浙江广播电视大学 开放教育本科英语专业 《变化中的英语》参考资料5 Unit Five and Unit Six Trading is an essential human activity that has a long history.It is necessary to all except the most undeveloped societies.And language is involved when people trade because they have to talk or communicate in making trade deals.As we can see,this provides people a powerful motivation to use language and sometimes we see language use at its most inventive and creative degree. In trading,the most effective and convenient means of communication is a language understood and used by both buyers and sellers.If the 2 parties share a common language,then trading would be easy.And,as we all know that,English is currently the most commonly used language of international deals between Asian and other countries though this situation may change in the future. As far as trading is concemed,it'd be helpful to take a look at a trade deal.The purchasing of'something is called a deal or transaction.That something (sold or bought)is called commodity.To make a deal happen,we need a commodity,a seller, a buyer,a currency,a market and a means of communication.And people communicate by using a language. Then what do people do if they have no common language for trading purposes?They use ungrammatical English which is termed as Pidgin or a deviant of English.There are different Pidgins used in different places in the world. Pidgins are languages for a very narrow range of purposes-those have to do with coastal trade.They develop wherever traders want to do business with who.they do not share a common language and where there is no lingua franca(通用语，混合i语) for them to use.Most Pidgins are mixtures of Asian or African languages and those of major European trading nations (e.g Spain,France,Germany Britain,ete.) In general,the sound and grammatical systems of a pidgin are those of the language used locally:The vocabulary is supplied by the voyagers.Pidgins were not a rule written down:they change rapidly and they were quickly leamed by those who needed them.When trad ing stopped,they were discarded and soon forgotten.There must have been many pidgins of which we have no record.Pidgins are makeshift languages and evidence of human inventiveness.They have low prestige
1 浙 江 广 播 电 视 大 学 开放教育本科英语专业 《变化中的英语》参考资料 5 Unit Five and Unit Six Trading is an essential human activity that has a long history. It is necessary to all except the most undeveloped societies. And language is involved when people trade because they have to talk or communicate in making trade deals. As we can see, this provides people a powerful motivation to use language and sometimes we see language use at its most inventive and creative degree. In trading, the most effective and convenient means of communication is a language understood and used by both buyers and sellers. If the 2 parties share a common language, then trading would be easy. And, as we all know that, English is currently the most commonly used language of international deals between Asian and other countries though this situation may change in the future. As far as trading is concerned, it’d be helpful to take a look at a trade deal. The purchasing of something is called a deal or transaction. That something (sold or bought) is called commodity. To make a deal happen, we need a commodity, a seller, a buyer, a currency, a market and a means of communication. And people communicate by using a language. Then what do people do if they have no common language for trading purposes? They use ungrammatical English which is termed as Pidgin or a deviant of English. There are different Pidgins used in different places in the world. Pidgins are languages for a very narrow range of purposes - those have to do with coastal trade. They develop wherever traders want to do business with who, they do not share a common language and where there is no lingua franca (通用语，混合语) for them to use. Most Pidgins are mixtures of Asian or African languages and those of major European trading nations (e.g. Spain, France, Germany & Britain, etc.). In general, the sound and grammatical systems of a pidgin are those of the language used locally: The vocabulary is supplied by the voyagers. Pidgins were not a rule written down; they change rapidly and they were quickly learned by those who needed them. When trading stopped, they were discarded and soon forgotten. There must have been many pidgins of which we have no record. Pidgins are makeshift languages and evidence of human inventiveness. They have low prestige
Pidgins change rapidly and don't last long.They are unstable.But the pidgin becomes a useful language rapidly.It is useful for certain group of users.Contact between different languages produces another language which is related to both,and different from either.The resulting language is called a creole.And the process of this is called creolization. Now we know that pidgins and creoles are alike in some way.They are both the result of languages in contact and used for trading purposes.They are different in important ways creoles are the only language for some users or the language of a speech community An English-based creole is Black English.We already covered in the former chapters about Black slaves being captured and shipped to America.They picked up some English just enough to survive.This is important for women as they