《英美文化概况》unit 6

1、Unit SixBlack English Teaching Objectives: To make the Students know the language of the text.To make the students know the content of the text.To make the students know how to paraphrase some difficult sentences of the text.To make the students know how to use the difficult terms and phrases in the

2、 text properly.To let the students have a discussion on what the text is about.To give the answers of the ex. on the workbook.To give the students home assignment on writing a short passage on what they think about the views of the author.To remind the students of rhetoric knowledge and structure of

3、 the text.Teaching Procedures:Session OneTEXT IINew vocabularyliberal n. a person of liberal views adj. willing to respect or accept behaviour or opinion different from ones own; open to new ideas; favourable to or respectful of individual rights or freedome.g. It is not surprising that generally yo

4、ung people are more liberal than the old on the issue of pre-marital sex.The new government claims that it will work towards the goal of building the country into a liberal, democratic state.seep v. (of a liquid) flow or leak slowly through porous material or small holes e.g. The oil that keeps seep

5、ing out through the cracks of the underwater pipes is causing serious pollution to the sea.With more follow-up reporting, details of the murder case are seeping pelling evidence: convincing evidenceDerived from the verb compel, compelling has the meaning of evoking interest, attention, or admiration

6、, e.g. a compelling film, compelling eyes, and also inspiring conviction, e.g. compelling argument.derive v. obtain sth. frome.g. In his late years he derived great pleasure from his grandchildren.Many words in the major European languages are believed to have derived from Latin.regardless of: witho

7、ut regard or consideration for, in spite ofe.g. He is such a reckless person that he will act regardless of what will happen next.Admissions are the same for all visitors regardless of age and gender.graft: The word both as a noun and a verb is most often used in the two areas of horticulture and me

8、dicine. Used in horticulture, it means a shoot inserted into a slit of stock, from which it receives sap, or to insert a graft. Used in medicine, it means a piece of living tissue that is transplanted, or to transplant as a graft.Figuratively, the word is used to mean to insert or fix sth. permanent

9、ly to sth. else.e.g. Western type of democracy cannot be grafted to other countries of different historical evolution.Another meaning of the word is practices, esp. bribery, used to secure illicit gains in politics or business; corruption.e.g. Strict measures are being enforced to curb graft in the

10、administration.Noteslinguistic schizophrenia of a unique sort: the inconsistent, even contradictory concepts concerning the language they useThe diglossia problem of the lower-class black is unusual because he does not speak a colloquial or incorrect form of standard English.: In the authors opinion

11、, black English is not the Low Form of a language in a diglossic situation because its speaker is not speaking an informal, non-literary form of English. Diglossia refers to the sociolinguistic phenomenon that in a community two forms or varieties of the same language exist side by side.dialect: The

12、 word normally refers to a variety of a language used by people of a specific geographical region, but here it is used, as is quite common in linguistic literature, in the sense of a linguistic variety associated with a social group, i.e. a social dialect or sociolect.Black English: Here it refers t

13、o the variety of English spoken by the black, especially the urban populations in the U.S.he is likely to attribute any departure from white speech to the blacks educational deprivation: Most likely, he will think that the reason why the black speakers are not using English in the same way as the wh

14、ite speakers do is that they are not adequately educated.New World blacks: New World refers generally to North and South America regarded collectively in relation to Europe, especially after the early voyages of European explorers. New World blacks in this context refer to the black people brought f

15、rom Africa to North America by slave trade in the early days.spirited vocabulary: vocabulary which bears specific features of the blacks as a racethey are talking real soul to their black brothers: they are talking in what they think a genuinely black way to their black fellow countrymen Soul, used

16、as an adjective, can bear such meanings as related to, taking pride in, or displaying the characteristics of Black Culture, thus expressions like soul singer, soul radio station, soul music, soul brother, soul food, etc.slang, jargon, and argot words: Slang is a type of language that consists of wor

17、ds and phrases that are regarded as very informal and nonstandard, typically formed by creative, often witty juxtapositions of words or images, and usually restricted to a particular context or a group of people, e.g. army slang. Jargon refers to the technical language of occupational or other group

