Why economic development encourages English

 

1. Although an incoming company may not be headquartered in an English-speaking country, it will typically establish a joint venture with a local concern. Joint ventures (e.g. Sino-Swiss and German) tend to adopt English as their “lingua franca”[1], which promotes a local need for training in English.

2. Establishment of joint ventures requires legal documents and memoranda of understanding. International legal agreements are written in English because there exists international consensus about the meaning of terms, obligations and rights. This activity may create a demand for specialist English language training for lawyers -- the case in China where new courses are being established.

3. A newly established company will be in most cases involved in international trade –importing raw materils and exporting finished goods. This will create a need for back-office workers, sales and marketing staff with skills in English.

4. Technology transfer is closely associated with English, largely because most transfer is sourced by a transnational corporation (TNC) which either is English speaking or which uses English for external trade. Technology transfer is not restricted to the enterprise itself, but may extend to associated infrastructure expansion such as airports, railways and telecommunications. In central China, engineers in local steel factories learn English so that they can install and maintain plant brought from Germany and Italy. The predominance of English in technology transfer reflects the role of TNCs more than the fact that much leading-edge technology derives from the US.

5. Establishing joint ventures creates incoming demands from international visitors who require supporting services, such as hotels and tourist facilities. The staff of secondary enterprises also require training in English for these visitors.

6. Jobs in the new enterprises may be better paid and more attractive than those in the public sector. English qualifications may become an entry necessity, or have percieved value in access to jobs – even if the job itself does not require English.

 

4. Read and say what languages compete for the title of the “lingua franca” in Europe.

ENGLISH IN BUSINESS

 

1. International trade is often a complex cross-boarder business: goods are taken from one country, refined or given added value by a second, sold to a third, repackaged, resold and so on. Such multilateral trade brings with it greater reliance on lingua francas.

2. In Europe there is growing evidence that English has become the major business lingua franca. A study conducted in 1988 for the Danish Council of Trade and Industry reported that English is used by Danish companies in over 80% of international business contacts and communications. A more recent investigation in small and medium-sized businesses in peripheral areas of Europe found that although English is probably the most used language of business across Europe, German is used extensively in particular areas, especially for informal communication:

“German is, understandably, in more widespread use than English in European regions bordering on Germany, thereby undermining a common misperception of English as the sole lingua franca of international business. This is apparent in the Dutch and Danish samples, where German is ahead of English in the use of oral-aural skills, though this order is reversed for reading and writing.”

3. However, the use of German and French is almost exclusively confined to trade within Europe: German companies generally use English for trade outside the European Union. This is apparent from recommendations made by German Chambers of Commerce to members on which languages should be used for trade with each country in the world. English is recommended as the sole language for 64 countries. German is recommended as the exclusive language of trade only with one country – Austria – though German is suggested as a co-language for up to 25 countries, including Holland, Denmark and those in eastern Europe. French is recommended for 25 countries and Spanish-- for 17. English is thus the preferred, but not the sole, language of external trade for European countries. Japan and the US also use English widely for their international trade.

 

5. Read the article again and say what these numbers refer to in the text.

 

a) 80 b) 64 c) 1 d) 25 e) 25 f) 17

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

Say why English is a world language. Use the following questions:

1. When did the English language begin to serve as the international language?

2. What contributed to the development of English as a world language?

3. Why did people begin to speak English more widely after World War II?

4. Do you personally feel that you need English? What are your reasons?

5. What language do you think might be used as a lingua franca if not English?

 

 

KEYS

1. Discussion point

 

1) Mandarin Chinese is spoken by 700,000 people (70% of the population of China). English is the most widespread, with 400 mln speakers.

English has the largest vocabulary with approximately 500,000 words and 300,000 technical terms.

The oldest written language is Egyptian, which is 5,000 years old.

India has the most languages, with 845.

There are no irregular verbs in Esperanto, an artificail language invented in 1887.

Cambodian has 72 letters.

The largest encyclopedia is printed in Spanish.

 

2. Amazing facts

 

1-e, 2-c, 3-…, 4-f, 5-j, 6-i, 7-k, 8-l, 9-g, 10-h, d, 11-b, 12-a.

