Coffee Break English, season two, episode eight.
Welcome back to Coffee Break English.
My name's Mark. And my name is Josie.
How are you today, Josie?
I'm well, thank you, Mark.
I'm a little tired but very well.
How are you? I'm fine.
I'm a little hungry but I'm well.
Ah, I think you might get even hungrier after we've read today's text.
I think that may well be the case.
Today we are talking about a very traditional British food or meal.
And I'm looking forward to hearing more about fish and chips.
Yes, me too. And today we are also going to be focusing on a specific language point.
We're going to be focusing on the pronunciation of verbs ending in ee -dee.
Sounds good. Let's get on with the lesson.
Let's hear from Susan in London.
Hello everyone. My name is Susan and today we're going to be talking about something very British.
Let's get started. If you've ever visited the UK, you've probably heard of fish and chips.
This classic British dish first appeared in the 1860s and by 1910 there were over 25 ,000 fish and chip shops around Britain.
Today 25 % of all whitefish sold in the UK is sold in fish and chip shops and 10 % of all potatoes.
Fish and chips is now a popular dish in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Indonesia and many other countries.
But most Brits will tell you that the chip shop is particularly special in the UK.
There are certain things which make the chip shop experience very memorable.
The fish and chips are usually wrapped in newspaper and you eat them using tiny wooden or plastic knives and forks and make sure you brush up on your vocabulary because you are always asked if you prefer battered or breaded fish and if you want salt, vinegar or ketchup or all three.
Fish and chips are an important part of UK food culture.
However, the dish's history is not completely British.
The practice of frying fish in batter was introduced to the UK in the 16th century by Jewish immigrants from Spain and Portugal.
Their Piscado Frito was quickly adopted into British cooking and it was even mentioned in Charles Dickens' famous book Oliver Twist.
Chips, or french fries, originated in either France or Belgium, but no one knows which.
So neither fish nor chips were British creations.
But it was the Brits who first combined the two.
By doing this, they created a dish that became a cultural icon.
Fish and chips have been voted the nation's favourite comfort food.
Today, chip shops can be found in almost every town in the UK and many have expanded their menus to include more unusual dishes like deep -fried Mars bars, battered peas and even octopus.
When food was rationed in Britain during World War II, fish and chips were considered too important to restrict.
It's hard to say exactly what makes fish and chips so special, but the people of the UK would be lost without this delicious dish.
You were right, Josie, I am now even hungrier.
Well I'm not surprised.
Do you enjoy fish and chips?
I do enjoy chips, but I'm a vegetarian, so I don't eat fish.
Do you enjoy fish and chips, Mark?
I have to admit that yes, I do enjoy fish and chips.
Let's go back through the text.
Okay, and this time would you like to read, Mark?
Yep, absolutely. If you've ever visited the UK, you've probably heard of fish and chips.
Good, so as I said before we listen to the text, today we're focusing on the pronunciation of verbs ending in ED.
So here we have our first one, which is visited.
Now, in this case, visited is a past participle because we're using the present perfect tense if you have ever visited the UK.
And remember, past participles and past simple forms are the same for regular verbs.
So Josie, how do we pronounce this ED here?
Good question. The ED here is pronounced id, visited.
Okay, shall we continue?
Let's continue. This classic British dish first appeared in the 1860s and by 1910 there were over 25 ,000 fish and chip shops around Britain.
Good, so here we have our second verb ending in ED.
This time it's not a past participle, it's a past simple form, appeared.
And here the ED is pronounced differently.
It is, so we have visited but appeared, we don't say appeared.
So at the end of appeared, the ED is pronounced just like d, appeared.
So Josie, why is this?
Well, it's because at the end of the word visit we have a T.
So a T is what we call a dental consonant.
So the word dental, you can think of dentist, so it has something to do with your teeth.
And a dental consonant is where your tongue pushes on the back of your teeth to make this consonant.
Another dental consonant is d, so t and d are the dental consonants.
So basically for all verbs which end in the letters T or D, we pronounce the ED as ID.
So we have visited.
Can you think of any other examples of this Mark?
Departed. That's right, departed.
Another one ending in T, depart.
We could also have needed, need ends in d, this dental consonant.
Yep, that all makes perfect sense.
So let's continue. Today, 25 % of all white fish sold in the UK is sold in fish and chip shops and 10 % of all potatoes.
Good. So here we have, of course, another past tense verb.
In this case is the past participle, sold.
Today we are not talking about irregular verbs such as sold.
We are only talking about regular ones.
Okay. Sold comes from to sell.
That's right. Yes. Okay.
So 25 % of all white fish sold in the UK is sold in fish and chip shops.
Okay. Let's continue.
