Learn English from the News | Advanced English Vocabulary

(Video Transcript)

"Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” is a bursting-at-the-seams hallucination of a movie — it’s wonderfully out-there. At once a melancholic lament and futuristic fantasy, it invokes different epochs and overflows with entrancing, at times confounding images and ideas that have been playing in my head since I first saw the movie in May at the Cannes Film Festival. There, it was both warmly received and glibly dismissed, a critical divide that’s nothing new for Coppola, a restlessly experimental filmmaker with a long habit of going off-Hollywood."

Okay, now what the heck did I just read?

There were lots of big words in this review of Francis Ford Coppola’s film called Megalopolis. I got this review from the New York Times, and that publication uses English that is possibly more advanced than other newspapers. So if you didn’t fully understand everything I just read, don’t worry. I’m going to review the vocabulary in this first paragraph and teach you what the word or phrase means, how to use it in a sentence, and most importantly, how to pronounce it.

So in this video, you’re going to learn English through the news.

Advanced English Vocabulary: How to Pronounce "Bursting at the Seams"

The first sentence uses the phrase “bursting-at-the-seams”. This is a fantastic phrase in English because it uses descriptive language that gives the reader or listener an exact visual of what’s happening. If something is bursting at the seams, that means it has a very large number of people or things in it.

Think of the last time you packed for a vacation, and you packed too many things in your suitcase. What does one typically do in this situation? They put as much force as they can on the suitcase to squeeze the contents together, and try as hard as they can to zip up the suitcase, even though the suitcase is bursting at the seams with extra clothes. The seams are where two pieces of material come together, so the seam of a suitcase is where the zippers meet. So if the seams are bursting, that means the zippers are coming apart, or they are bursting at the seams.

In the context of the review, the writer is saying that the movie is a bursting-at-the-seams hallucination of a movie, which means the movie is like a hallucination - it’s a false perception or a false experience of what a movie traditionally is - but it’s not just one hallucination’s worth. This movie is so unlike any previous movie you’ve ever seen, that the amount of hallucinations contained within the movie simply burst at the seams of the movie. The movie is overflowing with hallucinations, just like a suitcase might overflow or burst at the seams with too many articles of clothing.

Here's another example of how to use the phrase "bursting at the seams":

"The small coffee shop was so popular that by 10 a.m., it was bursting at the seams with people trying to get a table."

In this context, "bursting at the seams" is used to describe the coffee shop being overcrowded, as if it can't hold any more people.

For most of you, the tricky part of the pronunciation of this phrase is the first word, burst. It’s spelled B-U-R-S-T, but the UR portion is pronounced as “ER”, not “oour”. Here’s the IPA of the word bursting: /ˈbɝst.ɪŋ/

Let’s practice the first syllable, “ber”. I’ll say it a few times with pauses; imitate after me in the pauses.

Ber

Now the full word:

Bursting

bursting

And the next trickiest part of this phrase is the linking. You have these two little words in the middle here, at the, and the T in at is almost always going to be a stop T. These two words are also going to be unstressed and as reduced as possible. So they sound like this:

At the

Very low in pitch, and short in duration.

Bursting at the seams

Advanced English Vocabulary: How to Pronounce "Melancholic" and "Melancholy"

The next word we’ll discuss is melancholic, and the phrase that it’s used in is melancholic lament. The word melancholic is an adjective, and it means to express feelings of sadness. It’s similar to another word, melancholy, which also is an adjective, and it also means sadness. Lament in this sentence is a noun, which means a song, poem, or other piece of writing that expresses sadness or regret about something. So I’m interpreting this phrase to mean the film has an overall sadness to it, because the characters want a better world, or they have a vision for a better world, and maybe they never achieve it.

The words melancholic or its close cousin, melancholy, aren’t very common in English, but they are great words to add to your vocabulary as synonyms for the word sad or sadness.

Here’s another example of how to use the word melancholic in a sentence:

"She gazed out at the rainy landscape with a melancholic expression, lost in memories of a time long gone."

In this sentence, "melancholic" conveys a sense of gentle sadness or reflective sorrow.

And here’s an example of how to use the word melancholy in a sentence:

"He couldn't shake the feeling of melancholy that settled over him as the days grew shorter and the autumn leaves fell."

Here, "melancholy" describes a deep, reflective sadness or gloom.

Here’s the IPA of both words. There are two important things to notice here. First, notice how the CH spelling makes the K sound, not the CH sound. And second, notice how the syllable stress changes between the two words. In melancholy, the primary stress is on the first syllable, but in melancholic, the primary stress shifts to the third syllable, which is the syllable before the “ic” suffix. /ˈmɛl.əŋˌkɑ.li/; /ˌmɛl.əŋˈkɑ.lɪk/

I’ll say each word a few times and then pause. Imitate after me in the pauses.

Melancholy

Melancholic

Advanced English Vocabulary: How to Pronounce "Epochs"

The next word we’ll discuss is epochs or “ee-pahks”,, and the phrase that it’s in is “it invokes different epochs”. Any clue as to what epochs means from the context of the sentence? It’s not very clear based on context, unfortunately, so let’s get right to the definition.

