The Story of English

Chapter 01
The Story of English Chapter 01
 1. Identify the metaphor Emerson used to
describe the English language. 1:1
 The sea which receives tributaries from
every region under heaven.’
The Story of English Chapter 01
 2. Identify two of the shortcomings found
in many histories of the English
Language? 01:01
 Some studies dwell on the literary past
rather than on the present
 Some academic studies deal only on the
Anglo-American story rather than the rest
of the world’s English's
The Story of English Chapter 01
 3. What makes languages difficult to study
and to analyze? 02:03
 That it is always in flux and that it’s form
and expression is beyond the control of
school teacher or governments

It is always changing
The Story of English Chapter 01
 4. What criticism does the editor make
about the term “Great Vowel Shift?” 02-
03:05
 English is and has always been in the
state of ungovernable change and the
limits of our understanding are
demonstrated by the famous “Great Vowel
Shift” hardly more informative than the
unknown land of early cartography.
The Story of English Chapter 01
 5. Describe the process of the Germans
call “speech feeling.” 03:07
 It’s an instinctive process; we feel the
advantages and disadvantages of new
forms and new distinctions, although it
should be hard for us to give a reason for
our feelings.
The Story of English Chapter 01
 6. How do the editors aspire to make
language study more exciting. 04:09
 We hope that constructing each chapter in
the shape of a journey moving through
time and space give our subject a touch of
color and drama that sometimes it seems
to lack.
The Story of English Chapter 01
 7. Give an example of “inverted snobbery.”
05:11
 Inverted snobbery makes a middle class
rock star like Mick Jagger adopt what he
thinks is a Cockney accent. In the south
and west of the United States it is
currently fashionable to adopt country
usages and rhythms
The Story of English Chapter 01
 8. Identify and describe three myths about the
varieties of the English Language. 06:16
 The hoary old myth Shakespearean English is
alive and well and living in the Ozark Mountain
 The speech merseyside is attributable to bad
cold and blocked noses
 The racist slur the blacks talk the way they do
because they have big lips
The Story of English Chapter 01
 1. What is the largest estimate of the
number of English speakers? 9:03
 Some estimates have put that figure close
to one billion
The Story of English Chapter 01
 2.Describe the impact of the English
Language in terms of : 1. Mail , 2.
Computers , and television 10:04
 Three-quarters of the world’s mail
 Eighty percent of the information stored in
the world’s computers
 Five of the largest broadcasting
companies broadcast in English.
The Story of English Chapter 01
3.Describe the development of Russlish,
Japlish, and Deutschlish. 10:05
The borrowing of English words into these
languages
-For example seksapil (sex appeal),
nohkhau (know how)
The Story of English Chapter 01
 4. Explain how the English language has
unified large blocs of territory like the
subcontinent of India. 11:06
 English has become a second language in
countries such as India, Kenya, Nigeria
and Singapore
 English is a vital alternative language,
often unifying huge territories and diverse
populations
The Story of English Chapter 01
 5. Characterize the conflict which has
emerged between the forces of
standardization and the forces of
localization. 11:08
 There’s been a contest between the
forces of standardization and localization,

For example Victorian England realized the
idea of the Queen’s English, a spoken
standard to which the “lesser breeds” could
aspire.
The Story of English Chapter 01
 6. Describe the emergence of RP
(Received Pronunciation) 13:11
 The Education Act of 1870 established the
English Public School as the melting pot of
upper class and middle class speech
The Story of English Chapter 01
 7. Provide examples of idiosyncrasies
which were noticed but not stigmatized
(made fun of). 13:12
 Rev. Joynes pronounced “died as doyed,”
and attacked the oidle (idle)
The Story of English Chapter 01
 8. Explain the emergence of stigmatization
of accent. 14:13
 By the end of the 19th century parents
feared that their children would pick up a
local accent at school.
 At Oxford incoming students had to speak
the Queen’s English
The Story of English Chapter 01
 11. Identify one phonetic feature which
distinguishes the RP from the Cockney
variety. 15:16
 Ollow for Hollow , and for hand , an for
and hangin, for hanging
The Story of English Chapter 01
 9.Explain the rapid emergence of RP.
14:15
 It provided the British Army and the
imperial Civil Service with a steady flow of
well spoken recruits.
The Story of English Chapter 01
 10. Explain the attraction or magnetic
power that R. P. exerted over those who
tried to learn it. 25:16
 The identification of RP with power and
education and material success
encouraged imitation
The Story of English Chapter 01
 12. How did radio shape the development
of the English language between the two
world wars ? 16:17
 This is the hey day of radio in the

