How do posh people speak? Learn about language and social class in England
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- Опубликовано: 6 июн 2024
- How do posh people talk? This lesson is all about posh people in England! How do they talk? What kind of jobs do they have? What kind of lives do they live? I will explain what it means to speak and act like a posh English person in terms of social class and family background. I will also give you some examples of British actors, such as Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley who, in most of their films, play the parts of posh people. You will also learn about Nancy Mitford’s “U” and “Non-U” language. She was an English journalist and novelist who wrote about posh people in the 1950s. Though society is always changing, awareness of class and the language associated with class is still very important in England, so if you’re studying English or just interested in English culture, watch this video.
Take the quiz: www.engvid.com/how-do-posh-pe...
Next, watch my video on how to pronounce British place names! ruclips.net/video/AW3KJB6CuJA/видео.html
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Next, watch my video on how to pronounce British place names! ruclips.net/video/AW3KJB6CuJA/видео.html
ok,my sweetheart
Hello Jade, thanks to a post this lovely video, I am watching this video. Especially now we are in seconds locked down in London 😂. And I know that you are from London.
I love you so much ❤️🌷😍
Ok teacher..
hi are you there
She’s changed so much since the London Slang Video 🤣
Ken
🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@DesiireOTW I like this one. 😂😂
She looks like she is hitting 45 and married with 3 kids while in the London slang video, she looked like she was in her early 30s.
She’s even more attractive imo
Not many teachers are willing to talk this topic because they don't wanna be criticised, but you gave us some general, neutral facts here to let us, outsider of UK, know the real life, so thank you for making this video.
As an English person I've always assumed that all nationalities have some kind of social stratification like this.
@@ionariddle4823 They do.
@@ionariddle4823 In China, we don't have sociolects based on social stratification, but discriminations do occur through regional accents.
@@ionariddle4823this is so stupid, old fashioned idea that people should be classified into social groups based on their birth
I've met "posh" people with the manners of pigs and working class people with lovely manners.
It can be other way around as nothing is strictly black and white.
@@redbaron9029 that's what I was saying. Her saying posh people use a napkin, working class people use their sleeve. I was somewhat offended by that. All people can be rude and arrogant or be well mannered.
Class is a title but mostly not one is born with, unfortunately
@@sallysimpson4756 of course anybody can be rude or polite, but "rude" literally means untrained or crude, and the rough generalisation can be informative however crass. On the whole, upper class people are often likely to be less stressed and better educated, and to act and speak accordingly. It is politically incorrect to say so without qualification, but still helpful and instructive.
@@suzipam1234 Not sure I understand you, surely we are born into a particular social class ?
Jade i think we need a new london slang video
😂😂😂😂😂
Why?
Ayee
Lool
She made a new channel!
I like how genuine Jade is in her videos as if she was talking to a real person as well. Very refreshing to see a presentation like this.
I'm from the US, a native speaker and I teach ESL as well. This video was so interesting to me! I didn't really get how deep the class system goes in England. I also think it's funny that so many of the words that the NonU people used in 1955 are the words we use in America for those things! What the posh English people must have thought of us Americans back then.... 😂
The English immigrants to America were not in the predicament of later waves of immigrants; they were landowners, colonists, to begin with - and thus many Americans have retained Elizabethan spellings and mannerisms. Some erroneous additions have been made, of course, just as they were in England.
not just back then :) until now :D lol
I'm Canadian and this is hilarious to me because it's such a mix of "posh" and lower-class, and then our own little weird things like "washroom". I've been fooling Americans with a British accent and I accidentally used it on an English person so I pretended I was coughing because I knew and know I can't imitate a culture established over a thousand years
@@alexisericson241 that's funny 😂
Still do, I’m afraid ;)
If you want to emulate the speech of the upper classes then with good practise you may achieve a passable level, but it's not likely to fool those who are born into the upper class. You would also have to learn behavioural patterns, non-verbal communication and forms of conversation that might be at odds with your personality. It's a bit like scooping out everything in your brain that you've learned up to this point then filling it with the phantom education you've never had, the phantom friends you've never had, the phantom upbringing you've never had and the phantom tastes you have never acquired. Of course you could affect a demeanor that might trick those far down the social scale but it may be more problematic to glide naturally and consistently into a social class that you consider above you. This was illustrated perfectly in the film "The Remains of the Day" where the butler was considered by the working class locals as an upper class gentleman but a doctor (m.c.) could perceive that this wasn't the case. But if your goal is simply to improve aspects of yourself, then good luck in your efforts.
