Episode 12. The Crown - History or Fiction?

Is the Netflix hit drama series a historical account or a fictitious story? With the fifth season of the The Crown scheduled for release on the 9th of November, the question returns. What's more, there are important voices criticising the new season for being particularly unkind towards the royal family and the late queen.  While listening to me talking about this controversy, you will learn three adjectives ending with the -ous suffix and hopefully become more confident talking about the topic.

Three adjectives with -ous suffix introduced in the recording:

• malicious (When you describe words or actions as malicious, you know they were said or done with intention to harm people, their reputation, or make them embarrassed or upset.) PL: złośliwe, nikczemne, w złym zamiarze
• vicious (A vicious person is violent and cruel; a vicious comment or action is intended to upset someone.) PL: złośliwe, nikczeme, złośliwe, nienawistne
• invidious (If you describe your situation, task or job as invidious, you want to say that it is unpleasant because it will probably make you unpopular.) PL: niewdzięczna

Other words and expressions used in the recording worth you attention:

• the barrel-load of nonsense (a lot of untrue or silly things) PL: sterta bzdur
• to abdicate  (If a king or queen abdicates, he or she gives up being king or queen); PL: abdykować
• to throw a child into care  (If children are thrown into care, they are taken away from their parents because they can't look after them properly) - umieścić dziecko w ośrodku opiekuńczo-wychowawczym
•  to slur  (If someone slurs, their speech is not clear because they don't pronounce each word clearly, usually when they are drunk, ill, or sleepy. ); PL: bełkotać niezrozumiale 
• a dysfunctional family (A dysfunctional family is one that is not functioning normally or properly); PL: dysfunkcyjna rodzina
• the breakdown of someone's marriage (the end of someone's marriage); PL: rozpad małżeństwa
• to be under a barrage of criticism (When you are under a barrage of criticism, a lot of people criticise you); PL: być pod nawałem krytyki
• a disclaimer (A disclaimer is a statement in which a person or company says that they are not responsible for something, in this case, that Netflix is not responsible for presenting the truth); PL: dementi, sprostowanie
• to vilify someone (If you are vilified by someone, they say or write very unpleasant things about you.)  PL: oszkalować kogoś
• a lucrative deal (a profitable transaction) PL: lukratywny, intratny interes
• events from the distant past (events from long ago) PL: wydarzenia z dalekiej przeszłości
• contemporary events (events from the present time) PL: współczesne, bieżące wydarzenia

In case you didn't understand Prince Charles's words because of my bad imitation of his way of speaking, here's the quote: "If we were an ordinary family and social services came to visit, they would have us thrown into care and you into jail." A good example of the second conditional structure! (Sorry, couldn't help reminding you -  teacher's habit :-)

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