MapoftheBookCommunicativeCritical ThinkingInterculturalCompetenceCompetenceBe able to use languageDetectthe informationalUnderstand how the larger?withaccuracy,clarityandcontent and intendedcontext, suchas socialordiscernmentmeaning of a statement inpolitical movements, shapesDevelop a coherent anditscontextlanguageuseEvaluate the measuresDevelop an awareness ofcohesive oral/writtendiscourseadvocated by the author inthe prescriptive tradition inLearn to summarize othersresponse to linguistic shiftsEnglishpointsBe aware of the complexityEvaluate criticallymedia.of the language-medialanguage in differentrelationship and avoidcountriesoversimplifications：Distinguish betweenCompare the ChineseBe able to use languageopinionsandfactswithaccuracy.clarityandlanguage and the EnglishExplore implications anddiscernmentlanguage in relation to thetwo cultures.llustrate your points inaconsequences of translationfor the literary worldlogical,structuredmannerUnderstandobstacles Be able to use rhetoricalInterpretandevaluatein translation caused bydifferent perspectives ofstrategiescultural differenceslooking attranslationUnderstand similarities anddifferences across cultures.Be able to use languageEvaluate the overallReflecton yourownstructure of the author'sinterculturalcommunicationwith accuracy,clarity andargumentationdiscernmentexperience·Develop a coherentand.Identify and Evaluate theEvaluateyourownculiturematerials the author uses towithin a global contextcohesiveoral/writtensupport herclaimsDevelop an awareness ofdiscourse.Evaluatethe solutionsethnocentrismanddevalueit.llustrateyour points inaprovided by the author andlogical,structuredmannerpropose alternative ones
Map ofthe Book Communicative Competence Critical Thinking Intercultural Competence • Be able to use language with accuracy, clarity and discernment • Develop a coherent and cohesive oral/written discourse • Learn to summarize others points 1 • Be able to use language with accuracy, clarity and discernment • Illustrate your points in a logical, structured manner • Be able to use rhetorical strategies • Be able to use language with accuracy, clarity and discernment • Develop a coherent and cohesive oral/written discourse • Illustrate your points in a logical, structured manner • Detect the informational content and intended meaning of a statement in its context • Evaluate the measures advocated by the author in response to linguistic shifts • Be aware of the complexity of the language-media relationship and avoid oversimplifications • Distinguish between opinions and facts • Explore implications and consequences of translation for the literary world • Interpret and evaluate different perspectives of looking at translation • Evaluate the overall structure of the author's argumentation • Identify and Evaluate the materials the author uses to support her claims • Evaluate the solutions provided by the author and propose alternative ones • Understand how the larger context, such as social or political movements, shapes language use • Develop an awareness of the prescriptive tradition in English • Evaluate critically media language in different countries • Compare the Chinese language and the English language in relation to the two cultures • Understand obstacles in translation caused by cultural differences • Understand similarities and differences across cultures • Reflect on your own intercultural communication experience • Evaluate your own culture within a global context • Develop an awareness of ethnocentrism and devalue it
The NatureofLanguageUnitIn this unit we are going to take a close look at something that we tend to take forgranted--language.All of us are born with a native language,and most of us aretryingvery hard to learn a foreign language.But have you ever considered what languagereally is? In what way does human language differ from the other animals' ways ofcommunicating?Behind the several thousand different languages in the world,are thereanyuniversalfeaturesthatholdthemtogether?Andifyes,whatarethosefeatures?The two texts in this unit won't be able to offer you all the answers to the abovequestions, but they will set you thinking.Text A illustrates what a marvelously complexsystemlanguageis,intermsofitssounds,words,sentencesanddiscourse,andintermsof its scale,creativityand structure as compared with other ways of communicating,such as facial expressions or gestures. Text B takes stock of language from a differentperspective:It starts by examining the main functions that language serves and movesonto examinehow languagecan servethosefunctions.Enjoyyour reading!