A well put-together comment
I just rented the film from youtube just for your comment. The character Mr. Stevens played by Anthony Hopkins would be considered to have a rather posh accent along with mannerism, behavioral patterns, non-verbal communication, and vocabulary. Why, because he been working in the institute for three decades surrounded by very posh people hearing as well as conscious and unconscious absorbing the way they speak, their vocabulary, the way their pause, and the way they move, body language, the way they stand, etc.
It is one of the reasons why he speaks posh and the younger members of the butler staff speak with a cockney accent, they have not been there that long for their accents to change. When he first started working there he probably spoke with a cockney accent, how do we know this because his father when speaking to other members of staff speaks with a cockney accent, this was evident when he was telling his story at the dinner table but when speaking with his boss he tries to speak posh. However, this is not the case with Mr. Stevens regardless of who he is speaking to his accent does not change from posh
To fit he probably began to imitate them and over time it just became the norm for him which is why he speaks quite posh but effortlessly (The only thing missing is the knowledge on the subject matter which is why he could not answer the question on Foreign affairs when he was asked by those pompous fools in the library study.) It the same way a child would absorb the way the parents speak and move without even trying. Even on my best day and on his worse day his accent will still be posher than mine. If you think about people with a working-class accent can literally change their accent when they study at Oxford in order to try and fit in and that is over the course of four years imagine if they have been there for three decades.
Yes, the local in the pub were fooled and I go as far as to say that Dr was fooled at least up to the point one of the locals said that Mr. Steven knew a man called Edgar, this is when Dr reaction changed and he said really and at this point, the character played by Anthony Hopkin knew that Doctor knew that he did not know Edgar so he made an excuse and left. I guess the Dr most have heard or knows Edgar as well as been versed in politics.
Later in the car, it seemed like the Dr was testing him by asking a question like did you know Mr and Mrs so and so and how were they like, and based on his response he concluded that he was a manservant. He even said that he could see why the locals could have mistaken Mr. Stevens for been part of the upper class which is a compliment.
In conclusion what I am saying the Dr did not know based on his accent but rather on his answers and knowledge. If you recall Mr. Steven was sidestepping the questions, he also kept ending every response with yes sir. This process has been ingrained because of his job and he probably did not know he was ending his response with yes sir. Posh people don't end their responses to one another with yes sir. The funny thing when he was speaking to the locals he never ended his response with yes sir nor did insert a sir or madam in his sentence no matter who asked him the question. It was the local who always inserted a sir in their sentences whenever they asked him a question but when the Dr arrived it was Anthony Hopkin who inserted a sir or even ended his sentences with yes sir lol. Recall the doctor was considerably younger than Anthony Hopkins character so the doctor should be the one calling him sir not the other way round unless it was his job.
This might not work for everyone else recall Mr. Steven worked as Butler surrounded by Rich posh people for decades. He worked probably 14 hours a day listening to posh people speak and seeing how they move, enunciate, annunciate, and then he himself had to enunciate his word in a clear precise manner, he certainly got a lot of practice and over time it became the norm. Lol, he might as well have gone to school there. He also reads a lot, there was a scene in the film where the housekeeper walks in on him reading a book which he tries to hide. Because he tries to hide the book she mistakes it for a saucy book eventually he reveals the book to her and tells her that in his private time he likes to read in order to perfect his command of the English language and that he is currently improving himself.
For anyone else, all they have is the internet, youtube, etc and that is about it where there practice maybe 15 minutes a day, they don't see how posh people move except for maybe clips in films and when they do try to talk posh to a posh person they can see the difference and then call them out on it
My Fair Lady was a lesson in speech as well. It's hard to pull off being well-bred when you are not.
The Dr knew Stevens (Anthony Hopkins) was of a lower class and confronted him with the question was he some sort of manservant because Stevens kept addressing the Dr "sir" when they were together in the Dr's car.
@@cainabel2009 'remains of the day' is one of my favorite films of all time . in that scene you mention in the study with the pompous gentlemen , i believe stevens didnt ansswer not because he didnt have an opinion , thé way stevens handled the hole situation basically responded to étiquette reasons, not lack of éducation on thé matter or lack of brains.
Jobs are one thing, language and accent are other things. They don’t always correlate. Class is certainly not occupation, it is ideas, humour, interests, education and much much more. And vocabulary is very important.
Class is a club.
If the upper class people were poor, they'd be pitied (at least by the kind-hearted), not emulated. They acquire many of those upper class qualities because a lot of money was spent, on things like expensive schools, hobbies like horse riding, tennis lessons, ski trips, foreign language tutors, foreign travel, etc. What's surprising is that the class system still seems to be accepted so unquestioningly by so many English people. I guess the simplest explanation is that most like it that way
@@enriqueali the class system is accepted/implemented everywhere, not only in England.
For example, go to Italy, Romania, Ireland, Spain, Greece, or even Saudi Arabia, and try and act as an upper class citizen ... With zero $ in your bank account and no formal education ...