United States and Britain FDR fireside chat

and Winston Churchill wartime broadcast
The BBC
The Story of English Chapter 01
 13.What was the purpose of the Advisory
Committee on Spoken English ( ACSE) ?
 16:19
 The committee’s declared task was to
arbitrate on the usage and pronunciation
of words English and Foreign
The Story of English Chapter 01
 14. How did the ACSE arrive at decisions
on usage?17: 19
 The decision were reached by a simple
vote
The Story of English Chapter 01
 15. What was the goal of Lord Reith , the
first Director General of the BBC? 17:22
 Lord Reith a Scot ,himself believed in
broadcast English that would give no
offence as he recalled in television
interview toward the end of his life
The Story of English Chapter 01
 16. How did Lord Reith propose to raise
social standards? 18:22
 The establishment of a uniform BBC
English was partly designed to promote a
sense of impersonality and impartiality
The Story of English Chapter 01
 17. What is the difference between
"marked RP" and "unmarked RP?" 19:26
 The mainstream version “unmarked RP”
 The Marked version “posh or elite RP”
The Story of English Chapter 01
 18. Identify the two vital functions an
accent is supposed to have. 20:26
 It gives us a clue about the speaker’s life
and career
 It will give a good indication of the
speaker’s community values and what he
or she identifies with.
The Story of English Chapter 01
 19.What social advantage is a speaker of
RP supposed to have? 20:27
 They tend to be credited with qualities
such as honesty, intelligence, ambition,
even good looks.
The Story of English Chapter 01
 20. How has RP changed over the last 50
years? 21:29
 It has a less tense quality
The Story of English Chapter 01
 21. Describe how the arrival of
Commentator Edward R. Murrow changed
the sphere of dominance in the English
language 22:32
 He Reported on the war to people back
Home, thus making American English the
dominant voice in the English speaking
world.
The Story of English Chapter 01
 23.Describe the process known as Coca-
colonialism 24:35
 The Process of Commercial infiltration
The Story of English Chapter 01
 24.How did the advent of the bomb
change the English language? 24:35
 Fireball, mushroom cloud, test site,
countdown, fallout, fusion, fission, chain
reaction, atomic holocaust
The Story of English Chapter 01
 25.How did the film industry influence the
spread of English around the world? 25:38
 Brought American English and American
Way of life as interpreted by Hollywood to
a world audience
The Story of English Chapter 01
 26. Describe the influence of Madison
Avenue( the Advertising Industry) on the
English language? 26:39
 They have become the small change of
everyday conversations “where’s the
beef?” “try it, you’ll like it”
The Story of English Chapter 01
 27.Describe the new vocabulary which
developed around the Vietnam War. 26:40
 Defoliate, napalm, firefight, friendly fire,
search and destroy, and mission and
domino theory
The Story of English Chapter 01
 28. What is the so-called "network
standard?" 27:41
 Like the English in the BBC it derived it’s
own accent known as ‘Network Standard’
 Regional dialects who modify in the
interest of clarity, intelligibility, and
neutrality
The Story of English Chapter 01
 29.Explain Stuart Flexner's prediction
about dialect 28:41
 As easterners and midwesterners
continue to move to the sunbelt, southern
varieties will be diluted
 In the future regional dialects will
disappear.
The Story of English Chapter 01
 30.Illustrate the editor's assertion that regional
accent has never been a hindrance to the
Whitehouse 29:44
 FDR patrician old eastern
 Harry Truman twangy Missouri
 Richard Nixon Midwest
 John Kennedy Boston Irish
 Lyndon Johnson South Texas
 Jimmy Carter World Georgia
 Ronald Regan Network standard
The Story of English Chapter 01
 31. Explain how the computer industry of
the Silicon Valley has altered English
vocabulary from the standpoint of high-
tech slang. 30:47
 Word like interface, software, input, on-
line, data processing, high tech, computer
hacker, to access, diskette, and modem
The Story of English Chapter 01
 32. Describe the influence of American
computerese on other languages. 31:49
 German has repeat function
 Repeat Funktion
 Der Highbyte
 Der Resetknopf
The Story of English Chapter 01
 33. Describe the confusion posed by two
the two main language schools-British and
American.32:52