18、s that is difficult for outsiders to understand, e.g. legal jargon, medical jargon. Argot is the jargon or slang of a particular group or class, e.g. teenage argot. The borderlines separating these categories are not always distinct, and some writers use these terms in a general way to include all t

19、he foregoing meanings.Many words that were once the exclusive property of speakers of Black English .: Many words that were once used by speakers of Black English only .Property in this sentence means attribute, quality, characteristic.Note the other meanings of the word, e.g. possessions collective

20、ly; building or buildings and the land that belongs to it or to them; shares or investments in property; theatrical props.African languages: The languages spoken in Africa can be said to include the following four major groups: (1) Afro-Asiatic, which spreads throughout the Middle East, North Africa

21、, the Horn of Africa, and parts of the Sahel; (2) Nilo-Sahara, which is centered on Sudan and Chad; (3) Niger-Congo, which covers West, Central, and Southeast Africa; and (4) Khoe, which is concentrated in the deserts of Namibia and Botswana.pidgin: a language that is a mixture of two other language

22、s, one of which is usually a European language and the other is a local language of Asia, Africa, or Latin America. Pidgin has a limited vocabulary and a reduced grammatical structure used between people who do not know each others language well for restricted communicative purposes such as trade. C

23、reole: a pidgin language that has become the native language of a group of speakers, being used for all or many of their daily communicative needs. Usually, the sentence structures and vocabulary range of a creole are far more complex than those of a pidgin. Creoles are usually classified according

24、to the language from which most of their vocabulary comes, e.g. English-based, French-based, Portuguese-based, and Swahili-based creoles. Examples of English-based creoles are Jamaican Creole, Hawaiian Creole and Krio in Sierra Leone, West Africa. The influence of African languages on black speech w

25、as long denied: The influence of African languages on black speech was ignored or unnoticed for a long timeGullah: also called the Sea Island English, is the creole language spoken by the Gullah people. It is based on English, with strong influences from West and Central African languages on its voc

26、abulary, pronunciation, and grammatical structure.II. Relevant InformationLorenzo Dow Turner (18901972): an Afro-American linguist and ethnologist who did seminal research on the Gullah language of the Low Country of coastal South Carolina and Georgia. Although established scholars then viewed Gulla

27、h speech as substandard English, Turner sensed that Gullah was strongly influenced by African languages. He set out to study the language, and identified and analyzed African survivals in the African American language. Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe: Daniel Defoe (16591731) was an English trader, wri

28、ter, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. The novel, published in 1719, tells of a mans shipwreck on a deserted island and his subsequent adventures.III Text AnalysisHow do you understand Farbs statement the great majority of black Americans suffer from linguis

29、tic schizophrenia of a unique sort? (para. 1)Key: Schizophrenia is a long-term mental disorder marked by breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, and withdrawal from reality. Black Americans are definitely not

30、 suffering from this mental disease, but the confusion and bewilderment they feel about the nature of their speech can be likened to the disorderly mental status of a patient of schizophrenia. On what grounds does Farb disagree with either of the two extreme views on the subject of Black English? (p

31、ara. 2)Key: Farb does not think Black Englishs radical departure from Standard English has anything to do with the anatomy of race or with the Black peoples educational deprivation. In his opinion, Black English has been a different language from the very beginning, and it is thus an entirely differ

32、ent language in its own right.In Farbs opinion, what should be taken into consideration if one wants to give a comprehensive linguistic description of Black English? (para. 3)Key: One should take into consideration all the three aspects of language, i.e. vocabulary, sounds, and grammar.What, in Farb

33、s view, are the five major influences that have contributed to the formation of todays Black English? (para. 4)Key: The five major influences that have contributed to the formation of todays Black English are (1) African languages, (2) West African pidgin, (3) a Plantation Creole, (4) Standard Engli

34、sh, and (5) urbanization in the northern ghettoes.Why does Farb cite Turners study of the Gullah language? (para. 4)Key: He cites Turners study of Gullah to support his view that todays Black English is not a non-standard departure from English, but a separate language based on some Western African

35、languages for the many resemblances in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar between them found by Turner.How does pidginization contribute to the formation of Black English?Key: The blacks brought from different regions in Africa to North America as slaves needed a common speech to communicate wit

