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Green-Eyed English Podcast, English Learning Podcast: Nanny State

English Learning Podcast: Nanny State

Hello and welcome to Green-Eyed English, a podcast for intermediate and higher English speakers. Interesting topics, with real, understandable spoken English.

Now, I'm from the UK, and in the UK, when the government is being too strict or making too many rules for people, we call it “a nanny state.” “Nanny state” is used negatively, of course, but recently I have been missing some parts of the nanny state in the UK…

… But, before we get into why, let's talk about what “nanny state” actually means.

A nanny is someone who looks after young children. In the past, this was usually a woman who was paid money to come to the children's home to look after them. Generally, richer families would have had a nanny, so Kings, Queens, Prime Ministers and so on were often looked after by a nanny when they were very young. This part is important because, in the UK, we usually think of the government as a group of rich people making rules for everyone else. Although there is some truth to this, meaning that many people in the government do come from rich families, there are also many working-class politicians these days as well. So, that's the “nanny” part. “State” basically means country, although when we say “nanny state” we specifically mean the government of our country. So, when we say things like “we are living in a nanny state” or “this is a nanny state decision,” we mean that we feel like children being told what to do.

This is quite a common phrase to hear in the UK, and sometimes even the government will use it. For example, the UK now has a new Prime Minister called Liz Truss and her government is thinking about stopping trying to keep people slim and healthy. Obesity is the problem of people being overweight or, basically, too fat. It is a big problem in the UK and is getting bigger and bigger every year. The UK now has laws to try to reduce obesity. For example, you cannot sell foods with lots of sugar in them on TV before 9pm and menus in restaurants have to show how many calories different dishes have in them. Liz Truss's government wants to remove some of these laws to help the economy, so they have been calling them “nanny state” laws.

So, basically, a “nanny state” is a bad thing.

However, at the moment I am living in Malaysia and I sometimes miss some of the “nanny state” laws in the UK. The laws I miss most are about food quality and what you can say on food packaging. I have a young son and I try really hard to make sure he eats very healthily, but in Malaysia you have to be very careful because foods lie to you! I have a pet hate here, which means something that I personally really dislike: my pet hate is milk. Here, if you go to a supermarket, you will find lots of different kinds of milk, and they all say things like “fresh milk” or “Australian Milk” or “full cream milk” but… they are lying to you! If you read the label, you will see a long list of ingredients, and often a very long list of ingredients… but of course, you should actually only see one ingredient on the list: milk. I have to spend a long time reading different labels trying to find the one or two kinds that are actually just milk… and it drives me crazy. In the UK, you don't have this problem: if it says milk on the label, then it is just milk. Basically, in Malaysia, the companies are making cheaper, low quality milk products and lying on the label because the government does not stop them. When I lived in China too, I did not have this problem. In China, like the UK, if it says “fresh milk” on the label, it must be just milk inside.

And it is not just milk here. We were looking at some beef burgers in the supermarket this morning and even the expensive ones had a long list of ingredients that should not have been there: things like soy, palm oil, and even sugar…

So, when it comes to food, Malaysia could learn a thing or two from the nanny state of the UK…

Now, of course, the UK is not perfect, and actually the quality of food there is not amazing. But, if you are buying basic things like meat, milk, cheese, and so on, you can trust that it doesn't contain anything else, which is a good thing.

To make sure my son is eating healthily, we now cook a lot. And, although he is only four, he loves helping me in the kitchen. Of course, because he is young, he loves sweet foods like popcorn, cakes, and popsicles, so we try to make healthy sweet foods at home more than buy them when we are outside. This way, we know that, for example, a watermelon popsicle is only made from watermelon and doesn't have a list of ingredients as long as your arm…

So, England's nanny state, I miss you… sometimes.

How about your government? Could you call it a nanny state? Is that a good or bad thing? Perhaps you can test it next time you are in a supermarket: go and read the labels on the milk and see how many ingredients you find…

Finally, if you are a language learner, you should visit my website at greeneyedenglish.com where you can download a learning pack for this episode. It has a transcript, a glossary of interesting language, and notes on useful phrases and grammar.

Nice talking to you. Bye bye!

