1. Unit 7 Learning about English
Text A
The Glorious Messiness of English

2. Objectives To grasp the main idea and structure of the text
To understand some idiomatic English usages mentioned in the unit
To know about the history of English
To master key languages points and grammatical structures in the text

3. Pre-reading tasks Listen to the recorded passage and
answer the following questions:
What is the passage about?
What examples are given to illustrate the messiness of the English language?
Are you sure of all the idiomatic usages listed below?

4. Pre-reading tasks--- do you know these idiomatic usages?
ship by truck / send cargo by ship
noses that run / feet that smell
a slim/fat chance
a wise guy / a wise man
overlook / oversee
hot / cold as hell
burn up / burn down
fill in a form / fill out a form
go off / go on

5. Pre-reading tasks Suggested answers:
English is a great language, but it is a crazy language.
There is no egg in eggplant, neither pine or apple in pineapple and no ham in a hamburger.
3. Omitted. (Refer to page 307 or consult dictionaries for better understanding of the idioms mentioned in the passage.)

6. Messiness of English
English muffin
French fries

7. Messiness of English Sweetmeats are __________. candy
Sweetbreads are __________.
People drive on a ___________.
People ________ on a driveway.
candy
meat
parkway
park

8. Messiness of English visible invisible start end
When stars are out they are ________.
When lights are out they are _________.
I wind up my watch to ________ it.
I wind up my speech to ________it.
visible
invisible
start
end

9. Messiness of English
For example, a group of letters that is pronounced one way in one word cannot be depended on to be pronounced the same way in other words.
"-ough-"
"thought," "though," "through," and "enough"

10. Introductory remarks As we discover from the previous exercise, an
English word may have multiple meanings.
Likewise, several different words may be
pronounced in the same way. For example, I
knew a student who, upon hearing the title of
Helen Keller’s famous essay Three Days to See,
translated it into 《海边三日》. Considered in
this perspective, English is really messy.
However, according to Text A, this is also a
major merit of English.

11. Text organization --- switch in tense
Scan the first sentence of each paragraph in the text to find out where the present tense is switched to the past tense and where the present tense is resumed.
Para 4 How did the language of a small island off the coast of Europe become the language of the planet…?
Para 17 That tolerance for change also represents deeply rooted ideas of freedom.

12. Text organization --- grasping the main idea(Ex.1, P.214)
Paras1-3 Massive borrowing from other languages is a major feature of the English language.
Paras4-16 Tells about the history of the English language from the Indo- European parent language to modern English.
Paras17- Tolerance, love of freedom,
19 and respect for the rights of others --- these qualities in the English-speaking people explain the richness of their language.

13. Cultural Notes--- History of English
The roots of English
English began as a
west Germanic language
which was brought to
England by the Saxons
around 400 A.D. Old
English was the spoken
and written language of
England between 400 and
1100 A.D.

15. Cultural Notes--- History of English
Many words used today come from Old
English, including man, woman, king,
mother, etc. But Old English was very
different from modern English and only a
few words can be easily recognized.
In the 9th and 10th centuries, when
Vikings invaded England, Old Norse words,
e.g. sky, take and get and many place
names, entered the language.

16. Cultural Notes--- History of English
From the Norman Conquest (1066) until the late 12th century English was replaced as the official language by Norman French, though English was still used by the lower classes.

17. Cultural Notes--- History of English
English from about 1300 to 1500 is
known as Middle English. It was influenced
by French and also Latin in vocabulary and
pronunciation. French brought many words
connected with government, e.g. sovereign,
royal, court, legal and government itself.
Latin was the language of religion and
learning and gave to English words such as
minister, angel, master, school and grammar.

18. Cultural Notes--- History of English
Literature began
again to be written
in English during
this period. One of
the most famous
Middle English
works is Chaucer’s
The Canterbury
Tales.

