Учебно-методическое пособие по работе с темой "COUNTRY PROFILE". Дедова С.А. - 11 стр.

3. Read the article and put the passages into the correct order.                   4. Read and render the text. Can you give examples that can prove other
                                                                                      languages you know being «crazy» as well?
         FUTURE OF AFRIKANERS' LANGUAGE IN DOUBT
                                            By Pant Taylor «The Washington post»                           OUR CRAZY LANGUAGE
                                                                                                                                                Bу Richard Lederer
        1) After the election South Africa became a country with 11 official
                                                                                          English is the most widely used language in the history of our
languages, spoken by the nine different groups of South Africa's 30 million
                                                                                   planet. One in every seven human beings can speak it. More than half of
blacks. The language bargain struck by the drafted of South Africa's new
                                                                                   the world's books and three quarters of international mail are in English. Of
constitution, approved by the white-minority parliament assures that no
                                                                                   all languages, English has the largest vocabulary – perhaps as many as two
language will suffer a diminution of status in the post-apartheid era.
                                                                                   million words – and one of the noblest bodies of literature.
        2) The answer is almost certainly yes. But the question is more in-
                                                                                          Nonetheless, let's face it: English is a crazy language. There is no
teresting for it illustrates how touchy Afrikaners are these days about their
                                                                                   egg in eggplant, neither pine nor apple in pineapple and no ham in a ham-
language – an Africanized derivative from Dutch as it was spoken in the
                                                                                   burger. English muffins weren't invented in England, or French fries in
17th century, when South Africa's earliest – and mostly Dutch – white set-
                                                                                   France. Sweetmeats are candy, while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are
tlers arrived.
                                                                                   meat.
        3) CAPE TOWN – The Afrikaans language survived British coloni-
                                                                                          We take English for granted. But when exploring its paradoxes, we
zation. It seems likely to survive black liberation. Question is can it survive
                                                                                   find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, public bath-
de-Coca-Colaization?
                                                                                   rooms have no baths and a guinea pig is not a pig or from Guinea.
        4) That means that Afrikaans and English are supposed to remain the
                                                                                          And why is it that a writer writes, but fingers don't fing, grocers
languages of record in high functions of the new national government, such
                                                                                   don't groce, humdingers don't hum and hammers don't ham? If the plural of
as courts and legislative records. The worry among Afrikaners is that over
                                                                                   tooth is teeth, shouldn't the plural of booth be beeth? One goose, two geese
time, these agreements won't he fully honored.
                                                                                   – so one mооsе, two meese? One index, two indices – one Kleenex, two
        5) They fear that the 11-language policy will turn out to be a back-
                                                                                   Kleenices?
handed ploy to reduce Afrikaans to just another regional tongue. Although
                                                                                          Doesn't it seem loopy that you can make amends but not just one
many Afrikaners fear their language will wither away if it becomes one
                                                                                   amend, that we comb through the annals of history, but not just one annal?
among 11 equals, some think that is the way to guarantee it thrives – by
                                                                                   If you have a bunch of odds and ends and you get rid of all but one of them,
depoliticizing the issue.
                                                                                   what do you call it?
        6) Afrikaans-speakers comprise about 3 million whites and 3 million
                                                                                          If the teacher taught, why isn't it true that the preacher praught? If a
mixed-race Coloreds in a nation of 38 million. South Africa's other 2 mil-
                                                                                   horsehair mat is made from the hair of horses and a camel’s-hair coat from
lion whites, of British descent, speak English, South Africa's other official
                                                                                   the hair of camels, from what is a mohair coal made? If you wrote a letter,
language.
                                                                                   perhaps you also bote your tongue?
                                                                                          Sometimes I wonder if all English speakers should be committed to
      I. What is the main idea of the article?
                                                                                   an asylum for the verbally insane. In what other language can we ask: Why
      II. Why do the governments in every country try to protect their
                                                                                   do we drive on a parkway and park in a driveway? Or recite at a play and
language? Why is it important?
                                                                                   play at a recital?
      III. Is the language problem connected with the issue of the world as
                                                                                          If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Ship
«a global village»?
                                                                                   by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feel that smell?
                                                                                          How can it slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise
                                                                                   man and a wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be oppo-
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