What an excellent definition Richard! The same applies to the very vague concept of "gentleman". There is a magnificent book on that subject called "The English Gentleman" by Philip Mason.
Class is a subculture - the way you speak, dress, the foods you eat, your social manners and how you interact with others, the sports you play or follow, the entertainments you enjoy, everything about you. Occupation and money are somewhat correlated with class, but they are not what determine it. You could be a wealthy CEO of a major international corporation, yet be unmistakably working class.
When you're English, you know exactly what Orwell meant when he said his childhood family was "lower-upper-middle class".
Come back Jade! We miss you!!! (Speaking for everyone)
isn't Jade Joddle - Speak Well an another channel?
I’m American. House and home are two different things. A house is a structure. It can be lived in or empty, but the structure is still a house. Home is where you are comfortable. Where you live with your family and create memories.
It's the same everywhere, depends on context really
She did say it was 1955 England. I'm not British so I don't know how "home" was/is used there. In the US a house is a building and home is a sense of where you belong. But real estate agents call houses "homes" to make them sound fancy and worth a higher price -- exactly like what Mitford said about non-U usage. So some of these apply even in 2020s USA, where we don't have England's class structure.
@@sluggo206 hello, I'm Irish (in case, you didn't know and most Americans don't, we are independent from the UK since 1922!) and although, we are a totally different country, we do share some similarities such as, clothing styles, many TV shows (Irish people have the most popular English TV stations, I don't know if they have ours though), movies, popular music (Irish are famous for our traditional music that is not English), some sports but we have traditional Gaelic sports such as Gaelic football, hurling and camogie (hurling for women), many foods we have in common (most American type dinners for example, would be foreign to both our nations, even down to how you'd present a dinner!). We would not pile on many dishes , on the one plate ie. Pasta with sauce, mash, sticky looking ribs (we don't usually even eat ribs!) green beans (we rarely eat those and we don't make a casserole from them either!). For us, the pasta dish ie carbonara, would be the actual meal! Another thing, I notice is you guys mix many meats on one plate too! Unless, it's a fry (sausages & rashers together etc) we usually don't mix them. I've seen pork chops, ribs and chicken legs plus all the other bits of meals, all on the same American plate! We often don't find the look of them, appetising! Then, you've are they 'chitterlings' and that bologna and spam too. We don't eat those. I digress, sorry, in answer to your query, the word 'home' is used colloquially, in the same manner as you'd use it, as an American.
That’s how You see it in USA, and they see it in UK as they want.
This is an accurate distinction. Yet even in the US, there is a tendency among social strivers to overuse the term ‘home’ in places where ‘house’ would be more appropriate - as in, buying a ‘home’, when what one actually purchases is the house. Which I find interesting. Also, in the US, I suspect that ‘sofa’ may be more of an ambitious person’s term than the simpler ‘couch’.
Delightful! Jade, you are a master communicator in every respect. Watching you as well as listening and interpreting is a joy!
What you're saying (according to Nancy Mitford) is proven here in Sri Lanka to be true. The English spoken here is the English the British left behind when Sri Lanka gained her independence in late 40's. And since the ruling class were the 'posh' English, words like 'frocks', 'spectacles', 'lavatory' , 'looking glass' and the like are very much still the norm. As an English teacher, it's an uphill struggle to get them to update their vocabulary.
But as a Sri Lankan, I must say; I love those 'old fashioned' words. 😄 Maybe it's just me. We were all taught to pronounce 'flour' as 'fla' at school and I'm still sticking to it. 😁
"Update?" I mean, it sounds like they have a distinct dialect of English, and while they can be made aware of different vocabulary, there's nothing to "update."
Why should they "update" anything? Should for exempla Americans or Britons update their laguage to the other standard? Or should people from, say, Yorkshire update to the speech of London? Or what should they update to? Posh RP?
@@Zalmoksis44 Britons and Americans are constantly ‘updating’ their language. No language remains frozen in time…unless it was imported. I understand your sentiments for trying to validate every one and take away ownership from the big, bad west, but that wasn’t my intention in the first place. (And also I think it’s quite patronizing for the ones you are jumping to defend)
@@nedasamimi4022 but the question still remains for me though. I'm Desi Indian and it sounds strange to talk about struggling to update the English of South Asia as if it's not been updated or remains "frozen" when what I hear is remnants of what was left quilted and sewn into the present day to suit our purposes, thank you very much. Indian English is a valid and evolving dialect in it's own right, what is there to update?
The gestures you make are funny and interesting at the same time, which made me watch the whole video and of course learned everything that you taught. Thank you!
