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

Вид материала

Derby Day, Henley Regatta, Cowes, the twelfth of August, a cup
Part one. the united kingdom – how united is it ? unit i. what is national identity ?
Ii. vocabulary focus
Iii. interpretation
Iv. speaking personally

Подобный материал:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ... 35

PREFACE

A book about British culture and language raises a number of questions: Whose culture? Whose language? Do a majority of people in the UK any more think of themselves in terms of being British anyway?

On the one hand, Britain is a country with defined boundaries, a recognizable landscape, a long history and a position in the various international economic, social and political spheres. On the other hand, British people are much harder to describe. Many people living in Britain do not think of themselves as British. Nationality is a matter of allegiance and cultural affiliation. Some people say that your nationality is indicated by where you choose to live or by the team you support at sports events; others say that it is a question of whom you would fight for. It has also been argued that nationality is no longer a powerful force in Britain, that it is simply a matter of circumstance, and that today it is far less significant than local or global identities: relatives, friends and communities are more important.

Fifty years ago T.S.Eliot said that ‘culture’ as something that included ‘all the characteristic activities and interests of a people’. He thought that this meant for England: Derby Day, Henley Regatta, Cowes, the twelfth of August, a cup final, the dog races, the pin table, the dart board , Wensleydale cheese, boiled cabbage cut into sections, beetroot in vinegar, nineteenth-century Gothic churches and the music of Elgar’. Fifty years on, conceptions of English and British identity have changed enormously and, for example, few people would attribute any significance to the twelfth of August, the opening day of the grouse-shooting season.

The term ‘British’ is itself contentious. In recent years partly as a response to the devolution of political power to Scotland, Wales and Ireland, there has been much questioning of what it means to be British. The population is diverse in all sorts of ways and this is one of the strengths of the culture which has evolved over the past two thousand years. Many races and continents have contributed to its development. Modern Britain contains numerous elements, often in tension with one another, but more usually complementary.

The present day reality poses quite a lot of questions: Will British culture be annihilated by or will it incorporate global culture? Is the present generation in Britain radically different from its parents? Is Britain a melting pot of nationalities, does it allow and encourage diversity or is it just conformist and conservative? If ‘British’ is a brand, what does it signify? What does it mean to be British in the twenty-first century?

PART ONE. THE UNITED KINGDOM – HOW UNITED IS IT ?

UNIT I. WHAT IS NATIONAL IDENTITY ?

I. READING COMPREHENSION

A. Pre-reading Task. Answer the following questions.

1) What is associated in your mind with the name ‘Great Britain’?

2) Do you know any historical facts concerning the history of the country?

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

Fascinating - увлекательный, захватывающий

Embrace – охватывать

Prior to – до, раньше, прежде

Incorporation – объединение

Unified – единый, объединенный

Empire – империя

Demise – кончина, гибель

Transmitter – передатчик, переносчик

Survival – выживание

Identity – самосознание, индивидуальность, самобытность

Take for granted – воспринимать как должное, само собой разумеющееся

Confidence in smth – уверенность в чем-либо, доверие к чему-либо

Perform – зарекомендовать себя; успешно проявить себя

First-rate – первоклассный, превосходный

Power – держава

Drain away – опустошать, выкачивать, уничтожать

Loss – потеря

Values – ценности

Debilitation – слабость

Decay – упадок

Surrender – сдавать, сдаваться

Spread – расширение

Secessionist – сепаратистский

Sentiment – мнение, настроение, настрой

Cohesion – единство

Challenge – оспаривать

Shape – формировать

Attachment – привязанность

Rivalry – соперничество

Hostility – недружелюбие

Reside – жить

Neighborhood – (свой) район, округа

Merge – сливаться

Loyalty – верность

Subsume – включить в какую-либо категорию

County – графство

Override – не принимать во внимание

Allegiance – верность

awareness – осознание

affiliation – принадлежность

denomination – вероисповедание

origin – происхождение

relevant – значимый

influential – влиятельный

repudiate – отвергать, не принимать

The history of the island nation of Great Britain is rich and fascinating. It embraces three

different groups – the English, the Welsh and the Scots. Each of them had a long history of its own prior to the incorporation into a unified state. In the modern era Great Britain became the centre of the greatest empire, covering one-fifth of the world at the beginning of the XX century. After its demise the ties which were forged with peoples all over the globe are still transmitters of the nation’s culture and language.

But in recent years there have been expressed many doubts about its future survival. British historians have been engaged in the problem of national identity because it no longer seems possible to take for granted the existence of a clearly defined and shared sense of “Britishness” among the people of the island. After World War П confidence in the country's ability to perform effectively on an international level, as a first-rate economic and military power drained away and this has produced a corresponding loss of pride in British political institutions and cultural values. Fears of national debilitation and decay continue to grow, as sovereignty is surrendered to supranational bodies including the European Union, while the spread of secessionist sentiment in Wales and Scotland threatens the internal cohesion of the British population. Only when the nation’s future is challenged in such ways do people begin to ask fundamental questions about how it came into being in the first place, and how it has managed to survive for so long.

