Unit 2: Languages Flashcards
Task 1: Visit the following site and mention the main linguistic influences in the development of the English language
Main influences on the English language: Latin, Scandinavian, Norman French. First Anglo-Saxon language but then come latin, Scandinavian, norman french
Compare the following accounts of children learning languages in Medieval Britain. This was how the relationship between English and French was expressed by Robert of Gloucester (in his Chronicle, written about 1300) Then answer the questions below:
a) What is the status of the French language in comparison with English and Celtic?
Normans could not speak anything but their own language (French), the Normans thought little of English or celtic
b) What kind of people spoke English?
The low men, the English men
c) What is Gloucester’s opinion about this situation?
He was in favour of knowing both languages, Norman French and English
Watch the following video from My Fair Lady and answer the questions below:
a) What’s so wrong with Eliza’s pronounciation?
She can’t pronounce the “h” because she is from a working class and that reflects in her accent
b) Why do you think she has to learn to pronounce words correctly”?
To be part of the high society and to be able to progress in society
: Read the following text on Noah Webster’s dictionary and find out why it was so important for Webster to fix an American spelling and vocabulary. What is so particular of the content of his definition?
-To raise patriotism in America, to differentiate American English from British English
-The dictionary also advanced websters idea of weaning Americans away from British authorities
: Read the text “Linguistic Geography of the Mainland United States” and say how many cultural backgrounds underlie American accent. Which ethnic group do you think this classification represents?
Middle Eastern, North African and caucasian
Listen to the following American accents and say whether you can find cultural values attached to any of them.
Didn’t include any native languages discrimination
a) What are the effects of economy on Canadians’ opinion about other cultures in their own country?
-Canada has always been a multicultural and bilingual country
-during the recession in 1990’s attitudes towards immigrants became more negative (less open, less secure, less accepting)
-some communities passed unilingual laws
-result: The economy declines and there can be a challenge for the support of diversity, Canada needs a strong economy to support the diversity
-bilingualism and multiculturism can’t rely only on social values, but have to be supported by strong economy
b) What kind of social reality do the questions reflect?
A reality of multiculturalism but also an instable one, because it depends on economy
Read the text “The languages of South Africa” and find out what the role of English is in this country.
Soweto uprising: Anti-apartheid resistance in Soweto
-It happened for youth and South Africans were involved in the uprising.
-They protested against Afrikaans as a language of instruction
-fear that the native dialects could disappear, and they wanted to preserve them.
Read the following article from the New Yorker and tell the main differences between English and Globish. Say whether the author considers the English language to be a positive or a negative influence for India in the past/present.
-Useful language because it lets people communicate with each other. Globish is a simplified version of English and it contains only minimal vocabulary.
-the author considers English as a more negative impact on Indias history. The knowledge of English crystallized two classes: the people who would be instructed in English were higher class, intellectuals and the lower class were people who were not instructed in English.
-it can be argued that English played a part in the emancipation of low castes, but the lack of English perpetuated the misery of the poor.