I'm Swedish from upper middle class bakground. Posh people genreally don't talk about money like that! Discussing your own or someone else's wealth is very tacky and not just done!
very true, you dont discuss money ever
That is what I always thought swedish people talked about over coffee and cardamom buns at fika! What on earth is there to talk about if not for thy neighbor's wallet. The weather? Just kidding
Like the old saying "Old money whispers, new money screams". That is certainly the case here in the US.
@@rknrlgrl6146 Love that saying. It´s so true, and probably applies to all countries, not just the US. Never heard it before. Thanks for sharing.
@@IAmLookingForwardToDeath oh yes...could definitely apply to many other countries as well. :)
I just stumbled on to your channel. I am not a native English speaker, but have lived in US for many years. I have to say I am really enjoying watching/listening to you talk about British culture through your language lessons. It has almost a calming therapeutic effect on me to hear you narrate these vignettes of British life.
Something I do appreciate about these videos, other than the content itself, is the absence of those irritating million cuts other youtubers need to be able to put a 5 word sentence together. Regardless of whether that became some sort of a trend or style, whatever happened to being able to have just well prepared content you can discuss without resorting to that many edits?
I agree
I also agree
Oh, I just love the way you teach. I'm having a great time watching your lessons. Thank's a lot Jade!
I'm a Spanish-native speaker, from Equador, living now in Brazil. In Equador, too, upper-class people from the Andes, not from the coastal areas, would avoid at all costs the 'rr' pronunciation as the indigenous people do. And you too can tell the class origin of someone by the way they talk and their accent. Very interesting lesson.
Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced “Bouquet”) is the perfect example of a climber (but of course she’s climbing from her WC level background and trying way too hard). Great comedy that pokes fun at the entire class system. And then there’s the classic My Fair Lady, which is about trying to teach someone from the Precariat to sound posh - and succeeding!
Hyacinth has a set of Royal Dulton with hand-painted periwinkles, and a sister with a Mercedes, sauna, and room for a pony!
I feel it incumbent upon me! to point out that Keeping up Appearances is specifically about a woman born and raised in Liverpool who rose to live in the Wirral. Only those of similar background can understand what that means!
@@L35inColorado 😂
Brilliant description of British class and the difficulties in trying to get out of the class system, or improve oneself. I’m from Sheffield, comprehensive school, but still middle class due to University education and climbing the ladder in science.
God that is sad, I am in Ireland we have no class system like that tg
You mean English class.
So the farmer in Kerry and the lad straight out of trinity from gonzaga college is part of the same class? 🤨
Mrs Bucket from keeping up appearances wil love this! lol
Puhleez - it’s Boo-quay!! LOL!
Hyacinth B is pure gold !
Jade, I'm posh and I think I use words as I please, not as some kind of cultural dictate. Most of what you present is accurate, but not all of it. I think the whole concept of posh and not-posh is very outdated. My wife is definitely not posh, but she makes me feel so inadequate and worthless at times, by her values. Are you worth something by what you do or do not project or do you need to be judged by how you speak? I know it is not the latter.
Jade: you are an amazing teacher; you walk us along the subject making interesting side comments but never deviating from the thread, and you explain every part clearly yet politely. I also enjoyed this lesson, as the phenomon (the imitation of the upper classes' speech by the "aspiring" lower classes) takes places in other cultures as well (probably in every one), so as I was hearing you I was drawing a parallell with my own. God bless you!
butterz ur butterz
I hope you’re okay jade. Keep safe during pandemic 😷pls come back❤️
She has another channel! She is posting there, it is called Jade Joddle - Speak Well.
@@MFreedoom I've been wondering about that , didn't know she's got another channel which I just came through recently. You just made sure about it .
@@MFreedoom 👌👌👌 thanks!
Really interesting lesson . I love the way you make us understand something . Thank you so much .
i refuse to believe this is the same woman from the slang video
Same 😂
Thanks for sharing all of these contents, Jade!
You helped me a lot when I was learning English. Thank you Jade!
I have never been explained this before and I think it's really important for understanding the English culture. Thank you so much!
Perfect topic for people trying to study English. You are a brave teacher. You are feeling well what we need.
Not all actors who play posh parts are from posh backgrounds. And 70% of students at Oxford University were educated at state schools. They are not by any means all like the Riot Club. Jade explains things that are very complex and nuanced as if they are black and white. The description of categories of class are very simplistic. I don’t see nurses and teachers as bring in different classes. And no-one becomes Upper Class. You are either born into it or not. But people can move between the other social classes, although it doesn’t happen much.
Years ago, I was watching a "60 Minutes" segment on Michael Caine. I was quite surprised to learn that Michael Caine was born into a "lower class" family (his father worked on a wharf or similar.) Additionally when casting for the movie Zulu (1964) had the director for that movie been British, Michael Caine would not have been allowed to play the role of a British Army Officer.
