UNIT II ENGLISH AS A LINGUA FRANCA v

Система проблемных культуроведческих заданий UNIT II. ENGLISH AS A LINGUA FRANCA v Today there about 6, 000 languages in the world, and half of the world’s population speaks only 10 of them. English is the single most dominant of these 10. Using the Internet where possible, answer the following questions: • How many people in the world today speak English as their first language? And what countries do they live in? • And what about the number of people who speak English as their second language? Can you name three or five countries in which English is an official language, but not native? • And could you name the international organizations in which English is one of the official working languages? • Can you approximately say how many people probably speak English as a foreign language?

Система проблемных культуроведческих заданий v Copy the outline map below, identify соuntries where English is used as the first or the second language. Write their names on the map.

Система проблемных культуроведческих заданий v Read the Statistics from British council and say (or guess) why is the English language so widespread in the world? • • • English has official or special status in at least 75 countries, with total population of more than two billion one out of four of the world’s population speak English to some level of competence; demand from the other three quarters is increasing more than two third of the world’ scientists read in English three quarters of the world’s mail is written in English 80 per cent of the world’s electronically stored information is in English Source: https: //www. britishcouncil. org/voices-magazine/how-teach-english-lingua-franca-elf

Система проблемных культуроведческих заданий v Watch video lecture of the famous British linguist David Crystal «Will English always be the global language» (https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=5 Kvs 8 Sx. N 8 mc) What reasons of English language worldwide spreading did the scientist name? What did he mean by “World Englishes”? Make the plan of the lecture.

Система проблемных культуроведческих заданий v How do you understand the following abbreviations: EFL ESL ELF Try to match each of the abbreviation with the appropriate definition given below: A. The role of English for immigrant and other minority groups in a target-language community (e. g. Britain, the USA, etc. ). They need English language in order to survive and prosper in that community, doing such things as renting apartments, accessing the local health service, etc. These people may use their mother tongue at home or among friends. B. The role of English in countries where it is taught as a subject in order to use it with any other English speakers in the world – when the students might be tourists or business people. But it is not used as a language of communication (e. g. in government, business, or industry) within the country. Sometimes it is important to learn the particular language variety of that community (Scottish English, Australian English, Texan English, etc. ) rather than a more general language variety. C. The role of English as a language of international communication, for example, when a Japanese and a Brazilian businessman use English to negotiate a business contract. The type of English used on such occasions need not necessarily be based on native speaker varieties of English (e. g. American English or British English) but will vary according to the mother tongue of the people speaking it and the purposes for which it is being used.

Система проблемных культуроведческих заданий v The spread of English around the world was described by American linguist Braj Kachru in terms of three concentric circles: the Inner Circle, the Outer Circle and the Expanding Circle. Look through the scheme below then visit Wikipedia website (https: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/English _language) and make a list of countries which can be included in each circle. The Expanding Circle Countries where English is learnt as a foreign language for international communication The Outer Circle Countries where English had Thean. Inner Circle become official or widelyused second language in Countries wheredomains, English is different functional thesuch firstaslanguage in almost government, all functions education, law and so on

Система проблемных культуроведческих заданий v Using the Internet and other sources draw a pie chart showing what percentage of people in the world speak English as the first language, the second language and the foreign language. Compare your pie chart with the pie charts of other students. v Have you ever heard someone who speaks British English or American English or Canadian English or Australian English or New Zealand English or Indian English or any other type of English. Are there any differences between them? May the differences between World Englishes cause foreign learners and users of English troubles? v Read the Source A and B and discuss in small groups what communication difficulties may occur between Americans and Britons?