Unit The Nature of Language In this unit we are going to take a close look at something that we tend to take for granted—language. All of us are born with a native language, and most of us are trying very hard to learn a foreign language. But have you ever considered what language really is? In what way does human language differ from the other animals' ways of communicating? Behind the several thousand different languages in the world, are there any universal features that hold them together? And if yes, what are those features? The two texts in this unit won't be able to offer you all the answers to the above questions, but they will set you thinking. Text A illustrates what a marvelously complex system language is, in terms of its sounds, words, sentences and discourse, and in terms of its scale, creativity and structure as compared with other ways of communicating, such as facial expressions or gestures. Text B takes stock of language from a different perspective: It starts by examining the main functions that language serves and moves on to examine how language can serve those functions. Enjoy your reading!
2ReadingCritically1TextAThe Complexity of LanguageDavid CrystalLanguage is the most complex thing human beings ever learn. Let's reflect for amoment on why that is so.Look at what you're reading now. Your brain is processing, at great speed, up to26lettersof thealphabet,somelarge,some small,and adozen or so punctuationmarks.These letters havebeen combined into words, and there are thousandsof words to choose from in a language. Many of these words allow differentbeginnings andendings(suchas“happy,”“unhappy”“happiness”“unhappiness")and there are dozens of these.Then the words are combined into sentences, andthere are several thousand ways of doing that. There are thousands more ways ofcombining the sentences into paragraphs,paragraphs into chapters,and chaptersinto a whole book.And, along with all this,as we go from one publication toanother we have to cope with a huge number of variations in the way languagelooks on the pagedifferent sizes of type,different typefaces,and so on.It's the same with speech. If weread out loud, we have to use the sounds of thelanguage-over 40 in the case of English.These are combined into syllables,and there are several hundred ways of doing that-we have to learn that soundsequences such as"up”“shoe,”and"spots”are possible ways of talking in English,but"ngop”“"shmfi,”and"doprns"aren't.Then,as with writing,we combinethese words into sentences.But, unlike writing,we dont talk in paragraphs andchapters.Rather, we talk in conversations and speeches.And, to make thesecome alive we use hundreds of different tones of voice-theintonation, loudness,speed,andrhythm ofour speech.The purpose of all this? To enable us to say and write whatever we want to.There's no limit. It's amazing, really. Once we've learned a few thousand words.and learned the ways our language allows us to put them together into sentences,we can say things that nobody has ever said before. Here's an example:
2 Reading Critically 1 Text A The Complexity of Language David Crystal Language is the most complex thing human beings ever learn. Lets reflect for a moment on why that is so. Look at what youre reading now. Ybur brain is processing, at great speed, up to 26 letters ofthe alphabet, some large, some small, and a dozen or so punctuation marks. These letters have been combined into words, and there are thousands of words to choose from in a language. Many of these words allow different beginnings and endings (such as “happyT “unhappyf “happiness： "unhappiness”), and there are dozens ofthese. Then the words are combined into sentences, and there are several thousand ways of doing that. There are thousands more ways of combining the sentences into paragraphs, paragraphs into chapters, and chapters into a whole book. And, along with all this, as we go from one publication to another we have to cope with a huge number of variations in the way language looks on the page-different sizes oftype, different typefaces, and so on. Its the same with speech. If we read out loud, we have to use the sounds of the language-over 40 in the case of English. These are combined into syllables, and there are several hundred ways of doing that—we have to learn that soundsequences such as "up； "shoe； and “spots" are possible ways oftalking in English, but “ngop,“ "shmfi；' and "doprns“ arent. Then, as with writing, we combine these words into sentences. But, unlike writing, we dont talk in paragraphs and chapters. Rather, we talk in conversations and speeches. And, to make these come alive we use hundreds of different tones ofvoice-the intonation, loudness, speed, and rhythm of our speech. 4 The purpose of all this? To enable us to say and write whatever we want to. Theres no limit. Its amazing, really. Once we've learned a few thousand words, and learned the ways our language allows us to put them together into sentences, we can say things that nobody has ever said before. Heres an example:
