Transcript Unit 1

Unit 7
Learning about English
Part I Lead-in
 What do you think has made English “the first
truly global language”?
 Do you think it worthwhile to spend a lot of time
and effort learning English? Why or why not?
 Tell whether there are troubles emerging in your
process of learning English. And what might be the
grounds for your troubles?
Text A
The Glorious Messiness of English
--- By Robert MacNeil
Part II Cultural Notes (1)
History of English:
 1) The roots of English
English began as a west Germanic language which was
brought to England by the Saxons around 400 A.D. Old
English was the spoken and written language of England
between 400 and 1100 A.D. Many words used today come
from Old English, including man, woman, king, mother, etc.
But Old English was very different from modern English
and only a few words can be easily recognized. In the 9th
and 10th centuries, when Vikings invaded England, Old
Norse words, e.g. sky, take and get and many place names,
entered the language.
Part II Cultural Notes (1)
 From the Norman Conquest (1066) until the late 12th.
century English was replaced as the official language by
Norman French, though English was still used by the lower
classes. English from about 1300 to 1500 is known as
Middle English. It was influenced by French and also Latin
in vocabulary and pronunciation. French brought many
words connected with government, e.g. sovereign, royal,
court, legal and government itself. Latin was the language
of religion and learning and gave to English words such as
minister, angel, master, school and grammar.
Part II Cultural Notes (1)
 2) The development of Modern English
Modern English developed from the Middle English dialect
of the East Midlands and was influenced by the English
used in London, where a printing press was set up by
William Caxton in 1476. English changed a great deal from
this time until the end of the 18th century. During the
Renaissance, many words were introduced from Greek and
Latin to express new ideas, especially in science, medicine
and philosophy. They included physics, species,
architecture, encyclopedia and hypothesis.
Part II Cultural Notes (1)
 By the 18th century American English was established and
developing independently from British English. After
colonists arrived in the US new words began to be added
from Native American languages, and from French and
Spanish. In 1783, Noah Webster’s The Elementary Spelling
Book was published in the US. It contained many of what
have come to be known as American spellings, e.g. harbor
and favorite.
Part II Cultural Notes (1)
 3) 20th Century English
During the 19th and early 20th centuries many dictionaries
and books about language were published. New words are
still being added to English from other languages,
including Chinese (feng shui) and Japanese (karaoke).
Existing words gain new senses, and new expressions
spread quickly through television and the Internet.
Part II Cultural Notes (1)
 English is now an international language and is used as a
means of communication between people from many
countries. As a result the influences on the English
language are wider than ever and it is possible that World
English will move away from using a British or American
standard and establish its own international identity.
Part II Cultural Notes (2)
 Winston Churchill (1874-1965):
a politician who is remembered as one of Britain’s greatest
statesmen. He was the son of the Conservative politician
Lord Randolph Churchill and his American wife Jennie. As
a young man he served as a soldier in India and Egypt, and
as a journalist in South Africa, before entering politics.
Churchill became Prime Minister and Minister of Defense
in 1940. His radio speeches during World War II gave the
British people a strong determination to win the war,
especially at times of great crisis.
Part II Cultural Notes (2)
 Examples of Churchill’s phrases still often quoted today
are “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat”,
and “This was their finest hour”. The Conservative Party
led by Churchill lost the election of 1945, but he became
Prime Minister again from 1951 to 1955 when he retired,
aged 80. When he died in January 1965 he was given a
state funeral.
Part II Cultural Notes (3)
 Julius Caesar (100-44 B.C.):
the best-known of all the ancient Roman leaders, and the
first one to land in Britain with an army. He did this twice,
in 55 and 54 B.C., although Britain did not become part of
the Roman Empire until nearly a hundred years later.
Part II Cultural Notes (4)
 William Caxton (c. 1422~1491)
William Caxton was the man who set up the first printing
firm in Britain. He printed his first book in 1474. By
printing books in English, Caxton had a strong influence on
the spelling and development of the language. were French
stories which he translated himself.
Part II Cultural Notes (5)
 Otto Jespersen (1860~1943)
Otto Jespersen was a Danish philologist, grammarian, and
educationist. He promoted the use of the “direct method” in
language teaching with the publication of his theoretical
work How to Teach a Foreign Language (1904). Other
books include his seven-volume Modern English Grammar
(1909-1949).
Part III Writing Features
 The author of this text is an expert at using rhetorical
devices in English.
 1) Oxymoron, e.g. the title: The Glorious Messiness of
English (other examples include true lies; sweet bitterness;
poor millionaire; deafening silence)
 2) Metaphor, e.g. core of English (para. 4), a common
parent language (para. 8), another flood of new vocabulary
(para. 14), the special preserve of grammarians (para. 19).
Part III Writing Features
 3) Sustained metaphor, e.g. there is an instance of sustained
metaphor in para. 18: the cultural soil, the first shoots
sprang up, … grew stronger, build fences around their
language. In this case the English language is compared to
plants, and the various cultures influencing it are compared
to the soil, while users of English are compared to
gardeners.
 4) Parallelism, e.g. “we shall fight on the beaches, we shall
fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields
and in the streets, we shall never surrender.”
Part III Writing Features
 5) Personification, e.g. “Translations of Greek and Roman
classics were poured onto the printed page…”
 6) Metonymy, e.g. “The country now had three languages:
French for the nobles, Latin for the churches and English
for the common people.” Here the word “churches” stands
for religious institutions and those who are involved in
religious practices.
