Unit 3
Pub Talk and the King’s English
by Henry Fairlie
Teaching Points
I. Background information
II. Introduction to the passage
III. Text analysis
IV. Rhetorical devices
V. Questions for discussion
A Brief History of the English Language
Indo-European and Germanic Influences
Old English (500-1100 AD)
The Norman Conquest and Middle English (1100-1500)
Early-Modern English (1500-1800)
Late-Modern English (1800-Present)
American English
A Chronology of the English Language
Indo-European and Germanic Influences
English is a member of the Indo-European family of languages. This broad family includes most of the European languages spoken today. The Indo-European family includes several major branches:
Latin and the modern Romance languages,
The Germanic languages,
The Indo-Iranian languages, including Hindi and Sanskrit,( 印地语; 梵语)
The Slavic languages,( 斯拉夫语)
The Baltic languages of Latvian and Lithuanian (but not Estonian),( 波罗地,拉脱维亚,立陶宛)
The Celtic languages, and Greek.
Of these branches of the Indo-European family, two are, for our purposes of studying the development of English, of paramount importance, the Germanic and the Romance (called that because the Romance languages derive from Latin, the language of ancient Rome) English is in the Germanic group of languages. This group began as a common language in the Elbe river region about 3,000 years ago. Around the second century BC, this common Germanic language split into three distinct sub-groups: (易北河)
Old English (500-1100 AD)
West Germanic invaders from Jutland and southern Denmark: the Angles (whose name is the source of the words England and English), Saxons, and Jutes, began populating the British Isles in the fifth and sixth centuries AD. They spoke a mutually intelligible language, similar to modern Frisian--the language of northeastern region of the Netherlands--that is called Old English. Four major dialects of Old English emerged, Northumbrian in the north of England, Mercian in the Midlands, West Saxon in the south and west, and Kentish in the Southeast.弗里斯兰语,诺森伯兰语,莫西兰语,肯特语
The Norman Conquest and Middle English (1100-1500)
William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy, invaded and conquered England and the Anglo-Saxons in 1066 AD. The new overlords spoke a dialect of Old French known as Anglo-Norman. The Normans were also of Germanic stock (\"Norman\" comes from \"Norseman\") and Anglo-Norman was a French dialect that had considerable Germanic influences in addition to the basic Latin roots (family)
Early Modern English (1500-1800)
The next wave of innovation in English came with the Renaissance. The revival of classical scholarship brought many classical Latin and Greek words into the Language. These borrowings were deliberate and many bemoaned the adoption of these “inkhorn” terms, but many survive to this day. Shakespeare‘s character Holofernes in Loves Labor Lost is a satire of an overenthusiastic schoolmaster who is too fond of Latinisms (show sorrow for, pedantic)
II. Introduction to the Passage
1. Type of literature: a piece of expository writing
2. The purpose of a piece of expository writing: to inform or explain
3. Ways of developing a piece of exposition: by comparison ,contrast, analogy, identification,
illustration, analysis, definition, etc.
4. The thesis: a statement of the central thought or of his purpose( here the thesis lies in the opening sentence: Conversation is the most sociable of all human activities.)
IV . Rhetorical Devices
1. comparison
2. a mixed metaphor
V. Text Analysis (Part 1:para.1-4)
What makes good conversation, according to the writer?
Why does the writer like “bar conversation” so much?
Does a good conversation need a focal subject to talk about?
V. Text Analysis (Part 1)
indulge in: allow oneself to enjoy the pleasure of something (e.g. Overindulging children does harm to them.)
meander: (stream) flow a winding course; talk casually
leap: jump; flow swiftly ;talk quickly about some topic
sparkle: glitter; burn brightly throwing off sparkles
glow: burn steadily without flames
V. Text Analysis (Part 3)
Paraphrase the following sentence: …here will be the old
abusing( experienced, maltreat / mistreat ) of God’s patience and the King’s English.
There will be a great trying / affliction of one’s patience and plentiful misuse of the King’ English .No matter how patient you are, you cannot bear him. You speak with the vigor of ordinary talk.
V. Text Analysis (Part 3:Para.6-21)
Nashe or Nash, Thomas :1567–1601, English satirist. Very little is known of his life. Although his first publications appeared in 1589, it was not until Pierce Penniless His Supplication to the Devil (1592), a bitter satire on contemporary society, that his natural and vigorous style was fully developed.