Unit1 The Nature of Language3Twelve policemen wearing yellow socks rode donkeys along the beach.I bet this is the first time anyone has said or written that sentence in the historyof the world.I made it up just now, and, even though you've never seen it before,you understood it without any trouble at all. That's what language enables us todo.In fact,most of the sentences I've written in this book are new.I've never writtenthem before, nor has anyone else. And you've never read them before. Not allthe sentences are brand new, of course.I'm not the first person in the universe tohave written the sentence I used at the beginning of the previous paragraph,"Thepurpose of all this?"I just typed it into Google, and got nearly halfa millionhits. But I just typed my"Twelve policemen"sentence into Google, and got nohits.Of course, a search engine doesn't contain everything that's ever been saidor written. But it can give us an idea about what's common and what's rare in alanguage.We can be even more original, if we want to. If we have a meaning in our headthat we want to express, and we can't find the words to say it, then we can makeup new words to get our point across. We often create new words by adding"un-"forinstance,wordslikethese:uncool, unchoosy,unfunny,unsorryWriters have been playing with the language like this for hundreds of years. Overa century ago, Lewis Carroll wrote a scene in Alice in Wonderland where Alicemeets the Mad Hatter and others sitting round a tea table. It isnt her birthday.so they wish her a merry“unbirthday"And about 400 years ago, Shakespearewrote Macbeth, in which he has a character called Malcolm tell several lies abouthimself. When Malcolm eventually admits that what he was saying wasn't true,he says he will "unspeak"what he said. Shakespeare loved to invent words like"unspeak"7This ability to take familiar bits of language and to combine them to make newwords and sentences is what sets language apart from other ways that humanbeings use to communicate.Look at two people talking to each other. Whilethey're talking, they're also looking at each other, and we can see that theexpressions on their faces add a great deal to what they're saying.They smile andfrown and look surprised.They might also use their bodies to make gestures,such as by shrugging their shoulders or giving a thumbs-up sign. They mightalso touch each other, as when they shake hands or kiss. All of these are ways ofcommunicating.Butare they"language"?
Unit 1 The Nature of Language 3 I bet this is the first time anyone has said or written that sentence in the history ofthe world. I made it up just now, and, even though youve never seen it before, you understood it without any trouble at all. Thats what language enables us to do. In fact, most of the sentences Ive written in this book are new. Ive never written them before, nor has anyone else. And youve never read them before. Not all the sentences are brand new, of course, fm not the first person in the universe to have written the sentence I used at the beginning of the previous paragraph, wThe purpose of all this?” I just typed it into Google, and got nearly half a million hits. But I just typed my “Twelve policemen” sentence into Google, and got no hits. Of course, a search engine doesnt contain everything thats ever been said or written. But it can give us an idea about whats common and whats rare in a language. We can be even more original, if we want to. If we have a meaning in our head that we want to express, and we cant find the words to say it, then we can make up new words to get our point across. We often create new words by adding for instance, words like these: uncool, unchoosy, unfunny, unsorry Writers have been playing with the language like this for hundreds of years. Over a century ago, Lewis Carroll wrote a scene in Alice in Wonderland where Alice meets the Mad Hatter and others sitting round a tea table. It isnt her birthday, so they wish her a merry Uunbirthday.,> And about 400 years ago, Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, in which he has a character called Malcolm tell several lies about himself. When Malcolm eventually admits that what he was saying wasnt true, he says he will "unspeak” what he said. Shakespeare loved to invent words like unspeak. 7 This ability to take familiar bits of language and to combine them to make new words and sentences is what sets language apart from other ways that human beings use to communicate. Look at two people talking to each other. While they're talking, theyre also looking at each other, and we can see that the expressions on their faces add a great deal to what theyre saying. They smile and frown and look surprised. They might also use their bodies to make gestures, such as by shrugging their shoulders or giving a thumbs-up sign. They might also touch each other, as when they shake hands or kiss. All of these are ways of communicating. But are they "language”?