36、h each other, which resulted in a kind of English-based pidgin, which in part contributed to the formation of Black English.What is Farbs position about the status of Black English?Key: Black English is not a sub-standard variety of English, but a language that has a set of rules different from that

37、 of Standard white English.Session TwoI. Teaching pointsActivityIn para. 3 Farb mentions two views concerning Black English, i.e. the racist view and the good-intentioned liberal view, both of which he rejects. Then in the essay he presents his own view, i.e. Black English is a language in its own r

38、ight. Which of these views do you agree with? Or perhaps you do not agree with any of these three. Present your view of Black English in a short talk.Sentence patterns for your referenceI agree that .In contrast to . Black English .To sum up, .Do you think Black English will in the future come to en

39、joy the same privilege as Standard American English does today? Air your views on the possible course of development of Black English in a group discussion.Sentence patterns for your referenceIn a world of . Black English .Although Black English .As a result, .Organization and DevelopmentArgumentati

40、ve WritingIn terms of discourse type, this essay is basically a piece of argumentative writing. The authors argument is made clear in the first paragraph, and restated at the end of the essay.Main ArgumentHis argument is made clear by the last sentence of the first paragraph . actually he is speakin

41、g a radically different dialect that is as consistent and elegant as whites consider their Standard English to be, which is restated by the last sentence of the essay Black English is using a different set of rules than those of Standard English.Methods of ArgumentationThe main method Farb uses in h

42、is argument is referring to historical facts. In paras. 4 and 5, he traces the historical development of todays Black English, i.e. it originated with African languages rather than Standard English, and the need for the black from different African countries to communicate with each other made pidgi

43、nization necessary. In this process, Farb cites Turners seminal study to make his argument more convincing. Another device he uses is definition. As most people, both black and white, have confusing ideas of what Black English is, he needs first of all to clarify the notion of a language. In para. 3

44、 he presents his notion of what makes a language a distinct entity. In his view, Black English is a language in its own right because it has a different history, its own distinctive sound system and grammar structure, apart from its spirited vocabulary.Paragraph WritingWriting TechniqueNarrationWhat

45、 Is Narration?Narration is a form of writing that often follows the pattern of storytelling, in which events are organized in a chronological sequence, that is, in their order in time. In its more highly evolved forms, such as short stories and novels, narration includes more than a mere reporting o

46、f events. A composition student, however, is concerned with a simpler type of narration that focuses on action instead of the motives of the actors.Purpose of NarrationA writer of narration usually has a point to make. In The Hare and the Tortoise, for instance, Aesop hopes to impress his readers wi

47、th the moral slow but steady wins the race. This meaning behind the events is what the writer of a narrative expects to communicate to his reader. Lack of such a special meaning, however, often makes the narrative dull, like the novel Mark Twain once scornfully criticized as merely one damn thing af

48、ter another. Selection of Narration DetailsAnd in his selection of details to include, therefore, the writer must accept those relevant to his purpose and reject those that are not. The criteria of his selection will be based upon his reason for telling the story.Expression of Narratives MeaningThe

49、meaning of a narrative can be either expressed directly in a thesis statement (as in Two Words to Avoid, Two to Remember by Arthur Gordon) or implied through dialogue or action. Whichever it is, the writer must strive to concentrate on the story itself. When he sees why the story is important and wh

50、en he has well chosen and arranged his details, he is beginning to communicate his meaning to his reader.Function of NarrationThe primary function of a narration is to recount actions and events, and narration can be an effective way to support or illustrate a point that the narrator intends to make

51、. And this may account for the reason why narration is invariably employed as a secondary device to support other types of strategies, such as exposition. ExampleThe following body paragraph is taken from an essay about unpleasant chores, which focuses on the chore the writer most dislikes:My least

52、favorite chore is moving furniture. Shifting around sofas, cabinets, tables, beds, and desks is sweaty, backbreaking labor. Worst of all is moving bookcases. Last summer I helped my aunt move furniture from the first floor of her house to the second floor. She had a six-foot oak bookcase that nearly killed me. First, I had to remove dozens of hardcover books from the shelves of the bookcase and lug them up a flight of