Section II. READING MATERIAL TEXT A. ABOUT THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

English is one of the most important and widely used languages. British colonial expansion in the 17th, 18th and 19^th centuries took the English language all over the world. Except Britain it became the official (or the second official) language of the USA, Canada, Australia, South Africa and other countries. economic, political and cultural influence of these countries in the World contributed to further spread of English in the 20^th century. As a result we have a unique phenomenon in history: about 1 500 million people — over a third of the world's population — live in countries where English is used and taught. In fact it has become the language of international intercourse.

The English we study (the model used in the teaching of English overseas) is known as Standard English¹. Standard English is the official language used in Great Britain. It is taught at schools and universities. It is used in literature, by the press, the radio and television and spoken by educated people.

Besides Standard English there are very many local dialects in Great Britain. Under the influence of Standard English taught at school and the speech cultivated by the radio, television and the cinema the local dialects are undergoing a change. The old local dialects are mainly preserved in the countryside and for the most part in the speech of elderly people.

A few words should be said about Cockney English². It is known at least by name to a large number of people living outside the English speaking countries. Cockney is a class dialect spoken by about two million working-class Londoners — Cockneys³ — in the East End of London. It differs from Standard English by its peculiar pronunciation.

As a result of geographical separation English spoken outside the British Isles has developed certain differences in vocabulary and pronunciation but less in grammar. Differences in geographical features, in the flora and fauna and in the way of life call for new words which find their way in the general English vocabulary.

Contacts with other languages have also left their mark on English outside Great Britain. Contacts with various native languages, as for example, with Red Indian language in America, the languages of the Australian aborigenes and the Maori in New Zealand have introduced new elements into the English vocabulary.

Notes:

¹ Standard English — литературный английский язык

² Cockney English — кокни (лондонское просторечие)

³ Cockney — кокни, уроженец Лондона (особ. восточной части)

EXERCISES:

Ex. 1. Read these international words and guess their meanings. Mind the stress.

'literature 'radio 'dialect 'flora fauna

co'lonial

ex'pansion

o'fficial

re'sult

vo'cabulary

uni'versity

„sepa'ration

.culti'vated

.geo'graphical

,abo'rigenes

Ex. 2. Memorize the following pairs of derivatives: V+er -» N V+tion -» N

use - user inform - information

teach - teacher educate - education

find - finder preserve - preservation

speak - speaker pronounce - pronunciation

learn - learner separate - separation

take - taker investigate - investigation

leave - leaver introduce - introduction

Ex. 3. Transform as in the models:

Model 1: to pronounce words — the pronunciation of words to improve pronunciation; to translate a text; to investigate a problem; to introduce new elements; to develop certain differences; to recognize a writer

Model 2: problems of a language — language problems changes of a dialect; departments of the University; patterns of speech; differences of (in) vocabulary; resources of vocabulary; complexity of language

Ex. 4. Match English and Russian equivalents:

1. English speaking countries

2. to undergo changes

3. perculiar pronunciation

4. under the influence

5. differences in vocabulary and pronunciation

6. all over the world

7. to be preserved in the countryside

8. further spread

a. претерпеть изменения

b. под влиянием

c. во всем мире

d. различия в словарном составе и произношении

с. сохраняться в сельской местности

f. дальнейшее распространение

g. англоязычные страны

h. особое произношение

Ex. 5. Complete the sentences:

1. English is one of the ... . 2. English is spoken in ... . 3. The English we study is known as ... . 4. Standard English is used in… 5.Besides Standard English there are many ... . 6. English spoken outside the British Isles has developed certain differences in…7. In fact English has become the language of ...

Ex. 6. Choose the right word.

1. English is a widely used ....

a) dialect b) language c) pattern

2. Standard English is an ... language. a) artificial b) official c) local

3. The old local dialects are mainly preserved in ... . a) the towns b) the countryside c) London

4. The English spoken outside Great Britain has developed certain differences in ...

a) literature b) pronunciation c) structure

5. Differences in the way of life and culture call for new words in the general English ....

a) model b) vocabulary c) grammar

Ex. 7. Answer the questions on the text.

1. Is English one of the world's most widely used languages? 2. In what countries is it spoken? 3. How many people speak English? 4. How do we call the official language used in Great Britain? 5. Where is Standard English taught and used? 6. What can you say about English dialects? Are there many of them? 7. What is the Cockney English? 8. Why has English spoken outside the British Isles undergone certain changes?

Ex. 8. Make a short summary of the text.

TEXT C. THE USE OF ENGLISH AS A NATIVE, SECOND AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Task: read the text, get ready to render its contents in Russian.

English is spoken as a native language by more than 300 million people, most of them living in North America, the British Isles, Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean, and South Africa. In several of these countries, English is not the sole language: the Quebec province of Canada is French-speaking, most South Africans speak Africaans or Bantu languages, and many Irish and Welsh people speak Celtic languages. But those whose native language is not English will have it as their second language for certain governmental, commercial, social, or educational activities within their own country.

In about twenty-five countries English has been legally used as in official language; in about ten (such as Nigeria) it is the sole official language, and in some fifteen others (such as India) it shares that status with one or more other languages. Most of these countries are former British territories. English is a second language for well over 300 million people: the number of second-language speakers may soon exceed the number of native speakers, if it has not done so already.

Even more widely English is studied and used as a foreign language. In this respect it acquired an international status. It is used for communication across frontiers, listening to broadcasts, reading books and newspapers, in commerce and travel. Half of the world's scientific literature is in English. English is associated with technological and economic development of the great manufacturing countries and it is the principal language of international aid. It is the language of automation and computer technology. It is not only the universal language of international aviation, shipping and sport, it is to a considerable degree the universal language of literacy and public communication. It is the major of diplomacy, and is the most frequently used language both in the debates in the United Nations and in the general conduct of UN business.