Why?
Wrong Class.
But the director for Zulu was American (Cyril Raker Endfield, born in Pennsylvania, died in England). As far as that American director was concerned, Michael Caine could play the part of a British Officer.
Talk about a rigid class system!
It was surprising to hear teachers as upper middle class. In the US public (state) school teachers have low pay so they have low status. Many people realize this is wrong and teachers should be paid more and treated like doctors or engineers, but many people don't want their taxes to increase so it doesn't happen.
I'm homeless but I speak middle class, that's what I used to be, now I'm classless 🙁
and you aren't youtubeless -)
lol, yet you are spending your money on internet cafe to write this message on youtube lol
Good luck bro. If you were middle class dont give up. Do right and try to work hard if you can. I was in your situation and pulled myself up. Then I inherited a large house by a lake on a golf course. You never know whats next. Just do right and the gods will help you.
Butters your butters
@@cainabel2009 don’t be insensitive, they could be trying to actually learn something here
Thank you Jade for another great lesson. I've read "Watching the English" and the author talks about this topic. Thanks again
Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour is a bestseller written by an English anthropologist Kate Fox. One of the chapters is Linguistic Class Codes. Interesting, worth reading.
Absolutely. E.g. what she said about "tea" is hilarious, since I heard the sentence "enjoy your tea" (meaning: "enjoy your supper") at around 8 PM from my taxi driver who brought me home from the airport - just after I had read the passage in her book.
Yes, and very funny too 😀
@@user-jp2zw4kw3y The usage of "tea" is already a class thing. For the working class "tea" means supper, for the upper class it means afternoon tea, they would have their supper later in the evening.
Thank you- ordered the book!
Thank you
It’s not easy to distinguish between U and non-U words. I think I’d better watch this lesson again to understand more. Thanks for the superb lesson and I learned an interesting history of English today.
Your video awakes memories of a visit to the South of England Show in Ardingly. A Rolls-Royce pulled up, a child stepped out dressed in Lord Fauntleroy garb, closely followed by the father in Morning Dress. The child started to run away, stopped by his father shouting: “Ge bak eer yoo litool bugga”. The nouveau riche had arrived.
When you are learning a language, you also have to learn about the different aspects of the culture where it is spoken.
Jade, You are great! Thanks for the lesson :)
It's funny, you'll find that intelligent kids from working class backgrounds still tend to sound more middle class and defined than those from the same area.
I think I fit into that group. I often got beaten up just for having a wider vocab and a different accent style.
@@rajekamar8473 S'funny how marked the imagined class divide still is. If you sound middle class, they think you are the enemy.
Thank you. It serms that through the use of working class’ language register (manners) by U people could be turning the social classes’ language aspect, whilst Upper-Middle and Middle people would have occupied the langiuage environment left by the Upper by toiling to improve, according to their criteria, their language register. It looks like a huge carrousel of language-aocial ranking in progress since 1955. Besides, you could be an extraordinary comedy actress, you have two qualities for: intelligence and a casual sense of humour. THANKS for this wit video!
Thank you for interesting lesson. It’s useful to know about synonyms, cos I’m always wondering which word matches more suitable in English
“U” and “Non-U” words aside, British English always sounds smart. I’m Italian and I think Italian is a wonderful language. It’s just a pity that we don’t use latin words and phrases on a regular basis: it would easily fit in the language and would make it a lot smarter. A lot like in english, latin says a lot with very few words. That’s smart.
Could you give us an example?
@@stuartredman1550 A couple examples? Let’s see…How about “Esse quam videri”? That would be “ To be, rather than to seem” (Italian: “essere più che sembrare”). Another could be “nihil ed nihilo” (out of nothing, nothing is produced; Italian: “nulla viene dal nulla”).
@@davidecappelli9961 You think these Italian words easily fit in everyday English? Maybe I'm wrong, so mea culpa. (that is Latin, I know).
@@stuartredman1550 I don’t know if they fit in every day english, probably not so much, but I said that Latin phrases would easily fit in everyday Italian. Some italian do use them on a regular basis, but depends on the schools they did etc…I studied Latin 5 years. All the famous difficulty with the cases etc…it’s greatly overcome by the total similarity of most words and verbs with their Italian counterpart. Ad maiora!
@@davidecappelli9961 I misunderstood your text "it would easily fit in the language". I thought you meant English with "the language".
you are the real queen, Jade! Keep up the good work
Very interesting! Growing up in the 1980s learning English only at school, I find it quite amusing that I was only ever taught the U words in the classroom. All the words you listed in the non-U column were words I learnt and picked up in real life since I moved to live in English speaking countries including England. For years and years even now, I found it very confusing constantly not knowing which word with whom and where or why to use. Like growing up I was taught to use the word “sick” only (“ill” was wrong), I only started using the word “ill” when everybody around me use it to describe what the word “sick” I was taught means. Other words that have confused my whole life include most of the words you listed, such as napkin, toilet (yes I was taught exactly the word “toilet” is low, you don’t say it), sofa, false teeth, etc…
Are you from Hong Kong?
