English in a Changing World Unit One

How to Study This Course Unit 1 An Overview Unit 2 English in the Past Unit 3 The Spread of English Beyond Britain Unit 4 Social Varieties of English

Unit 5 Trade Within and Across Language Barriers Unit 6 Changing English since the Second World War Unit 7 Emerging “New Englishes”: A Focus for Debate Unit 8 English in a Shrinking World

How to Do Activities and Tasks 32 activities 137 tasks The average amount of study per day is 2.45 tasks. Efficient ways of doing the tasks: follow the instructions do them as quickly as you can Always review the task you’ve just done, not until the end of this unit, by checking them against the unit objectives.

You should make sure that you have achieved the objectives.

形成性考核 & 课程终结考试： 1 ． 形成性考核： 20% 包括完成平时 作业、参与面授辅导和各项教学活动 及对学习过程的自我监控情况。 2. 课程终结考试： 80%

Examination （一） 笔试部分 Paper One Listening Test ( 15%) 听力部分包括两部分 : A conversation 和 A monologue, 或两个 monologue 。 每一部分听两遍。两部分之间会有停 顿，供考生看题。之后，会有 10 分钟 的时间，供考生将答案整理到答题纸 上。

Paper Two Knowledge Test (40%) 在 “ 知识 ” 部分，考生将根据在 课程中所学的知识，完成 20 个多项选择题。

Paper Three: Reading Test ( 30 %) 在 “ 阅读 ” 部分，考生将阅读两篇短文， 并完成判断正误题和简答题或多项 选择题。 Paper Four : Short Answer Questions: 列举、段落形式简述 15%

Unit One : An Overview

Objectives: explain why languages change as people change recognize and describe examples of change

understand some of the special English vocabulary used in talking about language explain what is meant by varieties of English

Activity 1

Task 1: Discovering What is meant by Language Change

1. What makes language change? It’s time. Languages change with time.

2. How many languages are spoken in the world? Can you give an exact number of them ? Nobody can give you an exact number.

No one can give a more exact number because the number depends on what counts as a dialect and what counts as a language. Some languages have disappeared, and we know nothing about them; When we speak of languages as living or dead, we use a metaphor.

Dialect : form of a language used in a part of a country or by a class of people. Language : a particular system of words, used by a people or nation.

Living language dead language : the languages which have no living speakers. E.g.. Latin

Metaphor : a phrase which describes one thing by stating another thing with which it can be compared without using the word “ as “ or “ like “. Eg. Latin is a dead language.

Simile : an expression making a comparison in the imagination between 2 things, using the words like or as. E.g.. “ as white as snow”

Task 2 Finding Out How Language Changes in the life of an individual person

How about the language use ? Does that change over time too?

Just think about all the languages you use -- your mother tongue and of course English --and any other languages you know. They change too.

In the process of using languages, people keep adding to them and forgetting some parts of them. The rate of adding and forgetting is sometimes slow and sometimes fast.

We learn our mother tongue- -- We don’t inherit it. Nobody learns exactly what they are taught---- we don’t speak exactly as our parents.

Listen to the tapes and answer the following questions: 1. Is Tim’s grandmother happy with the way Tim speaks? 2. Does Tim’s grandmother understand Tim fully? 3.Do people belonging to different generations use English a little differently?

A list of adjectives to describe someone else’s English formal; old-fashioned ; careless slangy ; slovenly ; slipshod disorderly ; prim; careful ; traditional ; quaint ; inaccurate inattentive ; disrespectful ; foolish

Activity 2 Variation in English Different Places

Regional variations British English American English Australian English African English Singaporean English etc

A native speaker may not be able to understand the language spoken in another English speaking area or country. I’m sorry I can’t understand you

Examples: Texan Eng. : In mar state we found a lot of or and gars In my state we found a lot of oil and gas. Australian Eng. :I soy on my die I bought a big jai I said on May Day I bought a big jade.

Irish Eng.: We sit up an office We set up an office. Japanese Eng. You’re light that’s our plaimaly health care service You are right. That's our primary healthcare service.

Spanish Eng : We uus bus /bu:s/ and drrug…… We use bus and truck…….. Indian/ Pakistan Eng: When docking about beer dirty do …… -----When talking about Pier 2...

Dutch Eng. : I hive you some hint I give you some hint.

Are some varieties better than the others? Please listen to the tape

Answer the following questions: 1. What is the name given to Written English? 2. What’s the difference between an English newspaper produced in America and Australia?

3. What is usual name for Educated Southern British English? 4.What is a common name for Educated American English?

Which is the Best English to Study --- and Who Decides Learner want to learn to read and to write Standard English for international use. They want to speak and understand English that approximates to Educated British or to Educated American English. Very few of them want to sound like native speakers, but they do want to sound like competent users of an international language.

How many varieties are widely taught and learned? What rare they?

Two Varieties Educated British English Educated American English are widely learned and taught.

Activity 3 Observing vocabulary Change in English

Changes in English are not even and steady. Change in language matches change in people’s lives. New words enter the language to match new sorts of experience.

Please read the Summary on P. 29.

Activity 4 Languages and Dialects in the United Kingdom

UK is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. English is the official language of the country and mother tongue of most people there. It’s never been the language used within its boundary.

Edinburgh 370m London 280m Penance

How long is the London to Edinburgh journey? …… London to Penance.. …… London to Inverness.. …….Guangzhou to ……..

It takes less than / more than …….. hours by …. by fast train bus/boat/ship air/ plane on foot

It is miles from London to …….. London and Edinburgh are approximately as far apart as ___________ and ________. Compared with China, Britain is a small country.

Wales Welsh ( taught in school ) Scotland Gaelic Ireland Gaelic Standard English ( Written English ) Grammatical system and vocabulary ( lexicon ) and discourse are similar. Spoken English : different sounds different accents

Distinguishing among languages, Dialects and Accents

A language is the major means of human communication. There are usually reckoned to be about 5000 languages in use in the world. Only some of them have a writing system

A dialect is a variety of a language---- but there is no sure way to tell a different language from a different dialect. The term accent has to do only with the sounds of speech.

Activity 5 P41 Experiencing some regional Varieties of English Finish the tasks.

Practice 1. I’m sorry ---- I have studied a different language from yours. I don’t understand you at all well. 2. Please speak slowly. 3. Let’s ask ……. to help!

4. Please write down what I really need to understand. (speaker will write standard English.)

Discuss with your partner: 1. Please gives five examples to explain that “ New Words enter the language to match new sorts of experiences.” 2. List the main languages in use in Britain, with a very short explanation of their positions.

Explain the difference between a “ living” language and a “ dead “ language. Give examples of each. Explain how these language types may be relevant to life today. Also explain how and why language changes over the life of an individual in any country. ( 2003, 1 )

What have we learned in the Unit? All languages change with time. Keep adding and forgetting Slow … fast 4000 and 5000 languages Dead-----alive Different generation uses different languages. Meet different people Have different experience.

English has regional variations What are they? American English British English Australian English African English Singaporean English etc.

In the case of written English. It’s about the same. There are far fewer differences in written English than in Spoken English. Well-educated people use Received Pronunciation ( Educated Southern British English ) or Educated American English ( Network English )

Changes in Language matches that in our lives. New words enter the language to match new sorts of experiences. English words invented, borrowed to match the new words.

The languages and dialects in the UK English is an official language, mother tongue Welsh used in Wales Gaelic used in Scotland and Ireland Other languages spoken by minorities.

Standard English is in use throughout Britain. Spoken English sounds different in different places. The dialects