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Science Fiction (Sci-Fi) – Vocabulary Lesson

Hi, this is Kristin Dodds, one of the teachers and directors of Learn Real English. Welcome to this month’s vocabulary lesson for the conversation Science Fiction or Sci-Fi, which is short for science fiction.

I have the text here of the conversation and I’ve made some notes about some words or groups of words that you may have had difficulty understanding.

And I also wanted to mention, as I always do, three words that you’ll see a lot in this conversation or hear a lot in this conversation, as well as many of our conversations. The first one is “yeah.” Yeah is just a slang word for yes. And the next word, or actually it’s two words put together, is “y’know,” and that’s just the combination of you and know. So when we speak fast sometimes, you and know sounds like y’know.

And then you’ll see the word “like” used a lot. Now, as many of you probably know, like means having positive feelings about someone or something. But it’s also used a lot when native English speakers talk, it’s just used as a filler word. It has no meaning. So you’ll see like used a lot in this conversation. Alright, so let’s begin.

So I would first like to explain what science fiction or sci-fi means. Science fiction is a type of a book or movie or TV show and it’s based on future scientific and technological advances. And usually they’re imagined, imagined future scientific and technological advances. And many times there might be time travel. There might be life on other planets or on other worlds. And there might be social and environmental changes as well.

Alright, so at the very beginning of the conversation AJ says, “I’ve got a new sci-fi addiction.” So addiction: this means being dependent on something, for example, alcohol or cigarettes. But in this sentence, AJ saying he’s addicted to sci-fi or science fiction.

Then AJ says, “I started watching Stargate Atlantis.” So Stargate Atlantis is a TV show and it was on TV from the years 2004 to 2009. It was a science fiction TV show.

And then AJ says, “Yeah, but I’m getting sucked into it.” So when he says I’m getting sucked into it, he says I’m getting more interested in the TV show or I’m getting more involved with the TV show.

And then AJ says, “I’m watching it on Amazon.” So what he means is he’s renting the TV series from the website, Amazon.com.

And then I say, “Is it related at all to Star Trek?” So Star Trek was a science fiction TV series that was on TV from the years 1966 to 1969.

Then AJ says, “There was a movie called Stargate.” So Stargate was made in the year 1994.

And then AJ says, “It had Kurt Russell in it.” Kurt Russell is an American actor.

And then AJ says, “Yeah, and I think James, is it James, James Spader.” So James Spader, he’s also an American actor.

And then AJ says, “They made a whole series called Stargate or SG1.” So when he says whole series he means they made an entire TV series.

And then AJ says, “It ran for like 10 years.” So when he says it ran for, what he means is it was shown on TV for 10 years and those 10 years were 1997 to 2007.

And then AJ says, “Then they made Stargate Atlantis as a spinoff of that show.” So spinoff: this means a separate TV show based on the original one.”

Then AJ says, “The whole like underlying message of Star Trek was very optimistic.” So underlying means foundational. And optimistic, the message of Star Trek was optimistic, it means it was positive.

And next AJ says, “They’re trying to show that humanity can evolve in the future to be wiser and more just.” So humanity means people or the human race. And evolve, evolve into the future means progress or grow. And more just, just means fair.

Then AJ says, “That was sort of the premise.” So premise means basis.

And then AJ says, “It’s a little more humorous.” Humorous means funny.

And then AJ says, “But Stargate is…is I think a little more tongue in cheek.” So tongue in cheek is an idiom. It means it has more joking or more kidding.

And then I say, “I’d start trying to read some of the books and they were just over my head.” So over my head means they were too difficult for me to understand.

And then I say, “I didn’t get it at all.” So what I mean by that is I didn’t understand it at all.

And then I say, “Although I will say I did like Star Wars from a very young age.” So Star Wars is the name of a movie that was made in 1977 and I thought it was a science fiction movie but actually when I looked it up on the internet it says that it’s adventure, which it does definitely have adventure in it. And it also said that it’s fantasy. It’s a fantasy movie. So sometimes fantasy and science fiction are kind of grouped together. Fantasy just means it’s a book or a TV show or a movie that has imaginary worlds or imaginary creatures or it has magical things as well. So it is very similar to science fiction in that it’s…it has, it uses the imagination. There’s a lot of imaginary things but they’re a little bit different in that fantasy doesn’t focus so much on technology or the future.

Okay, then AJ says, “When I was young, y’know, late elementary school, Star Wars came out in ’76.” So actually he was incorrect because Star Wars came out in 1977, not 1976. And elementary school, another name is primary school and it’s generally ages 4 to 11.

Then AJ says, “And then when it came out on videotape at that time, I watched it again.” So videotape: what he means is when it came out, when it was played in a VCR or a videocassette recorder. So that just shows the sign of…it’s a sign of the times when he’s talking about a VCR or a videocassette recorder.

