In this video, the audience is introduced to the rich and varied world of British accents through a scene from "The Chronicles of Narnia." Viewers explore the Cockney accent of Mister Beaver, a character in the movie, and learn how certain phonetic traits like dropping the 'h' or softening 't' sounds come into play. Through the dialogue, the lesson highlights how to manage and understand these characteristics to improve comprehension and pronunciation skills.

This video offers an in-depth look at the linguistic features and the cultural nuances of British slang and expressions found in the dialogue used in the film. Terms such as "cheeky little blighter," "on the move," and "top geezer" are explained, giving viewers insights into everyday language used in different accents across Britain, notably the Cockney accent. This educational experience goes beyond mere word definitions, helping language learners appreciate the subtleties behind the slang.

Main takeaways from the video:

Please remember to turn on the CC button to view the subtitles.

Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. plighter ['plaɪtə(r)] - (noun) - A British slang term for a mischievous child, often used affectionately despite some annoyance. - Synonyms: (rascal, brat, imp)

Who's Aslan? Who's Aslan? You cheeky little plighter.

2. geezer ['ɡiːzə(r)] - (noun) - A British slang term for a man, often implying someone who is respected or has authority. - Synonyms: (chap, bloke, fellow)

The top geezer. The real king of Narnia.

3. prophecy ['prɒfəsi] - (noun) - A prediction about future events which are thought to be divinely inspired. - Synonyms: (prediction, forecast, augury)

There’s a prophecy. When Adam's flesh and Adam's bone sits at Cair Paravel enthroned, the evil time will be over and done.

4. fitting out [ˈfɪtɪŋ aʊt] - (verb) - Equipping or supplying someone or something with all that is needed. - Synonyms: (equipping, supplying, outfitting)

So we know that Aslan is fitting out the army that is equipping it with all the necessary to fit out means to supply someone or something with all the equipment, clothes and food

5. hospitality [ˌhɒspɪ'tæləti] - (noun) - The friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. - Synonyms: (friendliness, warmth, kindliness)

Thank you for your hospitality, but we really have to go.

6. foretell [fɔːˈtel] - (verb) - To predict or identify something in advance. - Synonyms: (predict, prophesy, forecast)

prophecy is a prediction or foretelling of what is to come

7. cheeky ['tʃiːki] - (adjective) - Bold or impudent in a playful or appealing manner. - Synonyms: (saucy, sassy, brazen)

If you're a cheeky child, you're not showing due respect or simply being mischievous and causing trouble in a playful way.

8. Bloomin' ['bluːmɪn] - (adjective & adverb) - Used to express emphasis or convey frustration, often as a milder substitute for "bloody." - Synonyms: (flipping, darn, blinking)

He's waiting for us? You're blooming joking.

9. incorporate [ɪnˈkɔːpəreɪt] - (verb) - To include something as part of a whole. - Synonyms: (integrate, include, combine)

Try to incorporate your words into your speech in your next English conversation.

10. catch up in [kætʃ ʌp ɪn] - (phrasal verb) - Become involved in something unintentionally or unexpectedly. - Synonyms: (engaged in, involved with, caught in)

Mum sent us away so we wouldn't get caught up in a war.

Learn English with The Chronicles of NARNIA — New Lesson!

It's a beaver. Hey, Boyden. Yeah, boy. I ain't gonna smell it, if that's what you want. Today we will learn to understand some of the most difficult yet fun British accents with Mister Beaver from Narnia. And as always, you will learn some advanced English vocabulary. The Chronicles of Narnia follow the adventures of four siblings who discover the magical world of Narnia, a land inhabited by talking animals and mythical creatures. In this scene, we see Mister and Missus Beaver, who met the children shortly after they all arrived in Narnia.

Every week on this channel, we create lessons just like this one to help you understand your favorite movies and TV series without getting lost, without missing the jokes, and without subtitles. Now, let's begin today's lesson by watching the clip with the subtitles. Isn't there anything we can do to help Tumnus better take them to the witch's house? And you know what they say, there's few that go through them gates. They come out again. Fish and chips. But there is hope, dear. Lots of hope. Oh, yeah. There's a right bit more than hope. Aslan is on the move.

Who's Aslan? Who's Aslan? You cheeky little plighter. What? You don't know, do you? Well, we haven't exactly been here very long. Well, he's only the king of the whole wood. The top geezer. The real king of Narnia. He's been away for a long while. But he's just got back. And he's waiting for you near the stone table.

So we're in the beaver's dam, and Missus Beaver is serving fish and chips, a traditional British dish consisting of deep-fried, battered fish and hot potato chips, what Americans would call French fries. You might have noticed that it's not very easy to understand what Mister Beaver is saying. That's because he speaks with the Cockney accent. We will get back to it later in the lesson and learn some of the characteristic features of this accent and even have a short pronunciation practice. So stick around not to miss all the fun.

Aslan is on the move means that Aslan is traveling back to Narnia to form the army and guide the Pevensie family in the war against the White Witch. So to be on the move is to be traveling or to be going somewhere. You would call a child a little blighter if they're a bit annoying, but in a playful manner. So sometimes this British slang word expresses a mixture of annoyance and affection.

