英検1級に出そうな単語-Criticise POLITELY without being RUDE | Polite English Criticism Phrases
今回は、面接でも使えるかもしれない
会話の動画からです。
失礼にならないように相手に反論する言葉です。
最初の2分と最後の11分後は宣伝なので飛ばして問題がありません。
どんどん意見が言えるようになりたいですね。
数は少ないけど、実用的な単語ばかりです。
熟語は多めです。
特に"offense"の
"cause offense;怒らせる"
"take offense;怒る"
"no offense;悪気はない"
はまとめて覚えましょう。
"due respect;相応の敬意"→"due;相応の、当然の"
→"with all due respect;失礼ながら、お言葉を返すようですが"
→相手に丁寧に反論するときの前置き
"cause offense;怒らせる"
→"take offense;怒る"、"no offense;悪気はない、気を悪くしないで"
"disrespectful;失礼な、無礼な"→"respectful;丁寧な、敬意を表して"
"frown upon;認めない、賛成しない"
"appalled;驚く、ゾッとする"
"appall;ゾッとさせる、恐怖を与える"
"confrontation;対立、衝突"→"confront;立ち向かう、直面する、突きつける"
"big deal;大事なこと、一大事、大物"
→"It’s not a big deal.;たいしたことないよ、簡単だよ"
"overuse;使いすぎる、濫用する"
"That’s mean;いじわるだよ"
→"You are so mean;いじわるいな"
"throw around;湯水のように使う、投げ散らかす、振り回す"
"up to scratch;一定の水準に達して、準備ができて"
"acquaintance;知人、知り合い、面識"
"conditional;条件付きの"
"implement;実行する、手段、器具"
"strategy;戦略、計画"
"rhetorical;修辞的な、美辞麗句の"
"rhetoric;修辞法、美辞麗句、誇張"
"set off;出発する、起こす"
"constructive;建設的な"
"profound;深遠な、深い、重大な"
"disgusting;嫌な"
"whilst;する一方で"
"monstrosity;奇怪、巨大なもの"
"a little over the top;わずかに度を超えた"
→"go a little over the top;少し度を超えたことをする"
全文
00:01
(upbeat music)
00:10
- Hello everyone, and welcome back to English with Lucy.
00:14
Today we are going to talk about
00:15
alternatives for one of the most hated phrases
00:20
in the English language.
00:22
No offence.
00:25
Is there a more offensive phrase than no offence?
00:29
When somebody says no offence,
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but you know they're going to follow that
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with something offensive.
00:35
It's just the way people are.
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So I have 11 alternatives for you
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that you can use to give criticism politely.
00:46
So this video is perfect for improving your vocabulary,
00:49
but if you want to improve your listening skills
00:51
and your pronunciation skills even further,
00:54
then I highly recommend the special method
00:57
of reading a book whilst listening
00:59
to the audiobook version on Audible.
01:02
It sounds a bit odd, but let me explain.
01:04
It's a really good method.
01:06
Take a book that you have already read in English
01:09
or a book that you would like to read in English and read it
01:13
whilst listening to the audiobook version on Audible.
01:17
Reading alone will not help you with your pronunciation.
01:21
The way a word is spelled in English
01:23
doesn't necessarily give you much information
01:26
as to how it's pronounced in English.
01:28
If you listen to a word as you read it,
01:32
your brain will start making connections
01:35
and the next time you see that word written down,
01:37
you'll know exactly how to say it, how it's meant to sound,
01:40
the pronunciation and the next time you hear that word
01:44
you'll know exactly how it should be spelled.
01:47
You're combining two skills
01:49
but developing all of your skills.
01:52
It's such an effective method
01:54
and the best part is you can get one free audiobook,
01:57
that's a 30 day free trial on Audible.
02:00
All you've got to do is click on the link
02:02
in the description box and sign up.
02:04
Then you can download one of my many recommendations
02:07
which are also in the description box.
02:09
Give it a try.
02:10
It really works.
