British Academy of Film and Television Arts -- Address by Stephen Fry 2010
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British Academy of Film and Television Arts -- Address --
Stephen Fry
(From Spoken English Example Videos for Language Study)
Author, actor, presenter, Stephen Fry speaks on the future of television.
The address is scripted, but a question and answer session at the end is not. The language is uniformly superb.
Difficulty level: 5/10
Dialect: British (Oxbridge) English
Points to look for: Just listen closely to Fry's wonderfully expressive language. Take notes on vocabulary if necessary, but most importantly, listen! -- perhaps several times. He does employ some marginally forbidden usages: "Myself, Hugh Laurie and Emma Thompson were...", but he is without question perfectly aware of the grammar and is using these intentionally, demonstrating a conscious disdain for hidebound usage rules. He does use the word "maximumly" (which is not in the dictionary, while "maximally" is), but specifically remarks on this adverbial use of maximum, making it obvious that he is consciously and intentionally flouting conventionality.