An epoch is a noun. It’s a long period of time, especially one in which there are new developments and great change. So in the context of the review, the writer is saying that the film invokes or uses the concept of time, of long periods of time, to demonstrate the idea of massive change within the setting of the film or within the society that the film portrays.

Here’s another example of how to use the word epochs in a sentence:

“Throughout Earth's history, several geological epochs have shaped the planet's landscape and ecosystems, each marked by significant climatic and environmental changes."

In this sentence, "epochs" refers to distinct periods of time within Earth's history, and this is the context in which I’ve mainly heard the word epochs used before.

In terms of the pronunciation of this word, there are two different ways that most native speakers pronounce it:

Epochs, just like the word epics, and here’s the IPA for that: /ˈɛp.ɪks/, or it’s pronounced as “ee-pahks”, and here’s the IPA for that: ˈi.pɑks/. I’ve heard both pronunciations, though I do believe that the first one, “epics”, is slightly more common.

The tricky thing about this pronunciation is of course the spelling. Notice how epochs has the CH spelling, but here’s another word where the CH makes the K sound, not the CH sound.

I’ll say this word a few times in a row and then pause. Imitate after me in the pauses.

Epochs (epics)

Epochs (ee-pahks)

Advanced English Vocabulary: How to Pronounce "Confounding"

The next word we’ll discuss is confounding, and the phrase in which this word is used is: overflows with entrancing, at times confounding images and ideas. Any clue as to what it means based on the context? This word, confounding, is a great word to start using today, so if you don’t know what this means or you do know the meaning, but you don’t really use this word in your vocabulary, start using it now. Confound is a verb, and it can mean to confuse or perplex someone, so much so that they are unable to explain or deal with a situation. In science and research, to confound means to affect the result of a scientific experiment in a way that makes it less clear that one thing causes another.

But the writer in the review used the phrase confounding images and ideas, and in this case, the word confounding is an adjective, and it means something similar to the verb, to confound. Confounding describes the nouns “images” and “ideas," indicating that the film uses many images and ideas that may contradict each other, or confuse one thing for another, or add to the confusion of the viewer; somehow, the images and ideas presented in the film make it difficult for the viewer to follow what’s happening or fully understand how one plot point leads to another.

Here’s where I hear the word confounding a lot in my day-to-day reading: confounding variables. I read a lot of research papers, and any good scientific research must include a discussion of possible confounding variables. Here’s a good sentence to illustrate how to use confounding in a sentence:

“The confounding variables in the study made it difficult to determine whether the treatment was truly effective or if other factors influenced the results."

In this sentence, "confounding" refers to variables that cause confusion or interference with clear conclusions.

Here’s the IPA of the word confounding: /kənˈfaʊnd.ɪŋ/. There are two important things I want to point out here: First, the first syllable is unstressed. It’s spelled C-O-N, but it’s not pronounced that way. It’s not pronounced as “cahn” or “cohn”, which is how I hear many non-native speakers pronounce this type of syllable. It’s a short, reduced syllable that uses the schwa, uh, sound, or maybe no vowel at all:

The stressed syllable is “found”, and this contains the OW diphthong, which is the second tricky part about this pronunciation. The OW diphthong uses a lot of lip movement

OW, OW, OW

So make sure you’re moving your lips a lot as you say it.

I’ll say the word confounding a few times with pauses. Imitate after me in the pauses:

Confounding

Advanced English Vocabulary: How to Pronounce "Glibly"

The last word we’ll discuss today is glibly, and the phrase that it’s used in is: "There, it was both warmly received and glibly dismissed." Any idea of what glibly means based on the context? This word is probably less common for most of you, so let’s get right to the definition. You might have heard the word glib, which is an adjective, and it refers to speech or writing that is fluent and confident but often superficial, insincere, or lacking in depth. It can describe someone who speaks easily but without thoughtfulness or genuine concern. Glib has a negative connotation. If you’re glib, that means you don’t really know what you’re talking about - you’re not the expert, even though you may think you are - and you should be embarrassed.

"Glibly" is the adverb form of "glib" and it means to speak or act in a smooth, easy manner, but often in a way that is superficial, insincere, or careless.

The writer uses the word glibly to describe the way the audience dismissed or rejected the film; that even though some of the audience liked the film, or warmly received it, some members of the audience casually rejected it without giving it fair consideration.

Here’s another way of using the word glibly in a sentence:

“She glibly dismissed their concerns without considering the real impact of the situation."

In this sentence, "glibly" describes how someone spoke in a way that seemed unconcerned or lacking in sincerity.

Here’s the IPA of glibly: /ˈɡlɪb.li/. The pronunciation is fairly straightforward, but you do have two L consonants in a row, which can be challenging to pronounce.

The good news is both Ls here are light Ls, so that should help make this word a little bit easier to pronounce, but it still feels like a tongue twister to me, probably because of that B consonant that’s right there in the middle of the word.

I’ll say the word glibly a few times with pauses. Imitate after me in the pauses.

Glibly

Thanks so much for watching this video! I hope you were able to learn a few new vocabulary words, and I challenge you to actively use at least one of them in your speech today. Create a sentence using one of the words, and add it to the comments below - I’d love to hear about it!

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