First of all, watch the video through to get the gist of what the conversation is about.
Watch the video again. This time, pay attention to the following characteristics of spoken English we can hear.
- Giving emphasis to the information we give: quite; really
- Use of fillers to gain thinking time: erm; er; sort of
- Hedging our opinion so that we don't sound so categorical: I guess
- Showing the speaker that you're paying attention: Yeah; Was it a nice fountain?; Oh, OK; Oh , I didn’t know that; Right
- Use of actually to introduce a piece of surprising information
- Use of so as a linking word
Now it's over to you. Get together with a relative or friend and discuss your take on graffiti. Is it art? Is it vandalism? Don't forget to use some of the features of spoken English we have heard on the video.
Have you both heard about Keith Herring?
Erm, rings a bell.
Yeah? He was a very famous artist, no longer living, he was a graffiti artist, and a lot of people were quite impressed with his work and he would leave a lot of erm… works, I guess you could say, all over the streets, on subway cars etcetera. And then it was something that sort of created an art movement, and different people were, also thought it was really cool and then of course I’m sure you’ve heard of tagging, for people, then to write codes in different places, to communicate. But then of course, erm… in different countries, different kids for example they wanted to be bad, so instead of smoking, they decided they’d get out their spray can and write, I don’t know…
Anything.
… I don’t know “ Pepe loves Wilma”.
Yeah…
The other day I was in, I was in the park, and I was there with my dog and I saw these two people, a father and a son… doing something. I said, “What is that?” And they had a spray can, and they were... graffiti, putting graffiti on the fountain, and I was shocked, and I said to all the people around me, “Shouldn’t we do something just other than watch them?” It didn’t phase anybody else….
Was it a nice fountain?
It was a nice fountain. It was a nice park! It’s upsetting.
I would, I would take issue. No it’s funny but the way graffiti is an actual legitimate art form, it’s actually, yeah, branched out of the delinquency factor… Because nowadays it’s actually quite a worthwhile investment, if you have, if you happen to own a piece of art by someone like Banksy, who’s a graffiti artist of renown in London and Birmingham.
Oh, OK.
And actually, recent er, recent acquirers, celebrity, erm, fans of his include Cristina Aguilera and Angelina Jolie.
Oh , I didn’t know that.
And they have works of his in their own homes, so, I don’t know if that means they have bits of wall all around.
Right.
But yeah it’s worth really quite a substantial amount of money.
So then… artists should start branching out!
Yeah, I suppose so.