19. Cultural Notes--- History of English
The development of Modern English
Modern English developed from the Middle
English dialect of the East Midlands and was
influenced by the English used in London, where a
printing press was set up by William Caxton in 1476.
English changed a great deal from this time until the
end of the 18th century.
During the Renaissance, many words were
introduced from Greek and Latin to express new ideas,
especially in science, medicine and philosophy. They
include physics, species, encyclopedia and hypothesis.

20. Cultural Notes--- History of English
In the 16th century
several versions of the Bible
helped bring written English
to ordinary people. The
Elizabethan period is also
famous for its drama, and
Shakespeare’s plays were
seen by many people.

21. Cultural Notes--- History of English
By the 18th century American English
was established and developing
independently from British English. After
colonists arrived in the US new words began
to be added from Native American
languages, and from French and Spanish.

22. Cultural Notes--- History of English
20th century English
During the 19th and early 20th century
many dictionaries and books about language
were published. New words are still being
added to English from other languages,
including Chinese (fengshui) and Japanese
(karaoke). Existing words gain new senses,
and new expressions spread quickly through
television and the Internet.

23. Cultural Notes--- History of English
English is now an international language
and is used as a means of communication
between people from many countries. As a
result the influences on the English
language are wider than ever and it is
possible that World English will move away
from using a British or American standard
and establish its own international identity.

25. Cultural Notes---Viking
Viking: A member of a people from
Scandinavia who attacked parts of northern and
western Europe, including Britain and Ireland, in
the 8th to 11th centuries. In Britain they were also
known as Norsemen. They settled on the Scottish
islands and in areas of eastern England, and the
Danish king Canute ruled England from 1016.
The Vikings were feared as violent and cruel,
but they were also noted for their skill in building
ships and as sailors. They had an important
influence on English culture and the English
language.

26. Cultural Notes---Norse
Norse: the official language of
Norway. Old Norse was the Germanic
language of Norway and its colonies
down to the 14th century. It is the
ancestor of the Scandinavian
languages and is most clearly
preserved in the saga literature
of Iceland.

28. Cultural Notes---Norman
Norman: any of the people from Normandy
in northern France who settled in England after
their leader William defeated the English king at
the Battle of Hastings in The Normans took
control of the country, a process known as the
Norman Conquest. They used many of the
existing Anglo-Saxon methods of government of
the state and the church, but added important
aspects of their own and made government much
more effective. The language of government
became first Latin, and then Norman French, and
this caused many new words to be added to the
existing English language.

29. Cultural Notes--- Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar (100-44BC):
the best-known of all the
ancient Roman leaders,
and the first one to land in
Britain with an army. He did this
twice, in 55 and 54 BC,
although Britain did not become
part of the Roman Empire until
nearly a hundred years later.

30. Cultural Notes--- William Caxton
William Caxton (c ): the
man who set up the first printing firm in
Britain. He printed his first book in By
printing books in English, Caxton had a
strong influence on the spelling and
development of the language. Many of the
books he published were French stories
which he translated himself.

31. Cultural Notes--- Winston Churchill
1965): a politician who is
remembered as one of
Britain’s greatest statesman.
He was the son of the
Conservative politician Lord
Randolph Churchill and his
American wife Jennie. As a
young man he served as a
soldier in India and Egypt,

32. Cultural Notes--- Winston Churchill
and as a journalist in South Africa, before
entering politics.
Churchill became Prime Minister and
Minister of Defence in His radio
speeches during World War II gave the
British people a strong determination to win
the war, especially at times of great crisis.
Examples of Churchill’s phrases still often
quoted today are “I have nothing to offer
but blood, toil, tears and sweat”, and “This

33. Cultural Notes--- Winston Churchill
was their finest hour”.
The Conservative Party led by Churchill
lost the election of 1945, but he became
Prime Minister again from 1951 to 1955
when he retired, aged 80. When he died in
Jan.1965 he was given a state funeral.

34. Cultural Notes--- Otto Jesperson
Otto Jespersen ( ): Danish
philologist, grammarian, and educationist.
He promoted the used of the “direct method”
in language teaching with the publication of
his theoretical work How to Teach a Foreign
Language (1904). Other books include his
seven-volume Modern English Grammar
( ).

