English Today

Approximately 500 million 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 an 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 differences in pronunciation, structure and vocabulary, would recognize that they are all speaking the same basic language.

English has become a world language because of its establishment as a mother tongue outside England, in all the continents of the world. This exporting of English began in the seventeenth century, with the first settlements in North America. Above all, it is the great growth of population in the United States, assisted by massive immigration in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, that has given the English language its present standing in the world.

Celtic кельтський

to survive продовжувати існування

to conquer завойовувати

A.D. = Anno Domini лam. нашої ери

B.C.= before Christ до нашої ери

approximately приблизно

borrowing запозичення

to recognize yпiзнавати

roast смажений

veal телятина

inflection грам. флексія

flexibility гнучкість

retirement пенсійний вік

bend пoворот

to involve пepедбачати

admission доступ

compound складне слово

derivative похідне слово

medium засіб

loan word запозичення

pajamas піжама

tycoon пpoмисловий магнат

bamboo бaмбук

Gaelic гельський

lilac бyзок

rendezvous пoбачення

bizarre дивний

hoover пилос

Task 4. Choose from column B the synonyms of the words and phrases in column A.

А В

Involve Bizarre Rendezvous Survive Conquer Hoover Medium Admission

exist win access foresee vacuum cleaner date means very odd

Task 13. Read and dramatize the following dialogues.

A: What do you think about Esperanto?

B: I don't believe it will ever become a world language.

A: Why? Lots of people are learning it.

B: Not compared with those who are learning «real» languages. It's too artificial.

A: You've got a point there. But it's much easier to learn than other languages.

B: That's certainly an advantage, of course, but there's no incentive to learn it as long as so few people speak it. You can't use it at international conference, for example.

A: I think it should be taught at schools.

B: Do you really? To my mind there are quite enough subjects on the school curriculum already.

***

A: I don’t think you work hard enough at your English.

B: Well, I do, I work very hard, but please try to understand it’s very difficult for me.

A: Oh, is it? How long does it take you to do your homework?

B: a long time, two or three hours, and sometimes even four.

Task 5. Make up your own dialogues using the following word combinations.

Mother tongue, peculiarity, interpret, translate, accent, to have a good command of, to try to do one’s best, to be of great importance.

Task 6. Read and retell the text.