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Hello, this is 6 Minute English
from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.
And I'm Beth.
In English there are many ways to
apologise, depending on the situation.
In formal situations you could say,
Please forgive me,
while to a friend
you might just say, My bad.
And of course, there's the
most common phrase of all: I'm sorry.
Can you remember a time
when you had to apologise, Beth?
Erm... Oh,
I had to apologise this morning
because I stepped on someone's toes
on the tube.
OK. Well, apologising depends
on what you've done,
so sorry is fine if you
accidentally step on someone's toes,
like you did this morning, Beth.
But what if you do something
really serious,
like the Ghanaian journalist,
Afia Pokua,
who publicly criticised the King
of the Ashanti tribe?
Here's BBC World Service programme,
The Fifth Floor, covering the story:
I guess it's not every day
that you end up offending a king,
but let's say you did.
Would you know
how to apologise to him?
Recently in Ghana, a journalist made
some comments on television
about the King of the Ashanti tribe,
and soon she found herself
at his palace apologising.
The presenter says: It's not
every day that you offend a king.
The phrase,
it's not every day that, highlights
that what's happened is very unusual.
So how do apologies change
from culture to culture?
Well, that's what
we'll be finding out in this episode,
along with some useful new words
and phrases.
And remember, you'll find
all the vocabulary from this episode
on our website,
bbclearningenglish.com.
Now, I have a question for you, Beth.
We know that people from different
countries apologise in different ways,
but what might someone do
to say sorry if they were from India?
Would they: a) offer a gift, b)
pull their ear lobes, or c) bow down?
Ooh, I am going to guess
c) bow down.
OK. Well, we'll find out if you're
right at the end of the programme.
Let's return to Afia Pokua, the
journalist who criticised
the King of the Ashanti tribe.
Her comments
divided opinion in Ghana,
but eventually Afia decided
to say sorry to the King,
following strict traditional rules –
that she dress in black
and apologise kneeling down
on her knees.
Afia's story shows the influence
of culture on how people say sorry.
Let's listen now
as three BBC journalists
from different countries explain
to World Service programme,
The Fifth Floor,
how to say sorry in their culture:
I would say is that
Pakistanis generally –
they're not really expressive,
and we're also very cheeky,
so what we generally do is
we would slide an apology
in the middle of a conversation,
and then very quickly move on
to a new topic
so that we don't have to, sort of,
be very upfront about it.
In Russia, we also have a tradition
called Forgiveness Sunday,
which happens on the last Sunday
before Easter.
The tradition is
that you call your family and friends
and apologise
for any sorrows you've caused.
In Korea, the way of saying sorry
varies depending on the relationship
between the speaker and the listener,
due to the complex honorific system
in the language.
In many cases we say:
Che song ham ni da.
This is used in formal situations
or with people we don't know well,
and we often bow when saying,
Che song ham ni da.
Journalist Ahsan Mahmood thinks
apologising in Pakistan is different
because people are not expressive –
they don't usually show
what they think or feel.
Rather, he says,
Pakistanis tend to be cheeky,
an adjective meaning slightly rude
but in a funny, playful way.
In Pakistan, people sometimes avoid
being upfront about what they've done.
If you're upfront about something,
you speak openly about it so everyone
knows your feelings and intentions.
Moving now to Russia,
the journalist Liza Fokht describes a
tradition called Forgiveness Sunday,
when people apologise to friends and
family for sorrows they have caused.
Sorrows are sources of sadness
or regret.
And finally, in Korea, how you say sorry
depends on who you're apologising to.
Korea has a complicated
honorific system dictating
how people above you in
the social order should be addressed.
Honorific means showing respect
and honour to someone.
Well, there's a saying
that sorry is the hardest word,
but who knew there were
so many ways to say it!
Yes. And it's not just words –
if you're really sorry,
you do something to make
things right,
like giving a small gift.
So, Neil, what do people in India do?
What's the answer to your question?
Yes. Well, I asked
what people in India do to apologise,
and what answer
did you give me, Beth?
I said bow down.
Is that right?
I'm afraid that was
the wrong answer –
you should apologise
to me for that!
It is in fact b) –
in India it's common
to tug your ear lobes
when apologising.
OK. Let's recap the vocabulary we've
learned, starting with the idiom,
it's not every day that, which is used
to say that something is very unusual.
An expressive person shows
what they think or feel.
The adjective cheeky means slightly
rude in a funny, playful way.
When you are upfront about something,
you speak openly and clearly
so people know your true intentions.
Sorrows are sources of sadness
or regret.
And finally, the adjective,
honorific, means showing respect
and honour to someone.
Well, I'm sorry to say that
once again our six minutes are up,
but if you are ready for more,
just head over to our website,
bbclearningenglish.com for a quiz
and a worksheet for this episode.
Bye for now!
Goodbye.
Vocabulary
Word 1 of 15apologise
word
0:14
"to say you are sorry for something you have done."
More Listening Practice
About this lesson
Explore how people apologise in different cultures and what makes a genuine apology in this 6 Minute English episode.