QUESTIONS FOR MID TERM TEST 1 What language(s) is English most closely related to in its early development? Latin is certainly pervasive It was supposed to be of a higher civilization by the Anglo Sa.
/QUESTIONS FOR MID-TERM TEST What language(s) is English most closely related to in its early development? Latin is certainly pervasive It was supposed to be of a higher civilization by the Anglo Saxons Some of the early Latin loanwords may actually have been adopted even before the AngloSaxons left the Continent as cheese, pepper, street, pound, wall, and camp The Latin influence made itself noticeable in many spheres of life Firstly, all the words pertaining to the Church: altar, angel, candle, school, master, and grammatical Secondly, many words connected with clothing and household utensils: sock, chest, sack, cap, as well as words denoting foods: beet, pear, and radish Thirdly, new names for trees, plants, and herbs: pine, lily, and fennel The Latin element has been integrated into the English system- word formation It was considered as the most prestigious language during the 13th century French had an enormous impact on the linguistic repertoire and on the English language itself French was the language of the law, administration, business, and sophisticated life And this is reflected, for example, in the borrowed words: mutton, guarantee, The influence has also made itself noticeable in certain grammatical structures and the placement of stress in French-based words such as canal, hotel, and antique Scandinavian, namely the Vikings invaders from Denmark & Norway AngloSaxon and Old Norse were fairly closely related; both were Germanic languages and shared a common stock of vocabulary There were, however, marked differences in the grammatical systems The very pronunciation of the k’s and g’s in the following words, where Old English equivalents would have had fricatives, is a sign of Scandinavian origin: sky, bask, whisk, skirt, kid, give, egg 2. Why has English become a global language? It is typical of the spread of languages over large areas that it is led by military action and the formation of empires The main reason for the current status of English is not to with linguistic advantages or disadvantages of this kind; just as the concept of language can be clarified by defining it as a dialect with an army and a navy, the special position of English in a worldwide perspective must be related to political/economic power and historical coincidence In other words: the fact that English is now an influential world language is not in any way due to its superiority as a language but is a result of the activities of its speakers over the centuries Provide examples and analyze them to illustrate some characteristic differences between British and American English. Spelling: Although varieties of (World) Standard English are generally characterised by great similarity at this level of language, there are some well-known exceptions, such as the BritishAmerican diversity, mostly rule-governed as in travelled vs traveled, centre vs center, colour vs color, but also lexical- distributional as in grey vs gray, tyre vs tire Phonetics/Phonology: the quality of the vowel (/ɑ: /vs /æ/) in words such as bath, half, dance Absence or presence of voice in intervocalic /t/, as in later, letter Grammar: tense and aspect (the past and perfect tenses, for example, tend to be used differently, as in American English "Did you call her yet?" corresponding to English English " Have you called her yet?" British English: I've just had lunch American English: I just had lunch OR I've just had lunch Lexis: One source of different lexis in present-day varieties is separate inheritance Two variants may have existed in the norm at the time when the varieties separated and the two varieties may have happened to adopt different items as the unmarked word This is said to be the origin of the contrast between British autumn and US fall, for example Similarly, both railroad and railway, sidewalk and pavement were in use in Britain in the nineteenth century and railroad and sidewalk have happened to become the norm in the USA as against railway and pavement in Britain Pragmatics: Some aspects of pragmatic difference are linguistic, in that a different form is used for a similar purpose across varieties Thus, it is a common feature of many varieties of English that terms of endearment are used to establish solidarity between strangers in certain circumstances Assistants in small shops often address customers as dear or an equivalent But there are strict pragmatic rules for who can address who in these terms and varieties differ in the terms used In Britain terms of endearment can be used from men to women, and vice versa, and among women In small towns in the USA, one might hear honey and in Louisiana cher However, pragmatic differences are cultural or social as well as linguistic From a male taxi-driver to a male customer in Britain mate would establish solidarity, sir would establish social distance with respect, and squire would establish social distance without showing respect In the US man might be equivalent to mate and sir might be similar in implication to its British equivalent, but there would be no equivalent to squire Explain the three circles of the English language by Kachru (1988). The Inner Circle is comprised of those countries that are considered the ‘traditional bases’ of English, such as the UK, USA, Caribbean, Australia, NZ, and Canada English in these countries is classed as a ‘first language' Kachru labels the inner circle countries as ‘norm-providing’ – the norms of the English language are produced there The Outer Circle represents the places where they speak official Non-native varieties