F2F Class Notes (Raph)

Homework

Go to www.breakingnewsenglish.com, pick an article and read it carefully. After that, write a paragraph about it.

Vocabulary

Day off (n): 1- a day when you do not work
E.g.:  I was sick yesterday, so I took a day off.
E.g.: He usually has weekends off.

Housework (n): 1- the work of keeping a house clean and tidy:
E.g.: I hate doing housework.
E.g.: I do all the housework while he just does the dishes now and again.

Lyrics (n): 1- the words in a song.
E.g.: Elinda likes to listen to music, but she’s not good at remembering lyrics.
E.g.: The lyrics of this song are beautiful.

One of a kind (id): 1- the only person or thing of a particular type.
E.g.: In the world of dance, she was one of a kind.

Incredible (adj): 1- extremely good.
E.g.: Yeah, it was an incredible performance.
E.g.: What an incredible motorbike!

Band (n): 1- a group of musicians who play modern music together.
E.g.: The Beatles were probably the most famous band in the world.

Subtitles (n): 1- words shown at the bottom of a film or television picture to explain what is being said:
E.g.: The Chinese movie was shown with English subtitles.
E.g.: The evening news has subtitles for the deaf.

Rhythm (n): 1- 韵律

Backing Vocals (n): 1- 伴唱

Cantonese (n): 1- 广东话

Writing exercise

Original:

The language I am speaking right now,is on its way to becoming the world’s universal language for better or worse. Let’s face it, it’s the language of the interest, it’s the language of finance,it’s the language of air traffic control of popular music.diplomacy. English is everywhere. Now Mandarin Chinese is spoken by more people, but more Chinese people are learning English. Than English speakers are learning Chinese. Last I heard, there are two dozen universities in China right now teaching all in English. English is taking over. And in addition to that, it’s been predicted that at the end of the century almost all of the languages that exist now. There are about 6000 will no longer be spoken. There will only be some hundreds left.And on top of that, it’s at the point where instant translation of live speech. Is not only possible but it gets better every year. The reason I am reciting those things to you is because I can tell that we’re getting to the point where a question is going to start being asked,which is: why should we learn foreign languages other than if English happens to be foreign to one? Why bother to learn another one when it’s getting to the point where almost everybody in the world will be able to communicate in one? I think there are a lot of reasons, but I first want to address the one you probably most likely to have heard of, because actually it’s more dangerous than you might think. And that is the idea that a language channels your thoughts, that the vocabulary and the grammar of different languages gives everybody a different kind of acid trip, so to speak. That is a marvelously enticing idea. But it’s kind of fraught. So it’s not that it’s untrue completely. So for example, in France and Spanish the word for table is, for some reason, marked as feminine. It has been shown that if you are a speaker of one of those languages and you happen to be asked how you would imagine a table talking, then much more often than could possibly be an accident, a French or Spanish speakers says that the table would talk with a high and feminine voice.

Edited:

The language I am speaking right now, is on its way to becoming the world’s universal language, for better or worse. Let’s face it, it’s the language of the Internet, it’s the language of finance, it’s the language of air traffic control, of popular music, and diplomacy. English is everywhere. Now Mandarin Chinese is spoken by more people, but more Chinese people are learning English, than English speakers are learning Chinese. Last I heard, there are two dozen universities in China right now teaching all in English. English is taking over. And in addition to that, it’s been predicted that at the end of the century from all of the languages that exist now,  about 6000 will no longer be spoken. There will only be some hundreds left. And on top of that, we’re at the point where instant translation of live speech is not only possible but it gets better every year. The reason I am reciting those things to you is because I can tell that we’re getting to the point where a question is going to start being asked, which is: why should we learn foreign languages other than if English happens to be foreign to one? Why bother to learn another one when it’s getting to the point where almost everybody in the world will be able to communicate in one? I think there are a lot of reasons, but I first want to address the one you probably most likely to have heard of, because actually it’s more dangerous than you might think. And that is the idea that a language channels your thoughts, that the vocabulary and the grammar of different languages gives everybody a different kind of acid trip, so to speak. That is a marvelously enticing idea. But it’s kind of fraught, so it’s not that it’s untrue completely. So for example, in French and Spanish the word for table is, for some reason, marked as feminine. It has been shown that if you are a speaker of one of those languages and you happen to be asked how you would imagine a table talking, then much more often than could possibly be an accident, a French or Spanish speaker says that the table would talk with a high and feminine voice.

Grammar

I never listen you sing song. – had never heard you singing.

Pronunciation

Rhythm/ˈrɪð.əm/

Mandarin: /ˈmæn.dɚ.ɪn/

Finance: /ˈfaɪ.næns/

Tell: /tel/

Bother: /ˈbɑː.ðɚ/

Another: /əˈnʌð.ɚ/

Fraught: /frɑːt/

Feminine: /ˈfem.ə.nɪn/

Completely: /kəmˈpliːt/

Subtitle: /ˈsʌbˌtaɪ.t̬əl/

Incredible: /ɪnˈkred.ə.bəl/


Alabama Shakes – Over my Head
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc9jM9DVQcA

Jack Watts – Push Watts
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYeCsi8Hzfo

Matt Corby – Monday
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpiRLpY-VlQ

Bon Iver – Holocene
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWcyIpul8OE

Bon Iver – Live at AIR Studios
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9Tp5fl18Ho