7: Neil: Welcome to 6 Minute English. In this

9: programme we bring you an expressive topic

11: and six items of vocabulary. I'm Neil.

14: Tim: And I'm Tim. So, we had an argument just before

20: we started the show.

21: Neil: We did, Tim. But no hard feelings?

25: Tim: None. No hard feelings is something you say

29: to somebody you have argued with to say you'd still like

32: to be friends. We often fall out

35: over silly things.

36: Neil: Like who's going to introduce the show.

38: Tim: Or who's going to choose the quiz question.

40: Neil: But we understand each other. That's the important

43: thing, isn't it? To fall out with somebody by the

46: way, is another way of saying to argue or disagree

49: with them. Did you know that you wave your arms

51: around a lot when you're arguing, Tim?

53: Tim: No, I didn't know I did that.

56: Neil: That isn't very British.

58: Tim: I know. Using gestures, or movements you make

63: with your hands or your head to express what you are

65: thinking of feeling is common in some

68: countries but not in others. Then there are

71: some movements, like shaking your head, which

74: mostly means 'no' but in some countries can mean the

77: opposite. Neil: That's right. In which country does

81: shaking your head mean 'yes', Tim? Is it?

84: a) Greece,

85: b) Japan or c) Bulgaria?

88: Tim: No idea. I'll guess Greece. I do know that

93: in India people shake their heads to mean

95: lots of different things.

97: Neil: There are plenty of gestures you need to be

99: careful with when you're meeting and greeting people

101: from a culture that's different to

103: your own, to avoid offending people or making an

105: awkward faux pas.

107: Tim: If you make a faux pas it means you say or

111: do something embarrassing in a social situation.

114: For example, our every day use of the thumbs-up

118: signal might offend people from the Middle East.

121: Neil: And to offend means to make somebody angry

124: or upset.

125: Tim: Let's hear now from Business Professor Erin

128: Meyer talking about how easy it is to misunderstand

132: why some people behave the way they do in everyday

135: situations when we don't belong to the same culture.

139: Professor Erin Meyer: A while ago I was in Dubai

143: and one of my Emirati

145: students was driving me home after a session and the

148: car stopped at a light and she rolled

151: down her window, and she started shouting at someone

152: outside of the window. This guy

154: was crossing the street with a big box of

157: cloth. And he started shouting back, and she

159: opened up the door, and they started gesticulating and

163: shouting at one another. And I thought,

165: wow, they're having a huge fight, I thought

167: maybe he was going to hit her. And she got

169: back in the car, and I said, well, what were you fighting

171: about? And she said, 'Oh no,

173: we weren't fighting, he was giving me directions to

175: your hotel. And I thought that was a great example of

179: how someone from another culture may misperceive or

183: misunderstand something as a fight when in fact they

187: were just being emotionally expressive. '

191: Neil: Gesticulating. What does that mean?

193: Tim: It means what I was doing earlier! Waving

195: your arms around to express what you're feeling.

199: Neil: Erin Meyer was worried because her student

202: and the man on the street were shouting and

204: gesticulating at each other. She thought they

206: were having a fight when in fact they were

207: just being emotionally expressive.

210: Tim: And expressive means showing what you think

213: or feel.

214: Neil: You were nodding in agreement, there, Tim.

217: Which reminds me of our quiz question. In which

219: country does shaking your head mean

221: 'yes'? Is it? a) Greece, b) Japan or c) Bulgaria?

226: Tim: I said Greece.

228: Neil: That's the wrong answer I'm afraid. The right

231: answer is Bulgaria. In some Southeastern European

235: areas such as Bulgaria and southern Albania,

238: shaking your head is used to indicate 'yes'.

240: In those regions, nodding in fact means 'no'

244: as well.

245: Tim: OK, I hope I remember that next time I meet

247: somebody from Southeastern Europe.

250: OK, shall we look back at the words we learned today?

253: Neil: No hard feelings is something you say to

255: somebody you have argued with or

256: beaten in a game or contest to say you'd still like

260: to be friends.

261: Tim: For example, I always get the quiz questions

264: right, unlike you Neil. But no hard feelings, OK?

269: Neil: That's not a very realistic example, Tim,

272: But I'll let it go. Number two... to fall out

275: with somebody means to argue or disagree

277: with them.

278: Tim: I fell out with my best friend at school.

281: We didn't talk to each other for a whole week!

283: Neil: That must've been a serious disagreement,

285: Tim! What were you arguing about?

287: Tim: I can't remember. It was a long time ago.

291: Number three, a 'gesture' is a movement you make with

294: your hands or head to express what

297: you are thinking of feeling.

298: Neil: She opened her arms wide in a gesture

301: of welcome.

301: Tim: Or the verb: 'I gestured to Neil that we only

305: had one minute left to finish the show!'

307: Neil: Is that true, Tim? You're nodding your head,

311: but we should also quickly mention 'gesticulate' which

313: means to make gestures with your hands

315: or arms!

316: Tim: A 'faux pas' is saying or doing something

319: embarrassing in a social situation. For example, I

323: committed a serious faux pas at a party

325: last night that I'm too embarrassed to tell

327: you about!

328: Neil: Oh dear, Tim. I hope you didn't offend too

331: many people - 'offend' is our next word and it means to

333: make somebody angry or upset

336: Tim: Well, you've given us a good example already,

339: Neil, so let's move on to the final word - 'expressive',

343: which means showing what you think or feel.

345: Neil: Tim has a very expressive face.

348: Tim: Thanks! Another quick example - 'I waved my

351: hand expressively to signal to Neil that it

353: was time to finish the show.

355: Neil: Taking my cue from Tim, that's all for

358: today. But please remember to check out our Instagram,

360: Twitter, Facebook and YouTube pages.

364: Both: Bye!