Monday, Mar 21, 2022 • 6min

Male and female job words

6 Minute Vocabulary

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We teach you job titles for men and women.

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Catherine Chapman

Rob Carter

Transcript

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00:00

This is the

BBC

00:03

This podcast is supported by advertising outside the UK.

00:08

"6 Minute Vocabulary" from

BBCLearningEnglish

. com.

Catherine Chapman

00:16

Hi, welcome to "6 Minute Vocabulary." My name is Catherine and I'm here with Rob.

Rob Carter

00:22

Hello everyone.

00:25

Today, we're going to be talking about different words for jobs. And, especially, how those words change depending on whether a man, or a woman is doing the job.

Catherine Chapman

00:35

Yes, and listen carefully because we're going to give you a quick quiz.

Rob Carter

00:38

And then you'll get a tip to help with your vocabulary learning.

Catherine Chapman

00:42

Right! So let's get started. First, we're going to listen to Joe talking about how he met his girlfriend, Judith.

Rob Carter

00:49

While you listen, here's a question for you to think about: "What is Judith's job now?" Listen carefully.

00:56

"Well, I used to be an actor, and I met Judith at work. We were doing a play about a policeman, who falls in love with a waitress. I played the policeman and Judith played the waitress. And sure enough, we fell in love. Later I quit acting and now I'm a businessman. But Judith has a successful acting career. Right now, she's on a film shoot. She's playing a firefighter."

Catherine Chapman

01:27

So the question was, "What is Judith's job now?"

Rob Carter

01:33

And the answer is, "Judith is an actress. Right now, she's making a film."

Catherine Chapman

01:38

The first job that Joe mentioned was "actor". Now, this is one of those jobs where the word changes depending on whether a man, or a woman is doing the job. So, we say that a man is "an actor", but a woman is "an actress".

Rob Carter

01:53

That's right. When Joe met Judith, she was playing "a waitress." Again, we can say a man is "a waiter" and a woman is "a waitress."

Catherine Chapman

02:02

So we've got "actor," "actress," "waiter," "waitress," you can hear the pattern, can't you?

Rob Carter

02:10

I can, yes. Judith was playing "a waitress" in the play, but can you remember what Joe was playing? Listen again.

02:18

"We were doing a play about a policeman who falls in love with a waitress."

Catherine Chapman

02:24

Right, so Joe was playing "a policeman." And we say that a man is "a policeman" and a woman is "a policewoman."

Rob Carter

02:31

Now Joe is "a businessman" because he's a man. But for a woman we can say "businesswoman."

Catherine Chapman

02:38

So "policemen," "policewoman," "businessman," "businesswomen." Easy, isn't it?

Rob Carter

02:45

Well, maybe it's not quite so easy. Because we know that Judith is making a film right now. But do you remember what sort of character she's playing? Listen again, and check.

02:57

"But Judith has a successful acting career. Right now, she's on a film shoot. She's playing a firefighter."

Catherine Chapman

03:06

Okay, so Judith is playing "a firefighter."

Rob Carter

03:10

But wait, hold on a minute, Catherine. There's something strange about that word "firefighter."

Catherine Chapman

03:16

Yes, indeed. "A waiter" is a man and "a policewoman" is a woman. What about "a firefighter?" Man or woman?

Rob Carter

03:24

In fact the word "firefighter" is the same for a man or a woman. More and more in modern English, people prefer to use words for jobs which are the same for both sexes.

Catherine Chapman

03:34

They do. For example, some people prefer not to use the word "actress," they just like to use the word "actor" for a man or a woman.

Rob Carter

03:43

And instead of "policeman" or "policewoman" we can say "police officer," that's good for a man or a woman too.

Catherine Chapman

03:49

And that's why we say "firefighter," we don't say "fireman" or "firewoman," we just use "firefighter" these days for everyone.

03:58

"6 Minute Vocabulary" from

BBC Learning English

Catherine Chapman

04:03

And we're talking about job words that change depending on whether a man, or woman is doing the job.

Rob Carter

04:09

And job words that are the same for both men and women

Catherine Chapman

04:12

Those are my preferred options. What about Rob?

Rob Carter

04:15

I think, it's easier and less complicated, yes, to use those sort of generic words.

Catherine Chapman

04:20

Like "presenter."

Rob Carter

04:21

Like "presenter," not "present-ress" or anything.

Catherine Chapman

04:23

Indeed. And, in fact, some job titles that used to be different for men and women and now being replaced by a single job title for both sexes.

04:33

So, for example, on planes, in the past, we had "stewards" and "stewardesses" looking after the passengers. But now, Rob, we just have

Rob Carter

04:42

We just have "flight attendants." And instead of "a chairman" or "chairwoman" in charge of a formal meeting, these days we often hear the word "chairperson."

Catherine Chapman

04:52

Yes, or even just "chair."

Rob Carter

04:54

Okay.

Catherine Chapman

04:55

Right, so now it's time to see how much you can remember.

04:59

And we've got three quiz questions for you. Number one, if the word for man is "businessman," what's the word for a woman?

Rob Carter

05:10

And the answer is, "businesswomen"

05:14

Second, if the word for a woman is "waitress," what's the word for a man.

Catherine Chapman

05:19

"Waiter."

05:21

Right. And just one more question. If a man can be "a policeman" and a woman can be "a policewoman," what's the word that's equally good for a man or a woman?

Rob Carter

05:32

It's "police officer."

05:36

Did you get all those right? Well done, if you did.

Catherine Chapman

05:39

And before we go, here's a top tip to help you learn your vocabulary more effectively.

Rob Carter

05:45

When you're out and about, walking down the street or sitting on the bus, notice the people you see and say the words for them to yourself in English, like "waitress" or "police officer."

Catherine Chapman

05:57

Or "presenter."

Rob Carter

05:57

Indeed.

Catherine Chapman

05:58

There's more about this at

BBCLearningEnglish

. com. Join us again soon for more "6 Minute Vocabulary." Bye.

Rob Carter

06:06

Bye bye.

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