Система проблемных культуроведческих заданий SOURCE A How Americans Preserved British English It makes for a great story: when settlers moved from England to the Americas from the 17 th Century, their speech patterns stuck in place. That was particularly true in more isolated parts of the US, such as on islands and in mountains. As a result, theory goes, some Americans speak English with an accent more akin to Shakespeare’s than to modern-day Brits. That’s not entirely right. The real picture is more complicated. One feature of most American English is what linguists call ‘rhoticity’, or the pronunciation of ‘r’ in words like ‘card’ and ‘water’. It turns out that Brits in the 1600 s, like modern-day Americans, largely pronounced all their Rs. So Americans generally sound more like the Brits of several centuries ago. Another divergence between British and North American English has been a move toward broad As in words like ‘path’. The pronunciations of the early colonists (and their English counterparts), in contrast, have stuck around in the US: think ‘paath’ rather than ‘pahth’. At first glance, these colonial legacies of pronunciation seem especially apparent in certain remote areas of the US – hence the argument that some places in the US have preserved Shakespearean English. For instance, Tangier Island in Virginia has an unusual dialect which can be unintelligible even to other Americans. Some speech patterns, included rounded Os, seem like a dead ringer for the dialect of the West of England. Vowels are deep and wide, stretching many syllables into two. Consonants rise and fall like waves and conversations are peppered with words like ‘ort’ (‘ought’), ‘yorn’ (‘yours’), ‘sot’ (‘sat’) and ‘iggy’ (‘going to’). This has led some observers to claim a strong lineage from early Cornish settlers to the current Tangier dialect. In addition to the island’s accent, there is a list of more than 300 phrases that only exist on the island. If you smell, you ‘have the meebs’. If it’s cold, ‘Hawkins is here’. ‘If you’re asleep, you’re ‘in the sweep peas’. Want something to eat? Then you ‘mug up’. But if you only want crackers or sweets, then you need to specify ‘nabs’ or ‘nugs’. And if someone says you’re ‘selling cakes’, it has nothing to do with food. Based on source: http: //www. bbc. com/culture/story/20180207 -how-americans-preserved-british-english SOURCE B London Accents Have you ever visited London? If so – did you understand the Londoners’ English? I guess you want British people to pronounce words very clearly, and preferably also slowly! Of course this does not happen in real life. The main ‘local’ accents that you will hear in London are quite different from each other. The easiest accent for you to understand the accent that many English learners try to learn when speaking English is actually not local accent at all. It is Received Pronunciation, or RP, also sometimes called BBS English, or Queen’s English, and it is the Standard British accent. It is the accent you will find if you look up the pronunciation of a word in a dictionary. For example, an RP speaker would say ‘Can I have a glass of water, please? ’ Not many people speak with a pure RP accent these days - not even Prince William! Pure RP can sound rather formal and exclusive. There are two main accents that are native to London now (apart from all the accents from other countries of course, such as Indian English). The first is the cockney accent, which originated in East London, a predominantly working class area – but in fact it is widely spoken all over London and the south east of England. Visitors to Britain find this accent very hard to understand, because some letters are not pronounced, especially T and H, and some vowel sounds are different. For example, a cockney speaker would say, ‘Can I have a glass of water, please? ’ In this sentence, the red letters are not pronounced at all! It is called a ‘glottal stop’. ‘Bri’ish’ shortened from the standard ‘British’. ‘Sor’of’ for ‘sort of’. The vowels sounds are also quite different, for example, please with an /Əİ/ sound, instead of please with an /ĺ: / sound. Another feature of the cockney accent is that /Ѳ/ is pronounced as /f/. So a cockney speaker says ‘free’ instead of ‘three’. The second main accent in London was only given a name in 1984. It is called Estuary English, because it is mainly spoken in the areas near the Thames (the Thames Estuary area). An Estuary English accent has some features of Standard English, or RP, and some features of a cockney accent. This accent is very widely used, especially among people under 60 years old, as people of all social classes mix together much more than they used to. A person with an Estuary English accent sometimes drops the letter T, or the letter H, for example, but not always. They tend to use mostly RP vowel sounds. For example, they may say ‘Can I have a glass of of water, please? ’ In this sentence, only the T is dropped, or in other cases it may be pronounced as a /d/ - for example ‘Can I have a glass of water, please? ’ Source: https: //www. dailystep. com/en/blog/london-accents-estuary-cockney-and-rp

