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Text 1. T h e E n g l i s h l a n g u a g e




 

It is only in the course of the last hundred years that English has become a world language. In 1600 the number of native speakers was 6 million, while in 1960 there were 260 million speakers of English. In number of speakers, English is nowadays second only to Chinese. It is the official language of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the United States of America, of Australia and New Zealand. It is used as one of the official languages in Canada, the Republic of South Africa, and the Irish Republic. It is also spoken as a second language by many people in India, Pakistan, and numerous countries in Africa, to say nothing of people all over the world who know English – well or not so well – as a foreign language.

From the British Isles English spread all over the world, but English has not always been the language of the people of those islands. When the Romans colonized England in the first century of our era, the country was inhabited by Celtic tribes, and until the fifth century only Celtic languages were spoken by the people of Britain. About the middle of the fifth century the British Isles began to be invaded by the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, who spoke dialects of the language which was the ancestor of present-day English. We call that language Old English.

During the fifteen hundred years that have passed since the Anglo-Saxon invasions English has changed very considerably. First it was influenced by the language of the Danish (Viking) invaders in the 8th-10th centuries. Then between the 12th and 14th century it was very strongly influenced – both in its grammar and vocabulary, and in its pronunciation – by Norman French, the language of the people who conquered England in the year 1066. Lastly, during Renaissance, in the 14th-16th centuries, came the peaceful “invasion” of a large number of Latin and Greek words, which were introduced into English. In fact, this invasion has never come to an end, as new words continue to be made up from Latin and Greek roots for new inventions and scientific discoveries.

 

Q u e s t i o n s :

 

1) What place does the English language take among the other languages?

2) The English language was always spoken in Britain, wasn’t it?

3) What language do we call Old English?

4) What languages influenced English?

 

 

Text 2. E r n e s t H e m i n g w a y ( 1 8 9 9 – 1 9 6 1 )

 

When the sad news of Hemingway’s death was announced in July 1961 many people felt that the world had lost one of the most outstanding writers of the 20th century.

Hemingway was born in Oak Park near Chicago, USA, in 1899. He began to write fiction in 1923, his first books were the reflection of his war experience. The novels “The Sun Also Rises” (1926) and “A Farewell to Arms” (1929) in which the antiwar protest is particularly powerful belong to this period.

As a boy, Hemingway spent much time hunting, fishing and exploring in the mild country of northern Michigan. Ernest was a skilful boxer and an excellent shot. Not once he ran away from home and tried different jobs, which helped him to learn all sides of life.

In later years, he was attracted to bullfighting in Spain, and big game hunting in Africa. His observations provided background for many stories, in which he described man’s courage in facing with strong physical forces.

Hemingway was a brave soldier. He fought in Italy during World War I. In 1936-1938 he took part in the Spanish Civil War as a war correspondent. More than anything else he hated war and fascism. His impressions and his sympathies, which were on the side of the Republicans – found reflection in the famous play “The Fifth Column” and in number of short stories.

For many years Hemingway lived in Cuba and was a friend of the people of this island. His last works are “Across the River and Into the Trees” (1950) and “The Old Man and the Sea” (1952) which was awarded the Nobel Prize.

Hemingway’s manner is characterized by deep psychologism. The inner world of human beings, their emotions are in the centre of his attention. His style is laconic and somewhat dry. Much more is implied than is expressed in plain words. This makes Hemingway a prominent short-story writer.

Once he said: “The main critics of one’s work are the mind and the heart. Perhaps the heart even more than the mind… because the mind can sometimes agree to a compromise, but the heart – never! The truth – only the truth – that is what one must write”. Hemingway’s works have great truth in them, truth about people and the world.

 

Q u e s t i o n s :

 

1) Ernest Hemingway is an outstanding writer, isn’t he?

2) What can you say about his childhood?

3) How can his manner of writing be described?

4) What did he say about writing?

 


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