M - Today we're learning something about the expression “SHUT UP !” M- Hi Cindy! C- Shut up! M- I beg your pardon? C- Shut up! M- Well, that’s not very nice, Cindy! C- I’m just kidding with you, Marta! ‘’Shut up’’ is actually the topic of today’s podcast! M- Oh, thank goodness! For a second there, I thought you were telling me to shut up! And I thought to myself- ‘’but I haven’t even spoken a single word yet!’’ C - No, I would never tell you to shut up, that would be a very RUDE thing to say. ‘’Shut up’’ is a very ABRUPT and IMPOLITE way to say be quiet, stop talking or stop making noise! M- So if telling someone to ‘’shut up’’ is not polite, why do we even need to talk about it? C- Because last week I was away on a trip and our first day something happened that got me thinking about the phrase ‘’shut up’’ and all the ways it is used nowadays. Interestingly enough a couple of them are not rude at all. M- So then I guess that would depend on many things? Like the context in which it’s said? Or the tone of voice used? For example: used in anger during an argument ...or just joking around with friends? C- Exactly! And there’s even a third way of using ‘’shut up’’. It’s to convey surprise or disbelief. M- OK, before we get into all three uses for ‘’shut up’’, let’s back up...where did you go last week? C- Paris! M- Lucky you! So what happened on your trip? Did you tell someone to shut up? C- Oh, I came very close, but I thought twice and realized it wasn’t worth it. Not only, but I felt there was a greater lesson to be learned from it- that even our individual actions affect all of those around us. M- What happened? C- It was funny, really. I was in my hotel, getting ready to go out and the windows were open to the street below. All of a sudden I heard a group of people talking. Loudly. At the end of the street. M- You could hear them all the way from the end of the street? C- The end. That’s how LOUD they were! Then the CHATTER started to grow and come closer. I thought it was a tour group! And when the noise and COMMOTION had stopped directly under my window I realized it was just 4 Americans! M- Only four people? C- Only four - two men & two women making enough noise for a tour group! The entire street (now, imagine a nice, quiet residential area of Paris filled with high rise apartments- windows open to the sun) they had all been witness to this. Oh Marta! They were so loud! Voices like loudspeakers RICOCHETING off the cement buildings and filling the street! M- That’s really funny! C- It wasn’t funny worth a darn at the time! Ok, so anyways, they didn’t enter the hotel but decided to take pictures of each other and remained YAPPING at full volume under my bathroom window! M- How annoying?! C- Awful! And I haven’t gotten to the best part yet! M- What’s that? C- The man who inspired this whole idea for a podcast! M- Oh no! C- As the chaos rumbled below my window and they passed the camera between each other for photos, one of the women SPOKE UP and said ‘’Now y’all I want a photo of the three of you!” (They were Southerners, hence the southern accent) M- Oh, okay. I was wondering why you switched voices? C- There are regional differences in American accents. I have to make it authentic! So the head-loud talker, the alpha male, the king of the jungle- I’ll call him ‘’Stan’’. Stan pipes up and responds with ‘’Hurry up!’’ And she says ‘’Oh, just one more, picture of the three y’all!’’ Stan’s response: ‘’Hurry up! Cause’ I gotta pee!’’ M- No! C- Yes. He did. Full volume. Stan the Man had just informed an entire residential street in the 16th arrondissement of the status of his bladder. Yes. He did. Thank you, Stan the Man. M- Oh my goodness! C- I was astounded. Does that information really need to be broadcast at full volume? M - No. C - The group then disbursed & entered the building and I heard one of the women (she was loud too) speaking with the concierge about the lovely time they had had in Paris and how sad they were now that it was over. M- And I bet you were sad to see them go? C- Marta, our room was upstairs- on the second floor, and their voices shot straight up the stairwell and into our locked room! M- That's the power of Stan! C- You know it was really a wake-up call for me. M- What do you mean? A WAKE-UP CALL ? C- I mean, I realized that it’s good to shut up once in a while! I mean, if Stan and his crew had shut up, then they wouldn't have annoyed a whole street plus the hotel patrons. And it was good for me to HOLD MY TONGUE and not YELL shut up out the window. Hard as it was, had I yelled at them, I would have ruined the last day of their trip... M- You’re right... C- ...and the first day of my trip. I would have stressed out the poor concierge. Not to mention, the Parisians would have looked at us like a bunch of football hooligans hurling insults at each other. M- It’s all connected, isn’t