Изучаем английский язык. Читаем англоязычную литературу. И. И. Игнатенко

tailor

      Latin    index, item, major, memorandum

      Features of the English language. English has changed so much in the last 1500 years that it would now be hardly recognizable to the Anglo-Saxons who brought the language across the North Sea. Although they would be able to recognize many individual words, they would not recognize the way those words are put together to make sentences. Old English, like modern German, was a highly inflected language, i.e. most words changed their endings or forms to show their relationship to other words in the sentence according to number (singular, plural), gender (masculine, feminine, neuter), case (subject, object), tense (past, future) etc. Some modern English words still inflect, but much less so than in other European languages. The English verb ‘to ride’ inflects into five forms (ride, rides, riding, rode, ridden) whereas the equivalent German verb has sixteen forms. The English word ‘the’ has only one form, whereas other European languages would have several different forms. The trend towards simplicity of form is considered to be a strength of English. Another strength is the flexibility of function of individual words. Look at the use of the word ‘round’:

      There was a round table. (adjective)

      He bought a round of drinks. (noun)

      He turned round. (adverb)

      He ran round the field. (preposition)

      The car tried to round the bend too quickly. (verb)

      This flexibility, together with a flexibility towards the assimilation of words borrowed from other languages and the spontaneous creation of new words have made English what it is today, an effective medium of international communication. English has achieved this in spite of the difficulties caused by written English, which is not systematically phonetic.

      Some loan words:

      Arabic    admiral, algebra, mattress

      Spanish    mosquito, cigar, canyon

      Italian    piano, violin, spaghetti

      Dutch    yacht, boss, deck

      Hindi    pyjamas, shampoo, bungalow

      Turkish    yoghurt, kiosk

      Japanese    tycoon, karate

      Malay    bamboo, compound

      Aztec    tomato, chocolate

      Hungarian    coach, paprika

      Classical Greek    theatre, astronomy, logic

      Gaelic    whisky

      Russian    vodka, sputnik

      Finnish    sauna

      Chinese    tea, silk

      Portuguese    marmalade

      Eskimo    anorak

      Czech    robot

      Farsi    lilac

      Australian Aborigine    kangaroo, boomerang

      Modern French    rendezvous, café

      Modern German    kindergarten

      Some ‘created’ words:

      xerox, to xerox, xeroxed

      mackintosh, sandwich, submarine, helicopter, pop, rock’ n roll, x-ray, astronaut, hot dog.

Assignment:

      • Give a talk on the history of the English language.

      • Discuss with your partner the composition of Modern English vocabulary.

      • Speak about the distinguishing features of English.

      • Think of more examples of borrowings from different languages.

      4. English today

      Millions of people speak English as their first language. About the same number use it as a second language. It is the language of aviation, international sport and pop music. 75% of the world’s mail is in English, 60% of the world’s radio stations broadcast in English and more than half of the world’s periodicals are printed in English. It is the official language in 44 countries. In many others it is the language of business, commerce and technology. There are many varieties of English, but Scottish, Texan, Australian, Indian and Jamaican speakers of English, in spite of the difference in pronunciation, structure and vocabulary, would recognize that they are all speaking the same basic language.

      English is regarded as the global language – but will this still be true for the rest of the 21st century? The world in which it is used is going through such huge changes that there is a possibility it will lose its place as the world’s most important language. For example, in the 20th century, western countries helped the spread of English. They were the strongest economies. Now Asian economies are growing in strength and want to promote their own cultures and languages.

      Another threat to the English language’s position is old age. Rich countries are getting older – or rather their populations are made up of more old people than young people. In the future young people with money to spend will be found in Asia and Latin America, and they may want to express their desires in their own languages.

      There are many possibilities for the future. We can imagine a world where English is simply an alternative language to Chinese or Spanish. These are languages that already have more native speakers (Chinese) or very wide use across the world (Spanish). Geographically, though, English still remains the most widespread language on Earth, second only to Chinese in the number of people who speak it.

Assignments:

      • Explain the popularity of the English language today.

      • Do you think that English will retain its position as the global language in future? Why/ Why not?

      • Write an essay on the history and importance of your native language.