English Learning Podcast: Nanny State Englischlern-Podcast: Nanny State Podcast εκμάθησης αγγλικών: Nanny State English Learning Podcast: Nanny State Podcast de aprendizaje de inglés: Estado niñera Podcast sur l'apprentissage de l'anglais : L'État providence Podcast di apprendimento inglese: Stato balia 英語学習ポッドキャストナニー・ステート 영어 학습 팟캐스트: 내니 스테이트 English Learning Podcast: Nanny State English Learning Podcast: Nanny State Podcast de aprendizagem de inglês: Nanny State English Learning Podcast: Государство нянь Podcast för lärande på engelska: Nanny-staten İngilizce Öğrenme Podcast'i: Dadı Devlet Подкаст з вивчення англійської мови: штат няні 英语学习播客:Nanny State 英语学习播客:保姆州 英語學習播客:保姆州

Hello and welcome to Green-Eyed English, a podcast for intermediate and higher English speakers. Hallo und willkommen bei Green-Eyed English, einem Podcast für fortgeschrittene und fortgeschrittene Englischsprecher. Привіт і ласкаво просимо до Green-Eyed English, подкасту для тих, хто володіє англійською на середньому та вищому рівні. 您好,欢迎收听 Green-Eyed English,这是一个面向中级和高级英语人士的播客。 Interesting topics, with real, understandable spoken English. Interessante Themen, mit echtem, verständlichem gesprochenem Englisch.

Now, I'm from the UK, and in the UK, when the government is being too strict or making too many rules for people, we call it “a nanny state.” “Nanny state” is used negatively, of course, but recently I have been missing __some parts__ of the nanny state in the UK… Nun, ich komme aus Großbritannien, und wenn die Regierung in Großbritannien zu streng ist oder zu viele Regeln für die Menschen aufstellt, nennen wir das „Kindermädchenstaat“. „Nanny State“ wird natürlich negativ verwendet, aber in letzter Zeit vermisse ich einige Teile des Nanny State in Großbritannien… Maintenant, je viens du Royaume-Uni, et au Royaume-Uni, lorsque le gouvernement est trop strict ou établit trop de règles pour les gens, nous l'appelons « un État nounou ». "Nanny State" est utilisé négativement, bien sûr, mais récemment, certaines parties de l'état de nounou au Royaume-Uni m'ont manqué… Ben İngiltere'den geliyorum ve İngiltere'de hükümet çok katı davrandığında ya da insanlar için çok fazla kural koyduğunda buna "dadı devleti" diyoruz. "Dadı devlet" elbette olumsuz anlamda kullanılır, ancak son zamanlarda Birleşik Krallık'taki dadı devletin bazı kısımlarını özlüyorum... Тепер я з Великої Британії, і у Великій Британії, коли уряд надто суворий або встановлює занадто багато правил для людей, ми називаємо це «державою-нянькою». Звичайно, словосполучення «штат няні» вживається в негативному сенсі, але останнім часом мені не вистачає деяких частин штату няні у Великобританії… 现在,我来自英国,在英国,当政府过于严格或为人们制定太多规则时,我们称之为“保姆国家”。当然,“保姆国家”一词是负面使用的,但最近我错过了英国保姆国家的一些部分……

… But, before we get into why, let's talk about what “nanny state” actually means. … Aber bevor wir uns mit dem Warum befassen, lassen Sie uns darüber sprechen, was „Nanny State“ eigentlich bedeutet. … Pero, antes de entrar en por qué, hablemos de lo que realmente significa “estado niñera”. ... 하지만 그 이유를 알아보기 전에 '유모 상태'가 실제로 무엇을 의미하는지에 대해 이야기해 보겠습니다.

