Once upon a Time English

I’ve recently discovered that there is a TV series titled “The Adventure of English”. It is a documentary indeed  but it is like 5 episodes. It is quite long, 5 hours total 🙂 However, it is very interesting, I strongly recommend you to watch it in your spare time or while you are having your breakfast or dinner 🙂 I have also begun watching and I wanted to share this valuable documentary with you. You can see the YouTube link at the bottom. Before watching, you may want to run over the short history of English. Thank you “Top Documentary Films” for sharing these videos and introduction with us! Here is their introduction and their explanation of English history besed on the documentary itself!

 

The Adventure of English is a British television series (ITV) on the history of the English language presented by Melvyn Bragg as well as a companion book, also written by Bragg.

The series and the book are cast as an adventure story, or the biography of English as if it were a living being, covering the history of the language from its modest beginnings around 500 AD as a minor Germanic dialect to its rise as a truly established global language.

In the television series, Bragg explains the origins and spelling of many words based on the times in which they were introduced into the growing language that would eventually become modern English.

1. Birth of a Language. The modern Frisian language is the closest sounding language to the English used approximately 2000 years ago, when the people from what is now the north of the Netherlands travelled to what would be the United Kingdom and pushed the Celts to the western side of the island. Words like “blue” can be recognized in the Frisian language.

2. English Goes Underground. Bragg discusses how class also affected the use of English, especially in the time of William the Conquerer and for approximately 300 years after his reign; during this period, only the French language and Latin were used in state affairs and by the aristocracy, while English remained in use with the lower peasant classes.

3. The Battle for the Language of the Bible. In the early to mid 1300s, English fought to be the language of the Christian Bible through the efforts of theologian John Wycliffe, who opposed the church’s use of a Latin scripture because it prevented most of the population from reading the bible for themselves.

4. This Earth, This Realm, This England. In Queen Elizabeth I’s time, English began to expand to even greater depths. Overseas trade brought new words from France, as well as the now popular swearwords “fokkinge,” (fucking) “krappe,” (crap) and “bugger” from Dutch, in the 16th century.

5. English in America. Upon landing in North America, settlers encountered Squanto, a native man who had been captured and brought to England to learn English and become a guide. After escaping, Squanto returned to his tribe, which happened to live near the place that the English settlers had created their small village.

6. Speaking Proper. The Age of Reason began, and English scholars of mathematics and science like Isaac Newton started publishing their books in English instead of Latin. Jonathan Swift would attempt to save the English language from perpetual change, followed by Samuel Johnson who would write the A Dictionary of the English Language, made up of 43000 words and definitions, written in seven years and published in 1755.

7. The Language of Empire. British trade and colonization spread the English language. In India, scholar William Jones finds some English words already present in Sanskrit. Convicts land in Australia, blending London criminal slang and Aboriginal words into a new dialect. Jamaicans reclaim patois.

8. Many Tongues Called English, One World Language. The globalisation of the English language in the 20th century owes most to the United States. Here we look at the predominance of American Black street talk, how the Second World War and American movies threatened to “infect” the mother tongue in Britain and how some nations are attempting to stamp in the invasion of English out – for example franglais in France and Singlish in Singapore.

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What does “Third World Country” Mean?

Before reading this article, I used to think that the term “Third World Country” means something about the rateof development; however, this is just a rough generalization and misconception. As language-lovers and translators, we should pay extra attention to such sensitive issues. We can offend the reader or even get very negative reactions. We should use more general and “rounded” terms instead of certain expressions when the issue is controversial.

Here is the article explaining what “Third World Country” means. I hope it is informative! Thanks DAVEN HISKEY for this precious information.

“Today I found out a “Third World” country is not a country that simply is primitive, underdeveloped, or poor, as most people think.  In fact, a third world country is actually just a country that is not considered a capitalist country (first world) and not considered a communist country (2nd world).

This terminology was originally coined just after WWII with the “first world” countries being roughly all the countries that were aligned with the United States after WWII with more or less common political and economic structure (capitalists); the “second world” countries were all those that roughly aligned with the Soviet Union in terms of their political and economic structure (communists and socialists); the “third world” countries were just everybody else.

This “everybody else” meaning included an awful lot of countries that were underdeveloped or poor.  Through time, this has given rise to the misconception that “third world” means only countries that are underdeveloped and poor, even though there were, and still are, many countries in this group that are very well developed and a few of them are among the wealthiest nations in the world.”

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How to Deal With Criticism

It was one of my first days at the university (department of translation and interpreting studies) and the name of the course was “Turkish for Translators”. One of my friends asked the teacher about barrowing new words from other languages. My friend supported the idea of barrowing new grammar structures and words from other languages; however, my professor got furious and told my friend “You cannot be a translator ever!” She was quite intimidated as a freshman. Everybody can have a different attitude towards languages and nobody can be judged because of their preferences about using the language. One can support borrowing new words, others can insist on using only native words or structures. We live in such a globalized world that a TV series from US can be more popular in Turkey than US 🙂 It seems impossible not to interact and borrow cultural and linguistic elements from one another.

When it comes to translation and different ideas, I came across the article of Marissa Sayno who gives advices about dealing with criticism. I’m quoting the parts that I like most. You can always click on the link at the bottom to read the whole text.

“Aristotle once said that to avoid criticism, you must say nothing, do nothing and be nothing… and yet, people will still judge you no matter what.  Still, there are times when you feel that you’re unreasonably criticized; your confidence level plunging down to zero and beyond.  Freelancers in the creative field know well the sting of criticism – from those who don’t like their work to those who think you’re simply bad.  In fact, it doesn’t really matter whatever your job is as you will always have to face the positive and negative aspects of life.  To be criticized is an inevitability.  Do you keep your defenses up or do you take it too subjectively?

Understanding the Concept Behind Criticism and How You Can Cope

Negative criticism is a hard pill to swallow and the toughest part is to handle the situation with dignity.  There are those who will criticize your work to make you feel bad about your efforts and there are those who are simply making suggestions, out of frustration.

Think Before You Speak

You can deflect criticisms, minus becoming too defensive.

Ignoring Can Be the Best Option, Sometimes

When your online reputation is on the hot seat, you simply can’t ignore the power of criticism which can have good or bad effects on your freelance career.

Having a High Level of Self-Awareness Works All the Time

To err is human and by accepting your mistakes and welcoming useful, constructive criticism.. you can improve yourself as a freelancer.

Know the Difference

There’s surely a difference between a criticism and an encouragement.

Break the Ice

This time, we’re talking about the iceberg that you’ve built around yourself.

Build Your Pick-Me-Up Moment

Criticisms can make you feel down and out that you need to build a positive vibe around you.  Get yourself a support buddy.

Summon Your Wit and Hold Fast

I know it’s tough, but if you can keep your emotions at bay and focus on the tangible lessons you can take to improve your skills, that’s good enough.

Click here to read the whole text.

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