This is generally the first part of class #1 @ Del Carmen Teacher Training College. Source: Cable and Baugh

1. History of the
Language
Prof. Jesús Centeno Camargo

2. Let
there be
language
s

3. HOTEL as a Cultural
Subject
• The Christianizing of Britain
• The Scandinavian invasions
• Norman Conquest
• Hundred Years’ War
• The Renaissance

4. Growth and Decay
Dead Living
Language Language
Classical latin English
•OE words died out
•Not changed for
•New word added
two thousand
•Existing words changed
years
e.g. “nice” – foolish
“rheumatism”- a cold in the head
•Slow but steady alteration in
the vowel sounds
Stãn ------------- stone
Cũ ------------- cow

5. The Importance o Language
“ A language is important
because the people who
speak it are important.”
• Politically
• Economically
• Commercially
• Socially
• Culturally

6. The Importance of
English
Spoken by 340
million people
First language in: UK,
USA, the former British
Empire.
Mother tongue of
nations with:
•Political influence
•Economic soundness
•Comercial activity
•Social well-being
•Scientific and cultural
contributions

7. The Future of English
1) Growth in the population (difference between birth and
death rate)
2) International migration
3) Demographics projections
4) First language
5) One of the Official language of the UN
6) Revolution in communications
7) Broadcasting and motion picture industries

8. Assest and Liabilities
COSMOPOLITAN
IDIOMS
VOCABULARY
INFLECTIONAL
SIMPLICITY SPELLING
NATURAL
GENDER

9. Cosmopolitan Vocabulary
 Germanic Language
 Grammatical structures and common words
from Latin
 Borrowings
AMERICAN INDIAN— moose, raccoon.
DUTCH— brandy, golf, duck, wagon.
ITALIAN— balcony, canto, duet, granite,
piano, umbrella, opera, volcano
SPANISH— alligator, cargo, contraband,
mosquito, tornado.
GREEK– acme, chronology, elastic, magic,
tactics.
RUSSIAN– vodka,
PERSIAN-- chess, check, paradise, lemon

10. Inflectional Simplicity
English
≠
Sanskrit, Greek and Latin
Except
Nouns–
Nouns plural forms and the possessive case
Verbs– gradual discard of the subjunctive mood
Adjectives– superlative and comparatives degrees
Adjectives

11. Natural Gender
• Romances languages: two genders
• Germanic languages: three genders
e.g.
GERMAN: sonne (sun) femenine
mond (moon) masculine
kind (child) neuter
• Living creatures are f o m according to sex
• Gender is determined by meaning

12. Idioms
“Forms of expressions peculiar to one
language.”
e.g.
To press somenone to do something
Can we not squeeze
the young lady to
sing?

13. Spelling
 Chaotic point
 Lack of relation between spelling and
pronunciation
 VOWEL SOUNDS:
Believe, receive, leave, machine, be, see
Father, hate, hat
 CONSONANTS:
Shoe, sugar, issue, mansion, mission, nation,
suspicion, ocean, nauseous, conscious, chaperon.
 Phonetics alternants of the same morphemes
crime---criminal // divine----divinity