Learn British English with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (PS1), Part 1: Shadowing, Vocabulary and Pronunciation

The boy who lived

• Game: There was nothing about the starry sky that night to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening, as <mark>unsuspecting</mark> Muggles slept.
• Game: A huge motorbike with a giant <mark>astride</mark> it <mark>tumbled down</mark> from the darkness.
• Game: The giant named Hagrid left a blanket-wrapped <mark>bundle</mark> on the doorstep of number four, Privet Drive.
• Game: <mark>Nestled</mark> in the bundle was a baby.
• Alex: You don’t say “nest-tled”, just like you don’t say “cast-tle”. You say <mark>castle</mark>. You don’t pronounce the T there.
• Game: Harry Potter, <mark>the boy who lived</mark>.
• Alex: My students keep saying “Where do you live?” in the past too. No: it’s “the boy who <mark>lived</mark>”, in the past simple.

Fateful letters and school supplies

• Game: For the next 11 years, Harry lived with his <mark>dreadful</mark> step-parents, the Dursleys.
• Game: Until that <mark>fateful</mark> day when he received the letter inviting him to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
• Game: Hagrid took Harry to Diagon Alley to <mark>purchase</mark> a most unusual list of school supplies.
• Alex: That word is <mark>purchase</mark>: PUR-chis. Not “pur-chase”.
• Game: Soon after, Harry caught the Hogwarts Express from platform 9 and ¾ and left the Muggle world <mark>far behind</mark>.
• Alex: Most speakers in this game have <mark>RP</mark> or a Standard Southern British accent. They don’t pronounce a final R, unless a vowel sound comes right after it.

The Sorting Hat

• Game: Harry sat beneath the <mark>Sorting Hat</mark>, hoping that he would not be chosen for Slytherin house over Gryffindor.
• Alex: Now I know why it’s called the Sorting Hat: it’s the hat that <mark>sorts</mark> students into different houses.
• Game: You could be great, you know. It’s all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you <mark>on your way to</mark> greatness.
• Alex: On your way to something: on the path to it. Not “in your way”! Something <mark>in your way</mark> is an obstacle.
• Game: Well, if you’re sure, better be… Gryffindor!
• Alex: That’s a <mark>first conditional</mark> sentence: “If you’re sure, (you’d) better be Gryffindor.”

Dumbledore’s Irish accent

• Dumbledore: Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am Albus Dumbledore, your <mark>Headmaster</mark>.
• Alex: Notice that he <em>does</em> pronounce the R at the end: your headmaster.
• Alex: That’s why in the Harry Potter films Dumbledore has a <mark>soft, distinct Irish accent</mark>. He pronounces the R at the end and in the middle of words, like Hogwarts.
• Alex: In Ireland they pronounce a final R, like in American English, but it’s a bit <mark>softer</mark>.
• Alex: In the UK it’s the <mark>Philosopher’s Stone</mark>. The Sorcerer’s Stone is the name the book was given in American English.

The foyer

• Game: Great <mark>foyer</mark>: locked.
• Alex: <mark>Foyer</mark>: that’s the pronunciation of that word. FOY-ay.
• Alex: It’s a large open area just inside the entrance of a public building, such as a theatre or a hotel, where people can wait and meet each other.
• Alex: “I’ll see you downstairs <mark>in the foyer</mark> in half an hour.”

Meeting Fred and George

• Fred: <mark>By the look of</mark> that scar, you <mark>must be</mark> Harry Potter.
• Alex: “You must be…”: given the evidence, we’re sure you’re Harry Potter.
• Fred: I’m Fred Weasley, and <mark>this is</mark> my brother George.
• George: In Hogwarts, there are special <mark>portraits</mark>.
• Alex: <mark>Portraits</mark>: the stress is on the first syllable, with a long “aw” sound and no R.
• Fred: If you bring us Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, we’ll tell you the password.
• George: We’ll be in the Gryffindor common room, which is through the portrait of the Fat Lady.
• Alex: A common mistake, even for native speakers: no comma before a <mark>non-defining relative clause</mark>. “…common room<b>,</b> which is through the portrait…”