taught their children a creole which was different from Standard English.Black English is also called Black English Vemacular (BEV)or Ebonic.It is no longer a creole but a variety of English with some creole features. How does a creole differ from Standard English,then?Creoles use a writing system. We will take a look at the example of an English-based creole used in Hawaii. e.g.He lazy.a's why he no like play. We can understand the sentence without trouble. Could a creole/pidgin be used as a national language?The answer is affirmative to a creole and negative to a pidgin.A pidgin is restricted to buying and selling or to the giving and taking oforders while a creole is a language that can serve as a national language.A good case in point is Papua New Guinea.The new country adopted a creole named Tok Pisin as its national language. When leaming about the differences between a creole and a pidgin we need to keep in mind that: 1.A pidgin has only some of the language functions.However,a creole may do. 2.Pidgins and creoles are both mixed languages -usually mixtures of languages belonging to different families. 3.By saying that English has some creolized features,we mean some varieties of English include some.but not all the features of a creole. 4.Speakers of varieties of English that have creolised features sometimes have difficulties in an English using educational system because of the differences between their mother tongue and the Standard English used in schools. 2
2 Pidgins change rapidly and don’t last long. They are unstable. But the pidgin becomes a useful language rapidly. It is useful for certain group of users. Contact between different languages produces another language which is related to both, and different from either. The resulting language is called a creole. And the process of this is called creolization. Now we know that pidgins and creoles are alike in some way. They are both the result of languages in contact and used for trading purposes. They are different in important ways: creoles are the only language for some users or the language of a speech community. An English-based creole is Black English. We already covered in the former chapters about Black slaves being captured and shipped to America. They picked up some English just enough to survive. This is important for women as they taught their children a creole which was different from Standard English. Black English is also called Black English Vernacular (BEV) or Ebonic. It is no longer a creole but a variety of English with some creole features. How does a creole differ from Standard English, then? Creoles use a writing system. We will take a look at the example of an English-based creole used in Hawaii. e.g. He lazy, a’s why he no like play. We can understand the sentence without trouble. Could a creole/pidgin be used as a national language? The answer is affirmative to a creole and negative to a pidgin. A pidgin is restricted to buying and selling or to the giving and taking of orders while a creole is a language that can serve as a national language. A good case in point is Papua New Guinea. The new country adopted a creole named Tok Pisin as its national language. When learning about the differences between a creole and a pidgin we need to keep in mind that: 1.A pidgin has only some of the language functions. However, a creole may do. 2.Pidgins and creoles are both mixed languages - usually mixtures of languages belonging to different families. 3.By saying that English has some creolized features, we mean some varieties of English include some, but not all the features of a creole. 4.Speakers of varieties of English that have creolised features sometimes have difficulties in an English using educational system because of the differences between their mother tongue and the Standard English used in schools
5.Tok Pisin is a creole.with English and German vocabulary.currently in use as a national language. Now,let's tum our eyes back to trade.How is today's intemational trade different from that across the barriers of language that has gone on for centuries in the past? We may find that something has not changed:1.There are still buyers and sellers. 2.There are still commodities.3.There has still to be some sort of currency exchange. 4.There has to be some means of transferring ownership from one to another. It is true that the scale of trade today is much larger than before.However,there has still to be communication between buyer and seller by means of language,a language that can be used by both.Besides English,there are other intemational languages such as German.Spanish.etc.But English is most commonly used worldwide. Two new factors are the effect of the increase in the scale of trade and the scope of international trade.The Ist is that the costs involved are very much larger.The 2nd is that present day trade is regulated by national and international law.In intemational trade at the present day language is used not only to negotiate deals and track their progress to completion,but also to finance them,and regulate them.Language, especially written language,allows permanent records to be kept,is as important as before and even in a greater variety of ways. Traditionally.the essentials of trade are buyers,sellers,commodities,markets. currency and communication,which is still