Fish and chips is now a popular dish in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Indonesia and many other countries.
But most Brits will tell you that the chip shop is particularly special in the UK.
Yes. So fish and chips is now a popular dish.
So although fish and chips are plural, of course, we have the S at the end of chips, we are using the singular verb is here because we're mentioning that it's a popular dish.
So when we use the word dish, we can use is because dish is singular.
Okay. I've actually had some extremely delicious fish and chips in San Diego, in California.
So they, they really are famous all over the world.
Indeed. Okay. But most Brits will tell you that the chip shop is particularly special in the UK.
What are Brits? Yes.
So Brits are basically people who live in Britain, British people.
This is a noun to describe this nationality.
We can say, we are Brits.
I am a Brit. Okay. There are certain things which make the chip shop experience very memorable.
Yes. So what does this word memorable mean, Mark?
If something is memorable, it is easy to remember.
We can think of memory or remember words that are similar.
That's right. So the reason that the experience is very memorable, the fish and chips are usually wrapped in newspaper and you eat them using tiny wooden or plastic knives and forks.
Yes. So the fish and chips are usually wrapped in newspaper.
So here we have another verb ending in ed, wrapped.
The infinitive is to wrap.
And what does that mean, Mark?
If you wrap something, you cover something sometimes in paper, for example, a present or a gift.
That's right. And it's worth mentioning the spelling of wrap.
We spell it W R A P.
So we've got a silent W at the beginning there.
And it's very different from a wrap as in R A P, which as we know is a type of music, which has nothing to do with wrapping up a present or fish and chips.
No, not at all. So what about the pronunciation of the ed here in this verb?
Yes. So here we have another way to pronounce the ed.
So we've had visited where we have the T, the dental consonant, meaning we must pronounce it visited.
We've had appeared with and now we've got wrapped.
And so the reason for this is because the sound at the end of wrap, it needs us to make a sound.
Now, to be honest, when you're speaking, there's not a lot of difference between and.
So the most important thing to remember is the difference between it and and.
Okay. So visit did versus appeared and wrapped.
That's right. The most important thing is not to say appear it or rapid.
Okay. Now, these fish and chips are eaten by using tiny wooden or plastic knives and forks.
Let's talk about that.
Yes, so tiny. This is an extreme adjective, meaning very, very small.
And we saw the word wooden a couple of episodes ago, didn't we, Mark?
That's right. And our nessie episode when we spoke about the Loch Ness monster.
Yes, so wooden just means made of wood.
And what are knives and forks?
Knives and forks are the things that you eat your dinner with or your lunch or your fish and chips.
Indeed. And it's important to know that in the word naive or knife, the singular is knife, the plural knives.
There's a silent K at the beginning.
That's right. K -N -I -V -E -S pronounced knives.
And when you go to buy fish and chips, you also need to know some different words.
Yes, you do. Let's find out about them.
And make sure you brush up on your vocabulary because you are always asked if you prefer battered or breaded fish.
And if you want salt, vinegar or ketchup or all three.
Yes, so here we said, make sure you brush up on your vocabulary.
So brush up is a phrasal verb, so a verb which is made up of two or more words.
And it's quite an informal one.
It means to review something.
Yeah. For example, if you have an English exam, you may want to brush up on your English before the exam.
That's right. Absolutely.
And next, later in the sentence, we have, you are always asked if you prefer battered or breaded fish.
We have battered or breaded.
What do those words mean, Mark?
OK, so first of all, the meaning of these words, batter is a mixture of flour, egg and milk, and it's used for making, for example, pancakes or covering food to fry.
And breaded is when you cover a piece of fish or meat or other type of food in small pieces of dry bread or breadcrumbs.
Yes. So now let's look at the pronunciation of these words.
So battered and breaded.
Technically, they are not verbs, they are adjectives because they're describing fish.
But it's worth remembering that the rules we're talking about at the moment can also be applied to adjectives ending in ED.
So battered, we can hear there that the ED is pronounced d, battered and breaded.
Now bread ends in a D, which is this dental consonant.
So the ED is pronounced id, breaded.
Earlier, we saw kneaded, so breaded is the same idea.
That's right. Breaded, kneaded, visited.
Good. Okay. Anything else that you want to talk about in this sentence?
Yes. At the end of the sentence, we mentioned some things you could put on your fish and chips.
You could put salt, vinegar or ketchup.
What is vinegar, Mark?
Vinegar is like an acidic sauce for salads and food, in this case, for fish and chips.
That's right. Yes. Now it's also important to mention that there are different traditions associated with fish and chips in different parts of the UK.
For example, in the West of Scotland, we always have vinegar, but in the East of Scotland, you tend to have what they call sauce.