A nanny is someone who looks after young children. Eine Nanny ist jemand, der sich um kleine Kinder kümmert. A nanny is someone who looks after young children. In the past, this was usually a woman who was paid money to come to the children's home to look after them. Früher war das meist eine Frau, die gegen Bezahlung ins Kinderheim kam und sich um sie kümmerte. In the past, this was usually a woman who was paid money to come to the children's home to look after them. Generally, richer families would have had a nanny, so Kings, Queens, Prime Ministers and so on were often looked after by a nanny when they were very young. Im Allgemeinen hätten reichere Familien ein Kindermädchen gehabt, also wurden Könige, Königinnen, Premierminister und so weiter oft von einem Kindermädchen betreut, als sie noch sehr jung waren. Generally, richer families would have had a nanny, so Kings, Queens, Prime Ministers and so on were often looked after by a nanny when they were very young. En general, las familias más ricas habrían tenido una niñera, por lo que los reyes, reinas, primeros ministros, etc., a menudo eran atendidos por una niñera cuando eran muy jóvenes. Як правило, багатші родини мали б няню, тому за королями, королевами, прем’єр-міністрами тощо часто доглядала няня, коли вони були дуже маленькими. This part is important because, in the UK, we usually think of the government as a group of rich people making rules for everyone else. Dieser Teil ist wichtig, weil wir uns in Großbritannien die Regierung normalerweise als eine Gruppe reicher Leute vorstellen, die Regeln für alle anderen erlassen. This part is important because, in the UK, we usually think of the government as a group of rich people making rules for everyone else. Although there is some truth to this, meaning that many people in the government do come from rich families, there are also many working-class politicians these days as well. Daran ist zwar etwas Wahres dran, was bedeutet, dass viele Leute in der Regierung aus reichen Familien stammen, aber es gibt heutzutage auch viele Politiker aus der Arbeiterklasse. Хоча в цьому є частка правди, тобто багато людей в уряді походять із багатих сімей, сьогодні також є багато політиків із робітничого класу. 尽管这有一定道理,这意味着政府中的许多人确实来自富裕家庭,但如今也有许多工人阶级政客。 So, that's the “nanny” part. So, that's the “nanny” part. Отже, це частина «няні». “State” basically means country, although when we say “nanny state” we specifically mean the government of our country. „Staat“ bedeutet im Grunde Land, obwohl wir mit „Nanny State“ ausdrücklich die Regierung unseres Landes meinen. State” basically means country, although when we say “nanny state” we specifically mean the government of our country. So, when we say things like “we are living in a nanny state” or “this is a nanny state decision,” we mean that we feel like children being told what to do. Wenn wir also Dinge sagen wie "wir leben in einem Nanny-Staat" oder "dies ist eine Entscheidung des Nanny-Staats", dann meinen wir damit, dass wir uns wie Kinder fühlen, denen gesagt wird, was sie zu tun haben. So, when we say things like “we are living in a nanny state” or “this is a nanny state decision,” we mean that we feel like children being told what to do. Entonces, cuando decimos cosas como “estamos viviendo en un estado de niñera” o “esta es una decisión de un estado de niñera”, queremos decir que nos sentimos como niños a los que se les dice qué hacer. Итак, когда мы говорим что-то вроде «мы живем в состоянии няни» или «это решение государства няни», мы имеем в виду, что чувствуем себя детьми, которым говорят, что делать. 因此,当我们说“我们生活在一个保姆国家”或“这是一个保姆国家的决定”之类的话时,我们的意思是我们感觉就像孩子们被告知要做什么。

This is quite a common phrase to hear in the UK, and sometimes even the government will use it. Dies ist ein ziemlich häufiger Satz, den man in Großbritannien hört, und manchmal wird er sogar von der Regierung verwendet. Це досить поширена фраза, яку можна почути у Великобританії, і іноді її вживає навіть уряд. For example, the UK now has a new Prime Minister called Liz Truss and her government is thinking about stopping trying to keep people slim and healthy. So hat das Vereinigte Königreich jetzt eine neue Premierministerin namens Liz Truss, und ihre Regierung denkt darüber nach, nicht mehr zu versuchen, die Menschen schlank und gesund zu halten. 例如,英国现在有了一位名叫利兹·特拉斯(Liz Truss)的新首相,她的政府正在考虑停止试图让人们保持苗条和健康。 Obesity is the problem of people being overweight or, basically, too fat. Ожиріння - це проблема людей із зайвою вагою або, в основному, занадто товстими. It is a big problem in the UK and is getting bigger and bigger every year. Es un gran problema en el Reino Unido y cada año crece más y más. Це велика проблема у Великобританії, і з кожним роком вона стає все більшою і більшою. The UK now has laws to try to reduce obesity. Im Vereinigten Königreich gibt es jetzt Gesetze zur Bekämpfung der Fettleibigkeit. JK dabar turi įstatymus, kuriais siekiama sumažinti nutukimą. Зараз у Великій Британії діють закони, які намагаються зменшити ожиріння. For example, you cannot sell foods with lots of sugar in them on TV before 9pm and menus in restaurants have to show how many calories different dishes have in them. Например, нельзя продавать по телевидению до 21.00 продукты с большим содержанием сахара, а в меню ресторанов необходимо указывать количество калорий в различных блюдах. Liz Truss's government wants to remove some of these laws to help the economy, so they have been calling them “nanny state” laws. Die Regierung von Liz Truss will einige dieser Gesetze abschaffen, um die Wirtschaft zu fördern, und nennt sie deshalb "Nanny State"-Gesetze. Уряд Ліз Трасс хоче скасувати деякі з цих законів, щоб допомогти економіці, тому вони називають їх законами «держави-няні».

