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3 Unit Three and Unit Feur As far as languages are concemed,there are three terms we use to modify them: regional language,national language,interational language and global language Regional language is only used in a restricted area National language is used within national boundaries.Intemational language is used outside national boundaries and global language for communication worldwide. English is one of several intemational languages.Because there are only superficial differences in its written system worldwide,it is thus possible for it to have become the global language.There are very many languages in the world but English is predominant.How does this happen?It is necessary to look back into the history In the 16th and early 17th centuries,there was a large scale of exploration movement overseas in Britain.Large numbers of adventurers went to the American continent or the so-called New World.Among them there were quite many British adventurers,too. The following events and names are important as they are related to the history of the spread ing of English: 1584 Sir Walter Raleigh sailed for the New World 1585 Sir Raleigh's 2nd expedition to the New World 1590 The 'Lost Colony"found abandoned 1620 English Puritan settlers left Plymouth in the Mayflower for the New World 1775 The American War of Independence started 1783 End of the War.USA set up 1790 Ist census held in the USA.About 90%of the population are British descendants English was the most popular and the most important language in the country The founding of the USA was not the end of migration.instead,it was the beginning of it.New settlers kept coming into the new country.In the 19th century large numbers of immigrants came from Europe.Migration from other continents like Asia and Latin America belonged to a later time,and to the present.People entered the new nation for various reasons.Some came.just hoping for a better life or future than they expect at home.Some came to escape political or economic disasters.And the New World became the famous 'melting pot"to us now
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 3 Unit Three and Unit Four As far as languages are concerned, there are three terms we use to modify them: regional language, national language, international language and global language. Regional language is only used in a restricted area. National language is used within national boundaries. International language is used outside national boundaries and global language for communication worldwide. English is one of several international languages. Because there are only superficial differences in its written system worldwide, it is thus possible for it to have become the global language. There are very many languages in the world but English is predominant. How does this happen? It is necessary to look back into the history. In the 16th and early 17th centuries, there was a large scale of exploration movement overseas in Britain. Large numbers of adventurers went to the American continent or the so-called New World. Among them there were quite many British adventurers, too. The following events and names are important as they are related to the history of the spreading of English: 1584 Sir Walter Raleigh sailed for the New World 1585 Sir Raleigh’s 2nd expedition to the New World 1590 The "Lost Colony" found abandoned 1620 English Puritan settlers left Plymouth in the Mayflower for the New World 1775 The American War of Independence started 1783 End of the War. USA set up 1790 1st census held in the USA. About 90% of the population are British descendants English was the most popular and the most important language in the country. The founding of the USA was not the end of migration, instead, it was the beginning of it. New settlers kept coming into the new country. In the 19th century large numbers of immigrants came from Europe. Migration from other continents like Asia and Latin America belonged to a later time, and to the present. People entered the new nation for various reasons. Some came, just hoping for a better life or future than they expect at home. Some came to escape political or economic disasters. And the New World became the famous "melting pot" to us now
The new comers were eager to become the citizens of their adopted country.and they needed at the time to leam to use English.The Ist settlers from Europe brought with them different cultures and languages and the speed of'their English leaming varied too.However,their children got into English speaking schools and grew up with English as their mother tongue.Also.they adopted the new customs and culture. English was the official language of the USA.and,was as American as the flag and national anthem. When reviewing the history of migration into the States,we need to note that there were people who were unwilling to leave or forced to leave their homeland and went to the American continent.Those were black slaves who were shipped to America from Africa and ill-treated for generations on plantations or in the houses oftheir masters Slave trading was prosperous throughout the 18th century and not until early 19th century were the black slaves freed.These slaves had no human rights and were abused and sold at their masters"wills.Naturally,they had no access to leaming at all Some leamed restricted English words in their lives and mixed them with words from their mother tongue.The English used by these Blacks is what we termed as Black English.Black English Vemacular (BEV)or Ebonic. Since English is a must for one to become an American,everyone,no matter which part of the world (s)he is from,has to leam the language.We can say that English helps make the country a united one.In the process of leaming English.you may have noticed that American spelling and British spelling of some words are not the same. (e.g.check,cheque:;labor,labour;center,centre,ete.)But,once you know these differences,you won't have trouble understanding written English. Here,we need to mention an educator,Noah Webster,who has contributed greatly to the English leaming and American spelling.His Webster's Dictionary has been widely used in the world for decades. Between the early 17th 18th century,the USA became the 2nd English speaking nation,and is in the 20th century much more powerful and influential than the United Kingdom.The English language had a special role in making a large population,from different parts of the world.into a single nation.Although British English and American English are in some ways different,speakers of British English and American English understand each other without difficulty.This is also true of 2nd language users who have leamned from British American teachers.A more formal way of saying this is to say that British English American English are mutually intelligible In history,Britain was called the Great Britain who expanded and established many colonies outside its boundary.Therefore.in the prime of the empire.English was used as official language in its colonies for govemmental,judicial,education and law purposes.(e.g.in India,America,Canada,New Zealand,etc.).But in many other
