改Globallanguage2.docVIP

Unit 3 English as a Global Language Within little more than a generation, we have moved from a situation where a world language was a theoretical possibility to one where it is an evident reality. ～David CrystalThere is no retreat from English as the world language; no retreat from an English-speaking world. ～Scridath Ramphal Unit Goals To develop the basic skills of reading linguistics-related passages To understand that English has become a global lamguage To know why English has become an international language To learn how to do a simple linguistics-related project Before You Read 1. Considering the following quesitons. 1) What is your native language? 2) What language(s) have you been learning as (a) foreign language(s)? 3) What if you have to communicate with a person whose native language is neither yours nor the foreign language(s) you are familiar with? 2. Look at the picure, what issue do you think they are talking about? And what are the two sitting behind doing? Would you like to do the similar job? And how? 3. Look at the picture and answer the following questions. 1)What are they doing? What could the topic be? 2)What do you think their native languages are and what language do you think they are speaking at the moment? Why？ Start to Read Text A Why do we need a global language? [1] Translation has played a central (though often unrecognized) role in human interaction for thousands of years. When monarchs or ambassadors met on the international stage, there would invariably be interpreters present. But there are limits to what can be done in this way. The more a community is linguistically mixed, the less it can rely on individuals to ensure communication between different groups. In communities where only two or three languages are in contact, bilingualism (or trilingualism) is a possible solution, for most young children can acquire more than one language with unselfconscious ease. But in communities wher