Hi there, I'm Meiri from Brazil!
While I was watching to this class, I realized that some of the words I use to communicate in English (except for the expression "looking glass" because I tend to use the word "mirror") are considered as being posh. And this reminds me of a situation when people told me I was trying to be posh. But in my case, the way I speak is not to impress people. Indeed, that was the way I could learn from the booklets I read. During the time I was at school, there were not as many instructional materials as we have nowadays with the adventure of RUclips🥰. So my learning experience with the English language was almost always focused on reading and copying from books. Well, it was great to see there are different "layers of language" and understand that I can use them according to the environment and message I want to convey.
Many thanks!
I was watching your videos and I wished to watch a new lesson. A new notification from your channel 👍🏻❤️😃
Thanks Jade! It was an interesting lesson!
Hi Jade, it’s really nice to see you!!
Excellent video!!!! Love how u teach and explain everything.
About Beckhams, their class would be rather considered as "celebrity status", which is quite independent from any social consideration...
Commoners with money = "new money"
@@enyawrebbuj9458 good definition
@@enyawrebbuj9458 nouveau riche
does it change when they obtain knighthood? For example, Sir Paul McCartney?
@@jenniferariesta6464 Nope
The class system in England is more subtle than you think, and it comes down to "breeding" rather than wealth. Just because you've got millions in the bank and ten different houses, went to the "right" private school and talk with a posh accent - doesn't mean you're upper class. The genuine upper class (old money) are as comfortable talking to the local tramp as they are talking to the Queen of England..... they may have a brand new rolls-royce in the garage and hand made Saville Row suits in the wardrobe, but they drive around in a knackered old LandRover , wear worn out patched-up clothes every day, have loads of dogs and treat people as (kind of) equals. They have no reason to put on airs and grace's to convince anyone of anything, 'cos thier class is in thier blood. Whereas the "wannabe's"(new money) would never even talk to people they consider beneath them (which is practically everyone), and spend alot of time and money trying to project the "right" image. ...and end up looking vulgar and cheap because of it ! They act like they're upper class,but they have NO class. It can all be quite confusing to an outsider, but believe me when i say it's real.....Anyway, I'm what they call the "underclass" so none of it really affects me - boom or bust, I'll allways be skint! X
I'd have never imagined my language being "so posh", but thanks to my ESL teacher, back in 2004, I was the one to surprise Londoners with a looking glass, and I didn't catch it untill today, thank you
you probably got your first English lessons back in the USSR ;0 I had the same problem with using words like lavatory, looking glass, spectacles ...
Always love your videos! This one is brill, ta! ;-)
Your classes are amazing! Congrats from Brazil! 🇧🇷
Hi 🌺🌺Carolina I'm single🔥🌹 for💖🔥🌹 your love
It was a very interesting lesson. Thank you! 😊
Just subscribed to your channel, love the way you explain, thanks for sharing.
I am grateful for this video. I did enjoy it!
You literally taught me how to pronounce words properly.. Forever grateful for your videos❤💛💚
You need to be careful when saying speaking 'properly'. You are discriminating against a lot of other speakers, insinuating that they do not speak properly, when it's really just a question of accent and dialect
@@jonathanbrett-warren2031 Yeah thanks for that. I used properly simply because English really isn't my first language. I'm not a native speaker by default. But thanks for pointing that out.
@@jonathanbrett-warren2031 she can say whatever she wants, we are tired of people like you policing even language, just because of this I will say it again: the way she says it it is THE PROPER way and we all should speak like that, it would give us class something you clearly lack
@@jonathanbrett-warren2031
You are on spot. Thank you.
@@theozchannel6253 Why? People can speak however they want as long as it is a dialect. I feel like it’s not great to speak improperly if you don’t speak a dialect & just Standard English, but if you have a dialect, you can’t really help that
I tell you bluntly, without frills) Thank you very much!
The accent of this teacher is very nice. I really like it.
You are wonderful! I really enjoyed your lesson!
That's a wonderful video to understand more about British society and language ;)
Nice to see Jade again
Hello, My name is Rauf, I am from Azerbaijan. I am trying to learn English, Can you practice with me? You can write to instagram to contact me : @baabayeff
Yes indeed,...it helps put "language" in its context.
Like most things , it is dependent on surrounding factors, in this case: social-setting. Fascinating.
