1、Unit 7Learning about EnglishCollege of Foreign Languages，Hunan University 湖南大学外国语学院Text A The Glorious Messiness of EnglishI.Lead-inII.Text Analysis(Interpreting the Title,Understanding the Rhetorical Devices)III.Language PointsIV.Writing&ExercisesIdiomatic usages1.ship by truck/send cargo by ship2.
2、noses that run/feet that smells3.a slim/fat chance4.a wise guy/man5.overlook/oversee6.hot/cold as hell7.burn up/down8.fill in a form/fill out a form9.go off/on10.when stars/lights are out11.wind up a watch/speechText Analysis Interpreting the Title Understanding the Rhetorical Devices Interpreting t
3、he Title GloriousGloriousEnglishwonderful,very beautiful or impressive Historymessymessy:1.being dirty or untidya messy room Sorry the place is so messy,I havent had time to clear up.2.a messy situation is complicated and unpleasant to deal withHes just been through a particularly messy divorce.Inte
4、rpret the titleglorious:a commendatory(褒义的)termmessiness:a derogatory(贬义的)termWhat effect can be achieved when one is modified by the other?Oxymorona deliberate combination of two words that seem to mean the opposite of each other.Examples from Shakespeare An honorable murderer:正直的凶手An honorable vil
5、lain:庄严的奸徒A damned saint:万恶的圣人Sweet pangs:甜蜜的痛苦Sweet knaves:温文和气的恶人Sweet sorrow:甜蜜的凄清A living death:活死人Loving hate,heavy lightness,serious vanity,cold fire,sick health,MessinessConflicts between Pronunciation and spellingHomophoneHomograph HomonymMessinessConflicts between Pronunciation and spelling
6、HomophoneHomograph HomonymNC Nao Can(脑残):impaired-brain The brain has two parts:one is left,and the other is right.Their left brain has nothing right,and the right brain has nothing left.NC Nao Can(脑残):impaired-brain The brain has two parts:one is left,and the other is right.Their left brain has not
7、hing right,and the right brain has nothing left.Homonym(同音同形异义词)MessinessConflicts between Pronunciation and spellingHomophoneHomograph HomonymHomophone(同音异形异义词)MessinessConflicts between Pronunciation and spellingHomophoneHomograph HomonymHomograph(同形异音异义词)Billy will present Tom with his present.I
8、object to that object being here.MessinessConflicts between Pronunciation and spellingIllogical “Noses run”while“feet smell”MessinessConflicts between Pronunciation and spellingIllogical Too huge a vocabulary?Development of EnglishIndo-European language-the parent languageOld EnglishAnglo-Saxon word
9、sby Germanic tribes Greek and Latin wordsby Christian religion Middle EnglishOld Norse by VikingsFrench words byNorman ConquestModern EnglishPrinting pressEuropean RenaissanceBr.EnglishAm.English Part Division of the TextPartsPara(s).Main Ideas113 2416 Massive borrowing from other languages is a maj
10、or feature of the English language.Tells about the history of the English language from the Indo-European parent language to modern English.23PartsMain Ideas31719Tolerance,love of freedom,and respect for the rights of others these qualities in the English-speaking people explain the richness of thei
11、r language.Para(s).24 The story of our English language is typically one of massive stealing from other languages.That is why English today has an estimated vocabulary of over one million words,while other major languages have far fewer.French,for example,has only about 75,000 words,and that include
12、s English expressions like snack bar and hit parade.The French,however,do not like borrowing foreign words because they think it corrupts their language.The government tries to ban words from English and declares that Walkman is not desirable;so they invent a word,balladeur,which French kids are sup
13、posed to say instead but they dont.THE GLORIOUS MESSINESS OF ENGLISH25Walkman is fascinating because it isnt even English.Strictly speaking,it was invented by the Japanese manufacturers who put two simple English words together to name their product.That doesnt bother us,butit does bother the French
14、.Such is the glorious messiness of English.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.26How did the language of a small island off the coast of Europe become the lang
15、uage of the planet more widely spoken and written than any other has ever been?The history of English is present in the first words a child learns about identity(I,me,you);possession(mine,yours);the body(eye,nose,mouth);size(tall,short);and necessities(food,water).These words all come from Old Engli
16、sh or Anglo-Saxon English,the core of our language.Usually short and direct,these are words we still use today for the things that really matter to us.Great speakers often use Old English to arouse our emotions.27Virtually every one of those words came from Old English,except the last surrender,which came from Norman French.Churchill could have said,“We shall never give in,”but it is one of the lovely and powerful opportunities of English that a writer can mix,for effect,different words from dif
