(Mildred talking on the phone)
Finn: Yeah... yes, Mildred, yeah I know.
(Mildred on the phone)
Finn: Yeah, I know... I know.
(Mildred on the phone)
Finn: Yeah, right. Thanks, Mildred. Bye!
Feifei: Hi Finn, what did Mildred want?
Finn: I don't know, Feifei.
Feifei: But you kept saying you knew.
Finn: I know. Mildred had this ongoing dispute with her neighbour and she went on and on and on about it. It's always "my nasty neighbour blah blah blah blah blah..."
Feifei: Yes, I have to agree it's always the same thing.
Finn: And in English we use the phrase "blah blah blah" when we want to represent a boring conversation.
Feifei: 在英語裏，我們用短語 blah blah blah 來描述那些無聊的、重覆的敘述。
Finn: That's right. And according to an article I read the other day, in ancient Greece, there was a term, "bar bar bar", which meant "meaningless words".
Feifei: Oh yes, it has the same root as the word "barbarian".
Finn: That's right. And that explanation came from Geoff Nunberg, a linguist at the University of California.
Feifei: "Bar bar bar" might have evolved to what we have today...
Finn: ... Blah blah blah. Americans might say "yada yada yada", but it conveys the same idea of a repetitive, boring conversation.
Feifei: 美國人說 yada yada yada 來表示無聊重覆的敘述。
Finn: And from "blah blah blah" we also have the related verb "to blabber", which is used informally to mean to talk a lot in an annoying way, and it can be used for people who tend to reveal secrets because they talk too much.
Feifei: Shall we listen to some examples?
Finn: Sure. "Blah blah blah" is today's expression in Authentic Real English.
Feifei: Oh. I certainly don't go around blabbing.
Finn: Ah, that's good to know.
(The phone rings)
Finn: Hello... Let me pass the phone to someone who is keen to talk to you. Just a moment, please. Feifei, it's for you.
Feifei: Thanks, Finn. Hello.
(Mildred is on the phone)
Feifei: Oh, hello, Mildred!
(Mildred on the phone)
Feifei: Yes, but that was Finn, my best friend!
Finn: This is the beginning of a long conversation... Blah blah blah... Bye.
Feifei: Bye.
(Mildred on the phone)
Feifei: Sorry, Mildred, that was not to you, but to ... no, no, never mind...
(Mildred on the phone)
Feifei: I know, I know... yes, I know...