And then I say, “It just came to me.” So what I mean by that is I just remembered.

And then next I say, “When I was in middle school I did read a Ray Bradbury book.” So middle school is generally ages 11 to 14. And Ray Bradbury is an American author and he wrote science fiction as well as other types of books.

And then I say, “Something Wicked This Way Comes.” So that’s the name of a book by Ray Bradbury that I read. I was thinking it was science fiction, actually it’s a fantasy book. But like I said, just a few minutes ago, science fiction and fantasy are very similar.

Then AJ says, “Yep.” So yep, like yeah, is slang for yes.

And then I say, “I tried to read another one, A Wrinkle in Time.” So A Wrinkle in Time, this is by an American author. Her name is Madeleine L’Engle, I’m not sure if I’m pronouncing her name correctly, it’s L’Engle, and she wrote science fiction and fantasy books.

And then I say, “One of the books I remember that my brother had and loved was Dune.” So Dune is the name of a science fiction book written by an American man named Frank Herbert. He wrote science fiction books.

And then I say, “Eight years ago I picked it up.” So when I say I picked it up, what I meant by this is I started reading it.

And then I say, “There’s so many subtle references to like energy work and like meditation.” So subtle means fine or delicate.

Then AJ says, “How are we evolving as a species or society?” So species: this means humans, the human race. And society means people living together in community.

And then AJ says, “Sometimes the writers or the filmmakers, y’know, can paint a pretty dark picture of what may happen.” So when he says they can paint a pretty dark picture he’s saying they can describe a situation in a negative way.

And then AJ says, “Others may be more optimistic.” So optimistic means positive.

And then AJ says, “But I find it just very thought provoking.” So thought provoking means interesting or stimulating.

And then AJ says, “It’s like a genre that really allows for a lot of imagination.” So genre: this is a classification of something like movies or books. So, for example, science fiction is a genre. Fantasy is a genre.

Then I say, “I just remembered this group, Bene Gesserit.” So the Bene Gesserit: they’re the name of a group of women in the book Dune that I talked about a few minutes ago and they were a social and religious and political group.

And then I say, “It resonated with me reading it at a later time.” So when I say it resonated what I mean is it meant a lot to me. And when I said later time I mean at a later time in my life.

And then AJ says, “It can become very, very, very formulaic.” So formulaic means following a certain style that makes it predictable.

And then AJ says, “Especially in books that you can find a lot wider range of topics.” So a lot wider range means more variety.

And then AJ says, “I can see a lot of basically Taoist parallels.” So Taoist: this means…Taoism is a Chinese philosophy based on the writings of a Chinese man called Laozi and parallels here means similarities.

Then AJ says, “They’re very kind of spiritual, very Zen, Taoist influenced ideas.” So when he says Zen he’s referring to Zen Buddhism. Zen Buddhism comes from Japan.

And then AJ says, “Which also meshes well with modern physics, too.” So meshes here means connects. It also connects well. And physics, physics is the science of matter and energy.

And then I say, “I remember like thinking back to any Star Trek episodes I’ve seen.” And so episodes means shows.

And then I say, “It’s interesting how they had little gadgets that you see now.” So gadgets: this means small machines.

And then I say, “They were like what our flip phones are like today.” So a flip phone is an old style of a cell phone, maybe you never even had a flip phone. Joe actually still has one. But it’s just a phone and they flipped up. They flip up and then you can make the call on it, so flip phone. It’s an old style of a cell phone.

And then AJ says, “They were basically predicting the cell phone.” So when he says they were predicting the cell phone he’s saying they were foreseeing the creation of cell phones in the future.

And then AJ says, “Yeah, you’re right, it is pretty cool.” So cool here means interesting.

And then AJ says, “I know Star Trek: The Next Generation they started using tablets.” So Star Trek: The Next Generation was the name of another TV series, science fiction TV series, and it was on TV from 1987 to 1994.

And then AJ says, “They’ve done a good job of predicting some technological trends.” So technological trends means progression of technology or advancement of technology.

And then AJ says, “Yeah, the things they’ll show in an episode will pop up, y’know, 20 years later in a store.” So when he says they’ll pop up he means they’ll appear. They’ll appear 20 years later in a store.

And then I say, “But Star Trek, I just couldn’t get into it at a young age.” So couldn’t get into it, what I was saying is I couldn’t get interested in it.

And then AJ says, “It’s more cerebral.” So cerebral means it makes you think or it’s intellectual.

And then AJ says, “I think for that reason it’s more appealing to adults.” So appealing means interesting.

Okay, this concludes the vocabulary lesson for the conversation Science Fiction or Sci-Fi. I’ll be back in just a few minutes with the commentary.