of English because of their colonial history People need English for secondary education, politics, law and business inside the country: India, 'anglophone' Africa, Philippines, Singapore, and Bangladesh The Expanding Circle is made up by EFL speakers where English is not usually spoken People need English for communication in business, education, politics, etc., primarily with speakers of other languages from outside the country: most European and East Asian countries such as China, Taiwan, Russia, Egypt, … Summarize the history of the English language. Invaders: Celts is the first group of Indo-European speakers to move across Europe Their homeland was in central Europe, north of the Alps Romans -> invaded Britain -> stayed four hundred years Germans tribes attacked -> Romans left Britain in AD 410 The Saxons, the Angles and Jutes came from Germany and Denmark in the middle of 5th century By the end of 5th century, English language began to develop with the contribution of Germanic and the Anglo-Saxons tribes Other invaders: The Vikings (call Danes by Anglo-Saxons) from Denmark and Norway Influence in language: words beginning with sk-: skin, skirt, sky Some pronouns and adjectives: they, their, them The Normands: French invaders (1066) French became the language for two hundred years, until 13th century Used mainly by the upper class, ordinary people used English In the 15th century, English completed replaced French in the home, in education and in government Middle English: hundred years after the Norman Conquest, the English language changed more than in any other time in history Thousands of words from French came into the language, and many Old English ones left At the same time Middle English changed grammatically, mainly by becoming simpler For example: Old English: past form of climb -> clomb Modern English: past form of climb -> past -> climbed Between 1100 and 1500, about 10000 French words were taken into English, three- quarters of which are still in use Modern English: the 16th century: full of changes in Europe (explore American, Africa, and learning in all areas flowered) What are the reasons for the influences of British English and American English into Canadian English? Although there were some earlier settlements, for example in Newfoundland, the Englishspeaking founder population of Canada can mainly be related to two significant waves of immigration in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries: The base of Canadian English is derived from a large group of pro-British ‘loyalists’ who left the USA for Canada after the War of Independence To begin with, they came from coastal New England and settled on the Canadian coast, but later some of these incomers moved into Ontario and Quebec Other groups came from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont, settling in areas around the Great Lakes In the early nineteenth century, in connection with the 1812–1814 war with the USA, large groups of immigrants (more than doubling the population) were for political reasons – recruited from Britain and Ireland ‘to dilute the broad base of American ancestry Another massive input from English- or Gaelic- speaking countries, especially Scotland and Ireland, came in the 1850s Give some examples to show the influences of other languages into the English language Latin is certainly pervasive It was supposed to be of a higher civilization by the Anglo-Saxons Some of the early Latin loanwords may actually have been adopted even before the AngloSaxons left the Continent as cheese, pepper, street, pound, wall, and camp The Latin influence made itself noticeable in many spheres of life Firstly, all the words pertaining to the Church: altar, angel, candle, school, master, and grammatical Secondly, many words connected with clothing and household utensils: sock, chest, sack, cap, as well as words denoting foods: beet, pear, and radish Thirdly, new names for trees, plants, and herbs: pine, lily, and fennel The Latin element has been integrated into the English system- word formation It was considered as the most prestigious language during the 13th century French had an enormous impact on the linguistic repertoire and on the English language itself French was the language of the law, administration, business, and sophisticated life And this is reflected, for example, in the borrowed words: mutton, guarantee, The influence has also made itself noticeable in certain grammatical structures and the placement of stress in French-based words such as canal, hotel, and antique Scandinavian, namely the Vikings invaders from Denmark & Norway Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse were fairly closely related; both were Germanic languages and shared a common stock of vocabulary There were, however, marked differences in the grammatical systems The very pronunciation of the k’s and g’s in the following words, where Old English equivalents would have had fricatives, is a sign of Scandinavian origin: sky, bask, whisk, skirt, kid, give, egg From an original fairly phonetic system (Old English), waves of new influences on writing – French, Dutch, later Latin, Greek and many others languages – added new conventions, and these, along with new ways of thinking about spelling, resulted in the present-day situation Germanic languages:Due to the invasion of Germanic tribes from the past, some of their languages have forever transfer to the English language There are a few of the most famous English words with German language For example, words such as wurst, hamburger, and frankfurter are frequently used in many restaurants, and, of course, there are also other words which are generally used the world over, such as kindergarten, autobahn, and rucksack