And it's similar to vinegar, but there is a big difference.
You know, I actually didn't know any of that, so I'm learning things even about my own country.
Thanks, Mark. Excellent.
Let's take a short break now.
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Welcome back. Today, we are talking about fish and chips.
OK, Josie, will we continue the text?
Yes, let's continue.
Fish and chips are an important part of UK food culture.
So it's interesting that here we are saying fish and chips are an important part because we're not mentioning the word dish.
Earlier, we had fish and chips is a popular dish, but here fish and chips are very much plural.
That's right. However, the dish's history is not completely British.
The practice of frying fish in batter was introduced to the UK in the 16th century by Jewish immigrants from Spain and Portugal.
Good. So this word batter, we saw it in the previous paragraph in terms of battered fish.
So fish covered in this mixture of flour, egg and milk and then fried.
But what's really interesting to me here is the past participle introduced.
So introduced, the Ed is pronounced as T.
Not D or ID introduced.
Good. OK, let's continue.
We're talking about the Jewish immigrants from Spain and Portugal.
And their pescado frito was quickly adopted into British cooking.
And it was even mentioned in Charles Dickens famous book, Oliver Twist.
Good. So this was quickly adopted into British cooking.
What is adopted to adopt mean, Mark?
If you adopt a child or a pet, you take them into your home and raise them as your own.
And in this case, it means to take the pescado frito and make it your own.
Use it yourself. That's right.
And of course, let's talk about the pronunciation.
So adopted, it's a past participle.
And because the word adopt ends in a T, which is a dental consonant, we pronounce the Ed, id, adopted.
And there's another word in the sentence that ends in Ed, mentioned.
That's right. So mentioned, the Ed is pronounced D, mentioned.
And it was mentioned in Charles Dickens famous book, Oliver Twist.
Okay. Chips or French fries originated in either France or Belgium, but no one knows which.
Yes. So chips or French fries, what's the difference between chips and French fries, Mark?
Oh, a big question.
Chips, we call them chips in the United Kingdom.
French fries is the term in the United States and many other parts of the world, but they mean the same thing.
That's right. They're exactly the same.
But if I go to the USA and I ask for some chips, what will I be given, Mark?
You'll be given a very thin, cold, fried potatoes, most likely in a bag.
Crisps. That's right.
It's what we call crisps.
So it can get a little confusing sometimes.
Okay. And these chips or French fries originated in either France or Belgium.
Yes. So we have another Ed verb here originated.
And because the verb originate ends in a T well, it ends in T E, but we ignore the E for this purpose.
The last sound is a T, a dental consonant.
It's pronounced Ed originated.
And there's something interesting about the pronunciation of either France or Belgium.
That's right. So you say either France or Belgium, Mark, but I would naturally say either, not either.
But both are acceptable and you can choose which you prefer.
That's right. There isn't even any kind of regional difference as we are both from Scotland and we say different things.
Indeed. Either or is when you're giving a choice.
You can give a choice with two places here, for example, either France or Belgium.
That's right. Absolutely.
But no one knows which.
So neither fish nor chips were British creations, but it was the Brits who first combined the two.
Good. So here we have the negative version of either or.
We have so neither fish nor chips were British creations.
Again, neither or neither are both fine to say.
And this is, yeah, the negative version of either or.
So it means fish was not a British creation and also chips was not a British creation.
Good. But it was the Brits who combined the two.
What does that mean?
So combined means to mix, to join something.
So fish and chips were joined to create this dish.
And combined ends in ed.
Yes, it does. And this ed verb is pronounced D combined.
Okay. By doing this, they created a dish that became a cultural icon.
Good. So we have create.
They created a dish.
The last sound in the verb create is t, a dental consonant, so created.
Okay. And what's an icon, Josie?
An icon is something very recognisable.
So maybe something which represents a certain country.
Could we say Nessie, the Loch Ness monster, is an icon of Scotland?
I would say so. And we could also have the Eiffel Tower as an icon of Paris or of France.
Good. Fish and chips have been voted the nation's favourite comfort food.
Yes, so fish and chips have been voted.
First of all, this word voted.
We've got the dental consonant T, so voted.
And this is quite a complex structure.
Have been voted. This is a present perfect passive.
So we have two past participles, been and voted.
Okay. What is a comfort food?
A comfort food is a food that you eat to make you feel comfortable.
Maybe if you're in a bad mood, you have a certain food that you like to eat.
So a comfort food could be fish and chips or perhaps pizza or ice cream.
Yes. Those are some classic comfort foods.
Okay. Today, chip shops can be found in almost every town in the UK and many have expanded their menus to include more unusual dishes.
