Why is English spoken around the world, often as the main second language, where it is not already the first language?

The answer can’t be because it is the easiest language to learn – it isn’t! Perhaps, it is because it’s enormous vocabulary allows it to produce more subtle expressions. Although it has an important Germanic influence, nevertheless, it is far more Latin based, but with many vocabulary additions from around the world. (Poor learner!)

Driving my car yesterday, took my thoughts to the road I was driving along. The Romans gave us ‘street’, from the Latin ‘strata’. The Saxons gave us ‘way’, from their word ‘weg’. So now we have two words, each with practically the same meaning. Roman streets were long, straight and well paved. The Saxon word was generally used for the old, natural, unpaved roads, which existed before Roman times.

Both these forms still exist, but ‘streets’ are usually only in town and cities, in modern English. ‘Ways’ now have various uses, e.g. railway, motorway, highway, etc. In modern English it can be used to describe a method of achieving an end, e.g. the best way to learn a language, is to practice it daily, or as a direction: the quickest way to Berlin is by plane. Then there is the word ‘path’,from German ‘pfad’. This normally refers to where only pedestrians walk.

I’ve already mentioned ‘road’. Where, you may ask, does ‘road’ fit into this cluster of words. It generally means the central paved area which runs between the two edges of ‘ways’ and ‘streets’. This word family also includes ‘lane’. Lane mostly refers to a narrow, often unpaved, tree and bush lined, country road. It may  also apply to ‘air lanes’,’’ traffic lanes, ‘shipping lanes’ etc. I think that I should stop this blog now before I, myself, become too confused.

Glossary:

paved -   surface, covered with fixed stone, concrete, tarmac

pavement -   paved ways at the sides of a road, only for pedestrians (walkers)

achieve:   -   successfully reach a result

cluster -   group, bunch

They are: 1) controlling the vehicle itself; 2)  avoiding other vehicles; 3) reacting to road signs and symbols. Being successful with 1) is normally just a matter of sufficient practice. With 2) I have acted on the theory, that all other road users are semi-concentrated . This helps me to take counter measures , thus avoiding contact with these vehicles. 3) can be much more difficult.

Road signs are sometimes so close together, that they are simply confusing. Then, there are temporary signs put there, e.g. for road surface repairs.They often don’t agree with the permanent signs, in the same location. Still, other temporary signs are legible during daylight, but are not illuminated during the hours of darkness. Other, electronic signs, light up to tell you that you are driving too fast. O.K., so you slow your speed accordingly, at the same time noting a lot of your neighbouring cars, happily ignoring the signs. There’s no control. Very irritating!

And  then, in GB, at least, speed cameras that do not function. Recently, the Oxford traffic authorities changed the speed limit signs, on side-streets, from 30 m.p.h. (approx. 50 k.p.h.) to 20 m.p.h. To what purpose? Most of these side-streets are  so narrow, that to avoid cars already parked there, 10 – 15 m.p.h. is the fastest speed for any moving vehicle.

Can you imagine the cost of changing all these thousands of signs? And clearly, they are all useless. Maybe, under 2) above, I should have mentioned the growing numbers of drivers, who seldom, or never, use the directional signals on their cars. It’s enough to drive a sane driver to drink?

Maybe my observations are all wrong. If you think so, or have any other comments, please add them to this blog.

For most of us, Spring is that wonderful contrast to Winter. For the majority of us, Winter is a dark, grey, drab, cold, often wet, series of early evenings, which have been deserted by sunshine. We leave home in the morning, and arrive back again, in the darkness. Then, one day, probably late in the month of March, we suddenly realise that we’re not travelling in darkness any more, but in daylight. That house in the distance, that we’ve been used to seeing, over the last four or five months, is no longer visible. It’s no longer there, because, although so far, we’ve seen it through skeleton-like trees, these trees are now green with leaves, blocking our sight.

Of course, all this change isn’t quite so sudden as my words may suggest. But it, nevertheless is a relatively fast procedure. One morning, I heard a familiar sound from the nearby park. Familiar, but near forgotten. It was the sound of the park-keeper’s grass mowing machine. In England, a sure sign of Spring is the mass of golden daffodils. They are everywhere – along the road verges, in parks, in gardens, on highway roundabouts, in church yards. Yes, simply everywhere. Suddenly, Winter is long  forgotten.