35. Language study corrupt (L7): cause errors to appear in
-- The Academy ruled that such foreign expressions were not permitted, as they ~ed the language.
cause to act dishonestly in return for personal gains
-- To gain more profits, the businessman tried every means to ~ the officials in the local government.
-- _________________ ~ed Hu Changqing.
Power and wealth

36. Language study ban (L8) vt. forbid (sth.) officially ~ sth.
~ sb. from sth. / doing sth.
-- Spitting/Smoking is banned in all public places.
-- Tom was banned from driving for six months after being caught speeding again. n.
~ on sth.
-- There is a ban on spitting/smoking in all public…
-- Tom received a ban on driving…

37. Language study invent (L9):
make or design (sth. that has not existed before); create (sth.)
-- Linus Torvalds invented Linux at the age of twenty one.
give (a name, reason, etc. that doesn’t exist or is not true)
这部小说中的人物都是杜撰出来的。
All the characters in the novel are ~ed.
Cf.: invent, discover

38. Language study tolerance (15): (followed by of/for)
the quality of allowing other people to say and do as they like, even if you don’t agree or approve of it
我认为学生之间相互包容尤其必要，因为他们生活和学习都在一起。
--I think ~ between students is extremely necessary since they live and study together.
他是个极为宽容的人。
-- He is a man of great tolerance.

39. Language study the ability to bear sth. painful or unpleasant
--Human beings have limited ~ to/of noise.
-- People have no ~ for _______.
(social injustice, terrorism)
zero-tolerance
-- People have zero-tolerance for spitting.
(violence/corruption)

40. Language study establish (L49): cause to be, set up
-- The bank helps people wanting to ~ their business.
place or settle sb./oneself in a position, an office, etc.
~ sb./oneself as
-- They are rapidly ~ing themselves as the market leader.

41. Grammatical structures
…so they invent a word, balladeur, which French kids are supposed to say instead… (L9-10)
be supposed to :
If something is supposed to be done, it should be done because of a rule, instruction, or custom.
--You are supposed to report it to the police as soon as possible.
我不该跟你谈这件事。
--I’m not supposed to talk to you about this.
( Refer to pp for more practice.)

42. Post-reading tasks --- identifying important historical events in the development of English
Scan paras 4 – 16 and find out events that
have had a great impact on the formation of
today’s English.
Paras 4-9
The introduction of the Indo-European language --- ________ language of English
Paras 10-11
____________ came to settle in Britain and brought Anglo-Saxon words --- Old English
the parent
Germanic tribes

43. Post-reading tasks --- identifying important historical events in the development of English
Para 12
The Christian religion enriched English with words from _____________
Para 13
__________ from Scandinavia came with words from ____________
Para 14
__________________ – French influence
Greek and Latin
The Vikings
Old Norse
The Norman Conquest

44. The American revolution
Post-reading tasks identifying important historical events in the development of English
Para 15
The European __________________ and ________________ brought many new words from Latin and Greek
Para 16
____________________ --- the emergence of a new variety --- American English
Renaissance
the printing press
The American revolution

45. Post-reading tasks--- Rhetorical devices
Oxymoron(矛盾修辞法)
An oxymoron puts two contradictory terms together to puzzle the reader, luring him/her to pause and explore why. The title “ The Glorious Messiness of English” is one good example.
Can you think of another example?
a living death / tearful joy

46. Post-reading tasks --- interpretation of the title
How do you understand the title The Glorious Messiness of English? How does the author define it in the text?
Hint: (Para 3)
That happy tolerance, that willingness to accept words from anywhere, explains the richness of English and why it has become, to a very real extent, the first truly global language. (L15-17)

48. Post-reading tasks--- essay questions
What do you think has made English “the first truly global language”?
How do you understand Jespersen’s remark “The English language would not have been what it is if the English had not been for centuries great respecters of the liberties of each individual…”? Give reasons.

49. Remember to --- SEE YOU! review the text
bring your listening book for class next week
get prepared for your quiz on extensive reading.
SEE YOU!