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Е. В. Захарова язык и культура великобритании в условиях европейской интеграции предисловие данное учебное пособие

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Part two. the present day multilingual setting for english unit i. language – a major way of ethnic identification
Ii. vocabulary focus
Iii. interpretation
Iv. speaking personally
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PART TWO. THE PRESENT DAY MULTILINGUAL SETTING FOR ENGLISH




UNIT I. LANGUAGE – A MAJOR WAY OF ETHNIC

IDENTIFICATION



I. READING COMPREHENSION


A. Pre-reading Task. Answer the questions:


1) Do you think the language is the main form of national identity?

2) Why do you think English is the world’s most successful modern language?


B. Now read and translate the text. You can make use of the words and word-combinations given below:


Standard English – литературный английский язык

Survey – обзор, обследование

Variety – разнообразие, разновидность

Overseas (a) – зарубежный, заграничный

Diversity – разнообразие

Be indicative of smth – свидетельствовать о чем-либо

Perceive oneself – осознавать себя

Ethnic – этнический

Ethnicity – этническая или расовая принадлежность

Contentious – спорный

Pattern – модель

Census – перепись (населения)

Inner – внутренний, центральный

Rural – сельский

Conveyor – средство передачи

Badge – символ, признак

Emerge – появляться

Implications – смысл, значение


A survey found that only 15 per cent of school pupils spoke what their teachers considered to be standard, or ‘correct’ English. The rest spoke twenty different varieties from the British Isles, forty-two dialects of overseas English, and fifty-eight different world languages. Another survey found that there were at least twelve languages in Britain which could claim over a hundred thousand speakers. Such linguistic diversity might seem surprising in the homeland of arguably the world’s most successful modern language. These statistics, however, are indicative of the multitude of ways used by the citizens of modern Britain to communicate.

These languages, moreover, are closely linked with the ways in which people perceive themselves and their role in British society. Many people within the state think about themselves, their families, and their local communities in quite different ways. One way of describing these individuals and the groups to which they belong is in terms of ‘ethnicity’. Ethnicity is a highly complex and contentious concept. It can be defined as the patterns of behaviour, cultural values, and political affiliations shared by certain individuals who come together to form a group within a larger population.

According to National Statistics agency, in 1999-2000 the 56.93 million people in the British Isles included 3,830,000 people from ethnic minorities (having risen from just over 3 million in the 1991 census). The largest ethnic minority populations are found in inner London (25.6 per cent) and West Midlands Metropolitan County (14.6 per cent), and the smallest in the rural areas of Scotland (1.3 per cent), Yorkshire (0.9 per cent) and Northumberland (1 per cent).

Additionally, the United Kingdom comprises four separate indigenous populations, one very large – English (approximately 48 million) – and three small: Scottish (5 million), Welsh (3 million), and Northern Irish (1,5). What all this means is that there is a large number of people in the United Kingdom – around 20 per cent (12 million people) of the total population who do not have a straightforward relationship with the political state in which they live. In recent years, this problematic relationship between the state and its ethnic and regional minorities has become the subject of one of the most important debates in modern British life.

Ethnic and regional identity can appear in many forms. Historians, sociologists, and anthropologists have discovered that one of the most important ways in which ethnic groups identify themselves is through language. Not only is language the principal conveyor of symbols, ideas, and beliefs which are of importance to the ethnic group, very often the language becomes a powerful possession in itself, something to be protected and preserved as the main badge of ethnic identity. Much of the time, then, the alternative allegiances which constitute ethnic identity emerge specifically as tensions about language and the social status and cultural possibilities of different accents, dialects, and vocabularies.

The recognition of ethnic status has significant legal, educational, and social implications. But ethnic status also has important sociological and psychological implications for the kind of person the individual understands himself or herself to be – that is, for an individual’s identity. A significant part of our individual identity is constituted through language – the language the world uses to communicate with us, and the language we use to communicate with the world. There are three interrelated issues – the usage and status of : 1) ‘standard’ and ‘non-standard’ forms of the English language and implications for English and British identity; 2) other indigenous British languages – Welsh, Scots, and Gaelic – and the challenge to the domination of English; 3) non-English languages brought to Britain by immigrants and other groups, such as Chinese and West Indian.


C. Answer the following questions:

1) Do all school pupils in Britain speak Standard English?

2) How many dialects of English and different world languages are spoken in Britain today?

3) How can ethnicity be defined?

4) Where are the largest ethnic minority populations found?

5) What has become the subject of one of the most important debates in modern British life in recent years?

6) How can ethnic and regional identity appear?