TEXT D. ENGLISH VOCABULARY DURING THE MIDDLE AND MODERN ENGLISH PERIODS

Task: read the text, state the sources and the reasons for the vocabulary increase in English.

During the Middle and Modern English periods the English vocabulary has increased enormously as a result of borrowing from foreign languages. Even during the Old English period, the reintroduction of Christianity from Rome (in 597) led to the acquisition of a considerable number of words from Latin. However, the first really great influx of foreign loan-words into the English vocabulary came from French first as the result of the Norman Conquest, which submerged English for a century as a literary language, and secondly, as a consequence of the close political and cultural ties between England and France during the 13th and 14th centuries.

The Revival of Learning, during the Renaissance, gave a renewed impetus to borrowing from the Latin. Finally, England's growing position as a world power and the rapid development of America resulted in the introduction into English of words from languages in every part of the globe. The result is a total vocabulary that is at once" heterogeneous and extremely large. Naturally, with so enormous a potential vocabulary at his command, the average individual speaker of the English language will master only a relatively small part of it.

TEST I

I. Прочтите текст и письменно ответьте на вопросы, следующие за ним.

The English Language

1. It is only in the course of the last hundred years that English has become a world language. In Shakespeare's time it was a «provincial» language of secondary importance with only 6 million native speakers. Nowadays English has become the world's most important language in politics, science, trade and cultural relations. In a number of speakers (more than 300 million) English is second only to Chinese. It is the official language of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the United States of America, of Australia and New Zealand. English is used as one of the official languages in Canada, the Republic of South Africa, and the Irish Republic. It is also spoken as a second language by many people in India, Pakistan, and numerous countries in Africa, to say nothing of people all over the world who know English — well or not so well — as a foreign language.

2. From the British Isles English spread all over the world, but English has not always been the language of the people of those Islands. When the Romans colonized England in the first century of our era, the country was inhabited by Celtic tribes¹, and until the fifth century only Celtic languages were spoken by the people of Britain. About the middle of the fifth century the British Isles began to be invaded by the Angles, Saxons and Jutes², who spoke dialects of the language which was the ancestor of present-day English. We call that language Old English³.

3. During the fifteen hundred years that have passed since the Anglo-Saxon invasions English has changed considerably. First it was influenced by the language of the Danish (Viking) invaders in the 8th—10th centuries. Then between the 12th and 14^th centuries it was very strongly influenced — both in its grammar and vocabulary, and in its pronunciation — by Norman French — the language of the people who conquered England in the year 1066. Lastly, during the Renaissance⁴, in the 14th—16^th centuries, came the peaceful «invasion» of a number of Latin and Greek words, which were introduced into English. In fact, this invasion has never come to an end, as new words continue to be made up from Latin and Greek roots for new inventions and scientific discoveries.

Notes:

¹ Celtic tribes — кельтские племена

² Angles, Saxons, Jutes — англы, саксы, юты (германские племена)

³ Old English — древнеанглийский язык

⁴ the Renaissance — Ренессанс, эпоха Возрождения

EXERCISES:

1. Since what time has English become a world language?

2. In what countries is English considered to be the official language?

3. Where is it spoken as a second language?

4. What languages were spoken by the people of Britain until the fifth century?

5. What languages have influenced English since the 8^th century?

6. What is the role of Latin and Greek roots in the formation of the present-day vocabulary?

II. Перепишите и письменно переведите 1-й и 2-й абзацы текста. Найдите в 1-ом абзаце текста предложение, содержащее усилительную конструкцию.

III. По суффиксу определите и выберите:

1) существительные, 2)прилагательные, 3) глаголы, 4) наречия:

kindness, official, colonize, scientific, importance, nearly, governmental, justify, frequently, version, characterize, numerous, useless, generally, cultural, recognize, reasonably invasion, artistic, considerably.

IV. Определите видо-временные формы глаголов в следующих предложениях.

1. Pushkin and Zhukovsky admired Walter Scott and translated his poems into Russian. 2. The author of the book pictures the life of poor people with great realism. 3. The writer has finished Ш first chapter of his book and now he is working on the second 4. He became more proficient in his subject after he had read these reference books. 5. He will revise these grammar rules before he starts doing the exercise.

V. Поставьте сказуемое придаточного предложения в нужную видо-временную форму, учитывая правила согласования времен.

1. One day he said to his mother that he (to go) to New York to try his fortune. 2. She knew that her brother (to work) hard at his English. 3. He asked where I (to study) before I began my literary career. 4. I thought that you (to wait) for me in the language laboratory.

VI. Выберите нужное местоимение из данных в скобках.

1. Have you found (some, any) mistakes in his essay? — Yes, I have found (some, any). 2. There are (any, no) interesting articles in this journal. 3. I've heard (something, anything) about this conference. 4. Does (somebody, anybody) know her telephone number? — (Anybody, nobody) does.

VII. Переведите предложения, обратите внимание на различные значения слов it и one.

1. It is really very important for a linguist to know foreign languages. 2. Can you tell me where my dictionary is? I can't find it. 3. Give me a book, please. — Which one? — That red one, please. 4. One must read the instructions carefully to do this work properly.

VIII. Переведите предложения, содержащие модальные глаголы. и их эквиваленты.

1. While making a report, don't forget that you can use only the information you can rely on. 2. I'll be able to find another article on this subject in an hour. 3. You may render this story in the first person. 4. Tom had to get up earlier yesterday because his mother was ill. 5. The members of the language club are to meet at5p.m.