so.But,the essentials of present day international trade between Asian countries and the rest of the world are more than those above.They are: 1.international banking 2.national and intemational regulation 3.bilingual merchand isers with access to fax machines If we look at the written correspondence between interational companies,most likely we will find that English is used and faxes are in use all the time.There are advantages of faxed messages.The most obvious one is their speed.And they can be sent at any time.Moreover.they are easy to write and read.We can even send illustrations such as drawings,diagrams,ete.by faxes. One thing needs to be pointed out here is faxed English is a distinct variety of English as it is similar to a pidgin at the surface level.It can be shorter than the same meanings in Standard English.It is concise and not a word is wasted.Besides information is condensed and abbreviations are often used (e g.attn-attention,etd -estimated arrival date).The headings of a fax signal changes of topic.Both the sender and the receiver of the fax take it for granted that the fax conveys shared knowledge between them.Superficially faxed English is similar to a creole too
3 5.Tok Pisin is a creole, with English and German vocabulary, currently in use as a national language. Now, let’s turn our eyes back to trade. How is today’s international trade different from that across the barriers of language that has gone on for centuries in the past? We may find that something has not changed: 1.There are still buyers and sellers. 2.There are still commodities. 3.There has still to be some sort of currency exchange. 4.There has to be some means of transferring ownership from one to another. It is true that the scale of trade today is much larger than before. However, there has still to be communication between buyer and seller by means of language, a language that can be used by both. Besides English, there are other international languages such as German, Spanish, etc. But English is most commonly used worldwide. Two new factors are the effect of the increase in the scale of trade and the scope of international trade. The 1st is that the costs involved are very much larger. The 2nd is that present day trade is regulated by national and international law. In international trade at the present day language is used not only to negotiate deals and track their progress to completion, but also to finance them, and regulate them. Language, especially written language, allows permanent records to be kept, is as important as before and even in a greater variety of ways. Traditionally, the essentials of trade are buyers, sellers, commodities, markets, currency and communication, which is still so. But, the essentials of present day international trade between Asian countries and the rest of the world are more than those above. They are: 1.international banking 2.national and international regulation 3.bilingual merchandisers with access to fax machines If we look at the written correspondence between international companies, most likely we will find that English is used and faxes are in use all the time. There are advantages of faxed messages. The most obvious one is their speed. And they can be sent at any time. Moreover, they are easy to write and read. We can even send illustrations such as drawings, diagrams, etc. by faxes. One thing needs to be pointed out here is faxed English is a distinct variety of English as it is similar to a pidgin at the surface level. It can be shorter than the same meanings in Standard English. It is concise and not a word is wasted. Besides, information is condensed and abbreviations are often used (e.g. attn---attention; etd ----estimated arrival date). The headings of a fax signal changes of topic. Both the sender and the receiver of the fax take it for granted that the fax conveys shared knowledge between them. Superficially faxed English is similar to a creole too
As a matter of fact,faxed business English is not like a pidgin or a creole.It is just a varicty used when the topic scems to require it,or when the level of fommality makes it suitable Faxed English is a major means of communication in intemational business.At present it is leamned on the job,rather than deliberately taught.It works well for several reasons:(a)Users are highly motivated to make it work.Their livelihoods depend on it.(b)Users have what is needed -detailed knowledge of the context, which increases as they gain experience.(c)Users for whom English is an additional language find it easy to use because mistakes are expected and ignored,not criticised. It is informal.Nobody expects or wants polite indirectness!Headings show changes of subject,and abbreviations make it brief. We know that English has played a dominant role in intemational business and has changed and adapted to meet its changing needs.Now let's look at other human activities carried on globally.They inelude science,namely,application of science,or technology.Medicine,transport,entertainment and information technology all belong to the category of technology. Science and technology cannot do without symbolic systems.Languages are symbolic systems though not the only ones.In a world where there are global human enterprises,a language that is widely understood,and that can be used across the