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54 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What does calling a type of language "dialect" imply? |
It implies that it is somehow inferior to another variety which is considered more correct and which is referred to as "language" |
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True or False: the idea of a 'correct' English is relatively recent |
True |
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What is 'correct' English often referred to? |
The Queen's English, BBC English, Oxford English, public school English |
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Explain public school English |
Public school English is about 130-140 years old. In Victorian times, boarding schools took boys from different backgrounds and gave them the same accent. Those boys were to become the most powerful people in the country, and that made their accent look superior. |
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What is the RP accent? |
The RP (Received Pronunciation) accent was influenced by public school English, and is spoken by about 1 in 50 people in Britain. |
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What was the impact of the radio/television for the spoken language? |
For the first time, the English could hear a definitive English speech. |
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What was the finest hour of the BBC? |
World War II. BBC stood alone as a supreme power of language. |
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Why did RP becomeprestigious worldwide? |
Because of the English Empire. |
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What era came after the decline of the British Empire? |
The era of decolonisation |
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What did India's Prime Minister after independence (1947) declare? |
That English should be replaced by Hindi |
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Why does India need a 'link' language? |
Because of its 14 linguistic traditions |
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Why is Hindi not a good candidate as a link language in India? |
Because if it is imposed on speakers of other Indian languages, its native speakers will have an advantage |
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What is English used for in India? |
It is the main language in civil administration, government, politics and the law |
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What is English indispensable to in India? |
It is indispensable to a career and an essential part of a good education. It is also socially desirable. |
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How many languages are there in Africa? |
Over 1000 languages |
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What is the link language in Africa? |
English, or creole English |
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How many countris have retained English since decolonisation? |
16 countries |
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How many people speak English creoles? |
About 200 million people |
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What English is taught in African schools, and why? |
Standard English, as it is vital for a career in law, medicine, or government |
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Why is American English more likely to have an impact on the spoken English around the world, than British English? |
Because of its political and economical power |
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Define 'slang' |
very informal words and expressions that are more common in spoken language, especially used by a particular group of people. e.j. children or teenagers, criminals, soldiers, etc. |
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Define 'jargon' |
words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group of people and are difficult for others to understand. e.j. technical, medical, legal, computer, etc. |
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What was the influence of California English (name examples)? |
Surf talk: in the tube, totally/way/fully rad Valley girl slang: awesome, tubular, the max, totally Gay slang: queen, come out of the closet Feminist English: mankind-people, postman-postal worker Computer jargon: online, high-tech, interface, hardware, input, to access |
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Japan has _______ English loanwords in everyday use |
20.000 |
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Why is English essential in Singapore? |
Singapore is a multiracial society that has based its prosperity on ship repairs. English is essential to make a living and is seen as an essential part of progress in law, government, trade, and information. |
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What was the only language that rivaled English in numbers? |
Mandarin Chinese |
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Why has India become a major force in teaching English in countries like Iran, Vietnam, and Cambodia? |
Because these countries think that India is politically closer to them, which develops a non-alligned version of English |
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Who developed a written standard and when? |
William Caxton, in the late 15th century |
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Why did Caxton want a standard? |
for economical reasons: it would be very costly to print a different version of a book for every variety of English |
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Which dialect was chosen as a standard, and why? |
The London dialect, because it was the capital city, the political centre, and the centre of commerce and administration |
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Why did the use of French and Latin for all official documentations decline? |
By the late 15th century, the administrative system needed an efficient medium of communication, not a language understood by a very small elite |
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What is the Chancery standard? |
A variety of English adopted by the Chancery or government scribes, based on London, but with some central Midland elements. |
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When and where did Caxton set up printing press? |
In Westminster, in 1476 |
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What was the impact of the Reformation on language? |
it led to change in religion, one of the most prestigious domains of written language use |
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What happened in 1533? |
Henry VIII split from the Roman Catholic Church |
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What books appeared in 1537 and in 1549? |
the first licensed English Bible, and then the Book of Common Prayer (a service book for the Church of England) |
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What was the most famous English Bible? |
It was promoted by James I and known as the 'Authorised Version' or 'the King James Bible', and it appeared in 1611 |
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What finally fixed the standard in the minds of users? |
The growth of dictionaries, grammar books, spelling books, andso on from the 16th century onwards. There were adopted in schools and became arbiters of the language |
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Who is Jonathan Switft? |
An individual who set himself asan arbiter of the language and codified the standard by offering an authoritative consensus about what the standard consisted of |
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Do many rules lack a sound basis? |
Yes, many reflect an appeal to pseudo-logic or to etymology. However, some can be traced back to the 18th century or earlier |
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What factor played a role in establishing the dominance of RP? |
Technology (BBC) |
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What is 'non-standard' taken to mean? |
'Deficient' in some ay |
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Why are non-RP speakers commonly thought of as? |
As 'lazy' and 'slovenly', because they don't pronounce all the letters in words |
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Today, what is RP often referred to as? |
As 'plummy', 'stuck up', 'contrived' |
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What is 'Estuary English'? |
an accent lying in the middle of a scale with RP at one end and popular London speech -Cockney- at the other. Estuary English seems to have more prestige than RP, especially amongst young people |
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What are some features of Cockney? |
h-dropping g-dropping TH fronting TH stopping yod dropping yod coalescence diphthong shift glottalling the London goat split London nt-reduction post-glottal schwa deletion |
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How many people currently speak English? |
About 1,5 billion people |
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What language is said to be spoken in the Scottish Hebrides? |
(Irish/Scottish) Gaelic, Welsh |
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Which decade in the 20th century did most African colonies attain independence? |
60s, but also late 50s |
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Africa-With decolonisation, English was retained in countries such as... |
India, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone |
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In the video, what is the Indian girls' attitude towards English? What do they say about men's attitudes to women and English? |
English is considered polite and prestigious. Men want women as educated as they are, or more. Education means knowing English. They feel brainwashed into believing that English is classy |
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In the video, what examples are given of the use of English in Europe? |
seaspeak, airspeak |
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Feminist English for these words? chairman police man foreman man man-made fibres poetess stewardess male nurse |
chair person
police officer construction manager humans human-made fibers poet flight attendant nurse |
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What is the UK's ugliest accent? |
The Brummie accent |