That TV programme we have been used to watching inside darkened windows! One evening we realise that we are watching that same  programme, with the sun still shining through our windows. In the garden, what had, until now, been a dull patch of earth, has been transformed overnight, to green shoots, promising the return of the last year’s flowers, we had practically forgotten. And the little garden birds, which we saw so little of during the Winter, are now shooting around from tree to bush, like mini-size rockets. Their early morning song, becomes a crescendo, now that Spring is here. The whole countryside, has come out of hibernation, to gladden our hearts. We have come back from the darkness into our longed-for world of colour. It all sounds like paradise.

Oh well, back to the real world. The garden needs digging, fertilising, and the many other jobs, that a garden demands. That grass-cutting machine seems to become heavier, with each new Springtime. How nice it would be, just throwing snowballs at our  new snowman.

Glossary

drab - grey, ordinary

deserted -   ignored, left behind

used to -  familiar with

to mow -  to cut grass

daffodils similar to narcissus, which have a smaller, lighter coloured flower, than daffodils

verge -   roadside, vegetated earth

dull -   opposite of bright

Originally, I believe, certain Germans added the occasional English word, to give the listener an impression of more sophistication. Then came the computer, with its internationally used English words and expressions. Added to these, was the increase in trading world wide, which incorporated worldwide English.

It is interesting to note how some of these words, that are absorbed into German, change their usage. For example, where English uses the word ‘bully’, German uses the word ‘to mob’. In English, the meaning of ‘mob’ is different from ‘bully’. Although those two words are very similar in their meanings, the one would very rarely be used in place of the other, for the identical meaning.

Of course, we could have lots of fun playing with the various uses of the word ‘mobile’ and ‘handy’, knowing that they are also used for one particular object – a form of telephone! This transcription of words from one language to another, is not new. We only have to look at the history of English to see how many foreign words have been absorbed. There are so many English adjectives which stem from French.

In many cases, one may see slight variations of meanings, as in the case of German/English. I suppose it is naturally expected, that there is usually a variation of pronunciation for the same word. Will this language cross-over trend lead us to become more nationally integrated, in the future? Time will tell. A suitable current English saying is, ‘Don’t hold your breath.’

Glossary:

slight -   small, minimal

prefix -   first syllable, before the stem part of a word

suffix -   last syllable after the stem

In the last few years, we have experienced some very Dragonian restrictions on smoking – especially in public buildings. In Britain, the latest laws ban having tobacco products on view in shops, bars, etc. They must be concealed under the counter. And all brands of cigarettes must be identically labelled.

In the meantime, (just two weeks ago) another considerable tax increase on tobacco became law. Smoking has become a very expensive habit. The politicians seem to think that this will reduce smoking considerably  – I doubt it. Certainly, fewer people now smoke than, say, fifty years ago, but I have the impression, that today many more teenage girls smoke, than previously. It’s a very difficult habit to break.

As you know, there are various so-called, habit-breaker products on the market. But do they really work efficiently? I think, the most effective way is to eliminate the inner desire to smoke. I know of some instances, where hypnotism has been completely successful. In my own case,

I stopped smoking some years ago. How? I made a list of all the disadvantages of smoking. I think, that there must have been, at least, 8 – 10 items on my list. Then, every time I took out a cigarette to smoke, I mentally went through each item, giving it my full concentration. After two or three weeks, I found myself hating the whole concept of smoking. Nevertheless, I continued smoking, disliking each cigarette more than the one before. My target was, to stop smoking, on the 24th of December of that year. So, on the evening of the 24th I stopped, so happy, that I didn’t have to smoke another cigarette.

Today, it would be impossible for me, to put any form of tobacco between my lips. Perhaps, you could call it ‘self-hypnotism’. Anyway, I’m sure I won’t die of lung cancer!

Glossary:

considerable    – big

Draconian -   hard laws

concealed - out of sight

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My regular readers will probably know, that I live in Oxford. Well, one day, quite recently, I was in Oxford city centre, thinking of nothing in particular. I suddenly realised how many buses there were. By contrast, there were no cars. Just buses. Red buses. Blue buses. Green buses. White buses. Nothing but buses! Some were double deckers; most of them were single deckers. Some were full of passengers. some were empty. Some were half full, and some with just a few passengers. Each bus had the name of its destination.

I have been living in Oxford for six years, but am still baffled by the multiple names of small towns and villages, around Oxford, which are serviced by these buses. I suppose, that the city council’s original planning was designed to keep cars out of Oxford. Good! But now, instead of streets being crowded by cars, they are crowded by buses. How ridiculous! Where is the advantage? Cars simply replaced by buses.Who could have thought up this crazy idea? At the same time, car park-house parking fees, were increased enormously.