V. Text Analysis (Part 3)
Thomas Dekker: His date of birth is guessed to be between 1570 and 1577. Almost nothing is known of his life, but his individuality is so distinctly reflected in his plays——a sunny light-hearted nature, full of real, even if somewhat disorderly genius. The Shoemaker’s Holiday (1600), perhaps his earliest play, is his best. It is a delightful domestic comedy concerning the success of Simon Eyre, a master shoemaker who becomes the Lord- mayor of London. The play is notable for its realistic depiction of everyday life in 17th century London.
V. Text Analysis (Part 3)
The Merry Wives of Windsor: The exact date of this comedy or farce is uncertain. Most critics agree, however, that it was written during
Shakespeare’s second period (1595—1601), a period of mature power in comedy and history plays. It is said to have been written at the request of Queen Elizabeth, who desired to see Flagstaff (an immortal comic character
created by Shakespeare in Henry IV) in love. Master refers to Doctor Caius, a French physician in the play and mistress Quickly the servant to Doctor Caius, a French physician in the play.
V. Text Analysis (Part 3)
Paraphrase: After five centuries…the conqueror.
After 500 years of development, after struggling and contending with the French of the Norman rulers, English succeeded in absorbing the French elements, survived and became once more the universal language of England. The English language received proper recognition and was used by the king once more.
Note: The first part is an adverbial clause and the second part a nominative absolute construction, so the “period” after “conqueror” should be changed into a “comma”.
V. Text Analysis (Part 3)
The period of feudalism started around 1066 and lasted to the 15th century. It was a period of struggle for power between kings & between powerful nobles, a period of frequent wars, bloodshed & suffering. But it was also a
period in which the development of the wool trade and the early decline of feudalism prepared the way for England’s rise as a world power.
The tudor period (1485-1603) was a turning point in English history. England became one of the leading powers. The two famous rulers of the House of Tudor were Henry VIII. and Elizabeth I.. The Elizabethan age produced the world’s greatest playwright William Shakespeare.
V Text Analysis (Part 3)
ElizabethI (1533-1603): Queen of England and Ireland, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, She turned England into a major force in maritime, warfare and trade. She was succeeded by James VI of Scotland and I of England
Elizabethan: a person who lived during the reign of Elizabeth I, \"William Shakespeare was an Elizabethan\"
V. Text Analysis(Part3)
The Elizabethan era in 16th-century England was a prolific period for English literature. Edmund Spenser (lower right), Christopher Marlowe (upper right), Sir Walter Raleigh (center), and William Shakespeare (left) were only a few of
the many writers who created their great works during the reign of Elizabeth I.
V. Text Analysis( images) V. Text Analysis( images) V. Text Analysis (Images) V. Text Analysis (Images) V. Text Analysis (Part 3)
Pejoratively ,facetiously: disrespectfully/scornfully, jokingly /make fun of (the proper and formal language of the educated people )
What does the rebellion refer to in para.15?
What is the writer’s standpoint of the King’s English in para.16?
V. Text Analysis (Part 3)
Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881): English author, he produced Sartor Resorts (1833-34), the book in which he first developed his characteristic style and
thought. In 1837 he published The French Revolution, a poetic rendering of the great event in history. Carlyle developed a peculiar style of his own, which was called “Carlylism”. His style was a compound of biblical phrases, colloquialisms, Teutonic twists, and his own coinings, arranged in unexpected sequences. One of the most important social critics of his day, Carlyle influenced many men of the younger generation, among them Matthew Arnold and Ruskin.
V. Text Analysis (Part 3)
What does the writer compare the King’s English with in para.17? What is the similarity between the two?
Paraphrase
And it is an activity only of humans. (Para.1)
And conversation is an activity which is found only among human beings.
Conversation is not for making a point. (Para.2)
Conversation is not for persuading others to accept our idea or point of view.
In fact, the best conversationalists are...
(Para. 2)
In fact, a person who really enjoys and is skilled at conversation will not argue to win or force others to accept his point of view.
Bar friends are not deeply involved in each other’s lives. (Para.3)
People who meet each other for a drink in the bar of a pub are not intimate friends for they are not absorbed in each other’s lives.