boundaries of national language,is a necessity.It has to be English that is already established in the countries of the Inner Cirele and the Outer Cirele for a long time. English has been extensively used for the purposes of exchanging information, writing papers to be published in joumals and presented at intemational conferences etc.English is well suited to a great variety of scientific and technological purposes.It has a very large vocabulary.And more importantly.it has all sorts of ways of extending that vocabulary to meet changing needs. English enables us to write in a very impersonal way.It can be detached and unemotional.The sciences need this.If a person gets education,chances are he/she is able to study English that has been widely taught since the 2nd World War. Nowadays,teaching English as a second language is a very well developed profession. In what way does scientific English differ from the English of everyday living and everyday reading and writing?Generally speaking.scientific English is harder to read than a textbook.The reasons are as follows: 1.It needs much shared knowledge. 2.The style is impersonal and remote. 3.The papers are about abstraction-hypotheses,results and conclusions. 4.The passive voice is used a great deal
4 As a matter of fact, faxed business English is not like a pidgin or a creole. It is just a variety used when the topic seems to require it, or when the level of formality makes it suitable. Faxed English is a major means of communication in international business. At present it is learned on the job, rather than deliberately taught. It works well for several reasons: (a) Users are highly motivated to make it work. Their livelihoods depend on it. (b) Users have what is needed - detailed knowledge of the context, which increases as they gain experience. (c) Users for whom English is an additional language find it easy to use because mistakes are expected and ignored, not criticised. It is informal. Nobody expects or wants polite indirectness! Headings show changes of subject, and abbreviations make it brief. We know that English has played a dominant role in international business and has changed and adapted to meet its changing needs. Now let’s look at other human activities carried on globally. They include science, namely, application of science, or technology. Medicine, transport, entertainment and information technology all belong to the category of technology. Science and technology cannot do without symbolic systems. Languages are symbolic systems though not the only ones. In a world where there are global human enterprises, a language that is widely understood, and that can be used across the boundaries of national language, is a necessity. It has to be English that is already established in the countries of the Inner Circle and the Outer Circle for a long time. English has been extensively used for the purposes of exchanging information, writing papers to be published in journals and presented at international conferences, etc. English is well suited to a great variety of scientific and technological purposes. It has a very large vocabulary. And more importantly, it has all sorts of ways of extending that vocabulary to meet changing needs. English enables us to write in a very impersonal way. It can be detached and unemotional. The sciences need this. If a person gets education, chances are he/she is able to study English that has been widely taught since the 2nd World War. Nowadays, teaching English as a second language is a very well developed profession. In what way does scientific English differ from the English of everyday living and everyday reading and writing? Generally speaking, scientific English is harder to read than a textbook. The reasons are as follows: 1.It needs much shared knowledge. 2.The style is impersonal and remote. 3.The papers are about abstraction - hypotheses, results and conclusions. 4.The passive voice is used a great deal
Now we will shift our attention to the topic of use of English in intemational transport. We are now Irving in an era of modem transportation.Airplanes take people to almost every comer of the world.Does English play an important role in communication when we refer to modem transport,then?The answer is:of course.When people travel,esp.when they fly,accurate and immediate communication is a guarantee to safety.Risks and disasters would oocur if the instructions and messages are misleading or misunderstood by pilots,crews and people engaged in communication. There is no room for uncertainty or ambiguity.The most contnbution English makes to intemational air safety is in reducing ambiguity. In air traffic control,the vocabulary of'English in use is narrow or reduced.This has an additional advantage:it is more rapidly and easily leamed by people.In other words,it is very stereotyped language.It may sound dull and boring but the exchanges would be easily recorded and investigations made in case an air traffic accident occurs. English for special purposes of a small group of people has played an important role in reducing traffic accidents or risks.The following are a few terms related to this topic:1.Sea-speak----refers to a restricted variety of English used intemationally in ship-to-shore communication.2.Police-speak-similar to English for sea-speak.3. Jargon-selection from a language for special purposes of a small group of people who have a common interest in something.4.Argot----a special language of thieves. 