Then the silly thought occurred to me – if all the streets were suddenly cleared of buses, they would be empty, and if I then shouted, would my shout be echoed? Ah well! You may ask what I was doing while thinking these thoughts – I was sitting in a bus, on the way home, feeling how nice it was – no driving in dense traffic, no exorbitant parking fees. Wonderful buses!

Glossary:

Streets ahead – a saying, meaning, better/more advanced than others

destination – objective, or end of a journey

baffled – confused

crowd/ed -  full, usually of people, but can be of objects

dense -   full, solid, thick , e.g. dense fog

exorbitant -   highly our of proportion

In common with many animals, we humans have a sometimes very strong, herding instinct. That is to say, we identify ourselves as members of a group, like a herd of cattle,, or sheep. We have our family, our village or town, our country, our skin colour, etc., etc.

Historically, this herding, was essential to our existence. It afforded the individual  protection from outside dangers. Still today, we live with wars, sealed frontiers, even trade wars. Our national flags can be seen as trade marks, or group identity symbols. What other use have they? O.K. I doubt if the future will bring us much change.

But stop! For me, there is a gleam of hope shining through all this. Music! Often, when listening to classical music, I realise that the composer is Chinese, or Russian, Jewish, West Indian,  African, etc. That old herding instinct is then completely absent. How wonderful! I don’t need a passport, or visa, or any kind of permit.

Wouldn’t it be exciting if international life  could be conducted through music in place of politics? Impractical? Yes, I suppose it is. But please, don’t shatter my dreams.

Glossary:

afforded  – allowed

gleam -   faint light

conducted – carried / taken / organised

The following is a small sample of my observations. Take  the word ‘absolutely ‘.Both, Brits and American use the word equally,. Here is a typical, simple word exchange: ‘The Olympic Games will bring thousands of people to London, won’t they.’ ‘Oh, absolutely’. Instead of ‘absolutely’, the answer could just as easily have been: ‘Yes’, ‘Yes, indeed’, ‘Certainly’,  ‘I agree’, ‘Exactly’, ‘Surely’, etc.  But no! Absolutely, seems to be the only word, people can think of.

Another word is ‘basically’. Frequently used, meaning: ‘Usually’, ‘Generally’, ‘Normally’, ‘Regularly’, ‘Often’, ‘As a general rule,’ etc., etc.

Then, the word ‘do’ is being used more and more, instead of the appropriate verb. Example: ‘I don’t do football anymore’, instead of ‘I don’t play football anymore’. ‘We do Christmas in South Africa’, in place of,‘We spend Christmas in South Africa’.

Grammar is also changing. Take for example a sign over a supermarket check-out: ‘Less than 10 items here’. We all know, that ‘less’ should be used with the uncountable, or singular case. The correct word for the plural case being ‘fewer’.

Are these sorts of variations taking place in your own native language? If so, it would be interesting to hear about them. I sometimes ask myself, whether I should be irritated by such inconsistencies of English, or simply accept that it is just another evolutionary process, which has always existed in modern languages. Why not do a chat about it? What an absolutely good idea!

Glossary:

appropriate – suitable, apt, proper

inconsistent not constant, irregular

At the moment, while writing this blog, I have a background of classical music on the radio. It’s a very pleasant sound, which requires little, or no concentration on my part. It seems to lubricate my thought process.

When I don’t need to concentrate on something specific, I often listen to BBC Radio 4. This is a radio station which is composed mostly of the spoken word, rather than music. It contains topics of the most varied and interesting sort.

Recently, I realised how much more time I spend listening to the radio than watching television. So I asked myself, why this is. And here, I must add, that my opinions are strictly applicable, only to myself. Other people may have other opinions. Anyway, I realised how very different the two media are. TV has the advantage of having vision as a strong aid, to express a given situation. Radio, of course, does not have this option, and must depend solely on the spoken word.

In my view, this often requires a much more descriptive form of language, in turn involving a far greater use of vocabulary, than TV does. The latest ‘Oscar’ winning film, is a silent film, i.e. no spoken words. I agree that such a film requires a very high standard of artistry. But, if you take your eyes off the screen, you are lost. With radio, there is no such restriction. You can look out of your window, drive your car, bake a cake, etc., etc., and not lose any of the programme content. In my opinion, TV can often almost replace quality, by simply putting colour and movement on the screen. Language plays a secondary role. Yes, of course, I realise, that some TV programmes have high standards of both, vision and sound, but for me, they are strictly in the minority.

I’m sure my views will provoke a lot of criticism. Well, if so, let’s hear from you.

Glossary:

applicable -   relevant

rely on -   rest on / subject to

descriptive -   expressive

involving -   requiring / including

href=”http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/podcasts/”