1.4 English, one of the world languages.

1.4.1. With each passing year, English comes closer to being a world language for all educated people, as Latin once was. English Language, chief medium of communication of people in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and numerous other countries. It is the official language of many nations in the Commonwealth of Nations and is widely understood and used in all of them. It is spoken in more parts of the world than any other language and by more people than any other tongue except Chinese.

1.4.2. In Great Britain at present the speech of educated persons is known as Received Standard English. An important development of English outside Great Britain occurred with the colonization of North America. American English may be considered to include the English spoken in Canada, although the Canadian variety retains some features of British pronunciation, spelling, and vocabulary. The most distinguishing differences between American English and British English are in pronunciation and vocabulary.

1.4.3. English also enters into a number of simplified languages that arose among non-English-speaking peoples. Pidgin English spoken in the Melanesian islands, New Guinea, Australia, the Philippines, and Hawaii and on the Asian shores of the Pacific Ocean, developed as a means of communication between Chinese and English traders. Estuary English is a name given to the formulation(s) of English widely spoken among the young. Many consider it to be a working-class accent, though it is by no means limited to the working class. Estuary English shares many features with Cockney pronunciation.

1.4.4 English has been enriched by borrowing from a number of languages. If you do this little matching task, you'll understand it even better.

1	mazurka	A	Welsh
2	robot	B	Gaelic/Irish
3	goulash	C	Finnish
4	shamrock	D	Russian
5	coffee	E	Polish
6	caravan	F	Czech
7	flamingo	G	Hungarian
8	penguin	H	Portuguese
9	tea	I	Turkish
10	sputnik	J	Persian
11	samurai	K	Chinese
12	sauna	L	Japanese

Lecture 02 britain’s geography and climate

2.1. The geographical position.

2.1.1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and North­ern Ireland is situated on the British Isles — a large group of islands lying off the north-western coast of Europe and separated from the continent by the English Channel and the Strait of Dover in the south and the North Sea in the east. The British Isles consist of two large islands — Great Britain and Ireland — separated by the Irish Sea, and a lot of small islands, the main of which are the Isle of Wight in the English Channel, Anglesea and the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, the Hebrides — a group of islands off the north-western coast of Scotland, and two groups of islands lying to the north of Scotland: the Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands.

2.1.2. Historically the territory of the United Kingdom is divided into four parts: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The total area of the United Kingdom is 244 sq km. The name Britain is sometimes used to refer to the United Kingdom as a whole. The capital is London, which is among the world's leading commercial, financial, and cultural centers. Other major cities include Birmingham, Liverpool, and Manchester in England, Belfast and Londonderry in Northern Ireland, Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland, and Swansea and Cardiff in Wales.

2.1.3. The coastline of Great Britain is greatly indented, especially in the west and north-west where the moun­tains come close to the coast. The coasts of Scotland, as well as the coasts of the Hebrides, the Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands, are cut by numer­ous fiords. In the south and east the land gradually slopes down towards the sea, and the coasts are sandy and gentle.

As concerns the relief, England can be divided into: Northern England mostly taken up by the low Pen­nine Mountains, the Central Plain, lowland South­east England, and hilly South-west England. The Pennine Chain is sometimes called the backbone of England. Many of England’s major industrial areas lie on the flanks of the Pennine Chain, where there are many coalfields. To the west are the Cumbrian Mountains, a mountainous dome of ancient rocks deeply eroded by glaciers. This region contains the Lake District, famous for its lakes and scenic beauty.

2.1.4. Of the four countries which make up the United Kingdom, England is the largest. It occupies an area of 131,8 thousand sq. km. England borders on Scotland in the north. In the east it is washed by the North Sea. In the south it is separated from the continent by the English Chan­nel. In the west it borders on Wales and is washed by the Bristol Channel and by the Irish Sea. The highest part of England is in the west. The rivers flowing to the east and emptying into the North Sea form deep estuaries well protected from the sea. The greatest port of the country Lon­don is conveniently situated in the Thames estu­ary.