 Vocabulary differences:
 Apartment: flat
 Candy: sweets
 Diaper: nappy
The Story of English Chapter 01
 34.What makes English uniquely valuable
to unify the subcontinent of India? 33:55
 With nearly 200 languages, India needs
English to unify the country.
The Story of English Chapter 01
 35.How does the power of English tend to
influence "romance" or choosing a
spouse? 33-34:57
 In the Institute of Home Economics, in
Delhi, one of the girls remarked that 95
per cent of Indian men ‘do definitely
consider English as a prerequisite for
brides.
The Story of English Chapter 01
 36.Explain Salman Rushdie's paradoxical
expression, "English, no longer an English
language, now grows from many
roots." 34:57
 Those whom it once colonized are carving
out large territories within the language for
themselves.
The Story of English Chapter 01
 37.Give some examples of some African-
English idioms. 34:57
 As honest as an elephant
 Wisdom is like a goatskin- everyone
carries his own.
The Story of English Chapter 01
 38.Identify some contemporary world
figures who speak to the press in English.
35:58
 Helmut Kohl
 Colonel Qadhafi
The Story of English Chapter 01
 39.Illustrate the commercial pressure to
learn English in multinational companies.
35:60
 Many multinational companies ( like
Nissan or Datsun) write international
memoranda in English.
The Story of English Chapter 01
 40.Illustrate the popularity of English
language programs in China. 36-37:61
 Yingying Learns English
 Mary Goes to Peking
 Follow Me 50 million viewers
 Kathy Flower instant celebrity
The Story of English Chapter 01
 41.Why is English vital in a developing
country like China? 37:62
 As well as being the language of
international trade and finance, it is the
language of technology, especially
computers, of medicine, of the
international aid bodies----
The Story of English Chapter 01
 42.Identify some English vocabulary
words which have infiltrated into
Japanese. 38:63
 20,000 English words have infiltrated
Japanese like inflight, infield, man-shon
mansion, aisu-kurimu ice cream
The Story of English Chapter 01
 43. Illustrate how the international pop
music encourages the use of English.
38:64
 Swedish group Abba recorded all their
lyrics in English.
 Polish pop song borrowed Baby Baby ,
yeah, yeah, yeah
The Story of English Chapter 01
 44. Illustrate how English has invaded the
Swedish vocabulary through television
38:65
 60% of group blamed American English
for corrupting Swedish language
 Baj baj bye bye
 Tajt jeans tight jeans
The Story of English Chapter 01
 45.Illustrate how English bar and saloon
words have invaded Germany, France,
and Spain. 39:66
 Germany die Jeans, die soundtrack
 French le weekend, le drugstore,le bifteck
 Russia viskey, dzhin-in-tonic dzhazz-
saission
The Story of English Chapter 01
 46. Describe the futile efforts of French
President Pompidou to stem the influence
of English. 39:67
 Jumbo jet gros porteur
 Fast food pret a manger
The Story of English Chapter 01
 47.Explain how some of the separatist
motivation in Quebec comes from opposition to
the "northward glacier" (American English) 40:68
 Loi 101 English billboards, posters, and
storefronts were banned. Students were not
allowed to attend English-language Quebec
schools unless one of the parents had been
educated in English at a Quebec elementary
school.
The Story of English Chapter 01
 48. Describe the desperate legislation Loi
101 proposed by Quebec. 40:68
 Loi 101 English billboards, posters, and
storefronts were banned. Students were not
allowed to attend English-language Quebec
schools unless one of the parents had been
educated in English at a Quebec elementary
school.
The Story of English Chapter 01
 49.Why has the president of Sierra Leone
encouraged the use of English? 41:71
 If you want to earn your daily bread, the
best thing to do is to learn English. That is
the source from which most of the jobs
come.
The Story of English Chapter 01
 50. What was Jakob Grimm's appraisal of
the English language? 42:72
 In wealth, wisdom and strict economy,
none of the other English languages can
vie with it.
The Story of English Chapter 01
 51.Dispel some of the myths about the
English language. (Explain some of the
liabilities) 43:75-78
 Spelling problems 13 spellings for ss
On the other hand:
Simplified gender- no masculine feminine
and neuter articles and adjectives
Word order instead of endings
Immense vocabulary.