The new comers were eager to become the citizens of their adopted country, and they needed at the time to learn to use English. The 1st settlers from Europe brought with them different cultures and languages and the speed of their English learning varied too. However, their children got into English speaking schools and grew up with English as their mother tongue. Also, they adopted the new customs and culture. English was the official language of the USA, and, was as American as the flag and national anthem. When reviewing the history of migration into the States, we need to note that there were people who were unwilling to leave or forced to leave their homeland and went to the American continent. Those were black slaves who were shipped to America from Africa and ill-treated for generations on plantations or in the houses of their masters. Slave trading was prosperous throughout the 18th century and not until early 19th century were the black slaves freed. These slaves had no human rights and were abused and sold at their masters" wills. Naturally, they had no access to learning at all. Some learned restricted English words in their lives and mixed them with words from their mother tongue. The English used by these Blacks is what we termed as Black English, Black English Vernacular (BEV) or Ebonic. Since English is a must for one to become an American, everyone, no matter which part of the world (s)he is from, has to learn the language. We can say that English helps make the country a united one. In the process of learning English, you may have noticed that American spelling and British spelling of some words are not the same. (e.g. check, cheque; labor, labour; center, centre, etc.) But, once you know these differences, you won’t have trouble understanding written English. Here, we need to mention an educator, Noah Webster, who has contributed greatly to the English learning and American spelling. His Webster’s Dictionary has been widely used in the world for decades. Between the early 17th & 18th century, the USA became the 2nd English speaking nation, and is in the 20th century much more powerful and influential than the United Kingdom. The English language had a special role in making a large population, from different parts of the world, into a single nation. Although British English and American English are in some ways different, speakers of British English and American English understand each other without difficulty. This is also true of 2nd language users who have learned from British & American teachers. A more formal way of saying this is to say that British English & American English are mutually intelligible. In history, Britain was called the Great Britain who expanded and established many colonies outside its boundary. Therefore, in the prime of the empire, English was used as official language in its colonies for governmental, judicial, education and law purposes. (e.g. in India, America, Canada, New Zealand, etc.). But in many other
countries,English is just one of several foreign languages.(e.g in China.Japan. Germany,France,etc.) The case of India can well demonstrate the relationship between English language and British colonies.(East India Company a British rule a English spread a official language） Britain was an imperial power of about 3 centuries.By the discovery of the New Workd is meant discovery and settlement in North America.The establishment of colonies and empire spread the use of English worldwide between the 16th century and the Ist half of the 20th century.The American colonies declared their independence from Britain during the 18th century. Since the decline of British imperial power,the English language has remained important,but in a different way declined sharply in importance.The east India Company traded in Asia from the 17th until the 19th century.English remains very important in India after independence-but as a 2nd language leamed for a variety of purposes,including intemational purposes. The British Empire has belonged to a history but English has remained and widely used in the places far away from it.Doyou know how many people are using the language in the world now?To leam the truth,let's look at a few names first. 1962 Randolph Quirk published his most influential book named 'the Use of English".It estimated that there were 2.5 billion English users then,and 1 billion used it as additional language. 1977 Joshua Fishman at al 'the Spread of English".It estimated there were about 3 billion people who used English as their mother tongue and 3 others additional language 1985 David Crystal believed in his article in the journal English Today that there were at least 4 billion people used English as an additional language in the world. In late 20th century (1980),the number of English users are estimated around 7-14 billions.Braj Kachru who is from Indian sub-continent,uses 3 circles to show his audience how English is used.There are 3 circles that overlap (p.147).They are the Inner Circle (which represents native speakers-users who use English as their mother tongue),the Outer Circle (which represents places where English is used for purposes of intemational business and sometimes for official business within the country.Most of these places were once part of the British Empire):and the Expand ing Circle (where English is not an official language but the number of English users are still increasing who don't think English belongs to Britain or North America.Instead.they think the language is one of theirs.)
