Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 433, Describing People's Voices.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 433.
I'm your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan.
Coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in the beautiful city of Los Angeles, California.
Visit our website at eslpodcom.
You can download a learning guide for this episode that contains all of the vocabulary definitions, sample sentences, additional definitions, culture notes, comprehension questions and a complete transcript of everything we say on this episode.
This episode is called Describing People's Voices.
It's a dialogue between Adriana and Ralph talking about the qualities of people's voices, common adjectives we use to describe different voices.
Let's get started.
How can you listen to that radio station?
All of their DJs have such funny voices.
That's precisely why I like it.
Take this guy, Kevin.
He has a deep, husky voice that I find really sexy.
This guy?
His voice is so monotone that it lulls me to sleep every time I hear it.
Well, if you don't like his voice, how about his sidekick, Lisa May?
Her voice is music to my ears.
She has a nice lilt in her voice, but it's so high-pitched and squeaky.
It can really be grating to listen to her for more than a few minutes.
I like a gravelly voice, speaking softly and saying, I'm not talking about your fantasies.
I don't want to know anything about those.
Adriana begins the dialogue by saying to Ralph The expression or the sound is what we use to get someone to be quiet.
Technically, when you do that, it's called shushing someone.
Well, Adriana shushes Ralph.
Ralph said, how can you listen to that radio station?
All of their DJs have such funny or unusual voices.
Sometimes the word funny means unusual, strange, not comic.
A DJ D-E-E-J-A-Y, sometimes abbreviated with the letters D and J, because it actually comes from the abbreviation for disc jockey.
A disc jockey or DJ is a person who plays music and usually is on the radio and They play music.
They talk about the songs.
The person that you hear on the radio, at least the music radio.
Adriana says, that's precisely why I like it.
She likes the DJs because they have these interesting or unusual voices.
She says, take this guy, Kevin.
The verb here, to take something or someone, means to use someone as an example.
It's another way of saying for example.
You might say I like traveling in the western part of the United States where there are beautiful parks.
Take California.
We have some beautiful parks here in California.
I could also say, for example, California.
We have some beautiful parks here in California.
Well, Adriana says, take this guy, Kevin.
He has a deep husky voice that I find really sexy.
Deep, when we are talking about a voice, is someone who has a voice that is very low like this.
Hello there, baby.
That would be a deep voice.
And a voice that could get you in a lot of trouble with your wife.
Deep has several different meanings in English.
Take a look at our learning guide for some additional explanations.
Husky H-U-S-K-Y, when we are talking about a voice is a low-sound voice, a deep voice, but it's sort of attractive.
It's often used to describe some men's voices.
Interestingly enough...
Husky, when used to describe someone's body, usually means someone who is very big, perhaps a little overweight.
But when we talk about a voice being husky, it's usually a positive description.
Adriana finds the deep husky voice of Kevin to be sexy, to be sexually exciting or attractive.
Ralph says, this guy?
He can't believe what Adriana is saying.
Ralph says, Kevin's voice is so monotone that it lulls me to sleep every time I hear it.
The word monotone means always the same note, always the same tone, perhaps even the same volume, never quiet or loud.
Mono means one, so it's one kind of tone or one kind of note.
A monotone voice would be something like this.
I am speaking in a monotone voice.
Please wake up now if you have fallen asleep.
Kind of like a computer voice, I guess.
When we say something lulls L-U-L-S someone, we mean that it makes someone feel calm relaxed, often tired, maybe even making someone fall asleep.
Well, Ralph thinks Kevin's voice is monotone and it makes him sleep.
Adriana says, well, if you don't like his voice, how about his sidekick, Lisa May?
How about means what do you think of his sidekick?
A sidekick, S-I-D-E-K-I-C-K.
One word means is someone who works with another person and helps them, but isn't as important as the other person.
For example, in the comics, there is Batman and Robin.
While Batman is the most important person, Robin is his sidekick.
On many popular radio shows, at least in the United States, there are two people that are on the radio the main person and then someone else who is the sidekick that they talk to or make jokes with.
Adriana says the voice of Lisa May, Kevin's sidekick on the radio, is music to her ears.
The expression to be music to one's ears means that something is very pleasant to listen to, something that you enjoy listening to.
We hope that ESL podcast is music to your ears.
It doesn't mean you necessarily are listening to music, however.
Music to your ears can also be used to mean that you are giving someone good news or you are hearing good news.
Ralph responds by saying that Lisa May has a nice lilt, L-I-L-T, in her voice.
A lilt is the way that a voice goes up and down, up and down, higher and lower.
It's supposed to make your voice sound more pleasant.
It's in some ways the opposite of monotone.
However, Ralph thinks that Lisa May's voice is very high-pitched and squeaky.
Something that is high-pitched is something that has a sound at a very high note, so high that it could hurt your ears or be unpleasant.
If I were to speak in a high pitched voice, I might sound, for example, like a woman.
Hello, how are you?
Pretty annoying, isn't it?
A squeaky voice is a voice that sounds a little like a mouse.
It's That would be a squeaky voice.
I don't have a squeaky voice, so it's hard for me to imitate that.
Ralph says it can be really grating to listen to her.
When we say something is grating G-R-A-T-I-N-G, we mean it is annoying, it is unpleasant, it is irritating.
Adriana says, well, if you don't like their voices, what kind of voices do you like?
Ralph says, I like a gravelly voice.
Gravelly G-R-A-V-E-L-L-Y is a very low rough, almost a deep voice kind of sound, but it's something that you could use to describe a woman's voice as well.
Ralph says I like a gravelly voice speaking softly and saying.
Well, what Ralph is referring to here is that sometimes women who are trying to be or make themselves sexually attractive may speak in this lower voice.
At least some men find that voice attractive, find it sexy.
Adriana says, I'm not talking about your fantasies.
Your fantasy is something that you imagine might happen, something you would like to happen.
But of course, Adriana isn't interested in Ralph's fantasies about women.
She says, I don't want to know anything about those.
And neither do we.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
Shh!
I'm trying to listen to the radio.
How can you listen to that radio station?
All of their DJs have such funny voices.
That's precisely why I like it.
Take this guy Kevin.
He has a deep husky voice that I find really sexy.
This guy?
His voice is so monotone that it lulls me to sleep every time I hear it.
Well, if you don't like his voice, how about his sidekick, Lisa May?
Her voice is music to my ears.
She has a nice lilt in her voice, but it's so high-pitched and squeaky.
It can really be grating to listen to her for more than a few minutes.
Okay, if you don't like their voices, what kind of voices do you like?
I like a gravelly voice, speaking softly and saying, I'm not talking about your fantasies.
I don't want to know anything about those.
The script for this dialogue was written by someone whose voice is music to my ears, Dr. Lucy Say.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thanks for listening.
Come back and listen to us next time on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
This podcast is copyright 2008.