Система проблемных культуроведческих заданий v This family tree (after D. Crystal) represents the spread of English around the world. Get prepared to give a small talk on the historical events had impact on its spread. Use the words in the box. INVASION MIGRATION TRADE INDEPENDENCE WAR COLONIAL EXPANSION GLOBALIZATION

Система проблемных культуроведческих заданий v What is the difference between EFL and ELF? Read the quatation given below and try to explain the meaning of the term Lingua Franca. Use the Wikipedia site www. thoughtco. com/lingua-franca-overview-1434507 if necessary.

Система проблемных культуроведческих заданий v Listen to the online-lecture “English as a Lingua Franca” https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=ljxu. PLyn 0 qs and fill in the following chart. original definition: …? English as a Lingua Franca modern definition: …? Factors ensured the widespread of English Historical factors …? …? …? the Internet …?

Система проблемных культуроведческих заданий v Have you ever heard of such varieties of English as Pidgins and Creoles? Read silently the following sample of Pidgin English (Neo-Solomonic) and compare it with Standard English. What prevents you from understanding what it is about? Orayt, mifla i go go lang salwater, lukawtim fish, naw win i kem, naw mifla i go alebawt long kinu, naw bigfla win i kem naw, mifla go, no kachim ni ples i kwaytfla. Very well. We kept going on the sea, hunting fish, and a wind arose; now we were going in canoes, and an immense wind arose, and we were thrown around and ran very fast (before the wind). v What will you do, if you don’t understand somebody’s English while talking to her or him?

Система проблемных культуроведческих заданий v Now make a survey of how your groupmates might feel and behave if they meet a person who speaks Pidgin English. SPEECH ROLES: the interviewer, groupmates interviewed, the reporter. The interviewer’s task is to ask his/her groupmates if: 1) they would like to speak English with such a person, 2) they would try to find some ways to communicate with him (e. g. using writing), 3) they would immediately stop any communication with him, 4) they would try to avoid him when they meet him by chance, 5) they would consider him as a person who doesn’t deserve their attention, 6) his Pidgin English would produce an unpleasant impression on them, 7) they would consider Pidgin English speaker as unsuitable speech partner, 8) they would consider Pidgin English speakers as people who are of no interest to educated people, 9) they believe that in today’s world it is very important to be tolerant to English variations in some parts of the world.

Система проблемных культуроведческих заданий v Here are disconnected parts of a panel discussion on The Changing World of English. Try to reconstruct the discussion, add anything you want to order to support or reject the ideas expressed here. Work in small groups. • I think one sometimes forgets how recently it is that English has assumed the function of the ‘world language’. It was only in the 1930 s that the British Foreign Office stopped French for all its official memoranda, so it’s a very recent phenomenon. But things that grow so quickly can also change very quickly. • Many theorists and practitioners note that it’s easy to learn English at fundamental level, but it is more difficult to use English in all varying circumstances in the world. • The reasons for this are not linguistic reasons, but historical, political, economic ones, and it would be tiresome to rehearse the history of British colonialism and so on. The fact that English is widely spread and has de facto become a genuine lingua franca is purely historical, I think. But if we look at the English language in the context of various economic, political and industrial developments, it’s the language predominantly of the North American / British world, which has been at the forefront of industrial development, the English seems to be particularly adept – this is a linguistic factor – at coining new words, new terminology. • English as a language is itself a hybrid. It has two major sources of vocabulary, and throughout the history of the English language, one sees that English makes no bones about borrowing words from other languages, whereas some languages for various reasons don’t seem to borrow terminology so readily from other languages, and sometimes for political or cultural reasons attempt not to borrow; occasionally, as in the case of French, attempts are made to purge the language of borrowings. English-speaking people seem to be not in the least concerned about maintaining linguistic purity in that sense.