countries, English is just one of several foreign languages. (e.g. in China, Japan, Germany, France, etc.) The case of India can well demonstrate the relationship between English language and British colonies. (East India Company à British rule à English spread à official language ) Britain was an imperial power of about 3 centuries. By the discovery of the New World is meant discovery and settlement in North America. The establishment of colonies and empire spread the use of English worldwide between the 16th century and the 1st half of the 20th century. The American colonies declared their independence from Britain during the 18th century. Since the decline of British imperial power, the English language has remained important, but in a different way declined sharply in importance. The east India Company traded in Asia from the 17th until the 19th century. English remains very important in India after independence - but as a 2nd language learned for a variety of purposes, including international purposes. The British Empire has belonged to a history but English has remained and widely used in the places far away from it. Do you know how many people are using the language in the world now? To learn the truth, let’s look at a few names first. 1962 Randolph Quirk published his most influential book named ’the Use of English". It estimated that there were 2.5 billion English users then, and 1 billion used it as additional language. 1977 Joshua Fishman at al ’the Spread of English". It estimated there were about 3 billion people who used English as their mother tongue and 3 others additional language 1985 David Crystal believed in his article in the journal English Today that there were at least 4 billion people used English as an additional language in the world. In late 20th century (1980), the number of English users are estimated around 7 - 14 billions. Braj Kachru who is from Indian sub-continent, uses 3 circles to show his audience how English is used. There are 3 circles that overlap (p.147). They are the Inner Circle (which represents native speakers-users who use English as their mother tongue); the Outer Circle (which represents places where English is used for purposes of international business and sometimes for official business within the country. Most of these places were once part of the British Empire); and the Expanding Circle (where English is not an official language but the number of English users are still increasing who don’t think English belongs to Britain or North America. Instead, they think the language is one of theirs.)
One thing we have to point out is that the number of English users has always been increasing.The world is changing.so is the number of English leamers.Because of technical reasons,the change is more rapid today We are living in so-called Information Age.Information spreads very rapidly and is taken advantage of by more people and in more fields The invention and the use of computer is a good case in point.And as an intemational language,the function of English has helped the spread and transfer of information.The side use of English has strengthened its position worldwide in retum.Though there are some other languages which can be called intemational languages,English is obviously more important and should be termed as global language.It has gone beyond any boundaries. English leaming.therefore,has a lot to do with the advancement of science and the application oftechnology as well.Students are leaming it at school and working adults are leaming it for various purposes.At present,there is no sign of declining in the leaming and using of English. The role English plays in the modem world is evident.But,people might ask if it has disadvantages too?Or can it be replaced by some other languages? People have complaints about English.For instance,one needs a large vocabulary to read well:some sounds are hard to pronounce,and it's not easy to handle the use of countable nouns and uncountable nouns,ete. To solve the problem,some people put forward a solution,namely,using a language that has nothing to do with anybody's mother tongue to take the place of English as an international language.Hence,people don't have to be bothered by the change of time. place and audience. It is not practical to use Latin or Greek for the purpose.So.in 19th to early 20th century.people created a few languages to fulfill the task.The most famous and successful man-made language is Esperanto.Yet,it has never been successful in competing with English even though there are some people using the language all the time. Some people suggested that a natural language be simplified,for example English.In fact,Noah Webster already did the job long before by simplifying the English spelling in order that American children can leam it more easily.And in 1930,a person named Ogden already published his simplified English version.During the 2nd World War. the basic English words people made were only 850 and they could not meet people's writing needs As we all know,there are many languages in the world.In the eyes of the linguists all languages are equal and there is no good one or bad (in other words:developed or primitive)one,just like we say all humans are equal and should be respected