4.Slang ---language used by young people to keep out the old. Now we are going to look into the relationship between English and entertainment.As we all know that technology has contributed greatly to our everyday life and made our leisure more enjoyable.For instance,watching TV has become the dominant pastime for many people.Television is a hugely popular and influential application of Wester science and technology,which makes English more accessible and at the same time provides an additional,powerful,motive for leaming it. Television promotes English as a global language in 2 ways:informal and formal.On the one hand,it is informally because English is there for people to choose at any time they want.On the other,English teaching of high quality on TV is available and many people can learn it freely. In short.TV became generally available after WWII.AT that time many people thought it would make the quality of people's lives poorer,but it soon became hugely popular activity.TV is now available in both developed and developing countries,and in remote places.It tends to break down the barriers between races and culture. Everything that makes TV varied,absorbing,and fun,makes it a good means for people to lean. The end of the 20th century is often called the Age of'Rapid Communication or the Age of Information Technology.IT has already many applications to everyday life
5 Now we will shift our attention to the topic of use of English in international transport. We are now living in an era of modern transportation. Airplanes take people to almost every corner of the world. Does English play an important role in communication when we refer to modern transport, then? The answer is: of course. When people travel, esp. when they fly, accurate and immediate communication is a guarantee to safety. Risks and disasters would occur if the instructions and messages are misleading or misunderstood by pilots, crews and people engaged in communication. There is no room for uncertainty or ambiguity. The most contribution English makes to international air safety is in reducing ambiguity. In air traffic control, the vocabulary of English in use is narrow or reduced. This has an additional advantage: it is more rapidly and easily learned by people. In other words, it is very stereotyped language. It may sound dull and boring but the exchanges would be easily recorded and investigations made in case an air traffic accident occurs. English for special purposes of a small group of people has played an important role in reducing traffic accidents or risks. The following are a few terms related to this topic: 1. Sea-speak ---- refers to a restricted variety of English used internationally in ship-to-shore communication. 2. Police-speak ---- similar to English for sea-speak. 3. Jargon ---- selection from a language for special purposes of a small group of people who have a common interest in something. 4. Argot ---- a special language of thieves. 4. Slang ---- language used by young people to keep out the old. Now we are going to look into the relationship between English and entertainment. As we all know that technology has contributed greatly to our everyday life and made our leisure more enjoyable. For instance, watching TV has become the dominant pastime for many people. Television is a hugely popular and influential application of Western science and technology, which makes English more accessible and at the same time provides an additional, powerful, motive for learning it. Television promotes English as a global language in 2 ways: informal and formal. On the one hand, it is informally because English is there for people to choose at any time they want. On the other, English teaching of high quality on TV is available and many people can learn it freely. In short, TV became generally available after WWII. AT that time many people thought it would make the quality of people’s lives poorer, but it soon became hugely popular activity. TV is now available in both developed and developing countries, and in remote places. It tends to break down the barriers between races and culture. Everything that makes TV varied, absorbing, and fun, makes it a good means for people to lean. The end of the 20th century is often called the Age of Rapid Communication or the Age of Information Technology. IT has already many applications to everyday life
and their number increases all the time.But very few people foresaw today's developments 20 years ago.Developments in information technology have reinforced the intemational role of English. A big and far-reaching step humans ever take is the invention of computers.In 1970s. PC became available to people and had been more and more accessible ever since. We use computer to store,retrieve and transfer information.To do these,we would use large,ordered collections of'information called database.At present English is the language that dominates the making of database and the processes of retrieval and transfer. Without knowing English,one would be very frustrated and put in a disadvantageous position.Another reason for people wanting to study English is that 85%of world's e-mails are sent or exchanged in