English, baby!

Servants

Date: Oct 30 2007

Themes: Work

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

Ever since people have been becoming rich, they have been hiring others to do things for them. But nowadays, in the United States anyway, when people make a lot of money, they don’t tend to hire servants anymore. They spend their money on technology and property.

Marni and Kevin are both surprised to discover a real-live, present-day American who keeps servants.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Marni

Kevin

Marni: So uh…I know this woman. I used to work at the Town Club, which is a social women’s club, and this woman, very rich, very old-money, has a bell under the table, where she very carefully rings when she wants her servants to come in.

Kevin: You’re kidding! Wow. That’s old school.

Marni: Very old school. So, servants. It seems so archaic to me but I guess…

Kevin: Well, you know, in probably most countries of the world, affluent people have servants. When I lived in Mexico, we had people who lived in our house who cooked and cleaned. But they were treated very well. I think it’s just…It’s all in how you treat them.

Marni: Yes. That’s very true. But what do you consider a servant? If you have a maid or somebody who comes in to clean your house, is that a servant?

Kevin: Well I don’t particularly like the word “servant”...

Marni: I don’t either…

Kevin: ...but I think of it as someone who lives in your home with you.

Marni: Okay.

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Discussion

The wealthy like to form clubs where they can network and…well…be wealthy together. Marni used to work at one of these clubs and there was a woman there who had a button under her table that she could push to call her servants.

Kevin remarks that that’s very old-fashioned, and Marni agrees. But then he recalls that in many countries it’s quite normal to keep servants. He lived in Mexico for a time, and the house he lived in had people who stayed there and cooked and cleaned.

Marni asks Kevin what exactly he thinks a servant is. Does someone who comes to your home to clean and then leaves afterward count as a servant?

Kevin says that he thinks in order for someone to be a servant, that person has to live with the people he or she works for. Kevin and Marni agree that they aren’t too fond of the term “servant.” They might prefer more specific terms like “cook,” or “grounds keeper,” or even another general term like “assistant.”

Is it common to have servants where you live? Do you have servants? Do you work as a servant?

Comments

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kaykhaing7878

Myanmar

Yes，it is common to have servants where I live.I don’t have servants.No,I don’t work as a dervant.

julito

Argentina

I wouldn´t like to call people that helps in a house “servants” .This is an archaic word that comes from the past when servants had no rights whatsoever. To me is very humiliating .

Ahshan

China

yep

zabotto

Brazil

Why do you guys stutter so much!?! God!

Barraka

France

We don't have servants, but I wish i did, it would really be helpful around here (my place).

Come to think of it, I might as well find a wife, I hear they have common skills…

miffoo

Slovakia

in the country when I lived, Slovakia not common have a servant. I think and agree with Marni that's archaic and annoyed me when people doing work with someone other

KarenH

Costa Rica

actually in me country is a occupation and foreign people make theirs lives in that way.

nad1a

Greece

In Greece, they often have servants too, ‘live-in’ or ‘live-out’ as they call them. In the ‘live-in’ case, the maid/babysitter etc may be an undocumented immigrant and more often than not is kept under near-slavery conditions (without exaggerating). Of course this is not 100% the case but it’s quite common. Even when they are treated better, it’s still nowhere near ‘regarded as part of the family’ situation.

garna2010

Morocco

we have the servant also in my country ,but problem where ? the most of there servant women not working good and they dont do the work prefictly.more talkative and lol…............

for me the women is not good for this work.

i know many women they rich now by servant but i dont know

00961836b

United Arab Emirates

00961836b

United Arab Emirates

mangaonkarvishal

India

It is a good lesson,in our country affluent people normally tend to keep servants.We dont have any servant in our house,but it is very important to respect each human being.

chunjinglan

China

Can we be friends?

jaction

China

great you are!

jaction

China

i agree with you

83ten

India

wonderful

carlosbertholdi

Brazil

Servants are very common here in Brazil all families that I know here have servants. I don't understand why Americans think that is bad thing to have servants. If we didn't have servants we would have to eat in restaurants and, eat out sucks you never know what you really are eating.

muziclover

Germany

Well, here in Philippines we also practice that especially to those affluents families.

a6a9a8

China

I don't like the word servant either. I hired a girl to cook for me and help me do something when I just gave birth to my son. yes, she lived with me at that time. But I would rather called her baby-keeper than the word servant.