Kade, thanks from. South Africa 🌍
amazing lectures thanks for uploading
Thank you teacher you have the gift of teaching I graduated 8 years ago from the British school of international languages, learning another language is amazing and wonderful, now I am learning Japanese, to all the beautiful people in the chat, I wish you all good luck.
Thanks for interesting lesson!
I haven't lived in England since 2010 but I can still provide a complete psychological and biographical profile of a person based on hearing their accent for 10 seconds.
What a rudiculous claim.
I learned something new today; I never realised that my family and I used to speak upper class English, although we're not upper class 🤔.
We don't used those words any longer such as lavotary, drawing room, napkin, and looking glass etc. By the way, I was born in 1955.
I do appreciate you taking the time to make this video. Thank you; stay safe and God bless 🙏
I thoroughly enjoy your videos. Awesome!
Hi, Jade! You are an excellent teacher. Watching your videos over the years I've learned much about modern British English. Couldn't you do some more lessons on British contemporary culture and history? It would be incredibly interesting and useful information. So, thank you very much, dear! Good luck! p.s. sorry for my "Non U" language 🙂
I'm from a region in Colombia (Valle del Cauca) that used to have a massive number of slaves. It must be quite unique worldwide in terms that, today, both the upper class and the lower class, unfortunately mostly descendant from slaves, have pretty much the same accent / way of talking, very different to the middle classes. Apparently slaves tended to copy their master's way of speaking, well into the XX century.
I once worked with a posh girl. She used to pronounce soda (in the pub) as say-da
Thank you very much for this magnificent video ! We really enjoy hearing and learning all those wonderful words and pronunciations ! That definetely improves our English speaking language ! Thank You !!!!
Thanks for everything you have done. I'm really glad I found your RUclips channel. 🥰
Two other examples have just popped into my head: While a student at UCL I had a part-time job at Thresher's, the "off-licence". But it was the Thresher's on Walton Street behind Harrods in Knightsbridge (where I also worked, as we all did, haha). I worked with William Whitbread, who was the son of the owner of the entire chain - belonging to Whitbread, the brewers. He was definitely upper class, was an Old Etonian, and was rather grand. When we were out one evening, he described himself as a "purveyor of fine wines". I slapped him down and said we worked in an "offie". Now, in the class system, it's fine to be a brewer. But it is DEFINITELY not fine to be a publican pouring the beer. So ridiculous. I was at university with a daughter of the Marquess of Hertford. Her surname was Seymour. In those aristocratic circles, "Hertford" is not pronounced with a "t" - it's "Harford". And they pronounce their surname "Seamer", not "Seymour". Impenetrable for anyone who didn't grow up with it. So Dave and Vic Beckham aint gotta chance, av they? It's so ingrained in us as we grow up, there's nothing to be done. And I've lived in Switzerland for the past 33 years!
Very funny.
As an old guy born in Dorset into working class circumstances I find all this very interesting
I have lived in the USA for over forty years and I’m still influenced by all this class stuff!
Very interesting video indeed . My Aunt and Grandmother were both from england i think from Hammersmith and loved how they talked and carried themselves
I absolutely love this channel and this video specially. Thanks.
Old ship lingo about the best rooms for passengers (at least as typically believed): POSH-Port Out, Starboard Home.
I was just wondering about the origin of that word. Thank you soooo much.
This applied if your sea voyage was in an easterly direction from the UK to, say, India. If you were going in the opposite direction, e.g. across the Atlantic, it would not apply. Nor would it have applied travelling east in the southern hemisphere as it related to which side of the ship enjoyed shade from the sun.
A lot of the upper class words are what Irish people use all of the time such as house, sitting room, napkin, sick, rich, bike etc.
Daniel de Burgh - yes, I agree. Funny that, isn’t it. I think in Ireland, we tend to hold on to and use older words for years longer than in other English speaking countries
@@jas1049 yes, ‘ye’ is probably the best example.
Very interesting, thank you a lot!
Hi English Jade - I watched your videos 4-5 years ago and I'm so glad that you're still on YT - doing what you do best. Keep it up and more power to you. Also, I always thought of you as a very attractive and beautiful woman. I love what you do! Stay safe and take care always. 🙂
Snobery at EVERY level of society in england has been rife for hundreds of years......
and...."posh" is a word used in britain by people who are not "posh"......and those adressed by that, may well be as "common" as it gets......:-)
just a little observation from a german husband to an english woman of almost 50 years.....:-)
I've been dating an English girl for the past 4 years. I'm Czech and we live in Prague together. Interesting to see how she still can't wrap her head around the everyday reality of a (still) classless post-communist society.
@@SaschaGerstner probably will be like that still in another 40 years.....:-) possibly....but not nessecariy
@@SaschaGerstner Classless? The number of Czech people Ive met who thumb their noses at Gypsies...