 

 

UNIT 5. Belarus

1. What do you know ab.

 

2. Read the text given below and try to complement it with the facts known to you.

FROM THE HISTORY OF BELARUS

 

Belaya Rus. The term «Belaya Rus» was for the first time used in the 12^th century. Up to the 15^th century it was also common in north-east Rus. Lands which are the Republic's territory today were originally called «Belaya Rus» in the 14^th century and the name stuck to these lands.

The origin of the name, however, has so far never been precise. Some researchers put it down to the white colour of local peasants' everyday linen clothes and to their fair hair. Others associate it with the direct meaning of the word «belyi» which stands for «clean, non-occupied, free, and independent». They presume that old Rus's lands which had not been captured neither by the Mongols and Tatars nor by Lithuania were called «Belaya Rus» in those early days. Still others maintain that «Belaya Rus» was the land inhabited by Christians unlike «Chernya (black) Rus» where pagans lived. There are also other versions of the name's origin.

The history of Belarus goes back to antiquity. In the Middle Ages the territory of present day Belarus was populated by Eastern Slavic tribes. The ancestors of the Belarusians were the Krivichi, Radimichi and Dregovichi. They lived in the basins of the Dnieper and the Zapadnaya Dvina rivers where they hunted, fished and farmed.

In the 6^th - 8^th centuries they lived through the disintegration of the tribal society and the emergence of feudalism. The development of arable farming led to the collapse of the kinship communities based on territorial and economic relations. The tribes began to develop external relations. There was a need in a united state, and it appeared at the beginning of the 9^th century. It was Kievskaya Rus -the home of three fraternal peoples - the Russians, the Ukrainians and the Belarusians. Feudal wars and foreign invasions plundered these lands.

In the second half of the 13^th century the Grand Duchy of Lithuania annexed Belarus. In 1569 Rzecz Pospolita was formed with the aim to struggle against the Principality of Moscow. Later, at the end of the 17^th century the Belarusian people were placed in bondage to the Polish feudal lords who exploited them cruelly. It was also invaded by the troops of the Swedish King Charles XII. In 1708 the Russian troops under the command of Peter the Great routed the Swedish troops which were crossing Belarus to join Charles's army. It was a prologue to the famous battle of Poltava which stopped the Swedish intervention. At the end of the 18^th century Belarus was annexed by Russia.

In 1812 Belarus was invaded by Napoleon. A few months later the French were defeated and driven westwards. To commemorate that event and to celebrate the centenary of the war with Napoleon the citizens of Vitebsk erected a monument which stands on the Uspenski hill.

On January 1, 1919 the Revolutionary Workers and Peasants' Government of Byelorussia proclaimed the formation of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1922 it became a member of the former USSR. This act had a decisive impact on the development of its economy and culture.

In 1939 Western Belarus, occupied since 1921 by Poland, joined Byelorussia. By the end of the thirties a great number of large and small plants and factories were built throughout the republic. Minsk, Gomel, Mogilev, Grodno, Vitebsk, Brest, Bobruisk, Orsha and other cities grew into important industrial centres. A lot of collective and state farms were organized, the national arts and literature, science and education developed rapidly. But the peaceful labour of the people was interrupted by a new war.

In 1941 the Germans ran into heavy resistance of the Belarusian people. Belarus is known as the partisan republic as already in summer 1941 more than 100 partisan groups were formed (the first of them were organized by our national heroes V.Korzh, F. Pavlovsky and M.Shmyryov).

World War II brought to the country innumerable losses. More than 2 million people or nearly every forth of the entire population of the country died in the war. Numerous Belarusian villages and towns were burned to ashes. But Belarus has restored its cities and rebuilt its economy.

Belarus proclaimed its sovereignty on July 27, 1991. And since then the Republic of Belarus has taken its place in Eastern Europe as a new independent state.

 

2. Work in pairs. Find out from your partners:

- what they know about the origin of name ‘Belaija Rus’;

- who inhabited Belarus in the Middle Ages;

- what they know about the ancestors of the Belarusians;

- what events took place on the territory of Belarus in the first half of the 20 th centry;

- when Belarus became an independent state.

 

3. What do you know about Belarus?

 

1) write down some associations coming to your mind when you hear the word ’Belarus’;

2) compare your ideas with a partner.

 

4. Read the text and check your ideas.