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Hi. Welcome to 6 Minute Vocabulary.
My name's Katherine and I'm here with Rob.
Hello everyone. Today we're going to be talking about different words for jobs, us, and especially how those words change depending on whether a man or a woman is doing the job.
Yes, and listen carefully because we're going to give you a quick quiz.
And then you'll get a tip to help with your vocabulary learning.
Right, so let's get started.
First we're going to listen to Joe talking about how he met his girlfriend, Judith.
While you listen, here's a question for you to think about – what is Judith's job now?
Listen carefully. Well, I used to be an actor and I met Judith at work.
We were doing a play about a policeman who falls in love with a waitress.
I played the policeman and Judith played the waitress and sure enough, we fell in love.
Later I quit acting and now I'm a businessman.
But Judith has a successful acting career.
Right now she's on a film shoot.
She's playing a firefighter.
So, the question was what is Judith's job now?
And the answer is Judith is an actress.
Right now she's making a film.
The first job that Jo mentioned was actor.
Now this is one of those jobs where the word changes depending on whether a man or woman is doing the job.
So we say that a man is an actor but a woman is an actress.
That's right. When Jo met Judith, she was playing a waitress.
Again, we can say a man is a waiter and a woman is a waitress.
Yep. So we've got actor, actress, waiter, waitress.
You can hear the pattern, can't you?
I can, yes. Judith was playing a waitress in the play.
But can you remember what Jo was playing?
Listen again. We were doing a play about a policeman who falls in love with a waitress.
Right, so Joe was playing a policeman – and we say that a man is a policeman and a woman is a police woman.
Now, Joe is a businessman because he's a man – but for a woman we can say businesswoman.
Yes, so policeman, police woman, businessman, businesswoman.
Easy, isn't it? Well, maybe it's not quite so easy because we know that Judith is making a film right now but do you remember what sort of character she's playing?
Listen again and check.
But Judith has a successful acting career.
Right now, she's on a film shoot.
She is playing a firefighter.
OK. So Judith is playing a firefighter.
Rob But wait, hold on a minute Catherine.
There's something strange about that word fire -fighter.
Catherine Yes, indeed.
A waiter is a man and a police woman is a woman.
What about a fire -fighter?
Man or woman? Rob Well, in fact the word fire -fighter is the same for a man or a woman.
More and more, in modern English, people prefer to use words for jobs which are the same for both sexes.
Catherine They do. For example, some people prefer not to use the word actress.
They just like to use the word actor for a man or a woman.
And instead of policeman or policewoman, we can say police officer.
That's good for a man or a woman too.
And that's why we say firefighter.
We don't say fireman, firewoman, we just use firefighter these days for everyone.
And we're talking about job words that change depending on whether a man or woman is doing the job.
And job words that are the same for both men and women.
Those are my preferred options.
What about you Rob?
I think it's easier and less complicated to use those sort of generic words.
Yeah, like presenter.
Like presenter, not presenteress or anything.
Indeed. Yes. And in fact some job titles that used to be different for men and women are now being replaced by a single job title for both sexes.
So, for example, on planes in the past, we had stewards and stewardesses looking after the passengers, but now Rob, we just have… We just have flight attendants.
And instead of a chairman or chairwoman in charge of a formal meeting, these days we often hear the word chairperson.
Yes. Or even just chair.
OK. Right. So, now it's time to see how much you can remember.
And we've got three quiz questions for you.
Number one, if the word for a man is businessman, what's the word for a woman?
And the answer is businesswoman.
Second, if the word for a woman is waitress, what's the word for a man?
Waiter. Right and just one more question – if a man can be a policeman and a woman can be a policewoman, what's the word it's equally good for a man or a woman.
Rob It's police officer.
Did you get all those right?
Well done if you did.
Catherine And before we go, here's a top tip to help you learn your vocabulary more effectively.
Rob When you're out and about, walking down the street or sitting on the bus, notice the people you see and say the words for them to yourself in English like waitress or police officer.
Catherine Or presenter.
Indeed. There's more about this at bbclearningenglish .com.
Join us again soon for more 6 Minute Vocabulary.
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