Like deep fried Mars bars, battered peas and even octopus.
Good. So here we have some unusual foods to talk about, but first many of these chip shops have expanded their menus.
So expand ends in a sound.
So expanded, the ED becomes ID.
Perfect. And the unusual dishes mentioned include deep fried Mars bars.
Tell us about a Mars bar.
Yes. So a Mars bar is a type of chocolate bar.
It's a British chocolate bar, I believe, which has some caramel inside and some biscuits.
It's very nice. And in some chip shops, the deep fry this Mars bar in batter.
Yes. So they deep fry it, which means they, they immerse it in oil.
They put it fully in oil and they fry it.
Have you tasted this?
I have. I have tasted a deep fried Mars bar.
Strangely, I tasted a deep fried Mars bar, not in Scotland, but in Canada.
Oh, wow. Did you enjoy it?
I have to admit that I did, but I don't think I'll ever have it again.
I've never tried a deep fried Mars bar.
And I don't really fancy it to be honest.
You don't really fancy it.
You don't really want to.
I don't really want to try it.
Okay. So there's also battered peas, a small green circular vegetable, and even octopus.
A fish with eight legs.
Yes. Have you ever eaten octopus, Mark?
I have eaten octopus and I quite like octopus.
It's possibly not a fish though.
Maybe I'm getting my animals wrong.
I have no idea to be honest.
Okay. Let's keep going.
When food was rationed in Britain during World War II, fish and chips were considered to important to restrict.
Yes. So here we have rationed.
First of all, what does it mean to ration food, Mark?
Rationing food is when food is restricted so that everyone has enough.
That's right. And in this case, we're using the past participle when food was rationed.
And the sound of the ED is d was rationed.
Perfect. And so the food was rationed during World War II, but fish and chips were too important to restrict.
They were considered too important.
That's right. And again, another past participle, considered, and this one also the ED has the d sound considered.
Okay. It's hard to say exactly what makes fish and chips so special.
But the people of the UK would be lost without this delicious dish.
Yes, I have to agree.
We love fish and chips.
Okay. We're going to listen again to the whole passage and hopefully this time, everything will make perfect sense.
If you've ever visited the UK, you've probably heard of fish and chips.
This classic British dish first appeared in the 1860s.
And by 1910, there were over 25 ,000 fish and chip shops around Britain.
Today, 25 % of all whitefish sold in the UK is sold in fish and chip shops and 10 % of all potatoes.
Fish and chips is now a popular dish in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Indonesia, and many other countries.
But most Brits will tell you that the chip shop is particularly special in the UK.
There are certain things which make the chip shop experience very memorable.
The fish and chips are usually wrapped in newspaper and you eat them using tiny wooden or plastic knives and forks.
And make sure you brush up on your vocabulary because you are always asked if you prefer battered or breaded fish.
And if you want salt, vinegar, or ketchup, or all three.
Fish and chips are an important part of UK food culture.
However, the dish's history is not completely British.
The practice of frying fish in batter was introduced to the UK in the 16th century by Jewish immigrants from Spain and Portugal.
Their Piscado Frito was quickly adopted into British cooking.
And it was even mentioned in Charles Dickens' famous book, Oliver Twist.
Chips or French fries originated in either France or Belgium, but no one knows which.
So neither fish nor chips were British creations.
But it was the Brits who first combined the two.
By doing this, they created a dish that became a cultural icon.
Fish and chips have been voted the nation's favourite comfort food.
Today, chip shops can be found in almost every town in the UK and many have expanded their menus to include more unusual dishes like deep fried Mars bars, battered peas and even octopus.
When food was rationed in Britain during World War II, fish and chips were considered too important to restrict.
It's hard to say exactly what makes fish and chips so special, but the people of the UK would be lost without this delicious dish.
OK, another episode, another text.
And I think we've both enjoyed this one, Josie, don't you think so?
I really enjoyed finding out more about the origins of this famous food.
And I think I know what I'm going to have for dinner now.
If you'd like to find out more about Coffee Break English, head to the Coffee Break Academy, that's coffeebreakacademy .com, where you'll be able to access more information about fish and chips and about all the other topics that we have covered in this series.
That's right, Mark.
And if you'd like to practice your English, you can also do so on social media.
Just search for Coffee Break English on Facebook and on Instagram, where we post regular language challenges and cultural information.
We'll be back next time.
And I believe that next time we are travelling to Canada.
So I'm looking forward to that.
Me too. See you soon.
Bye bye. You have been listening to a Coffee Break languages production for the Radiolingua Network copyright 2021 Radiolingua Limited recording copyright 2021 Radiolingua Limited all rights reserved.