Roaming the castle

• Alex: The <mark>Magi</mark>: in the Bible, the three men who followed a star to visit Jesus. They’re also called the three kings or the three wise men.
• Alex: <mark>Medieval</mark>: a difficult word to pronounce! Related to the Middle Ages.
• Alex: “Prince of the enchanters, part of the court of King Arthur.” Three words with the long “ah” sound: enchanters, part and Arthur.
• Alex: We are <mark>roaming</mark> the castle. Do you know what roam means?
• Alex: To <mark>roam</mark>: to move about or travel, especially without a clear idea of what you’re going to do.
• Alex: “She <mark>roamed around</mark> America for a year, working in bars and restaurants.”

Slimy, slithering Draco Malfoy

• Ron: Hey Harry, remember me? Ron Weasley. Seen that <mark>slimy</mark>, <mark>slithering</mark> Draco Malfoy?
• Alex: If you describe a person as <mark>slimy</mark>, they appear to be friendly, but in a way that you find unpleasant.
• Alex: “He was the very worst kind of <mark>slimy salesman</mark>.”
• Alex: Something that <mark>trips off the tongue</mark> is easy to say or pronounce. A word that’s hard to say is <mark>a bit of a mouthful</mark>.
• Alex: To <mark>trip over</mark> a word: to make a mistake while speaking. “I always trip over that word.”
• Alex: When you trip over a word, break the sentence down and practise one part at a time: salesman, slimy salesman, the very worst kind of slimy salesman…

Take the mickey

• Draco: Well, well, well, if it isn’t the famous Harry Potter. I’m Draco Malfoy, and <mark>you’d do well to</mark> show me respect.
• Draco: Looking for that owl of yours? How careless of you to leave it <mark>lying about</mark>.
• Alex: <mark>Lying about</mark> is used in British English. In America, you’d say <mark>lying around</mark>.
• Draco: Go home to your mother, Potter. Oh, sorry. You don’t have one, <mark>do you</mark>?
• Alex: He’s <mark>taking the mickey</mark> out of Harry: a UK informal expression meaning to laugh at someone and make them seem silly.
• Alex: “A group of other boys were taking the mickey out of him.”
• Ron: He’s <mark>a nasty piece of work</mark>. Just ignore him. Us Gryffindors should <mark>stick together</mark>.

Forwards and double back

• Alex: Just approach the edge and keep pushing <mark>forwards</mark> on the controller.
• Alex: <mark>Forwards</mark>, with an S, is British English. In American English: <mark>forward</mark>.
• Ron: I’ll <mark>double back</mark> and watch the entrance.
• Alex: To <mark>double back</mark>: a phrasal verb. To turn and go back in the direction you’ve come from.
• Alex: “We realised we had taken the wrong road and had to double back.”
• Ron: <mark>You’d better</mark> go and rescue Hedwig.

Dreadfully poisonous snails

• Game: Be warned: they’re <mark>dreadfully</mark> poisonous.
• Alex: <mark>Dreadfully</mark>: extremely. Mainly in the UK, it just means <mark>very</mark>. “I’m dreadfully sorry.”
• Game: That should stop the <mark>wretched</mark> things.
• Alex: In the UK, <mark>wretched</mark> is used to express anger when something is annoying. “My wretched car’s broken down again.”
• Alex: When a word begins with <mark>WR</mark>, you don’t pronounce the W: wretched, wrong, write, wrist.
• Game: And <mark>watch out for</mark> those poisonous snail trails.

Wizard cards and recap

• Game: Cornelius Agrippa. Celebrated wizard <mark>imprisoned</mark> by Muggles for his writings.
• Alex: There’s an <mark>elliptical relative clause</mark> here: celebrated wizard (<i>who was</i>) imprisoned by Muggles.
• Game: Derwent Shimpling. Ate an entire venomous Tentacula for a bet, and survived. <mark>Though</mark> he’s still purple.
• Game: Newt Scamander. Celebrated <mark>author</mark> of <i>Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them</i>.
• Alex: <mark>Author</mark> has that “aw” sound in British English. Listen to the difference with an American accent.
• Alex: This is the end of episode 1 of my first playthrough. See you in part two!