Languages Unit 9

Brainstorming What comes into your mind when you see the word “language”? What is the formal language in China? Mandarin dialect (local language) 3. What is the most-widely-used language in the world? English 4. What is the most -widely-understood language? Brain teaser smile

Objectives Learn More about language in general Become interested in language and develop language awareness Practise inferring, note-taking and outlining

English Jokes The doctor to the patient: 'You are very sick' 
The patient to the doctor: 'Can I get a second opinion?' 
The doctor again: 'Yes, you are very ugly too...’ A: Hey, man! Please call me a taxi. 
B: Yes, sir. You are a taxi. One day an Englishman, a Scotsman, and an Irishman walked into a pub together. They each bought a pint of Guinness. Just as they were about to enjoy their creamy beverage, three flies landed in each of their pints, and were stuck in the thick head. The Englishman pushed his beer away in disgust. The Scotsman fished the fly out of his beer, and continued drinking it, as if nothing had happened. The Irishman, too, picked the fly out of his drink, held it out over the beer, and started yelling, "SPIT IT OUT, SPIT IT OUT YOU BAS**RD!!!!"

Task 01 1. Man: I had the girls running in circles when I was in college. Woman: I never knew you were the campus hero. Man: I wasn’t. I was the women’s track coach. 2. Instructor: Mr. Jenkins, why are you late? Student: I guess because the class started before I got here. 3. Woman: Doctor, you have to come immediately – my baby swallowed some camera film! Doctor: Just calm yourself, nothing will develop. 4. Customer: Waiter, this water is cloudy. Waiter: The water’s okay, madam. It’s just that the glass is a little dirty. 5. Woman: The bride wears white on her wedding day as a symbol of happiness, for this is the most joyous day in her entire life. Man: Why does the groom wear black?

Accents

Task 02 Speakers Preferences Reasons 1st French Melodic; easy on the ear; poetic; a rhythm to the language; rounded; no sharp, jagged edges; pleasing 2nd Dane speaking English Beautiful, low, sensitive, very soft quality 3rd French speaking English Nice pronunciation of “h” and “th”; very nice, steady rhythms; gentle; lyrical 4th Mediterranean accent Mediterranean culture; give English life; beautiful mixture of the serious Northern European and the Southern European 5th Swedish accent Makes her smile; sing-songy; makes her want to imitate

Atlas

Task 03 Many aspects of a word, its spelling, meaning and history are very interesting. The word lunch used to refer to a slab of ham or a lump of bread, but in either way, it meant a hunk of something to eat. The word atlas has three references: a strong man, a book of maps and the top bone of the neck. The strong Atlas, one of the Titans, was punished by Olympians and had to stand at the western edge of the world, holding the sky on his head and hands. In the sixteenth century, his picture appeared on the cover of a book of maps, and the word got its second meaning. The word Good-bye originally was a blessing, meaning God be with ye. We mean “I hope you will have a good night” by saying “Good night”. The daisy was named day’s eye by the English people because, it has a little golden eye,like a tiny sun or because the English daisy closes at night. The English poet Chaucer’s words well prove that the English loved their daisies.

European Languages

Task 04 A. 1.T, 2.T, 3.F, 4.T, 5.F B. 1.b, 2.c, 3.a, 4.c, 5.c, 6.b

Chatting

Task 05 1. A mother is leaving instruction with her babysitter before going out. 2. Wake up; give her the dummy; give her a cuddle; sing to her; read her a story; go back to sleep. 3. Two friends are talking about holiday together. 4. It reminds…of…holiday; city; wine; good food; tower; view; walking along the river; paintings; I love…; I like…; I remember… 5. Two women are meeting at a doctor’s waiting room. 6. It’s diagnosed; have another look; do something about…; go away; give…for…; it’s your turn.

Task 8 In contemporary English, there are many reported differences in the talk of males and females. In same gender pairs having conversations, (1) women generally discuss their personal feelings more than men. Men appear to prefer non-personal topics such as sport and news. (2) Men tend to respond to an expression of feelings or problems by giving advice or solutions, while women are more likely to mention personal experiences that match or connect with the other woman’s. There is a pattern documented in the American English social context of women cooperating and seeking connection via language, whereas men are more competitive and concerned with power via language. In mixed gender pairs having conversations, (1)the rate of men interrupting women is substantially greater than the reverse. (2)Women are reported to use more expressions associated with tentativeness 试探性, such as “hedges”模糊限制语 (sort of, kind of) and “tags”附加语 (isn’t it?, don’t you?), when expressing an opinion: well, erm, I think that golf is kind of boring, don’t you?