The word blighter loses the t sound as a characteristic feature of the Cockney accent. That's why you hear blighta, not blighter. If you're a cheeky child, you're not showing due respect or simply being mischievous and causing trouble in a playful way.

To help you remember all these new words and expressions, write them down and even better, create your own sentences with them. Try to incorporate them into your speech in your next English conversation. What happens often, and probably has happened to you a lot, is that all these new words and expressions in English we're trying to memorize start to fade away. To prevent this, take your learning a step further with a spaced repetition system.

We use this technology in our real-life English app. Each lesson comes with a deck of flashcards covering all the words and expressions from the lesson. This is a surefire way to remember these words forever. Geyser is another British slang term which typically refers to a man or an old man, but in this context, it implies that Aslan is the most respected animal in Narnia.

The use of blooming is characteristic of the Cockney accent. So this word blooming is used as a substitute for a more offensive word bloody. Now, before we finally get into the Cockney accent in our connect-to-speech mini-lesson, I want to break down some grammar from this clip.

The phrase they'll have taken him to the witch's house means that the guard of the witch has captured Tumnus and brought him to the witch's house. The phrase they will have taken is a way of predicting or assuming what has already happened or will have happened by a certain point in time. In this context, it's very likely that Tumnus has been already taken to the witch's house.

As I mentioned earlier, it's quite a challenge to understand Mister Beaver, and it's all because of his accent. Ray Winston, the actor who voiced Mister Beaver, comes from East London and speaks the Cockney accent. Let's look at them closer.

So first, it's the drop of the h sound at the beginning of the words. They're taking him to the witch's house. So here the words have and him lose the h sound. And what we get is they will have is reduced to they'll have and then with the drop of the h sound.

What is left is they laugh taking him is reduced to takeonym taken him. Listen and repeat. Let's hang him to the witch's house. You could hear the sound I instead of a in the word taken. It's another bright feature of Cockney accent. Listen to it again. They tie them to the witches house. But he's just got back.

Do you remember about the drop of the h sound? So we've got here the reduction of of. But he's into buddies. We cut the t from just before the consonant just got. And now the word got loses its t sound at the end which is characteristic of the Cockney accent.

And in this next sentence we see the drop of the h sound and the AI sound shift. And he's waiting for you near the stone table. And is reduced to an and it merges into he is which is reduced to just is and is waiting. The a sound changes into I and the n g sound at the end is reduced to the n sound.

We also have the drop of the sound in the middle so it sounds like. And he's waiting for you. The use of them instead of those is an example of the simplification characteristic of Cockney accent. Through them gates means through those gates.

Let me know in the comments if it's interesting for you to learn about different English accents and get yourself prepared for this second part. Let's watch it. They don't even know about the prophecy. Well then. Look. Aslan's return, Tumnus arrest, the secret police. It's all happening because of you. You're blaming us?

No, not blaming. Thanking you. There's a prophecy. When Adam's flesh and Adam's bone sits at Cair Paravel enthroned, the evil time will be over and done. You know that doesn't really run. I know it don't, but you're kind of missing the point. It has long been foretold that two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve will defeat the White Witch and restore peace to Narnia.

And you think we're the ones? Well, you better be. Cause Aslan's already fitted out your army. Our army? Mum sent us away so we wouldn't get caught up in a war. I think you've made a mistake. We're not heroes. We're from Finchley. Thank you for your hospitality, but we really have to go.

You can't just leave. He's right. We have to help Mister Tumnus. It's out of our hands. I'm sorry, but it's time the four of us were getting home. prophecy is a prediction or foretelling of what is to come. In this context, it refers to the prediction about Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensy bringing peace to Narnia. When you blame someone, you think they’re responsible for something wrong.

In this context, Susan thought Mister Beaver was blaming them for all that was happening. The phrase its all happening because of you led to this misunderstanding. The expression two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve, as well as the earlier expression Adam's flesh and Adam's bone, is a poetic way of saying ah, human.

Mister and Missus beaver are using biblical imagery here to refer to human beings in contrast to animals and magical creatures of Narnia. To miss the point is to fail to understand the main idea of what is being said. As for the word foretell, in the modern English, we would probably use the word predict instead.

However, foretell is pretty appropriate even now, and can add sort of poetic or dramatic flavor to your speech or writing. In this scene, it is used to say that the arrival of the children had been predicted long ago. And that they are meant to restore peace in Narnia. To restore peace means to bring back peace.

And the word restore can also mean to bring back to the previous or the original state. Well, you better be. Because Aslan's already figured out your army. So we know that Aslan is fitting out the army that is equipping it with all the necessary items to fight. Mum sent us away so we wouldn't get caught up in a war.

What Susan is trying to say here is that their mother sent them away from getting involved in the war. To get caught up in something means exactly that. To get involved in a difficult or undesirable situation. Thank you for your hospitality, but we really have to go. You can't just leave. If you're friendly and generous with your guests, you show hospitality.

Don't confuse it with the words hospital and hospitalized. What do you hear? Our getting home. We're getting home. Be getting home. It's time the four of us were getting home. That's it for today. Thank you so much for learning with us. And remember to review all the expressions and words from today's lesson.

Education, Language, Culture, Britishaccents, Cockney, Britishslang, Learn English With Tv Series