Indian languages: Indian languages contributed to English in many ways Various words related to culture, mathematical terminologies, and others have originated from the colonial era For instance, Bungalow (from bangla), Shampoo (from champo), cushy (from khusy), juggernaut (from Jagannath), mother (from mater), etc have been derived from Indian languages French language :At the same time, many old French words became a part of English, because French was the language used in courts The influence of French is easily seen today 30% of English vocabulary comes from French Many words that you might think of right now probably came from French – "liberty" and "justice" as opposed to "freedom" and "fairness", and also some simple words, such as: machine,garage, collage Legal, military, political terminology, words for meat of an animal, words referring to foods are mostly inspired from French For example, chair (from chaise), bottle (from bouteille), stranger (from étranger), lizard (from lézard), etc are some famous English words of French origin Explain the presence of the English language in South Africa and South Asia ENGLISH IN SOUTH AFRICA British involvement in the region dates only from 1795 when an expeditionary force invaded British control was established in 1806 A policy of settlement began in 1820, when some 5,000 British were given land in the Eastern Cape → English was made the official language of the region in 1822, and there was an attempt to anglicize the large Afrikaans-speaking population English became the language of law, education, and most other aspects of public life Nearly half a million immigrants, many of them English-speaking, arrived in the country during the last quarter of the nineteenth century The English language history in South Africa has many strands There was initially a certain amount of regional dialect variation among the different groups of British settlers, but in due course a more homogeneous accent emerged - an accent that shares many similarities with the accents of Australia At the same time, English was being used as a second language by the Afrikaans speakers, and many of the Dutch colonists took this variety to escape British rule An African variety of English also developed, spoken by the black population, who had learned the language mainly in mission schools, and which was influenced in different ways by the various language backgrounds of the speakers English has always been a minority language in South Africa, and is currently spoken as a first language only by about 3.7 million in a 2002 population of over 43.5 million Afrikaans, given official status in 1925, was the first language of the majority of whites, including most of those in power, and acted as an important symbol of identity for those of Afrikaner background Afrikaans also the first language of most of the coloured population English was used by the remaining whites (of British background) and by increasing numbers of the (70 percent majority) black population Afrikaans came to be perceived by the black majority as the language of authority and repression English was perceived by the Afrikaner government as the language of protest and self-determination Many blacks saw English as a means of achieving an international voice, and uniting themselves with other black communities For the white authorities, English is important as a means of international communication 'upwardly mobile' Afrikaners have become increasingly bilingual, with fluent command of an English that often resembles the British-based variety The public statements by Afrikaner politicians in recent years, seen on world television, illustrate this ability The 1993 Constitution names eleven languages as official, including English and Afrikaans, in an effort to enhance the status of the country's indigenous languages English will continue to be an important lingua franca ENGLISH IN SOUTH ASIA The origins of South Asian English lie in Britain The first regular British contact with the subcontinent in 1600 with the British East India during Queen Elizabeth I The 1784 India Act established a Board of Control responsible to the British Parliament During the period of British sovereignty (the Raj), from 1765 until independence in 1947, English gradually became the medium of administration and education throughout the subcontinent The language question attracted special attention during the early 19th century, when colonial administrators debated the kind of educational policy which should be introduced In India, the bitter conflict between the supporters of English, Hindi, and regional languages led in the 1960s to a 'three language formula, in which English was introduced as the chief alternative to the local state language (typically Hindi in the north and a regional language in the south) It now has the status of an 'associate' official language, with Hindi the official language English has, as a consequence, retained its standing within Indian society, continuing to be used within the legal system, government administration, secondary and higher education, the armed forces, the media, business, and tourism It is a strong unifying force In terms of numbers of English speakers, the Indian subcontinent has a very special position, probably outranking the combined totals of speakers in the USA and UK The traditional view: somewhere between and percent of the people made regular use of English some 30-50 million around the year 1999, when the population of India passed a billion Since then, the estimates have crept up- nearly 20 per cent 1/3 of the people of India are now capable of holding a conversation in English In real terms these estimates represent a range of 30 million to over 330 million (for