So, basically, a “nanny state” is a bad thing.

However, at the moment I am living in Malaysia and I sometimes miss some of the “nanny state” laws in the UK. Ancak şu anda Malezya'da yaşıyorum ve bazen Birleşik Krallık'taki bazı "dadı devleti" yasalarını özlüyorum. The laws I miss most are about food quality and what you can say on food packaging. En çok özlediğim yasalar gıda kalitesi ve gıda ambalajları üzerinde yazabileceklerinizle ilgili. I have a young son and I try really hard to make sure he eats very healthily, but in Malaysia you have to be very careful because foods lie to you! У меня есть маленький сын, и я очень стараюсь, чтобы он питался очень здоровой пищей, но в Малайзии нужно быть очень осторожным, потому что еда вам лжет! Küçük bir oğlum var ve sağlıklı beslenmesini sağlamak için gerçekten çok çaba sarf ediyorum, ancak Malezya'da çok dikkatli olmalısınız çünkü yiyecekler size yalan söylüyor! I have a pet hate here, which means something that I personally really dislike: my pet hate is milk. Ich habe hier einen Haustierhass, was bedeutet, was ich persönlich nicht mag: Mein Haustierhass ist Milch. Здесь у меня есть ненависть к животным, что означает то, что лично мне очень не нравится: моя любимая ненависть — это молоко. Burada nefret ettiğim bir şey var, bu da kişisel olarak gerçekten hoşlanmadığım bir şey anlamına geliyor: Nefret ettiğim şey süt. У мене тут є ненависть до домашніх тварин, що означає те, що мені особисто дуже не подобається: моя ненависть до домашніх тварин – молоко. Here, if you go to a supermarket, you will find lots of different kinds of milk, and they all say things like “fresh milk” or “Australian Milk” or “full cream milk” but… they are lying to you! Burada bir süpermarkete gittiğinizde pek çok farklı süt çeşidi bulursunuz ve hepsinde "taze süt", "Avustralya Sütü" ya da "tam yağlı süt" gibi şeyler yazar ama... size yalan söylüyorlar! If you read the label, you will see a long list of ingredients, and often a very long list of ingredients… but of course, you should actually only see one ingredient on the list: milk. If you read the label, you will see a long list of ingredients, and often a very long list of ingredients… but of course, you should actually only see one ingredient on the list: milk. Etiketi okursanız, uzun bir içindekiler listesi göreceksiniz, ve genellikle çok uzun bir içindekiler listesi... ama tabii ki, aslında listede sadece bir içerik görmelisiniz: süt. I have to spend a long time reading different labels trying to find the one or two kinds that are actually just milk… and it drives me crazy. Ich muss lange Zeit damit verbringen, verschiedene Etiketten zu lesen, um die eine oder andere Sorte zu finden, die tatsächlich nur Milch ist... und das macht mich verrückt. I have to spend a long time reading different labels trying to find the one or two kinds that are actually just milk… and it drives me crazy. Aslında sadece süt olan bir ya da iki çeşidi bulmak için farklı etiketleri okumak için uzun zaman harcamak zorunda kalıyorum... ve bu beni deli ediyor. Мені доводиться довго читати різні етикетки, намагаючись знайти один чи два види, які насправді є лише молоком… і це зводить мене з розуму. In the UK, you don't have this problem: if it says milk on the label, then it is just milk. İngiltere'de böyle bir sorunla karşılaşmazsınız: eğer etikette süt yazıyorsa, o zaman sadece süttür. Basically, in Malaysia, the companies are making cheaper, low quality milk products and lying on the label because the government does not stop them. In Malaysia stellen die Unternehmen billigere, minderwertige Milchprodukte her und lügen auf dem Etikett, weil die Regierung sie nicht daran hindert. Temel olarak, Malezya'da şirketler daha ucuz, düşük kaliteli süt ürünleri üretiyor ve etikette yalan söylüyorlar çünkü hükümet onları durdurmuyor. When I lived in China too, I did not have this problem. Als ich noch in China lebte, hatte ich dieses Problem nicht. Cuando viví en China también, no tuve este problema. Ben de Çin'de yaşarken böyle bir sorunum yoktu. In China, like the UK, if it says “fresh milk” on the label, it must be just milk inside. In China, like the UK, if it says “fresh milk” on the label, it must be just milk inside. İngiltere'de olduğu gibi Çin'de de etikette "taze süt" yazıyorsa, içinde sadece süt olmalıdır. 在中国,和英国一样,如果标签上写着“鲜奶”,那么里面肯定只是牛奶。

