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The English We Speak

from BBC learning English.

com. Hello and welcome to Fayefei

Faye what kind of workers are we

would you describe us as blue- collar workers or white collar workers?

Well looking at our clothes you are a tisha no collar worker and I'm a yellow with polka-collar worker. How about that?

Oh come on Fay Faye you know that this has nothing to do with fashion.

It's about colours and what they represent when we're talking about the world of work.

I know just joking. A blue collar worker is an expression we use to describe someone who does manual work,

someone who works in a factory, for example,

who wears a uniform.

In the early 20th century,

they usually wore clothing which was sturdy,

cheap and didn't show dirt easily. Their uniform was made of blue fabric like denim.

People who worked in offices doing administration or managerial tasks. Clerks, for example, were referred to as white-collar workers.

It's because of the white shirts they wore.

And this way of describing people's jobs has continued, even though people often wear whatever

colour they like.

You can also say blue-collar job or white-collar job. When the company went bankrupt, many white collar workers found themselves looking for blue collar jobs.

Some popular folk songs reflect the aspirations and struggles of blue collar workers.

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