4Reading Critically1No, they're not. People do sometimes use the phrase"bodylanguage"to describefacial expressions,gestures, and touch behaviour. But this isn't "language" in thesense that weve been using the word in this text. We have to beware the word"language"It's often used in a vivid way to mean anykind of connection betweenpeople. Here's what someone once wrote in a newspaper review:The band was brilliant. Every instrument was playing the same language.What did this mean? It didn't mean that the instruments were speaking English, orFrench,or whatever.It was a way of describing how well the players worked togetherThey were showing the same kind of joint understanding as people have when theytalk to each other.It'sa special use of the wordlanguage."Body language" shows another special use of the word. When people usetheir faces or hands to show their feelings, they're doing something that is verydifferent from what they do when they speak,write, or use a deaf sign languageHerearethemaindifferences:Differences in scaleHow many words are there in a language? Over a million,in the case of a languagelike English,How manyfacial expressions are there?Onlyafewdozen.Maybea fewhundred.if we include all the clever hand movements that appear in somekinds ofdancing.But a tiny number, compared with language.Differences in creativityWe can easily invent new words in a language, as in the case of"unbirthday"Can weeasily invent new facial expressions?Try it.Invent a new facial expression now.It'snol possible.Language is creative in a way that body communication isn't.Differences in structureLanguage has an interesting"two-level"structure.The actual sounds and letters haveno meaning.We can't say that"p,""n,"or""mean anything.They're just sounds andletters. But as soon as we combine them into words, we have meaning. It's magic:"pin,""nip"Facial expressions aren't like this.Theyalways have a meaning.We learn many rules of grammar in order to express different meanings,such as1changing the order of words in a sentence (e.g"The boys saw the dog"vs."Thedog saw the boys"). But we don't have rules which change the order of our facialexpressions toexpress differentmeanings.I've only talked about facial expressions, in making these points.But the sameissuesarisewhenwe communicateusinggestures ortouching
4 Reading Critically 1 No, theyre not. People do sometimes use the phrase “body languageJ to describe facial expressions, gestures, and touch behaviour. But this isnt “language” in the sense that weve been using the word in this text. We have to beware the word “language." It's often used in a vivid way to mean any kind of connection between people. Heres what someone once wrote in a newspaper review: The band was brilliant. Every instrument was playing the same language. What did this mean? It didn't mean that the instruments were speaking English, or French, or whatever. It was a way ofdescribing how well the players worked together. Tliey were showing the same kiiid ofjoint understanding as people have when they talk to each other. Its a special use ofthe word "language：' “Body language“ shows another special use of the word. When people use their faces or hands to show their feelings, theyre doing something that is very different from what they do when they speak, write, or use a deafsign language. Here are the main differences: Differences in scale How many words are there in a language? Over a million, in the case of a language like English. How many facial expressions are there? Only a few dozen. Maybe a few hundred, if we include all the clever hand movements that appear in some kinds of dancing. But a tiny number, compared with language. Differences in creativity We can easily invent new words in a language, as in the case of Uunbirthday? Can we easily invent new facial expressions? Try it. Invent a new facial expression now. Its not possible. Language is creative in a way that body communication isnt. Differences in structure Language has an interesting "two-level“ structure. The actual sounds and letters have no meaning. We cant say that "p；' "n," or "i" mean anything. Theyre just sounds and letters. But as soon as we combine them into words, we have meaning. Its magic: "pin；' "nip：' Facial expressions arent like this. They always have a meaning. We learn many rules of grammar in order to express different meanings, such as changing the order of words in a sentence (eg, "The boys saw the dog" ns. "The dog saw the boys"). But we dont have rules which change the order of our facial expressions to express different meanings. I've only talked about facial expressions, in making these points. But the same issues arise when we communicate using gestures or touching