02:11
Right, number one is with respect
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or with all due respect.
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With all due respect, that's slightly more formal.
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This is something you can add
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before you are going to say something that could
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potentially cause offence.
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You're showing the listener that you're not trying
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to be disrespectful.
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You're saying it in a respectful way.
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An example, with all due respect,
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I really don't think it's appropriate
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to wear a white dress as a wedding guest.
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Is this a thing in your country and culture?
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I know not all cultures have white wedding dresses,
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we do here in the UK
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and it is extremely frowned upon to wear white
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to someone's wedding.
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And I went to a wedding last summer
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and there was a woman in a long white dress
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and I was appalled, I tell you.
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Did I say anything about it to her?
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No I didn't because I'm British.
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Did I silently judge her?
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Of course, I did because I'm British.
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Number two is I'm going to be very honest with you
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or I'm gonna be honest with you.
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If you want to be a bit more informal
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and speak using slang terms like gonna.
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This is something you can say again
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before you say something that could be offensive.
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You are preparing the listener for the criticism
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that is going to come next.
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An example, I'm going to be very honest with you,
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I wasn't happy with how you behaved in my party.
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Now, this was said in all English speaking countries,
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but especially in Britain
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because we do have a habit of not being honest.
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The example I gave before
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of how I didn't tell the woman
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that she shouldn't have worn white.
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Well, that's pretty common behaviour.
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We don't necessarily say things.
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We like to avoid confrontation,
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so for us, if we are going to confront someone,
04:01
it's a big deal and we need to prepare them.
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I'm going to be honest with you.
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That brings me onto my next one.
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Number three, let's be frank.
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Let's be frank.
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To be frank is to be honest and direct.
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If somebody is a frank person
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then they are very to the point,
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this means pretty much the same thing,
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but it kind of opens the opportunity
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to have an honest conversation.
04:25
Let's be honest with one another.
04:27
Let's have an honest conversation.
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It's not me saying, I'm going to be honest with you,
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it's saying, let's be frank,
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let's be honest with each other.
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An example, let's be frank.
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You haven't excelled in your exams this year.
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Number four is a very, very common one
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and it's actually considered more slang in the UK.
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It's actually a phrase that I think
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a lot of people might think is overused
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or becoming overused.
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It is, I'm not going to lie
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or now just shortened down to, not gonna lie, (chuckles)
05:02
not gonna lie.
05:03
And you say it before you're about to criticise someone
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or something, or maybe when you're gonna give
05:10
a really honest, negative opinion about someone,
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not gonna lie, your singing wasn't great.
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Not gonna lie, her top was the ugliest top
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I've ever seen in my life.
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My God, that's so, so mean.
05:24
(laughing)
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But it's one that is thrown around a lot.
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It is used a lot and it can be very confusing
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because you might think, well, of course you shouldn't lie.
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Why would you lie?
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It's just a phrase.
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Now, number five,
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sometimes you do just want to say, no offence,
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but we can say it in a much
05:47
more formal way.
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We could say, I don't mean to offend,
05:52
but, or I don't mean to offend you,
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but, this sounds a little bit nicer.
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Sometimes you just can't escape using no offence. (chuckles)
06:01
We can also say, without meaning to offend you
06:05
or without meaning to offend.
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An example, without meaning to offend you,
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your work hasn't been up to scratch recently.
06:13
Up to scratch means up to the standard.
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Number six is another slang one.
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It's very commonly used.
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It's, don't get me wrong.
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Don't get me wrong,
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and we're using get here as in receive.
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I've got a video all about the many uses of get.
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There are a lot, I warn you,
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but we're saying, don't receive me in the wrong way.
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Don't interpret what I'm saying in the wrong way.
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It basically means don't misunderstand me.
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An example, don't get me wrong,
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but I think we need to have a chat about the incident.
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You wouldn't really use this in a formal situation.
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This is more between friends and acquaintances.
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Number seven is a nice phrase that you can say
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instead of, I've been watching you
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and I've seen that you've done something wrong.