comprehension, with a somewhat lower figure, 200 million, for speech production) Also considerable numbers of English speakers in five other countries (Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan) South Asia holds about 1/5 of the world's population Several varieties of English have emerged throughout the subcontinent, and sometimes collectively referred to as South Asian English These varieties are less than 200 years old, but they are already among the most distinctive varieties in the English-speaking world Explain the terms “English” and “Englishes”? The term "English" is derived from English, the speech of the Angles—one of the three Germanic tribes that invaded England during the fifth century The English language is the primary language of several countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and many of its former colonies, and the United States, and the second language in several multilingual countries, including India, Singapore, and the Philippines “English” is the idea that, as English is now a global lingua franca, we should see it as a global language and the property of humanity as a whole rather than just its native speakers Some linguists propose a simplified “global English”, as opposed to the idiosyncratic English of us natives, as the global tongue The term “Englishes” refers to the differences in the English language that emerge as it is used in various contexts across the world Scholars of World Englishes identify the varieties of English used in different sociolinguistic contexts, analyzing their history, background, function, and influence “Englishes” takes this idea further, arguing that regional versions of English that evolve as a result of non-native speakers’ fossilized errors should be seen as legitimate “dialects” of English The many and varied dialects of English spoken in different parts of the world, including not only American and British English, but such varieties as Indian, Pakistani, Australian, and New Zealand English, as well as the English spoken in various African and Asian countries In some parts of the world, English is spoken as a natural outgrowth of a colonial period during which certain countries, now independent, were part of the British Empire In other places, people have been encouraged to learn English because of its widespread use as a language of global communication 10 In your opinion, why we study the course “World Englishes”? In my opinion, we study the course "World Englishes" because it gives interesting knowledge that you have never known when you use English as a foreign language Equip the knowledge of English origins and the diversity of global English Enhance presentation and communication skills in learning and research Studying "World Englishes" helps you to know and identify varieties of English used in diverse sociolinguistic contexts globally and analyze how sociolinguistic histories, multicultural backgrounds, and contexts of function influence the use of English in different regions of the world Also, you will know the reason that English has become a global language and the current status of English Besides, you will learn about the global variation and change in vocabulary, grammar, phonology, and pragmatics of English Furthermore, it enriches the presentation as much as possible with "Language In Use" taken from fiction, popular culture, newspaper, and electronic media 11 Explain the following terms: ENL (English as a native language), EFL (English as a foreign language) and ELF (English a lingua franca) Give examples to illustrate the definitions. ENL: English as a native language (ENL situations where all participants are native speakers of (some variety of) English). These are native speakers born in a English-speaking country, having then this language as their mother tongue EX: An Australian communicates with an American in English (English is the first language of both of them) EFL: English as a Foreign Language (EFL situations where some speakers (typically natives) take the role of teacher/ advisors and others (non-native) take a subordinate role as learner/nonexperts) EX: An American teacher communicates with a Vietnamese student in English ELF: English as a Lingua Franca (ELF situations where all participants are non-native speakers EX: A French person communicates with a Japanese person in English 12 In your opinion, what are the differences between Standard English and the varieties of English? Varieties are often classified by the sociolinguistic criterion of relation to Standard English During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, publishers and educationalists defined a set of grammatical and lexical features that they regarded as correct, and the variety characterised by these features later came to be known as Standard English Standard English came to exist in two varieties: British and US According to this definition, Standard English is a dialect, not an accent, and no particular accent is (in theory) attached to it A variety of Standard English can have almost any accent, but can only have a very small range of grammatical difference from others ... language, and many Old English ones left At the same time Middle English changed grammatically, mainly by becoming simpler For example: Old English: past form of climb -> clomb Modern English: past form... for the influences of British English and American English into Canadian English? Although there were some earlier settlements, for example in Newfoundland, the Englishspeaking founder population... South Asian English These varieties are less than 200 years old, but they are already among the most distinctive varieties in the English- speaking world Explain the terms ? ?English? ?? and “Englishes”?