1

LECTURE 1
1 LINGUA TERRA
2 Review of Grammatical and Syntactical Structures:

Modals
Sequence of Tenses Direct and Indirect Speech Indirect Questions

DICTATION

The Spreading of English throughout the World The English language was carried around the globe by English merchants and explorers; its roots were firmly fixed in many parts of the new continents by the permanent settling there of whole communities of people from the British Isles who took with them their institutions, their traditions and their way of life. Though the spreading of the language through other countries of the vast British Empire of the 19th century was of a completely different nature, linked as it was to the overwhelming power of Britain's economic, political and military strength, its influence and utility have not been refused. On the contrary, the language and the concepts it conveys form one of the most important links in the free association of the Commonwealth countries. The cause for English as an international means of communication seems, nowadays, to have been taken up by England's most rebellious off-spring: the United States. The US position as one of the worlds superpowers, its wealth and economic power, reaching world-wide through its international companies, its advanced technology, political and military power, have given the English language a good lead over other national languages which are also competing for first place as a global tongue of communication.

3 LANGUAGE ARTS by Isaac Asimov

1 The world has been shrinking for a long, long time. No place on earth is more than hours away from any place else by fast plane or more than fractions of a second away by radio and television. 2 What this means is that any two people on earthany two peoplemight potentially find themselves having to communicate with each other. What language will they use? If we were to pick at random two people on earth, the chances are they'll have to use sign language. 3 More people on earthperhaps 470 millionspeak Mandarin Chinese than any other language. Almost all of those millions are concentrated in China, however, and make up only 11 percent of the earth's population and perhaps not more than three-fifths of the population of China. 4 The next most common language is English, which is spoken by perhaps 340 million people. This represents only a little more than 8 percent of the earth's population, but it is a very widespread language, thanks to the British Empire. English is spoken by 10 percent or more of the population in 32 different nations and, in every case, by a much larger percentage of the educated and technologically trained in those nations (where it is not already the native tongue). 5 English is the almost universal language of science, business, and international politics. It might be thought, then, that as the world is knit together more closely by ever-improving means of transportation and communication, English will become ever more dominant and will, in effect, become the global language either the first or second language of every person on the planet. 6 But there's a catch! 7 There could be nationalistic reactions against English. It may seem to billions of people that those who speak English as a native language would have an advantage over those for whom it is a learned language. The English-language heritage in literature and in culture generally would cast all others into the shade. 8 It is easy to imagine a linguistic revolt: a refusal to speak English on the pretense of not understanding it. Many French Canadians today, for instance, feel that their own pride requires that they not understand English. There might well be movements to make Gaelic and Welsh stronger within the British Isles. 9 Other languages suffer revolts. India uses English as an official language because the domination of no one Indian language will be permitted by those speaking others. In the Caucasus, Georgians mounted a rare public demonstration against Soviet policy, when they protested an attempt to make Russian the official language of their Soviet Republic. 10 What's the alternative? Interpreters? Whether interpretation is human or computerized, could we trust it? How easy it would be to make small errors in interpretation and how costly those might be. 11 Can we have any other global language? Surely any language other than English would create even louder objections the world over. 12 There are artificial languages, of course. The best-known of these is Esperanto, invented in 1887. It is sensible and easy to learn, but it is essentially a distillation of the Romance languages and might therefore rouse non-European hostility. Besides, artificial languages seem to lack vitality. In fact there are only about 100,000 speakers of Esperanto. Other artificial languages are even less successful. 13 And yet the problem may well take care of itself, for on a smaller scale solutions have arisen with no one's purposeful interference. In the Mediterranean world in late medieval times, a lingua franca ("language of the Franks," i.e., Europeans) developed among the merchants of the area to handle absolutely necessary communication. It was a mixture of Italian, French, Spanish, Greek, and Arab. Similarly, in eastern Asia, various mixtures, called "pidgin English," were developed to break the language barrier. 14 As communications around the world improve, and as it will be increasingly the common folknot just educated businessmen and scientistswho wish to communicate, lingua terra, a "language of the world," may slowly arise. English will make up a large part of it, yes, but every other language will add vocabulary, idiom, and grammar. 15 It could end as a fearful construction, with rules all its own, bearing no clear mark of any one national language. All human beings would have to learn it, in addition to their own languages, and none would have an advantage over others by the mere accident of place of birth. Lingua terra could end up with a vocabulary, a flexibility, a richness, surpassing any other, so that it could develop a mighty literature of its own. 16 It might then, by its mere existence, do more to emphasize the familyhood of humanity than a million sermons on the subject laid end to end.