One thing we have to point out is that the number of English users has always been increasing. The world is changing, so is the number of English learners. Because of technical reasons, the change is more rapid today. We are living in so-called Information Age. Information spreads very rapidly and is taken advantage of by more people and in more fields. The invention and the use of computer is a good case in point. And as an international language, the function of English has helped the spread and transfer of information. The side use of English has strengthened its position worldwide in return. Though there are some other languages which can be called international languages, English is obviously more important and should be termed as global language. It has gone beyond any boundaries. English learning, therefore, has a lot to do with the advancement of science and the application of technology as well. Students are learning it at school and working adults are learning it for various purposes. At present, there is no sign of declining in the learning and using of English. The role English plays in the modern world is evident. But, people might ask if it has disadvantages too? Or can it be replaced by some other languages? People have complaints about English. For instance, one needs a large vocabulary to read well; some sounds are hard to pronounce, and it’s not easy to handle the use of countable nouns and uncountable nouns, etc. To solve the problem, some people put forward a solution, namely, using a language that has nothing to do with anybody’s mother tongue to take the place of English as an international language. Hence, people don’t have to be bothered by the change of time, place and audience. It is not practical to use Latin or Greek for the purpose. So, in 19th to early 20th century, people created a few languages to fulfill the task. The most famous and successful man-made language is Esperanto. Yet, it has never been successful in competing with English even though there are some people using the language all the time. Some people suggested that a natural language be simplified, for example English. In fact, Noah Webster already did the job long before by simplifying the English spelling in order that American children can learn it more easily. And in 1930, a person named Ogden already published his simplified English version. During the 2nd World War, the basic English words people made were only 850 and they could not meet people’s writing needs. As we all know, there are many languages in the world. In the eyes of the linguists all languages are equal and there is no good one or bad (in other words: developed or primitive) one, just like we say all humans are equal and should be respected
Can we say that English is widely used because t it better fits in the intemational circumstances than other languages?It seems irrational to conclude so.The spread of it,as we covered before,was absolutely caused by political,economic and cultural factors instead of linguistic reasons. The idea ofequality or parity among languages is important,and it needs to be carefully understood.No languages that we know about are underdeveloped or primitive.Languages change with time,as the needs of their users change,but change does not mean evolutionary progress.Languages and dialects are valued differently and used differently for historical,political,economic and cultural reasons. Also,we may need to know that 1.It is possible to leam to read the English of a past time.The further back in the past the more difficult it is and the longer it takes. 2.Most people don't find leaming to use another variety very easy,but some are very good at it. 3.A social variety is the sort of English use which is associated with a part of society, that is with rich or poor,well or poorly educated. 4 Social and regional varieties are connected.You can tell what region someone who uses the English of'the poorer and the less well-educated comes from.The way the better-off use English tells you little or nothing about where that person was bom. There are 2 distinct stages in the study of a language.However,the stages are not clearly marked sometimes.The Ist stage is the study of sound system and grammar system of a language.while the 2nd is enlarging one's vocabulary steadily.The formal leaming will make the leamers able to read and write.They get familiar witha variety,or the standard version of the language.The process is similar be it their mother tongue or a 2nd or additional language. However,when leamning English,we may notice that there do exist differences between speech and writing Usually,spoken English takes longer time than written English to say the same thing There would be pauses,repetitions,hesitations,etc.in a speech.But,as a rule,the writers try to say things in a brief,clear and coherent way. Also,there are different ways of expressing meanings on different occasions.such as formal and informal.(e.g p.196) The following points are what we have just touched: 1.English differs with the user,and also with the different uses that speakers have for English