it? C- Circle of life. So I got to thinking while I was putting on my make-up. I thought about the words ‘’shut up’’ and the power they yield. M- It’s true, you can really hurt someone with ‘’shut up’’. Shall we make an example of the most common way it is used? C- Good idea. Do you want TO BE THE BAD GUY or should I? M- You can do it. C- Okay, Marta, start by RAMBLING ON ABOUT something you're crazy about. M- Let me think... something like a TV show ...ok, got it, 24 ! The show starring Keifer Sutherland. It's all about this amazing character named Jack Bauer, fighting terrorism in any possible and impossible way and the cool thing about it is that events occur in real time, every episode is a race against the clock and every season is made up of... C- Marta, just shut up !!! M- Wow, that stings. C- Marta, I’m so sorry, girl, you know I love you . I would never tell you to shut up intentionally. That’s very rude. M- It’s like a mental slap in the face! C- I know it’s awful. What’s another way we can use ‘’shut up’’? M- How about jokingly? With friends for example? C- Great. Go. M- Cindy, remember that time you invited us all to see that band playing in the OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN ? C- Oh, yeah, that was pretty bad, wasn't it ? M- Pretty bad?! I felt like we were at the circus, it was an absolute freak show! C- oh, shut up! You had a good time, didn't you? M- Good time?! With that drunk old man that kept inviting me to dance?? C- Shut up! He was an admirer ! You should be flattered! M - Yeah, sure! He must be one of our listeners now! C - Oh, yeah, he is, because I slipped him your phone number on the way out. M – Oh my.... ok, let's drop it. But there's yet another way to use “shut up”, isn't there? C - Yeah and this one is more recent. M- And it’s used mostly by young people to convey surprise or disbelief. C- Uh huh, let’s see, how could we use it? I know, for example if I were to say ‘’Marta, Jon Bon Jovi is coming in concert next week... M- SHUT UP !? C-...and I scored us front row tickets... M- SHUT UP!!!!! C- ...and that, listeners, is how you use ‘’shut up’’ to convey surprise or disbelief. Marta...wake up, dear..??? M- I'm back. Thanks for listening everyone and don't forget to read the transcript ! C- And come visit us on iTunes, podomatic.com, martainnocenti.com, facebook and twitter. M - Bye bye! ***************************************** Vocabulary about noise and being annoying : TO BE LOUD / TO SPEAK UP / TO SPEAK AT FULL VOLUME CHATTER : Talking. Example: ‘’The room was filled with noisy students. The sound of loud chatter echoed down the halls of the school.’’ COMMOTION: Chaos or noise. Example: ‘’During the football game, there was a loud commotion coming from a large group of reckless fans in the top row of seats.’’ RICOCHETING: To bounce back with force. Example: Bullets can ricochet off buildings. Balls can ricochet off the floor. YAPPING: Senseless or annoying chatter, noise or talking. Example: ‘’My sister owns an annoying little dog. He’s always yapping at me when I go to visit her! I can’t stand him!’’ TO YELL: To speak very loudly sometimes used in anger, but also just to be heard from a long distance. Example: ‘’My brothers and I were playing in the garden and our mother yelled for us to come inside and eat lunch. ‘’ or ‘’My father was very angry with my brother and yelled at him for scratching his car.’’ TO HOLD ONE'S TONGUE : To stop yourself from speaking. Example: ‘’I don’t like my sister’s boyfriend, but I hold my tongue and keep my mouth shut because I know she really likes him.’’ RUDE, ABRUPT, IMPOLITE: without manners, disrespectful, rough, too direct. *** TO ‘’BE THE BAD GUY’’ : To play the role of a ‘’bad’’ person, or carry out a difficult task. Example: The office supervisor did not have the courage to fire his employee, so the assistant supervisor had to ‘’be the bad guy’’ and do it. RAMBLING ON ABOUT ...: To talk continuously, seemingly never ending. Example: ‘’My co-worker is always rambling on about how much money he makes! I wish he would just shut up sometimes!’’ THE OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN : Outside of the city center. On the edge of town. Example: ‘’My parents have a nice house on the outskirts of town. It’s in the countryside where it’s quiet and peaceful. WAKE UP CALL : Two definitions for ‘’wake up call’’: 1.) In the morning, for example in a hotel, the concierge can make a ‘’wake up call’’ a telephone call to your room at a specified time so that you are sure to awake. 2.) When something ‘’awakens’’ you to a new way of thinking that you were previously oblivious to. Example: My high blood pressure was a ‘’wake up call’’ for me to start taking care of myself. Now I eat a healthful diet of fruits and vegetables and I exercise every day.’’
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