VOCABULARY LIST
FIND SYNONYMS - a different shade of meaning shrink, shrank, shrunk make or become smaller, compress The information age and information revolution has compressed, shrunk time and distance. fraction small part or bit at random without aim or purpose pick choose, select If we were to pick at random kad bi nasumce birali make up form, constitute, compose the most common language is English they can all use this language it is to the common advantage to everyones advantage a very widespread language distributed over a large area the world is knit together (knit, or knitted) united or joined closely and firmly ever-improving means of communication increasingly improving dominant dominating, most important or influential there is a catch there is a tricky or concealed drawback have an advantage over ther people cast others into a shade cause to appear small, unimportant on the pretence of, under the pretence of friendship pretending mount a rare demonstration against to demonstrate against the world over all over the world throughout the world - worldwide sensible reasonable, practical on a smaller scale in small proportion N.B.

to rouse (roused, roused) sth.

stir up, excite (pobuditi) It might rouse non-European hostility and anger. to arouse (aroused, aroused) sth. (hostility) awaken, incite, stir (probuditi, potaknuti) This behavior might arouse some suspicion. arise, arose, arisen come into existence (pojaviti se) Problems and solutions have arisen. have come into existence, have appeared A language of the world may slowly arise.

end to end lingua terra lingua franca

in a line with the ends touching

global language
any language widely used as a means of communication among speakers of other languages

ASSIGNMENT 1
Discuss in your group the idea that the global spread of lingua terra is unprecedented (never known before) and the fact that English has been an international language for more than 50 years.

ASSIGNMENT 2
Scan (look over quickly) the article and see how many times the author uses the following words: may, seem, might, could. Now write a short answer to the question Should there be lingua terra one international language using may, might, seem, and could. Anyway, there are points for and against lingua terra.

5 ASSIGNMENT 3

Answer the following questions and discuss the points in groups

A Group
1 More people speak English as an auxiliary language than as a first language. 2 When did the English language begin to spread to countries outside the British Isles? 3 How was it spread? 4 How did English become so firmly rooted in some parts of the world, and which countries exactly? 5 Why was its use in other parts of the world of a completely different nature? Give some examples of the countries where English was the old imperial language. 6 Why is English still used in some of these countries although they are no longer British colonies?

B Group
1 What are the reasons for this country's success in confirming English as the world's No. 1 international language? 2 Some linguists fear that English is breaking up into unintelligible varieties; that the time will come when interpreters will be needed to translate one form of English into another. Others say that modern means of transport and communication ensure ample protection against this danger, but awareness of the risk seems to be growing. Think about this and discuss. 3 Perhaps the best solution is to leave things as they are. After all, the same linguists also state that it will take over 200 years before any really serious linguistic difficulties arise. Discuss this attitude. 4 Mandarin Chinese is spoken by 700 million people whereas English is the most widespread, with 400 million speakers. English has the largest vocabulary, with approximately 300,000 technical words. However, Chinese is too complex to be a world language. Do you agree with this statement? 5 Many varieties of English could be divided into three main categories: national, group and individual. Let us consider national varieties first.

C Group
1. George Orwell, the British writer, was very interested in both politics and language and in his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four one of the central themes is the manipulation of language by politicians in an attempt to shape the thinking of the people. Discuss this part from the book: Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thought crime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. Every concept that can ever be needed will be expressed by exactly one word, with its meaning rigidly defined and all its subsidiary meanings rubbed out and forgotten. Every year fewer and fewer words and the range of .. 2. English has become the global language lingua terra. Discuss the advantages of the native speakers over the non native ones. Native speakers have an advantage over non native speakers by the mere accident of place of birth. Discuss this statement. 3. Is it easy for you to understand a linguistic revolt? 4. Can we have any other global language? 5. Can criteria like language or culture become the basis for political disintegration?

