2016-11-29 Mansplaining – The English We Speak

Summary

Neil is explaining in detail to Feifei how to do her own job. Learn a new word to describe when a man explains to a woman something in a way which suggests she’s stupid.

Transcript

Neil
Hello and welcome to The English We Speak from BBC Learning English, I’m Neil and with me is Feifei.

Feifei
Hello.

Neil
Now Feifei, if you just put on your headphones you’ll be able to hear what I’m saying.

Feifei
Yes, I know that.

Neil
And you need to push that thing there – we call it a fader – we push that up and speak into the microphone.

Feifei
Ah, yes Neil I already know that.

Neil
You see, Feifei, you have to be careful not to be too close to the microphone when you speak, because the pressure of your breath will create this sound – we call that a ‘pop’ and the recording will sound bad and our listeners will complain.

Feifei
Neil! I’ve been working in radio for over 10 years! I know how to use the studio! Stop mansplaining.

Neil
Feifei, I was only doing it to introduce that word – mansplaining. It’s a new word. It’s made up of two parts – ‘man’ and ‘explaining’. Mansplaining is when a man explains something to a woman as if they are stupid or knows less about a subject simply because she is a woman.

Feifei
Here are some examples. 

Examples
So there was this guy mansplaining the offside rule to me. I’ve been playing football since I was 4 years old!

Man: Push your foot down a bit harder on the clutch before you try to change gear. It’ll make it much smoother.
Woman: Quit the mansplaining. I’m a taxi driver, OK?

Feifei
Mansplaining. A man’s explanation to a woman, which shows he thinks he knows more than her just because he’s a man.

Neil
And did you know Feifei that it’s also a verb – to mansplain? Yes, language changes all the time, Feifei. New words come and old words change meaning. That’s something all language learners need to know…

Feifei
Neil! Stop! Mansplaining!

Both
Bye!