English.It is a fact that English has dominated the World Wide Web.The importance of English is obvious.As a result,teaching and leaming English has been immensely increased by developments in IT.One thing needs to be stated is the position of English may change as the technology develops Historical circumstances made it inevitable that English intemationally used.So,it had to be accessible at every level (from introductory classes for extremely large numbers of leamers to the most advanced,sophisticated,and specialized)The global us of English since WWII has created a demand for ELT(English Language Teaching) worldwide.During the last 50 years,that demand has increased and shows no sign of declining. There are usually 2 ways to ELT:1.Having 2 teachers in the classroom working as a team.both well trained,one a native speaker and on bilingual.2.Technology can provide English instructions by TV or radio,whose programs have been called the world's largest ELT classroom.Among them the BBC is the superb resources and the model for many localized institutions. There are some other ways in which IT can be used for people to learn English.Such as audio broadcast lessons independent of the teacher,video broadcast lessons independent of the teacher,audio recordings to help the teacher,video record ings to help the teacher.computer assisted leaming.computer assisted testing:recorded songs and music:TV on English language channels;broadcasts in English on English language channels,ete. Technology can make leaming of English much more varied and enjoyable.It can be most useful in improving the quality of ELT in the classroom as well. Lastly we would say a few words about the profession of ELT.ELT has developed from an occupation to an academic profession,which includes native and bilingual teachers.Three things have contributed to ELT profession.They are:1.Great stride made in the understanding of language,or linguisties.Application of linguistics
6 and their number increases all the time. But very few people foresaw today’s developments 20 years ago. Developments in information technology have reinforced the international role of English. A big and far-reaching step humans ever take is the invention of computers. In 1970s, PC became available to people and had been more and more accessible ever since. We use computer to store, retrieve and transfer information. To do these, we would use large, ordered collections of information called database. At present English is the language that dominates the making of database and the processes of retrieval and transfer. Without knowing English, one would be very frustrated and put in a disadvantageous position. Another reason for people wanting to study English is that 85% of world’s e-mails are sent or exchanged in English. It is a fact that English has dominated the World Wide Web. The importance of English is obvious. As a result, teaching and learning English has been immensely increased by developments in IT. One thing needs to be stated is the position of English may change as the technology develops. Historical circumstances made it inevitable that English internationally used. So, it had to be accessible at every level (from introductory classes for extremely large numbers of learners to the most advanced, sophisticated, and specialized). The global us of English since WWII has created a demand for ELT (English Language Teaching) worldwide. During the last 50 years, that demand has increased and shows no sign of declining. There are usually 2 ways to ELT: 1. Having 2 teachers in the classroom working as a team, both well trained, one a native speaker and on bilingual. 2. Technology can provide English instructions by TV or radio, whose programs have been called the world’s largest ELT classroom. Among them the BBC is the superb resources and the model for many localized institutions. There are some other ways in which IT can be used for people to learn English. Such as audio broadcast lessons independent of the teacher; video broadcast lessons independent of the teacher; audio recordings to help the teacher, video recordings to help the teacher; computer assisted learning; computer assisted testing; recorded songs and music; TV on English language channels; broadcasts in English on English language channels, etc. Technology can make learning of English much more varied and enjoyable. It can be most useful in improving the quality of ELT in the classroom as well. Lastly we would say a few words about the profession of ELT. ELT has developed from an occupation to an academic profession, which includes native and bilingual teachers. Three things have contributed to ELT profession. They are: 1. Great stride made in the understanding of language, or linguistics. Application of linguistics
provided a theoretical framework for the profession of ELT.2.New institutions have been set up,notably the British Council.3.University departments were set up which served to focus on research and to offer training of a good standard and at a variety of levels. 2008年3月 7
7 provided a theoretical framework for the profession of ELT. 2. New institutions have been set up, notably the British Council. 3. University departments were set up which served to focus on research and to offer training of a good standard and at a variety of levels. 2008 年 3 月