7) What is the principal conveyor of symbols, ideas, and beliefs which are of importance to the ethnic group?

8) What implications does the recognition of ethnic status have?


II. VOCABULARY FOCUS

  1. Translate the following word-combinations into Russian:

To claim smth; homeland; arguably; local communities; in terms of smth; political affiliations; to comprise; indigenos; alternative allegiances; interrelated issues.

Reproduce the situations in the text in which they are given


B . Find the English equivalents in the text:

Лингвистическое разнообразие; быть тесно связанным; культурные ценности; проявляться в разных формах; многообразие средств; юридические и социальные последствия; историки, социологи и антропологи; господство английского языка; статистические данные; тема дебатов.


Use them in sentences of your own.


C. Match the words which collocate with each other:

1. social a. values

2. ethnic b. status

3. indigenous c. concept

4. cultural d. minorities

5. contentious e. population


D. Match the words which are close in their meaning:

1. inner a. cardinal

2. emerge b. booming

3. standard c. come forth

4. principal d. central

5. successful e. established


E. Match the words having the opposing meaning:

1. emerge a. exterior

2. principal b. irregular

3. inner c. failing

4. successful d. auxiliary

5. standard e. dissolv


F. Match the words and their definitions:

1. relating to a group of people who have the same culture and traditions
a. implication

2. the fact that very different people or things exist within a group or place
b. contentious

3. causing disagreement between people or groups
c. ethnic

4. a series of actions or events that together show how things normally happen or are done
d. diversity

5. a possible effect or result
e. pattern



G. Translate the following sentences into Russian:


1. The country’s population consists of three main ethnic groups.

2. We value the rich ethnic and cultural diversity of the group.

3. Sex education in schools remains a highly contentious issue.

4. Patterns of employment in urban areas are different from those in the countryside.

5. We need to consider the financial implications of these changes


H. Make the words negative. Translate them into Russian.

Use the following prefixes - un; in; dis; non; il:

1. standard__ 5. appear__

2. surprising__ 6. significant__

3. important__ 7. legal__

4. discovered__


I. Complete the sentences using the words in the box:

indigenous perceive ethnic

inner comprises linked

homeland ethnic minority implications

diversity

1) These languages, moreover, are closely ___ with the ways in which people___ themselves.

2) The recognition of ___ status has significant legal, educational, and social ___.

3) Such linguistic ___ might seem surprising in the ___ of arguably the world’s most successful modern language.

4) The largest ___ populations are found in ___ London.

5) The United Kingdom ___ four separate ___ populations.


J. In which meanings are the following words used in the text:


1) a survey

a. an examination of smth to see how good its condition is

b. an examination of an area of land in order to make a map of it

c. a general examination of a subject or situation


2) to perceive

a. to understand or think about smth in a particular way

b. to notice or realize smth


3) a badge

a. a special piece of metal, cloth, or plastic, often with words or symbols on it, that you wear or carry with you to show your rank or official position

b. something that represents a particular quality or type of person


III. INTERPRETATION


A. Paraphrase the following sentences. Comment on them.


1. Around 20 per cent of the total population do not have a straightforward relationship with the political state in which they live.

2. Much of the time, then, the alternative allegiances which constitute ethnic identity, emerge specifically as tensions about language and the social status and cultural possibilities of different accents, dialects, and vocabularies.


B. Answer the following questions:

1) How can you account for the fact that only 15 per cent of school pupils in Great Britain speak ‘correct’ English? What do you think can be considered the standard variant?

2) Does the fact of linguistic diversity in Great Britain surprise you? Why?

3) What is the location of the largest ethnic minority populations and the smallest ones on the territory of the British Isles? How could it be explained?

4) Do you think that nowadays the problematic relationship between the state and its ethnic and regional minorities is typical of practically all the countries of the world? Are they more acute in Europe or in Asia?

5) What implications for the ethnic identity do the preservation and protection of the language have? Can you give any examples from the history of our country? Other European states?


IV. SPEAKING PERSONALLY


Discuss with your partners the following statement. Do you agree with it? Give your reasons.

Not only is language the principal conveyor of symbols, ideas, and beliefs which are of importance to the ethnic group, very often the language becomes a powerful possession in itself, something to be protected and preserved as the main badge of ethnic identity.


In the discussion you can use the following expressions:

Sounding neutral: True enough. That’s right. I couldn’t agree more. Definitely.

I’m not all sure, actually

Not really. That’s not the way I see it.

Sounding formal: I agree absolutely

My own opinion exactly…

I don’t think anyone would disagree

I can’t say that I share your view

I see things rather differently myself