It could still go ignorantly on. (Para.6)
The conversation could go on without anybody knowing who was right or wrong.
They are cattle in the fields, but we sit down to beef (boeuf). (Para.9)
These animals are called cattle when they are alive and at the table to eat, we call their meat beef. The word “beef” comes from the French word “boeuf”
The new ruling class had built a cultural barrier … (Para.11)
By using French instead of English, the new ruling class made it difficult for the English to accept or absorb the culture of the rulers.
English had come royally into its own. (Para.13)
The English language received proper recognition and was used by the king once again.
The phrase has always been used a little pejoratively and even facetiously…(Para 15)
The phrase, the king’s English, has always been used
disparagingly/disrespectfully and jokingly by the lower classes.
The rebellion against a cultural dominance is still there. (para.15)
There still exists in the working class, as in the early Saxon peasants, a spirit of opposition to the cultural authority of the ruling class.
There is always a great danger that “words will harden into things for us.” (Para.16)
There is always a great danger that we might forget that words are only symbols and take them for things they are supposed to represent.
Even with the most educated and the most literate, the King’s English slips and slides in conversation. (para.18)
Even the most educated and literate people use non-standard, informal, colloquial English in their conversation.
IV. Effective Writing Skills
1. Deliberately writing in a conversational style to suit his theme
2. Using loose organization (e.g. title, transitional paragraph, the digressions—the reflections on the history and meaning of the King’s English)
3. Using highly informal language( abundant idiomatic expressions cheek by jowl with copious literary and historical allusions and even a mixed metaphor) (be followed closely)
Translation
British Pub Culture
Visitors to Britain may find the best place to sample local culture is in a traditional pub. But these friendly hostelries can be minefields of potential gaffes for the uninitiated.
An anthropologist and a team of researchers have unveiled some of the
arcane rituals of British pubs--starting with the difficulty of getting a drink. Most pubs have no waiters--you have to go to the bar to buy drinks. A group of Italian youths waiting 45minutes before they realized they would have to fetch their own. This may sound inconvenient, but there is a hidden purpose.
Pub culture is designed to promote sociability in a society known for its reserve. Standing at the bar for service allows you to chat with others waiting to be served. The bar counter is possibly the only site in the British Isles in which friendly conversation with strangers is considered entirely appropriate and really quite normal behavior.
\"If you haven't been to a pub, you haven't been to Britain.\" This tip can be found in a booklet, Passport to the Pub: The Tourists' Guide to Pub Etiquette, a customer’s code of conduct for those wanting to sample \"a central part of British life and culture\".
The trouble is that if you do not follow the local rules, the experience may fall flat. For example, if you are in a big group, it is best if only one or two people go to buy the drinks. Nothing irritates the regular customers and bar staff more than a gang of strangers blocking all access to the bar while they chat and dither about what to order .
访问英国的人会发现传统英国酒吧是最能领略当地文化的地方。但对于初来乍到的异
国人来说，这些友善的酒吧却犹如潜藏着有惹事危险的\"地雷区\"。
一位人类学家和一组研究人员揭示了某些鲜为人知的英国酒吧文化。人们首先遇到的困难是从买酒开始的。大多数英国酒吧都没有酒保，你得到吧台去买酒。一伙意大利年轻人等了三刻钟才明白他们得自己去买。这听上去似乎让人觉得不方便，可却有它深刻的内涵。
在因其冷漠而出名的英国社会里，酒吧文化的形成是为了促进社会交往。排队的时候可以和其他等待买酒的人交谈。在英伦诸岛上，和陌生人亲切地交谈被认为是完全适宜的正常行为的唯一场所可能就是吧台了.
“ 你如果没去过酒吧，那就等于没有到过英国。”这个忠告可在名为《酒吧护照：旅游者酒吧仪俗指南》的小册子中找到，它对那些想要领略“英国生活和文化核心部分”的人是一种行为准则。
问题是如果你不入乡随俗的话，你将一无所获。譬如说，你们若是团体前往，那最好是一个或两个人前去买酒。酒吧常客和酒保最腻味的就是一大伙人一边聊着一边又优柔寡断不知喝什么酒好，把通往吧台的路给堵住。
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