Examining the phenomenon of national identity is no straightforward matter. An individual’s sense of self is partly shaped by an emotional attachment to the neighbourhood in which they live, and there may be rivalry and even hostility towards those residing in other neighbourhoods. On the other hand, all of those neighbourhoods may merge together, in a different context, as part of a district or city, and this can find expression through loyalty to a school or support for a football team. Yet the whole population of a town may identify with one another when brought into contact with inhabitants from other towns. Even this distinction can be subsumed into a proud identification with a county in which all are located, in contrast to another county, and in its turn county rivalries may be over-ridden by allegiance to a regional identity. Most people will also think of themselves as English or Welsh or Scottish, as well as belonging to a greater British whole. All sorts of other identities have the potential to play a part in people’s awareness of themselves and the way they connect with their fellow humans: whether it be common work experiences, shared leisure interests, affiliation to a particular religious denomination or ethnic origin .Looked at from this perspective, national identity must co-exist with a multitude of other social identities, and depending on the precise circumstances, it is not always the most relevant or influential. Few people are likely to repudiate their national identity entirely, but this does not mean that it is necessarily uppermost in their minds every day.

C. Now referring back to the text, answer these questions.

1) What groups does the history of Great Britain embrace?

2) What fears and doubts have been expressed in recent years?

3) When did confidence in Britain’s ability to perform effectively on an international level as a first-rate economic and military power drain away?

4) What produced a loss of pride in British political institutions and cultural values?

5) What is the internal cohesion of the British population threatened by?

6) How is an individual’s sense of self usually shaped?

7) What is understood by national identity?

II. VOCABULARY FOCUS

Translate the following word-combination into Russian:

Supranational; phenomenon; spread of smth; fundamental questions; support for a football team; in contrast to smth; to connect with smb; leisure interests; ethnic origin; perspective

In which situations are they given in the text? Reproduce them.

Find the English equivalents in the text.

В современную эпоху; во всем мире; на международном уровне; частично; с другой стороны; найти свое выражение; жители; быть расположенным; принадлежать к чему-либо; сосуществовать

Think of your own sentences with these expressions

Match the words which collocate with each other:

1. unified a. institutions

2. cultural b. cohesion

3. political c. values

4. supranational d. state

5. internal e. bodies

Match the words which are close in their meanings:

1. merge a. supreme

2. fundamental b. deterioration

3. first-rate c. withstand

4. decay d. essential

5. survive e. amalgamate

Match the words having the opposing meaning:

1. fundamental a. perish

2. survive b. secondary

3. first-rate c. flourishing

4. decay d. separate

5. merge e. second-class

Match the words and their definitions:

1) a feeling of loving or liking a person very much	a. survival
2) unfriendly or threatening behavior or feeling towards someone	b. subsume
3) the fact or state of continuing to live or exist, especially in difficult conditions	c. identity
4) to include smth in a larger group and cause it to lose its own individual character	d. hostility
5) the qualities that make smb or smth what they are and different from other people	e. attachment

Translate the sentences into Russian:

She formed no close attachments during her time in Paris
They were greeted with suspicion and hostility at first
In these jungle areas, every day is a fight for survival
The new treaty subsumes all past agreements
The countries have kept their sense of their own identity

Insert prepositions where necessary (for; on; in; to)

Prior ___ smth
to be engaged ___ smth
to take smth __ granted
confidence ___ smth
to be surrendered ___ smth
attachment___ smth
allegiance ___smth
affiliation ____smth
depending __smth
to threaten ___smth

Complete the sentences using the words in the box:

Decay debilitation supranational

Surrendered unified incorporation

Prior to survival phenomenon

Transmitters identity demise

Each of them had a long history of its own__ to the___ into a ___ state
Fears of national __and___ continue to grow, as sovereignty is___ to___ bodies.
In recent years there have been expressed many doubts about its future___
Examining the __________of national ___ is no straightforward matter.
After its ___ the ties which were forged with peoples all over the globe are still ___ of the nation’s culture and language.

III. INTERPRETATION

A. Answer the following questions:

1) Why do you think there have been expressed doubts about the future survival of Great Britain in recent years?

2) What causes fears of national debilitation and decay?

3) Is sovereignty of individual states surrendered to supranational bodies, such as the European Union?

B. Paraphrase and explain the following statements. Comment on them:

1) Examining the phenomenon of national identity is no straightforward matter.

2) This distinction can be subsumed into a proud identification with a county in which all are located, in contrast to another county, and in its turn county rivalries may be over-ridden by allegiance to a regional identity.

IV. SPEAKING PERSONALLY

How do you understand the following statement?

National identity must co-exist with a multitude of other social identities, and depending on the precise circumstances, it is not always the most relevant or influential.

Do you agree with it? Discuss it with your partners. Using the following phrases may help you sound unbiased and not too assertive:

Just so Surely

Quite so On the contrary

I quite agree here Nothing of the kind

Naturally Just the other way round

Most likely Certainly not

I couldn’t agree more I doubt it

Blog

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

PREFACE

PART ONE. THE UNITED KINGDOM – HOW UNITED IS IT ?

UNIT I. WHAT IS NATIONAL IDENTITY ?