Part IV Difficult Sentences
 … which French kids are supposed to say instead—but
they don’t (Lines 6-7, para. 2).
 French children are expected to say the word
“balladeur” instead of “Walkman” but they don’t say
it.
Part IV Difficult Sentences
 The history of English is present in the first words a
child learns about identity… (Lines 3-5, para. 4).
 The history of English is revealed in the first words a
child learns about identity…
Part IV Difficult Sentences
 Yet there is something direct to the heart that speaks to
us from the earliest words in our language (Lines 6-7,
para. 6).
 Yet, the earliest words in English have the power to
convey to us something direct to our heart.
Part IV Difficult Sentences
 Printing brought into English the wealth of new
thinking that sprang from the European
Renaissance (Lines 2-4, para. 15)
 Printing brought into English a large amount of
new thinking that originates in the European
Renaissance. Here “the wealth of” means “a large
amount of”. More examples: a wealth of
information/talent/detail/experience.
Part V Language Points
 corrupt (para. 2):
 1) cause errors to appear in
e.g. The Academy ruled that such foreign
expressions were not permitted, as they corrupted
the language.
Has Japanese been corrupted by the introduction of
foreign words?
 2) cause to act dishonestly in return for personal
gains
e.g. To our great surprise, the former mayor turned
out to have been corrupted by the desire for money
and power.
Part V Language Points
ban (para.2): forbid (sth.) officially (used in the
pattern: ban sth.; ban sb. from sth./doing sth.)
e.g. The local government will ban smoking in all
offices later this year.
Tom was banned from driving for six months after
being caught speeding again.
Lady Chatterley’s Lover was banned when it was first
published.
Part V Language Points
 fascinating (para.3): of great interest or attraction
e.g. The story of his adventures in the Arctic was
fascinating to listen to.
I found the discussion about cloning absolutely
fascinating.
It is fascinating to imagine what might have
happened if the US had not declared war against
Japan in World War II.
Part V Language Points
 to a (very real, certain, etc.) extent (para.3): to the
degree specified
e.g. I agree with him to some extent but there are
still some areas of sharp disagreement between us.
To a certain extent the failure of the restaurant was
due to bad management.
Part V Language Points
 arouse (para.5): provoke (a particular feeling or
attitude)
e.g. These educational toys give children a feeling of
self-worth by arousing their interest in challenging
tasks.
The man’s strange behavior aroused the policeman’s
suspicions.
Part V Language Points
 surrender (para.5): give in (followed by to)
e.g. After several weeks of severe attacks,
Afghanistan’s Taliban forces surrendered to the
Northern Alliance.
After the bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the
Japanese surrendered.
We’ll never surrender to terrorism despite the
terrorist attacks.
Part V Language Points
 resemble (para.8): be like or similar to
e.g. John resembles his father very much in all ways.
I’d say he resembles his mother more than his father.
Part V Language Points
 descend (para.8): come down (from a source), go
down
e.g. These ideas descend from those of the ancient
philosophers.
The old lady descended the stairs.
The sun descended behind the hills.
Part V Language Points
 pass (sth.) on to (sb.) (para.11): hand or give (sth.)
to (sb.)
e.g. When you have finished reading the novel,
please pass it on to Laura.
The King passed on much of his fortune to the
princess.
Part V Language Points
 addition (para. 13):
 1) a person or thing added (followed by to)
e.g. The baby is a welcome addition to the Smith
family.
He will be a valuable addition to our basketball
team.
 2) the act of adding, esp. adding numbers together
e.g. Before I entered the primary school, my
mother taught me to do addition and subtraction.
Part V Language Points
 alternative (para. 14): one of two or more
possibilities (followed by to)
e.g. His father gave John the alternative of staying
in high school or going to work.
I’m afraid I have no alternative but to report you to
the police.
Part V Language Points
 enrich (para. 14):
 1) make rich or richer
e.g. That once poor coastal village has been
enriched by the profits from tourism.
 2) improve
e.g. It is important to enrich the soil prior to
planting.
Music can enrich your whole life.
Part V Language Points
 strike out (para. 17): create, produce
e.g. After working for his father for about ten years, he
decided to strike out on his own.
With a baby on the way, Mary and her husband struck
out for the suburbs.
Part V Language Points
 spring up (para.18): appear or be produced suddenly
and quickly
e.g. New buildings sprang up like mushrooms after a
spring rain.
The sun shone warm, the air was balmy, and the grass
sprang up.
Part VI Writing Techniques
 Using cause and effect in essay writing
Every day we try to figure out the causes of things and
analyze or predict effects. Cause-and-effect analysis is,
therefore, an important analytical skill to develop.
When writing a cause-and-effect paper, you should bear
in mind the following points:
Part VI Writing Techniques
 1) Sound Reasoning or Logic
When discussing causes and effects, make sure your
analysis is logical. You must not take it for granted that
event A causes event B simply because event A
precedes event B. In other words, you must explain
clearly what really brings about a particular result.
Part VI Writing Techniques
 2) Possible Shift in Order
In cause-and-effect writing, it seems convenient to state
the effect first and then analyze the causes. The reverse
order, however, is to be preferred when one cause leads
to a number of effects.
Part VI Writing Techniques
 3) Using Transitional Words and Phrases
For cause and effect analysis you can use the following
transitional words and phrases:
Causes: because, since, as, for, because of, due to, now
that
Effects: consequently, thus, therefore, so, as a result,
for this reason
Part VI Writing Techniques
 Homework for Writing
You are required to write an essay on Why we need to
learn English within 200 words.