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

Вид материалаУчебное пособие
Unit viii. is wales a really bilingual country ?
Ii.vocabulary focus
Iii. interpretation
Iv.speaking personally
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UNIT VIII. IS WALES A REALLY BILINGUAL COUNTRY ?




I. READING COMPREHENSION


A. Pre-reading task. Answer the following questions:


1) Do you know any languages in the world which were on the verge of extinction but then were revived?

2) Do you think it is necessary for a visitor to speak the language of the country he visits?


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


Augur – предвещать, предвидеть

Coherent – последовательный, связный

Relinquishing – отказ от ч-л

To all intents and purposes – фактически

Cope with – справляться

Recurring – повторяющийся

Intimidated – робкий, запуганный

Offended – обиженный

Cornish – корнуэльский, корнский язык

Manx – мэнский язык

Cease – прекращать

Confines – граница, предел


Although the number of Welsh-speakers as a whole dropped from 19 per cent to 18.7 per cent between 1981and 1991, the number of speakers aged between three and fifteen rose from 17.7 per cent to 24.4 per cent, a real rise of 21,000. This augurs well for the future of the language, and is in marked contrast to Scottish Gaelic where the highest percentage of speakers are aged sixty-five and over. However, some Welsh nationalists argue that the success of the language has been achieved at the cost of a coherent political programme, and that central government support for various cultural initiatives does not represent a relinquishing of power, but merely a way of redistributing it.

It should be remembered that Welsh is reviving, not revived, and in the industrialized south, Swansea, Cardiff, Glamorgan and the Rhondda valley, where over half the population lives, Welsh is still to all intents and purposes a foreign language. Even so, the relative success of the language has been difficult for many English people to cope with. One recurring image is that of the English tourist feeling intimidated and offended by their exclusion from the Welsh conversations of local communities. Stories such as these reflect more, perhaps, on the insecurity of English people who hold an idea of Britishness specifically invented to incorporate the various identities of the British Isles under one, English-led, banner. For it hardly seems strange that Welsh people should wish to converse in their own language, nor that in the absence of political self-determination this should represent a valuable means of identification for them. In 2001, it was suggested that an unofficial citizenship examination for English people planning to move to Wales would be a test of their ability to pronounce Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwlllantysiliogogogoch, the longest place name in the world after the Maori names of some towns in New Zealand. The town’s county council clerk argued that newcomers needed to mix with the community more, and that pronouncing the town’s name correctly would be a good start, especially for people who had moved from England. Local people, however, refer to the town as Llanfair PG, rather than calling it by its full name, which in English means ‘The church of St Mary in the hollow of white hazel near the rapid whirlpool by the church of St Tysilio of the red cave’.

It may be that, given time and the global domination of American English, Gaelic,, Scots and Welsh will suffer the fate of other non-English languages of the British Isles such as Cornish (from Cornwall) and Manx (from the Isle of Man), ceasing to be living languages, preserved only in the artificial confines of the library and the university. Welsh appears to be in a reasonable state of health, but Gaelic and Scots must give cause for concern to their supporters and speakers. It might be wondered why, having been so neglected for so long, Britain’s non-English languages have aroused so much interest in recent years. Certainly there has been concern about the fate of Gaelic, Scots and Welsh since the beginning of the twentieth century, but one could argue that it is only since Britain’s non-indigenous minorities began to work for proper recognition of their distinctive cultural heritages that the islands’ Celtic minorities have begun to see their languages in a new perspective.


C. Make up 10 questions covering the contents of the text.


II.VOCABULARY FOCUS


A. Translate the following words and word-combinations into Russian:


To be in marked contrast; the highest percentage; at the cost of smth; a relinquishing of power; recurring image; to incorporate; insecurity; a valuable means of identification; citizenship examination; to call smth by its full name.


Reproduce the situations in the text in which they are given.


B. Find the English equivalents in the text:


Относительный успех ч-л; разговаривать на родном языке; отсутствие политического самоопределения; общаться с местным населением; судьба; живые языки; создавать причины для беспокойства; вызывать большой интерес; культурное наследие; достичь успеха.


Think of your own sentences with them.


C. Match the words which collocate with each other:

1. political a. council

2. local b. heritage

3. county c. communities

4. global d. programme

5. cultural e. domination


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

1. coherent a. alternate

2. revive b. comprehensible

3. cease c. abandoning

4. recurring d. invigorate

5. relinquishing e. stop


E. Match the words having the opposing meaning:

1. recurring a. sustaining

2. cease b. unintelligible

3. relinquishing c. commence

4. revive d. infrequent

5. coherent e. suppress


F. Match the words and their definitions:

1) reasonable and sensible
a. relinquish

2) to be a sign of what may happen in the future
b. confines

3) to give up your power, position, or an advantage, especially when you do not want to do this
c. coherent

4) the borders or edges of a place
d. intimidated

5) feeling nervous or frightened of someone or something
e. augur


G. Translate the following sentences into Russian:


1) The writer presents this complex character as a coherent whole.

2) The look on her face did not augur well.

3) She was forced to relinquish her leadership.

4) They spent most of their time within the confines of the school.

5) Children cannot learn if they feel intimidated.


H. Insert prepositions where necessary (for; with; in; to; of; at):

1) to be __ contrast __ smth

2) __ the cost __ smth

3) support __ smth

4) a relinquishing __ power

5) __ all intents and purposes

6) to cope __ smth

7) to converse __ a language

8) to mix __ smb

9) to give cause __ concern

10) to achieve __ smth


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

augurs coherent cope self-determination

redistributing identification relinquishing converse


1) The relative success of the language has been difficult for many English people to __ with.

2) It hardly seems strange that Welsh people should wish to __ in their own language, nor that in the absence of political __ this should represent a valuable means of __ for them.

3) Some Welsh nationalists argue that the success of the language has been achieved at the cost of a __ political programme.

4) Central government support for various cultural initiatives does not represent a __ of power, but merely a way of __.

5) This __ well for the future of the language.


III. INTERPRETATION


A. Paraphrase the following statements and comment on them.


1) Stories like these reflect more, perhaps, on the insecurity of English people who hold an idea of Britishness specifically invented to incorporate the various identities of the British Isles under one, English-led, banner.

2) … it is only since Britain’s non-indigenous minorities began to work for proper recognition of their distinctive cultural heritages that the islands’ Celtic minorities have begun to see their languages in a new perspective.


B. Answer the following questions:


1) Why do you think the fact that the number of Welsh-speakers aged between three and fifteen rose considerably augurs well for the future of the language?

2) What proves that Welsh is reviving but not revived yet?

3) How do some English people hold an idea of Britishness? Are various identities of the British Isles incorporated under one, English-led, banner?

4) What do you think led to the practical extinction of the Cornish and Manx languages?

5) How is the revival of Celtic languages connected with the non-indigenous minorities’ activities to gain a proper recognition of their distinctive cultural heritages?


IV.SPEAKING PERSONALLY


Discuss with your partners the following statement:

‘Some Welsh nationalists argue that the success of the language has been achieved at the cost of a coherent political programme, and that central government support for various cultural initiatives does not represent a relinquishing of power, but merely a way of redistributing it’.

What is the connection between politics and culture? What is more important for national identification?