D Group
1. A language of the world as lingua terra might slowly arise? Discuss this point. 2. Can lingua terra contribute to the familyhood of humanity? 3. The dream about power is as old as the mankind: it started by building the Babel Tower and has been continued by turning the world into a global village. The prerequisite for obtaining such a dream is a common language the language that will be used by all people in the world. Will finally people be allowed that their dream come true? The Babel Tower fell apart and people got disintegrated at the moment when being intoxicated with their own power: they forget to communicate in the same language. 4. International migrations have been in full swing, and therefore, they need greater tolerance, understanding and respecting differences. Taking into consideration the diversity of language groups, neither language can claim the right on the linguistic superiority. 5. What does the expansion of the English language mean: linguistic imperialism or completing the construction of the Babel Tower? 6. It goes without saying that no two persons ever have an identical command of their common language. Certainly they have not precisely the same vocabulary. No two men are identical; no two styles are the same. No two people speak the same language in exactly the same way. All of this is implicit in the well-known phrase, Style is the man. Discuss.

E Group
1. Which English-speaking country now seems to have taken over the task of promoting the English language internationally? 2. To what extent do you think political considerations affect language, and vice versa? 3. Could English as a global language end as a fearful construction as Isaac Asimov pointed up? 4. Where did a lingua franca develop in the 11th century? 5. What two types of interpreters are available today? 6. It goes without saying that no two persons ever have an identical command of their common language. Certainly they have not precisely the same vocabulary. No two men are identical; no two styles are the same. No two people speak the same language in exactly the same way. All of this is implicit in the well-known phrase, Style is the man. Discuss.

ASSIGNMENT 4 Write an Abstract (80 words) ........................................ ..........................................................

7 ASSIGNMENT 5 Read and retell the text in an abstract form in English!

Izumiranje svjetskih jezika

U cijelome svijetu manjinski jezici i dijalekti nestaju ili ih odrava tek aica starih govornika. U Junoj Australiji kod Adelaidea, narod kaurna surauje s lingvistima I glazbenicima kako bi nanovo oivjeli kaurna jezik koji se ve smatrao izumrlim. Nicolas Ostler iz Zaklade za ugroene jezike vjeruje da jezici ipak ne moraju nestati ako nove generacije pokau interes za njih.

Strunjaci smatraju da prosjeno svaka dva tjedna jedan od 6500 jezika svijeta nestane sa smru posljednjeg govornika, odnosei sa sobom i veliko kulturno bogatstvo, pie Reuters. Ugroeno znanje

Na nedavnom sastanku u malezijskom glavnom gradu lingvistiki strunjaci su rekli da je najgore stanje u SAD-u, Kanadi i Australiji, a da je u opasnosti i bogatstvo azijskih jezika. To je golema riznica ljudskog znanja. I kada jezik nestane, to nisu samo rijei, ve i odreeno znanje - objanjava Nicholas Ostler, predsjednik Foundation for Endengered Languages (Zaklada za ugroene jezike) sa sjeditem u Velikoj Britaniji. Prema izvjetaju amerikog asopisa Cultural Survival (Preivljavanje kulture), ak 89 posto od 154 plemenska jezika u SAD-u u neposrednoj je opasnosti od izumiranja, a vie od polovice na ivotu odrava tek aica starijih govornika. Primjerice, u amerikoj dravi Oklahomi barem 14 jezika, ukljuujui indijanske hitchiti, kaw, kitsai i peoria, vie se ne govori. Stanje nije nita bolje ni u mnogim dijelovima Azije, usprkos kulturalnoj raznolikosti tog podruja. Strunjaci kau da mnoge vlade nisu voljne dotaknuti se tog problema u ime nacionalnog jedinstva. Tradicionalno se smatra da veliki broj jezika pridonosi razdijeljenosti zemalja kojima je teko vladati, u kojima su neredi ili su siromane. Na raznolikost se gleda kao na veliki i nepotreban teret kae Ostler. Na Andamanu, otoku u Indijskom oceanu, najraireniji tamonji jezik je spao na svega 20 govornika. U Bruneju pak lingvisti predviaju nestanak manjinskih jezika u sljedee dvije generacije i opstanak samo dva ili tri jezika. Svi manjinski jezici u Bruneju su ugroeni, a veina nije ni dokumentirana - kae Adrian Clyne, profesor engleskog na Brunejskom sveuilitu. Lingvisti se boje i za siraiki, jezik to ga je u jugozapadnoj pakistanskoj pokrajini Punjabu govorilo 40 milijuna ljudi. Sada je njegov opstanak doveden u pitanje jer se ljudi okreu engleskom i urdskom kako bi poboljali svoj socijalni i ekonomski status. Oni vjeruju da im siraiki nita ne prua. Studenti koji govore siraiki smatraju se manje vrijednima. Siraikiji moraju nauiti engleski i urdski da bi preivjeli i dobili bolje poslove - smatra Saiqa Imtiaz Asif, pakistanska lingvistica.