07:01
If you want to of course, express
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that you have been watching someone
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and they have been doing something wrong,
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you can say, I've noticed that.
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I've noticed that,
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this is something that's said a lot in offices.
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I've noticed that you've been spending
07:14
a lot of time by the water cooler
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or I've noticed that you aren't always
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reaching your deadlines.
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It's a nice way of saying,
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I've been observing you and you're not doing anything right.
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Number eight, a way of saying you're doing
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lots of things wrong
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and you're really not performing as you should.
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You could say, there's room for improvement,
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there's room for improvement.
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You're doing okay,
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but there's still a little room for improvement.
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An example, I appreciate how hard you've worked,
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but there still is room for improvement here.
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Now, number nine,
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is using a conditional to express criticism.
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It is this lovely phrase, if you can learn it
07:59
and use it as a set phrase, that's fantastic.
08:02
If I were you, I would,
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and then the advice, what you would do.
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Instead of saying you should do this,
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which people don't necessarily like.
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If I were you, I would do it this way.
08:12
Oh, people love that.
08:14
An example, if I were you,
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I would look at implementing a different strategy.
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Translates roughly as change your strategy. (chuckles)
08:23
Number 10 what about a nice rhetorical question
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to set off some criticism?
08:28
Oh, I love them.
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If you want to give someone some constructive criticism,
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you could say, believe it or not,
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could I offer you a bit of constructive criticism?
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They can't exactly say no, can they?
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Especially if you're their boss. (laughing)
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An example, can I offer you a little constructive criticism?
08:48
Try using a spellchecker
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before handing in your assignment. (chuckles)
08:53
Now, number 11, is something that we actually
08:56
add to the end of sentences
08:59
to emphasise them a little bit.
09:01
In English, especially in British English,
09:04
we have the habit,
09:05
a huge habit of reducing everything,
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trying to make things seem not quite as important
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or profound as they actually are.
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For example, if you gave me the most disgusting
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cup of tea ever, I would say,
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oh, well, it's not the worst tea I've ever had,
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or oh yes, I think I could get used to it.
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It's a real issue, and we often use this technique
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whilst delivering criticism,
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but if you decide that you actually do want the receiver
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of the criticism to realise how badly they've performed,
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you can add to say the least onto the end.
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I think you could have done better, to say the least.
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Or to put it mildly,
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you don't smell great, to put it mildly.
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Both of these are used to suggest that something
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is far worse or more extreme than you are saying.
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It does make the English language quite complex
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because we don't actually say what we mean,
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but don't shoot the messenger.
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I'm just trying to help out. (laughing)
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An example, you behaved in appropriately
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at the staff party, to say the least.
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And number 12, this one is used in the middle
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of a criticising sentence,
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and this one actually is quite different
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to the previous one.
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This one is used to make a statement
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or criticism appear less severe or offensive.
10:30
It is, shall we say.
10:33
Shall we say.
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An example, your report was, shall we say, a little lacking.
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It's almost like, how do I put this?
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How can I choose a non-offensive term
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to describe the monstrosity
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with which I have been presented?
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Your report was, shall we say, a little lacking,
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or your reaction was, shall we say, a little over the top,
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meaning your reaction was completely
11:01
and utterly over the top right. (laughing)
11:04
Right, that's it for today's lesson,
11:06
how to say offensive things
11:08
and give criticism without causing offence
11:12
in a polite, or at least British manner.
11:15
Don't forget to check out Audible.
11:17
You can claim your free audiobook.
11:18
I've got loads of recommendations
11:20
down in the description box,
11:21
and the link to claim your book is there too.
11:24
Don't forget to connect with me on all of my social media.
11:27
I've got my Facebook, my Instagram, my Twitter,
11:30
and my new, kind of new personal channel,
11:34
my Lucy Bella Earl channel where I talk about
11:36
everything that isn't English, lifestyle, et cetera.
11:39
I will see you soon for another lesson.
11:42
(upbeat music)
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