 젊지 않은

 

Dalya  09:55

Yeah, he's getting on. He's getting on. 

*get on (안부를 묻는 대화에서) 지내다.

 

Steph  09:57

He's getting on. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. So, one other point about Koreans talking about age is that there's a certain hierarchy, isn't there, when it comes to this. So, as we mentioned before, Korean people might ask each other their age in order to establish whether they are, I don't know, higher up in the hierarchy or not, I suppose? 

*establish (지위/명성) 확고히 하다, 설립하다.

 

Dalya  10:29

Yeah, I think so. Definitely. I think it's a big part of society. 

 

Steph  10:35

Yeah. And not so much here? 

 

Dalya  10:39

I mean, I suppose age is always going to be an important thing, right? Older people are seen to have, you know, authority and wisdom; not all of them, unfortunately. So I suppose some of them feel a sense of authority. You know what I mean? 

*be seen to do ~하는 것으로 보인다.

 

Steph  10:55

Yeah, I guess so. 

 

Dalya  10:56

People should respect them, especially children.

 

Steph  11:00

Yeah, that's true. And I guess they feel since they have so much more knowledge, maybe, than the other person that they can say, you know, they can say things like, "Oh, I wasn't born yesterday, you know."

 

Dalya  11:14

Yeah. Like, "Who are you to tell me that?"

 

Steph  11:17

Yeah, exactly. Like, "You can't fool me" or, you know, or maybe "I know more than you", that sort of thing, I suppose. Yeah. In a subtle way, I assume.

*fool ~을 속이다, 기만하다.

*subtle 미묘한, 교묘한, (판단력이) 예리한

 

Dalya  11:25

Yeah. So I think it exists in every society, but perhaps in Korea just a bit more. But then maybe that's a stereotype; we'd have to hear from them.

 

Steph  11:33

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I guess the stereotype doesn't exist so much here, that much. Obviously, we kind of say you should respect your elders, like respect older people, that kind of thing. But not if there's-- not if you're younger, there's no, like, you know, if somebody's 20 and somebody's 25, there's not really going to be that, you know, that difference. 

 

Dalya  11:56

Yeah, relatively. It's-- yeah, that's true. Oh, yeah, I didn't think about it like that. You're kind of like, as you said, I suppose it's more about the age ranges, isn't it? Like you're, if you're in your 20s, you'll all be treated the same way. 30s, 40s. 

 

Steph  12:09

Exactly, exactly. Yeah. Well, why don't we have a look at the expressions that we mentioned in this before we go? 

 

Dalya  12:18

Okay. What are they, Teacher Steph? 

 

Steph  12:21

What are they? So I will reveal the first one. The first one is to be 'young at heart'. 

 

Dalya  12:27

To be young at heart.

 

Steph  12:28

Young at heart. And what does that mean?

 

Dalya  12:33

It means to act or behave younger than your age. But it's usually in a positive sense, right? 

 

Steph  12:39

Mm, definitely, in a positive way. So you might say something like, "Even though Grandpa is older now, he's still young at heart."

 

Dalya  12:49

Which means he thinks and acts and behaves like a young person. 

 

Steph  12:52

Younger man, yeah, exactly. Or you might say, "She's in her 70s but she's very young at heart."

 

Dalya  13:01

And this is a nice phrase, because you can use it in other ways. You could say, like, for example, you know, "Her day job is an engineer but she's a musician at heart." 

 

Steph  13:11

Mm, okay, yeah. 

 

Dalya  13:12

Meaning that's her real passion, her real purpose.

 

Steph  13:14

That's a good one. And our next one was 'to be no spring chicken'.

 

Dalya  13:22

Which just sounds a bit funny, doesn't it?

 

Steph  13:24

I love this expression. I think it's really funny, yeah. Which basically means, if you say, "He or she is no spring chicken", it means that person is no longer young. But we kind of say it in like a jokey way; it's quite humorous.

 

Dalya  13:39

Yes. Yeah, definitely. And it's often used for kind of reassurance. 

*reassurance 안심시키는 말

 

Steph  13:45

Yeah, that's very true. How would we use it in a sentence? 

 

Dalya  13:49

So we could say, for example, "I'm no spring chicken but I can beat you at football any day."

*beat someone at ~에서 ~을 이기다.

 

Steph  13:57

That's a good one. That's a very good one. Yeah. Or you might say to someone, "Okay, take it easy. You're no spring chicken now, you know?

 

Dalya  14:06

Yeah. And trying to make them feel better. 

 

Steph  14:09

Exactly, like, don't do too much exercise. Don't push yourself too much physically or something. You know, you're no spring chicken.

 

Dalya  14:16

Yeah, but it's not-- I wouldn't say this is derogatory, is it? It's not used in an insulting way.

*derogatory 경멸하는, 비판적인

 

Steph  14:20

No, not in a mean way. It's kind of more, like, jokey, I would say.

*mean 못된, 심술궂은

 

Dalya  14:24

Yeah. Humorous, sarcastic. We love our sarcasm. 

 

Steph  14:27

We do. 

 

Dalya  14:28

The classic case of we could just say, "They're not young", but of course we have to put it in an idiomatic way. 

*idiomatic (모국어 사용자 같이) 자연스러운

 

Steph  14:35

That's right. Yeah. And the final one was 'I wasn't born yesterday'.

 

Dalya  14:42

'I wasn't born yesterday', which means to not be easily deceived. Or fooled. 

*deceive ~을 속이다, 기만하다.

 

Steph  14:50

Yeah. You can't be fooled easily. I've got it's kind of like saying, you know, "I've got more wisdom and knowledge to know that what you're saying is not true."

 

Dalya  15:00

Exactly. "I've been here for a long time. So don't think that you can just fool me that easily."

 

Steph  15:04

Exactly. Yeah. 

 

Dalya  15:05

"I've got life experience."

 

Steph  15:06

Right. So you might say, "He can't fool me. You know, I wasn't born yesterday."

 

Dalya  15:14

Or you could say, "Do expect me to believe that? I wasn't born yesterday, you know, mate." 

 

Steph  15:20

Mate. I like that. This is something that my mum used to say a lot when I was a child. Or a teenager, actually. Yeah.

 

Dalya  15:28

It's often said with a bit of anger, isn't it?

 

Steph  15:32

Yeah, "I wasn't born yesterday, you know." Like that. Good. Well, it looks like we have come to an end for today. Nice talking to you, as always. 

 

Dalya  15:45

You too. Don't freeze--

 

Steph  15:46

Same. 

 

Dalya  15:47

--in this snowy, snowy weather.

 

Steph  15:49

Keep warm and safe. And yeah, I'll speak to you next time.

 

Dalya  15:55

Next time. Who knows, maybe I will have aged a year by the time we'd next meet--

 

Steph  16:00

I feel like I've aged 100 years this year, to be honest. Anyway, see you very soon.

 

Dalya  16:07

Take care.