Marginalizacija malih
Ni Kina s otprilike 235 ivih jezika i dijalekata nije imuna na gubitak jezika. Prema Picusu Sizhiju Dingu, predavau na Politehnikom institutu u Makau, kao prevladavajui jezik mandarinski se naveliko promovira u programu jezine edukacije, ime se marginaliziraju svi ostali jezici i dijalekti. Iz iskustva drugih vidljivo je da na ouvanju jezika treba sustavno raditi jer se nikada ne zna kada e postati ugroen. MEX

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8 ...................................................... ....................................................

VOCABULARY LIST
strunjaci = experts na nedavnom sastanku = in/during the recent meeting malezijski glavni grad = the Malaysean capital bogatstvo = richness riznica = treasury nestati = disappear sjedite = headquaters izvjetaj = report neposrednoj opasnosti = directly endengered izumiranje = dying out, extinction, izumirati = be dying out, be extinct odravati na ivotu = keep alive by, maintain aica starijih govornika = a few elderly speakers barem = at least usprkos = despite; inspite of kulturno bogatstvo = cultural heritage pridonijeti = contribute to razdijeljenost = split, division, disunion vladati = govern, is governed by; rule Asia Manor u opasnosti, ugroen = in jeopardy, be endengered nisu voljne dotaknuti se problema = are not willing to face the problem tradicionalno = traditionally, by tradition prosjeno = ON THE AVERAGE nered =disorder, chaos najraireniji tamoji jezik = the most spread local language kulturalna raznolikost = cultural diversity gledati na neto = look at, regard, judge, consider Cultural diversity is considered to be a large and an unnecessary burden teret = burden spasti na = be reduced down dokumentiran = documented bojati se za = be afraid for Urdu is an Indic language, an official language of Pakistan Brunei is situated on the NW coast of Borneo predvidjeti = forsee; envisage manjinski jezici = minority languages nestanak = disappearance, extinction opstanak = preservation imuna na = immune to/against promovirati = promote marginalizirati = marginalizing, making marginal sustavno = systematically prevladavajui = dominating pakistanska pokrajina = Pakistani province otprilike = approximately

9 ASSIGNMENT 6

Read and jot down the origins of present-day English

English is not the first language in the world from a numerical point of view the 1 billion Chinese speakers hold that place , but it is the most widespread. Yet, up to the beginning of the 17th century, the English language was little used outside the British Isles.
Why should it be English that has come to occupy this unique position? English is after all a young language compared with Chinese, or Greek, or Japanese, or Sanskrit. Nor is it convincing simply to reply that English was the language used for exploration, trade, conquest, and dominion from the 16th century onwards: so also was Portuguese, and Spanish, and Arabic, yet they do not have dominant NNS populations. There is of course an element of historical luck about it: the explorations of Captain Cook and Captain Vancouver, the establishment of trading posts in Africa and the Orient, the colonial and penal settlements in North America and Australasia, the profit-dominated grip on India, the infamous triangular slaves-for-molasses-for-manufactured-goods traffic between Britain, West Africa, and the Caribbean, the early stages of the Industrial Revolutionall these and others since were happenings dominated by people who spoke English. But one can also view the development of the English language as having passed through several stages, since 1600, which cumulatively yet inevitably led to the present state of affairs. It all began on a tiny scale. English first came into existence in roughly the form in which we know it today around 1350, when the influence of 300 years of Norman French occupation had been assimilated on to a basis of Germanic dialects with some additions from the Norse of the Scandinavian invaders. For 150 years, until 1600, English was spoken only in England, probably not even by all the seven million inhabitants. But then between 1600 and 1750 were sown the seeds of today's global spread of English, as explorers, merchant adventurers, buccaneers, traders, settlers, soldiers, and administrators went out from Britain to begin settlements and colonies overseas. And it is necessary to realize that before about 1750 all these settlers regarded themselves as English speakers from Britain who happened to be living overseas. Yet after about 1750 and until c. 1900, three major changes took place. First, the populations of the overseas NS English-speaking settlements greatly increased in size and became states with governmentsalbeit colonial governmentsand with a growing sense of separate identity, which soon extended to the flavour of the English they used. Second, in the United States first of all but later in Australia and elsewhere the colonies began to take their independence from Britain, which greatly reinforced the degree of linguistic difference: Noah Webster, for example, urged Americans to take pride in the fact of their English reflecting the dynamic new life of the United States. And third, as the possessions stabilized and prospered, so quite large numbers of people, being nonnative speakers of English, had to learn to use the language in order to survive, or to find employment with the governing class. These NNS learners were of two kinds: indigenous people (e.g., in India, Hindus and Moslems; in the United States, settlers of other European origins such as Dutch, Spanish, and French, and freed slaves) and immigrants. Learning English (though not, generally speaking, being taught English) now became a major activity. After 1900, and until about 1950, a fourth stage in the creation of today's global English took place, at an increasing pace, when the colonies began to build schools and to offer education, in English, to a small but growing fraction of the indigenous population, while in the United States, Canada, and Australia the provision began of English language classes for immigrants. Writing Notes:

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10 ASSIGNMENT 7

WHY ENGLISH? Jot down the answer in note-taking form. The most recent stage, which is still going on, began around 1945 and contains two distinct strands:

The first strand concerns nearly all the remaining colonies of Britain became independent states, and at once the role and function of English changed from being an instrument of subservience to other, quite different ends, such as a "window on the world of science and technology," or as the only language not rejected by one section of the population or another. This has been a period, in such former British states and also in many of the equivalent countries in the former possessions of France and Holland, and in the formerly U.S.-related territories of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Samoafor the immense explosion of English teaching, both for adults and, even more, for children of school age.

strand subservient subservience end

The second strand of the current stage in the development of English concerns the emergence of a number of activities, movements, and subjects that are carried out predominantly (though not exclusively) in English, across the world. One of the earliest examples was the international agreement to adopt English for air-traffic control; another, which began with the establishment of the United Nations, was the use of English in the numerous bodies providing international aid and administration. As the telecommunication revolution got under way, English became dominant in the international media, radio and TV, magazines and newspapers. The international popmusic industry relies on English; so, too, do space science and computing technology. The importance of this strand within the recent development of English has been not just the vast numbers of people who now need or want English for these activities, but the fact that using English suddenly has nothing to do with one's nationality or with the historical facts of the spread of English-speaking colonies: the Peruvian air pilot, from a country relatively untouched by past British (or American) expansionism, nevertheless needs English for his job; the Polish doctor, spending two years working for the World Health Organization in tropical countries, also needs English; pop-music cults generate maniausing English wordsin the Soviet Union as well as in Hong Kong or Germany or the United States. line of development in this history of English subordinate or subject to subjection purpose, aim

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11

ASSIGNMENT

DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING ARGUMENTS IN PAIRS. JOT DOWN YOUR CRUICAL IDEAS 1. The language spoken in each society is a reflection of its own particular culture. The type of language spoken by each individual within a society is a symbol of his personality, background and status. I agree with these arguments and point out that people classify each other according to the way they speak. So,.................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................ 2. If people can measure each other's speech, they must be measuring against some implicitly acknowledged standard. In British English this standard accent is known as R.P., or Received Pronunciation it is the accepted norm. Although the speakers carry both a geographical and a social label, the more socially mobile someone is, the more complex his accent becomes, and so the more difficult he is to label. In Croatia, the situation is that............................................................................................ ............................................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................................. 3. The relationship between language and social status, between linguistic skills and class distinction makes language a powerful social weapon. Language has always been a powerful social weapon, i.e.,................................................ ............................................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................................. 4. What are basic characteristics of English? ........................................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................................... 5. In Britain nowadays people often cultivate regional accent. Do we cultivate also regional acents in Croatia? ............................................................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................................................ 6. What do you think of artificial languages? Considering the variety of languages world-wide, it would seem logical for everyone to learn an international language, like Esperanto. But that idea has never really taken off. Maybe it's because speech is not merely a practical tool of communication. It's much more than that. The way we speak reveals something about ourselves and who we are, about our culture and our attitudes. No wonder we fight so hard to preserve our languages, accents and dialects. They form a great part of our identity, both national and personal. And ethnical.