Show 148 Thursday 28 September

Watch today's show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Intro

Hi, I’m Sarah. This is The Daily English Show.
So yesterday I talked about bro’Town.
And I found a glossary on their site for some words that they use in the show.
hese are some of the words on that list:

Ow: a word or sound often used to end a sentence for emphasis
Fah! An expression of surprise or incredulity
Fa’afafine: A man who is like a woman
Shot! A congratulatory expression meaning “Good one!” or “Well done!”
Pash: slang term for French-kissing

I like the word pash – I’m not sure if it’s New Zealand English or not... snog is also a good word.
And remember words like “ow” are not standard New Zealand English, so don’t go using them in your university essays or something.

I read some of the comments on the Internet Movie Database too about bro’Town and somebody commented that they thought it was racist. But I don’t think it is. I think it’s mocking racial stereotypes rather than the actual races themselves.

And I think they do a pretty good job of mocking all the stereotypes fairly equally.
For example my ethnicity – I’m pakeha – which basically means white New Zealander. And if you know anything about New Zealand history you’ll know that British people went to NZ – they had some fights with Maori – and then they signed a treaty in 1840 to make things equal. And the British government said that they would only buy land fairly – and then they just stole it.
So in one episode a woman teaches her nephew to say “bloody thieving colonialists”.

STICK NEWS

Kia Ora. In Stick News today Junichiro Koizumi is no longer the prime minister of Japan. Two days ago a new prime minister was elected. His name is Shinzo Abe.

Shinzo Abe is 52. He’s Japan’s youngest post-World War II prime minister and the first born after the war.
Abe was born in Nagato. He studied at Seikei University in Japan, then at the University of Southern California in the United States.
He then worked at Kobe Steel for a few years before getting into politics.
He was no stranger to politics. His father and grandfather were both politicians and his mother’s father and uncle were both prime ministers.
It doesn’t sound like China and Korea are going to be too happy about Abe’s appointment. On his official website he denies that Japanese troops used military sexual slaves during World War 2.
His wife Akie is a fan of Korean pop culture, particularly the actor Bae Yong Joon. Her father is the president of the sweet company Morinaga, and she has worked in advertising and radio.

Abe also wants to change article 9 of the Japanese constitution. Article 9 is the chapter which is supposed to prevent Japan from attacking other countries.
And that was Stick News for Thursday 28th of September.
Kia Ora.

conversations with sarah
# 98 Is bro’Town easy to understand?

Maki and Sarah talk about bro’Town.
Step 1: Repeat Maki’s lines.
Step 2: Read Maki’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.

Maki Is bro’Town easy to understand?

Sarah There are some New Zealand English words that you might not understand at first, like Kumara, marae, hui...

Maki How about the plot?

Sarah The basic story lines are pretty simple. But some of the finer points might be harder to understand.

Maki Why is that?

Sarah There are a lot of cultural references that you probably wouldn’t understand if you don’t know much about New Zealand. And there are also references to current events ...

Maki What kind of current events?

Sarah Ah, in one episode in season two they find a baby and then they call the police. And the police say “call back if you find a baby of another ethnicity and we’ll send a taxi”.

Maki Why would they send a taxi?

Sarah Um, that’s referring to something that happened a couple of years ago. A woman was in trouble and she called the police and then they ... They had a police car available, but they sent a taxi instead for some reason, and it went to the wrong address and then she disappeared.

Notes

Music on the show used with permission from magnatune.com and jamendo.com

Artist: Saelynh
Album: Sensation electronique
Track: Museum H.M
site
music at jamendo

Today's news.

bro'Town glossary