These guys are having fun

Li:   大家好，欢迎收听我们今天的《你问我答》节目。在这档节目中，我们为大家解答在英语学习过程中有时会碰到的一些疑问。我是杨莉，今天和我一起还有我的同事 Helen.
Hi Helen. 
 
Helen:    Hi Li, hi everyone. We've received a question about the use of two simple words, kid and guy.
 
Li:  Gao Yuan Xue 同学在电子邮件中询问两个名词  kid和guy的用法, 英国人是怎么使用这两个词的呢？
 
Helen:  Also, can they be used in formal occasions? 
 
Li:  还有这两个词适不适合在正式场合下使用呢？
 
Helen:  Let's hear from Mark first. He gives us a good idea of what these two words mean.
 
Insert
 
I do use kids quite a lot, and kid quite a lot to talk about young children, but it is a fairly informal way of saying a small child or children.
 
Li:    Mark 说他经常用kid 或者是kid 的复数kids 来形容小孩。他认为这是一个比较通俗的说法。   
 
Helen:  What about the word guy or guys?
 
Insert
 
As for guy and guys, again it is an informal word. It's an informal way of saying men or people really. More of an American way I think. I don't use it that much. 
 
Li:     对Mark 来说，他自己并不常用这个词。A guy 是男人的通俗称呼，复数guys 可以代表一群男人或者是一群人，其中包括男人和女人。
 
Helen:      Do other people agree with him that these two words are informal?

Insert
 
I think the first thing to say is that these are predominantly used in spoken language, both kid and guy are probably heard when someone says them rather than when you see them written down in newspapers or letters.
 
Li:   我们刚才听到的是 Scott, 他当过英语老师。他说  kid 和 guy 这两个词主要用在口语对话当中。
 
Helen:    They're predominantly used in spoken language. 
 
Li:   主要是 predominantly. 我们日常对话时经常用  kid 和 guy, 但是书面上就不常见了。
 
Helen:    No, we don't often see them written down in newspapers or letters. 
 
Li:   那让我们听听一下的对话，看英国人是怎样使用这两个词的。
 
Insert
 
A: What are you and the kids doing this weekend?
B: If the weather's good, then we'll head for the zoo. 
 
C: Have you seen Samuel Davidson around?
D: Erm, do you mean the tall guy from marketing?
C: Yeah, him.
D: No, I haven't seen him this morning. Maybe you should try the reception. 
 
Helen:      So the conversations we've just heard are pretty relaxed and informal. 
 
Li:  第一个情景是询问一个家庭周末的安排，第二个情景是找人，对话语气和用词都很随便。
 
Helen:  If kid and guy are used in news reports, what would people think? Here is Mark again. 
 
Insert
 
Not really, I've never seen either kids or guy in official news programmes or news reports; really you wouldn't expect to. It doesn't suggest a seriousness, there's an informality there that I wouldn't associate with news. 
 
Li:    Mark 说他基本上从来没有在新闻里听到  kid 或者是 guy 这两个词。
 
Helen:    In news programmes, we would expect to hear a child or children, or a man or men. 
 
Li:   不够严肃  it doesn't suggest a seriousness. 如果在新闻中听到通俗词语的话，整个报道就没有权威的感觉了。
 
Helen:    But if you did use these words in a formal situation, most people are unlikely to be offended by them. 
 
Li:   是的， 万一你在正式交流场合下用了  kid 和 guy 这两个词，也不用太紧张，人们一般不会觉得你说话失态了。那么英语里除了  kid 和 guy 之外，还有哪些其他类似的词汇呢？
 
Insert
 
Chap is another one. Another one is also used, like fella, mate or something like that.  The first one springs to mind is bloke, which is a more English one, and bloke means man.  I guess words like geezer or folks or bird that kind of thing.  
 
Helen:  So these words have similar meanings to guy and they're very informal too: Chap, fella, mate, bloke, geezer.
 
Li:  还有  folks, 这是众人，大家的意思。另外 bird 指的是女人，这是很低俗的一个称呼，所以千万别用。
 
Helen:  Now it's almost the end of our programme. I hope we've helped Yuan Xue to get a better understanding of the use of the words kid and guy. 
 
Li:  那我们怎样可以知道什么词可以在什么情况下使用呢？有没有什么技巧呢？
 
Insert
 
No I think it's just something that people really shouldn't think about too much, and it comes naturally with practise. I think if people start thinking about these things too much I think it becomes a bit unnatural.
 
Li:  Dima 认为顺其自然是最好的，不要刻意的多想。
 
Helen:    I agree, don't think about it too much and it comes naturally with practise. If you have a question, please email us on chinaelt@bbc.co.uk. 
 
Li:  我们下次节目再会。
 
Helen:  Bye bye. 

We often hear people referring to children as kids and the word guy also pops up regularly in conversations. According to dictionaries, these two words are used in informal situations.

If we did use informal words in formal situations such as a news report or a job interview, what could happen? Is it really going to be a disaster for the person speaking?

In this programme, Helen and Li ask some British people for their opinions on the use of informal words.

Do you know what the following words mean? Listen to the programme to check whether you are right.

1. Fella

2. Bloke

3. Folks

4. Bird

If you have a question for our team, send it to us at questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk and we might answer it on this programme.