UNIT 1 LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

TEXT ANALYSIS
Read the text and find out what the new language law in Quebec says.
Quebec's Language Laws
Walking around the streets of the world's second largest francophone city, it’s
difficult to believe that laws are needed to guarantee the continuing use of French. Most
passers-by are speaking French, most of the shop names and advertisements are in French,
and French is the language of business and commerce.

While English options are given on telephone call centre lines, French is the first
language used when you get to speak to anyone. But many Quebeckers feel that they
continue to fight for their language in the one major area of North America where English
isn't the dominant language. As a result there's a language charter which says that signs
must use bigger writing for the French version and that shopkeepers should address their
customers in French first. Most children go to French schools and only those whose parents
were born in the province can go to English-speaking ones.

(From BBC Learning English by Mike

Fox)

Notes:
francophone city – a city where the main language is French
call centre – a central location where big companies have many operators
answering their phones
dominant – strongest or most widely used
a language charter - a written statement which says what languages must be
used
address – to say something directly somebody
 TRANSLATION NOTES
TRANSLATION OF COLLOCATIONS
Collocation refers to the way in which some words regularly occur together.
a. NOUN- VERB collocation: “Options are given” is a noun-verb collocation. Other verbs
that collocate with option are have, take, promise, etc.
Example:
- Students have the option of studying abroad in their second year.
Sinh viên học đến năm hay có thể lựa chọn đi học nước ngoài.
- A savings plan that gives you the option to vary your monthly payments
Một chương trình tiết kiệm cho phép bạn thay đổi khoản tiền trả theo từng tháng.
- He has promised me first option on his car.
Anh ta hứa sẽ ưu tiên cho tôi khi nào bán xe.

b. NOUN-NOUN collocation: “Call centre” is a combination of two nouns: call and

centre. There are other combinations with call centre: call centre jobs, or call centre
officer.
Translating collocations imposes some problems: Firstly, there is no "one-to-one"
relationship between SL and TL collocations. Secondly, translating an isolated term can be
different from rendering the same term from a context. Finally, translation of new
collocations might require a lot of research in both languages. In Vietnamese "call centre"
is trung tâm chăm sóc khách hàng qua điện thoại”.
Example:
- While English option are given on telephone call centre lines, French is the first
language used when you get to speak to anyone. (Mặc dầu tiếng Anh được sử dụng tại
các trung tâm chăm sóc khách hàng qua điện thoại, tiếng Pháp lại là ngôn ngữ chính
thức khi người ta bắt chuyện với nhau.)

IMPERSONAL "IT" AND "THERE"

a. It structure: It + Verb + Adjective / Noun + to-infinitive-clause / that-clause is used to
show impersonal emotional reactions, advisability, necessity, probability or hearsay:
Example:

 Walking around the streets of the world's second largest francophone city, it's difficult
to believe that laws are needed to guarantee the continuing use French. (emotional
reaction)
Nếu dạo quanh thành phố nói tiếng Pháp lớn thứ hai trên thế giới này thì bạn sẽ không
thể tin được rằng lại cần đến luật pháp để duy trì vị thế của tiếng Pháp ở đây.
 It is important to have healthy teeth because good teeth not only help us chew food
but also help us look nice. (necessity)
Cần phải có một hàm răng chắc khỏe // Có một hàm răng chắc khỏe là điều cần thiết vì
răng khỏe không những giúp ta nhai tốt mà còn tạo ra một diện mạo dễ thương.

 It appears that the two leaders are holding secret talks. (probability)
Tình hinh cho thấy có thể hai nhà lãnh đạo đang tiến hành thương thảo bí mật.

b. There structure : There + Verbs of existence/ appearance + Noun

There is, are, was, were, will be, may be are used to introduce – rather than to describe –
something that exists, happens or takes place. Other verbs are also used in place of be:
remain/ appear/ come.

Example:
 As a result, there's a language charter which says that signs must use bigger writing for
the French version.
Kết quả là một đạo luật về ngôn ngữ đã ra đời, quy định các cửa hàng phải viết biển
hiệu bằng chữ tiếng Pháp lớn hơn.
 There are some mistakes in this translation.
Có một vài lỗi trong bản dịch này. // Bản dịch này có một vài lỗi.
 During the oil refinery strike, there was enormous petrol queue.
Thời kì nhà máy lọc dầu đình công, ở các trạm xăng người ta xếp hàng đông đặc.

TEXT TRANSLATION
Translate the text into Vietnamese, paying attention to impersonal expressions and the way
nouns are combined with other words.

VOCABULARY EXPANDING
1. Work in pairs or groups to write down as many as possible noun collocations of
culture and language, like street culture or ancient language.
CULTURE LANGUAGE
Street culture ancient language
Contemporary, modern, postmodern native/first
Dominant, mainstream, prevailing foreign/ second
Different, diverse offical/ national
Folk, indigenous, local, native, traditional colloquial/ informal
Colourful, diverse, rich, vibrant minority
https://www.macmillandictionary.com/collo https://www.macmillandictionary.com/collo
cations/british/culture cations/british/language
2. Complete the following sentences with words to make appropriate collocations
1. The first language of Singapore is
Malay for historical reasons, and it is used in the national anthem, "Majulah
singapura". The offical languages are English,
Malay, Mandarin and Tamil.

2. Latin is an acient Indo-European language that was spoken in the Roman

Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. It was also the
language of science and scholarship in mid and western Europe until the 17th
century.

3. The term " popular culture" itself is of 19th century coinage, in original
usage referring to the education and "culturedness" of the lower classes. Pop
culture often contrasts with a more exclusive, even elitist "high culture,",
that is, the culture of ruling social groups.

4.Culture shock is a feeling of confusion and anxiety that someone

experiences when they visit or go to live in a place with a very different
culture, especially a different country, where they do not know how to behave
and what is appropriate and what is not.

5. Children's contemporary culture refers to the cumulative culture created

by young children. It is most common in children between the ages of seven
and twelve. It is strongest in urban working class industrial districts where
children are traditionally free to "play out" in the streets for long periods
without supervision.