And it is not just milk here. And it is not just milk here. Ve burada söz konusu olan sadece süt değil. We were looking at some beef burgers in the supermarket this morning and even the expensive ones had a long list of ingredients that should not have been there: things like soy, palm oil, and even sugar… Wir haben uns heute Morgen im Supermarkt ein paar Rindfleisch-Burger angesehen, und selbst die teuren hatten eine lange Liste von Zutaten, die dort nicht hingehören: Dinge wie Soja, Palmöl und sogar Zucker...

So, when it comes to food, Malaysia could learn a thing or two from the nanny state of the UK… Wenn es also um Lebensmittel geht, könnte Malaysia ein oder zwei Dinge vom britischen Nanny-Staat lernen... So, when it comes to food, Malaysia could learn a thing or two from the nanny state of the UK… Yani konu gıda olduğunda Malezya'nın İngiltere'nin dadı devletinden öğreneceği bir iki şey olabilir... Отже, коли мова заходить про їжу, Малайзія могла б чомусь навчитися у штату-няньки Великобританії...

Now, of course, the UK is not perfect, and actually the quality of food there is not amazing. But, if you are buying basic things like meat, milk, cheese, and so on, you can trust that it doesn't contain anything else, which is a good thing. Но если вы покупаете основные продукты, такие как мясо, молоко, сыр и т. д., вы можете быть уверены, что он не содержит ничего другого, и это хорошо.

To make sure my son is eating healthily, we now cook a lot. Чтобы убедиться, что мой сын ест здоровую пищу, мы теперь много готовим. Oğlumun sağlıklı beslendiğinden emin olmak için artık çok yemek pişiriyoruz. Щоб мій син харчувався здорово, ми тепер багато готуємо. And, although he is only four, he loves helping me in the kitchen. 而且,虽然他只有四岁,但他喜欢在厨房里帮我。 Of course, because he is young, he loves sweet foods like popcorn, cakes, and popsicles, so we try to make healthy sweet foods at home more than buy them when we are outside. Por supuesto, debido a que es joven, le encantan los alimentos dulces como las palomitas de maíz, los pasteles y las paletas heladas, por lo que tratamos de preparar alimentos dulces saludables en casa en lugar de comprarlos cuando estamos afuera. This way, we know that, for example, a watermelon popsicle is only made from watermelon and doesn't have a list of ingredients as long as your arm… So wissen wir, dass z. B. ein Wassermelonen-Eis nur aus Wassermelonen hergestellt wird und nicht eine Zutatenliste hat, die so lang ist wie Ihr Arm... Таким чином, ми знаємо, що, наприклад, кавунове ескімо готується лише з кавуна і не має списку інгредієнтів, довжина вашої руки...

So, England's nanny state, I miss you… sometimes. Entonces, el estado niñero de Inglaterra, te extraño... a veces.

How about your government? Could you call it a nanny state? Is that a good or bad thing? Perhaps you can test it next time you are in a supermarket: go and read the labels on the milk and see how many ingredients you find…

Finally, if you are a language learner, you should visit my website at greeneyedenglish.com where you can download a learning pack for this episode. It has a transcript, a glossary of interesting language, and notes on useful phrases and grammar. It has a transcript, a glossary of interesting language, and notes on useful phrases and grammar.

Nice talking to you. Приятно с тобой разговаривать. Приємно з вами поспілкуватися. Bye bye!