@@marmac83 That hasn't to do with "class" but with the fact that the Roma gypsies are a secluded group of people who as a whole don't want to be integrated into Czech society.
Next time ask those same Czechs if they thumb their noses at gypsies who work and integrate. I'm sure the answer will be different.
Jade's accent sounds South East London, like most of my relatives.
It's an estuary accent - a proper south east London accent is far, far stronger than her accent.
@@weekender8839 It sounds like a Bromley accent, middle-class upbringing. it isn't an estuary accent per se.
@@strictlyyoutube6881 Definitely lower middle class as an accent
@@giovanniacuto2688 Do you mean by that state-educated? Yeah id agree with that
Kentish is what you mean. Ignorant tribes out with the crown lands.
Beautifully explained!
Long time no seeing ya, good to hear you again
I just come here to hear speak I love how she sounds.
Looking Glass, looking glass on the wall...who is the most Upper Class of them all?
Thank you for your service!!
I've just moved to the UK and I find this really useful. Thank you.
I grew up in an UC environment in the U.S. and we were taught to speak clearly, not to show ourselves “above” others so we used ‘common’ words.
belonging to working class here in another country, i find some working class people here speak and dress like UC since they can afford to buy luxury goods because they got some money. Their accents, body language and actions give them away. worst is they treat other working class guys like dirty rags, become rude or worst hurt them.
So being a "social climber" has a negative connotation here in my place.
I would say that a nurse is middle class along with teachers. There might be working class nurses. Overall not.
I wondered about that. But would there be as many nurses on the golf course as doctors, and would their children go to private schools? Lower middle/ upper working I'd say.
I find it odd that Nurses are less regarded in England than Teachers are. Here in the US Nurses are very highly educated and often earn twice as much money than Teachers do. In other words, Techers aren't as highly regarded here in the US. And of course they should be, as they work awfully hard with their students.
I'm from Brazil, thanks for your lessons. I love British accent
you make videos like the one above and that's why people love you. Not just language bur much much more.
As an American, I find these differences between our languages very revealing. Our versions of English go well beyond a few differences in vocabulary, spelling and pronunciation.
Judging by your criteria, I am definitely posh :-))). I am very upper-middle-class (home counties, public school educated, yes, boarding for ten years). I grew up with many aristocratic people (although I repeat I am not upper class, even if there are distant family links) and have some titled friends. As far as vocabulary is concerned, Nancy Mitford's criteria still more or less apply. It's definitely a house, a sitting-room or drawing-room, a loo/lavatory, napkin, pudding, etc. (Oh, and SCON, not SCOWN). I really don't think anyone says "looking-glass" any more. Mirror is fine. I'm in my mid-50s and used to say "specs", but "glasses" is also absolutely fine. Another class denominator is "breakfast, lunch and dinner" (which is what I would say), rather than "breakfast, dinner and tea". Oh - and as far as some actors are concerned, what about Rupert Everett - very upper class - or Dominic West (married to the daughter of the Knight of Glin)? And other jobs: historian (e.g. Earl Spencer), art historian (Simon Sebag-Montefiore), auctioneer (Sotheby's and Christie's are teeming with aristocratic people who are paid a pittance because it's expected that they have their own income and estates), wine merchant. Still all very exclusive. Upper-middle class jobs include lawyers, chartered accountants, grand estate agents... I disagree about nurses being working class. My mother was a nurse and definitely isn't working class. What about Florence Nightingale and all those aristocratic ladies who nursed during the First World War? On the other hand, there are also a great number of very upper-class (professional!) gardeners! Like the Marchioness of Salisbury or Arabella Lennox-Boyd (Italian aristocrat, married to an upper-class Englishman). So it's all very "fluid" (to use one of those ghastly new buzz words). What you didn't mention is that Nancy Mitford despised the word "handbag" - it's just a bag! I do think that everyone should take all of this with a pinch of salt though. And Nancy Mitford was hilariously snobbish. She thought it was common to be in a hurry. I so agree.
So wait, is "breakfast, lunch and dinner" the U or non-U version?
Also, to strengthen your point: Robin Lane Fox is also a gardener (of New College, Oxford) and he seems posh to me
@@philippusparacelsus4136 breakfast, lunch and dinner is U! 🙂
Probably one of the best videos on the subject
When it comes to lounge room, by the way, it is correctly called a sitting room and not drawing room, as these are two different things. Sitting room is where one sits with all the guests to entertain them. Drawing room is where one withdraws to away from the guest (perhaps together with a close family member of a friend) in order to have some more privacy and relaxed atmosphere. Usually, there must be a sitting room first and only then one could have a drawing room.