Can we say that English is widely used because t it better fits in the international circumstances than other languages? It seems irrational to conclude so. The spread of it, as we covered before, was absolutely caused by political, economic and cultural factors instead of linguistic reasons. The idea of equality or parity among languages is important, and it needs to be carefully understood. No languages that we know about are underdeveloped or primitive. Languages change with time, as the needs of their users change, but change does not mean evolutionary progress. Languages and dialects are valued differently and used differently for historical, political, economic and cultural reasons. Also, we may need to know that: 1.It is possible to learn to read the English of a past time. The further back in the past the more difficult it is and the longer it takes. 2.Most people don’t find learning to use another variety very easy, but some are very good at it. 3.A social variety is the sort of English use which is associated with a part of society, that is with rich or poor, well or poorly educated. 4.Social and regional varieties are connected. You can tell what region someone who uses the English of the poorer and the less well-educated comes from. The way the better-off use English tells you little or nothing about where that person was born. There are 2 distinct stages in the study of a language. However, the stages are not clearly marked sometimes. The 1st stage is the study of sound system and grammar system of a language; while the 2nd is enlarging one’s vocabulary steadily. The formal learning will make the learners able to read and write. They get familiar with a variety, or the standard version of the language. The process is similar be it their mother tongue or a 2nd or additional language. However, when learning English, we may notice that there do exist differences between speech and writing. Usually, spoken English takes longer time than written English to say the same thing. There would be pauses, repetitions, hesitations, etc. in a speech. But, as a rule, the writers try to say things in a brief, clear and coherent way. Also, there are different ways of expressing meanings on different occasions, such as formal and informal. (e.g. p.196) The following points are what we have just touched: 1.English differs with the user, and also with the different uses that speakers have for English
2.Leaming about these differences belong to a 2nd stage of leaming -for native speakers and for users of English as an additional language. 3.Spoken English differs from written English.The topic,or subject,makes a difference to the way that English is used.English is used in different circumstances with different degrees of formality. 4.We have named 3 different ways in which English differs with use.They are similar to the regional and historical and social varieties we looked at earlier.They are however different in that they vary with use.They are available toall practised and experienced users.Or,user variation use variation. Also,keep in mind the differences between spoken written English: Spoken Written 1.The work of one person for many readers. 1.The work between 2 or more people 2.May be read a long time after it is wntten. who are both speakers listeners. 2.There is reminding.interrupting. 3.No interruption between the writer& hesitation,asking and answering the readers 4.About what the writer thinks the questions in the process. readers need to know and say all about it. 3.Not keep to a single point and things known to the speakers may be left out. 5.Arranged in best order for readers to 4.Slang or words known to people comprehend. involved in the talk may be used 6.Is put clearly to avoid confusion or puzzlement on the readers side 7.Is changing as in other respects,and generally nearer speech than it was before 2008年3月
2.Learning about these differences belong to a 2nd stage of learning --- for native speakers and for users of English as an additional language. 3.Spoken English differs from written English. The topic, or subject, makes a difference to the way that English is used. English is used in different circumstances with different degrees of formality. 4.We have named 3 different ways in which English differs with use. They are similar to the regional and historical and social varieties we looked at earlier. They are however different in that they vary with use. They are available to all practised and experienced users. Or, user variation & use variation. Also, keep in mind the differences between spoken & written English: Spoken Written 1. The work between 2 or more people who are both speakers & listeners. 2. There is reminding, interrupting, hesitation, asking and answering questions in the process. 3. Not keep to a single point and things known to the speakers may be left out. 4. Slang or words known to people involved in the talk may be used 1. The work of one person for many readers. 2. May be read a long time after it is written. 3. No interruption between the writer & the readers. 4. About what the writer thinks the readers need to know and say all about it. 5. Arranged in best order for readers to comprehend. 6. Is put clearly to avoid confusion or puzzlement on the readers side. 7. Is changing as in other respects, and generally nearer speech than it was before 2008 年 3 月