Everyone uses cos in English, even the rich and famous!

Jo:  Hello, you’re listening to Question and Answer of the Week from BBC Learning English. I’m Jo.
 
Li:  And I’m Yang Li. 是的，在你问我答节目中我们会解答大家提出的关于英语学习方面的问题，不论是语法，语音还是词汇我们都乐于解答。请记住我们邮箱的地址，questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk. 节目稍候，我们还会重复一次这个邮箱地址。So what’s today’s question Jo?  
 
Jo:  We’ve had a question from someone who is known as Lok, and they have asked a really useful question actually. They want to know the meaning of the word cos? C.O.S.
 
Li:  很有意思，那么Jo cos 到底是什么意思?
 
Jo:  Well it's the short form of a very commonly used English word. So if I was to say it is sometimes spelt ‘C.A.U.S.E. ‘cause – would that help?
 
Li:  It’s not because, is it Jo?  
 
Jo:  You’re absolutely right Li. So cos is short for because and when you hear native speakers of English talking you will find that they say it all the time.
 
Li:  这么说 cos就是英语单词 because 的缩写形式。Jo 能不能举个例子?
 
Jo:  I have a few actually. Let’s listen first to Rupert Grint from the Harry Potter films.
 
Li:  啊大明星，他在凤凰社里扮演了罗恩·韦斯莱。
 
Jo:  That’s right. Here he is talking to the BBC about making the sixth Harry Potter film which is coming out in 2009. How has he been finding it all?
 
Insert
 
Yeah I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s quite weird now cos this is the first time, we know how it’s all gonna end now.    

Jo:    So he says he’s really enjoyed it but it’s quite weird now. 
 Li:   这次不同以往，很奇怪。
 
Jo:  It’s weird cos this is the first time we now how it’s all going to or gonna end.
 
Li:  之所以感到奇怪是因为哈利波特系列已经全部出版，所以他就知道整个故事的结局了-此处我们听到了另一个短语的缩略形式 gonna – 在拍摄第七部哈利波特影片时他已经对故事首尾已经心中有数了。
 
Jo:  So notice how he says – it’s weird cos we know how it’s all gonna end. It’s weird BECAUSE we know how it’s all going to end.
 
Li:  归纳一下， 口语里人们经常把 because 缩写为 cos 因为这样更为简化省时。不过，简化形式听起来是不是不够礼貌呢 Jo ?
 
Jo:  No it’s fine Li. You will hear it perhaps more in informal situations but no one will think you are bad if you say it in a formal situation.
 
Li:  这下不用担心了，因为不论正式还是非正式场合你都可以使用这些缩略语。
 
Insert
 
Yeah I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s quite weird now cos this is the first time, we know how it’s all gonna end now.    
 
Jo:  Let’s hear another example. This time it’s footballer David Beckham. Here he is talking to the BBC about his 100th game playing for the England
team.
 
Insert
 
I kept on getting messages from friends and from family saying about it and I sort of held back the tears cos it’s an emotional moment for myself and my whole family.
 
Li:  贝克汉姆说他不断收到来自朋友和家人的短信，向他表示祝贺，他按捺着眼里的热泪。

Jo:  He held back the tears cos it’s an emotional moment for him and his whole family.
 
Li:  他感到激动因为这对他和全家都是难忘的，此处他使用了缩略的’cos.
 
Jo:  He held back the tears because it was an emotional moment.  
 
Insert
 
I kept on getting messages from friends and from family saying about it and I sort of held back the tears cos it’s an emotional moment for myself and my whole family.
 
 
Jo:  Finally here’s Madonna talking to the BBC at the famous concert Live 8. 

 Li:  另一个例子是麦当娜在 2005年全球重大慈善募捐音乐会 Live 8上的一段录音。 Madonna 当时在伦敦表演，她谈到了自己是不是想去非洲参加义演。
 
Insert
 
I don’t wanna not do it cos it’s difficult. I mean I would do it if the time was right.  
Jo:  She said she didn’t wanna, or want to not go to Africa because it’s difficult – cos it’s difficult.
 
Li:  是的。Wanna 是want to 的简略形式 她说，她不会因为惧怕困难而不去非洲，只要时间合适她就会去的。
 
Jo:  So lots of examples of people using cos as a short way of saying because in English. We hope that answered your question Lok. And if you have a question about the English language, why not email us at
questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk. 
 
Li:  大家也可以登陆我们的网页 www.bbcchina.com.cn 浏览更多的你问我答。So we have to go now Jo?
 
Jo: We do?
 
Li:  Yes cos it’s the end of the programme!
 
Jo:  Ah very good Li – because – cos it’s the end of the programme. OK We’ll see you next time.
 
Li:  下次节目再会! 

This week's question comes from Lok and they want to know what the word cos means.

Quite simply it is a short form of the word because. Native English speakers often shorten this word, no doubt because it's easier to do that. Words are joined together or shortened a lot when native speakers talk so it's good to be able to look out for these things to help understand English better.

So basically any time you want to say because in a sentence, you can just say cos (which is sometimes spelt 'cause).

You might hear this more in informal situations like a group of friends talking together. However, you find that British people are often quite informal in formal situations, so you may hear cos used in more formal settings.

Listen to our programme which explains a lot more about this word. You'll find out that even famous people use cos a lot!

Thank you Lok for your question. If you have a question about the English language, send us an email at questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk.

Glossary 词汇

a short form
缩写

native English speakers
英语为母语的人

shorten
缩短

no doubt
毋庸置疑

to look out for
关注

a sentence
一句话

informal
非正式的/随便的

formal settings
正式场合