1 Lengua I: Gramática – Cátedra: T7A – 3132

Prof. Titular: Francisco Zabala

Prof. Adjunto: Marcelo Videtta

The History of English in Ten Minutes

• Watch the videos. Don’t read the text. The aim is to work on your listening
comprehension.
• Then, listen to the text again while you work on the written text.

Intensive language work:

a) Look up the underlined words in a monolingual English dictionary. Think of possible
translations, too.
b) Do the activities in the boxes on the right.

1 Chapter 6: English and Empire, or the Sun Never Sets on the

2 English Language

3 With English making its name as the language of science, the

4 Bible, and Shakespeare, Britain decided to take it on tour, asking only
5 for land, wealth, natural resources total obedience to the crown and
6 a few local words in return. They went to the Caribbean looking for
7 gold and a chance to really unwind, discovering the barbeque
1. Look at the underlined
8 (c.1550), the canoe, and a pretty good recipe for rum punch. They also section. Why is “making”
not a dangling participle?
9 brought back the word cannibal to make their trip sound more (Cf “Walking down the
stairs, my wallet fell on
the floor.”)
10 exciting.
2. Compare & contrast:
ask something vs ask for
11 In India, there was something for everyone. Yoga (1820) to something.

12 help you stay in shape while pretending to be spiritual. If that didn’t 3. Is this an example of
synecdoche or
13 work, there was the cummerbund (c.1610) to hide the paunch. And if metonymy? Define these
terms and provide
14 you couldn’t even make it up the stairs without turning crimson examples.

15 (c.1500), they had the bungalow (c.1670). 4. Look these words up

and provide
contextualized examples.
16 Meanwhile in Africa, they picked up words like voodoo (c.1850)
5. Provide the dates of
17 and zombie (c.1871), kicking off the teen horror film. these cultural capsules.

18 From Australia, English took the words nugget (), boomerang,

19 and walkabout (1828) and in fact, the whole concept of chain pubs.

20 All in all, between toppling Napoleon and the First World War,
21 the British Empire gobbled up around ten million square miles, four
22 hundred million people, and nearly a hundred thousand gin and
23 tonics, leaving new varieties of English to develop all over the globe.
 2 Lengua I: Gramática – Cátedra: T7A – 3132
Prof. Titular: Francisco Zabala
Prof. Adjunto: Marcelo Videtta

1 Chapter 7: the Age of the Dictionary, or the Definition of a

2 Hopeless Task

3 With English expanding in all directions, along came a new

4 breed of men called lexicographers who wanted to put an end to this 1. Look up these words
and provide examples in
5 anarchy. A word they defined as “What happens when people spell context.

6 words slightly differently from each other?” One of the greatest was 2. Compare and contrast
the uses of “could” and
7 Dr. Johnson, whose Dictionary of the English Language took him nine “be able to”. Is it possible
to substitute “could” in
8 years to write (1746-1755). It was 18 inches tall and contained this text for “be able to”?
Is substitution possible in
9 42,773 entries, meaning that even if you couldn’t read, it was still “I tried so hard that I
could open the jewelry
box”?
10 pretty useful if you wanted to reach a high shelf. For the first time
3. Compare the meaning
11 when people were calling you a pickle-herring, a jobbernowl, or a of pretty, rather and
quite. Is there a
12 fopdoodle, you could understand exactly what they meant. And you’d difference? What do
British and American
13 have the consolation of knowing they were all using the standard people do?

14 spelling. 4. Compare and contrast

high and tall.

15 Try us he might to stop them, words kept being invented, and 5. Look up these words.
Are they still widely
16 in 1857, a new book was started that would become the Oxford used? What’s the effect
of using them in this text?
6. Explain the reference
17 English Dictionary. It took another 70 years to be finished after the of this word.

18 first editor resigned to be an archbishop, the second died of TB, and

19 the third was so boring that half his volunteers quit, and one of them
20 ended up in an asylum. It eventually appeared in 1928 and has
21 continued to be revised ever since proving the whole idea that you can
22 stop people making up words is complete snuffbumble.
 3 Lengua I: Gramática – Cátedra: T7A – 3132
Prof. Titular: Francisco Zabala
Prof. Adjunto: Marcelo Videtta

1 Chapter 8: American English or Not English but Somewhere in

2 the Ballpark
1. Look up these words
3 From the moment Brits first landed in America, they needed and provide examples in
context (or a translation).
4 names for all the new plants and animals so they borrowed words like 2. Look up the meaning
of these cultural items.
5 raccoons, squash and moose from the Native Americans as well as Can you find other
possible ways to refer to
6 most of their territory. Waves of immigrants fed America’s hunger for them? What’s the
register of each of these
7 words. The Dutch came sharing coleslaw and cookies, probably as a possibilities you have
found?
8 result of their relaxed attitude to drugs. Later, the Germans arrived
3. Define these words.
9 selling pretzels from delicatessens. And the Italians arrived with their Provide the British and
American versions.
10 pizza, their pasta and their Mafia, just like mama used to make. 4. Compare and contrast
white-collar vs blue-
11 America spread a new language of capitalism, getting everyone collar workers.

5. What does this phrase

12 worried about the break-even or the bottom line, whether they were conjure up in the Anglo-
American culture? What
13 blue chip or white-collar. does “el charco” bring to
mind in our culture?

14 The commuter needed a whole new system of freeways, 6. Define this word. Is this
still in use? Who can use
15 subways and parking lots and quickly before words like merger and this word? Can you
provide alternatives? Can
16 downsizing could be invented. you think of a word that
has undergone a similar
path in Spanish? Why is
17 American English drifted back across the pond as Brits got the this so?

18 hang of their cool movies and their groovy jazz. There are even some 7. Cultural capsule: What
is the NHS in the UK? Is
19 old forgotten English words that lived on in America so they carried there a similar
organization in the US?
Why? How does our
20 on using fall, faucets, diapers and candy while the Brits moved on to health system compare?

21 autumn, taps, nappies and NHS dental care.

 4 Lengua I: Gramática – Cátedra: T7A – 3132
Prof. Titular: Francisco Zabala
Prof. Adjunto: Marcelo Videtta

1 Chapter 9: Internet English or Language Reverts to Type

2 In 1972, the first e-mail was sent. Soon, the Internet arrived,
3 a free global space to share information, ideas and amusing pictures
1. Translate this word in
4 of cats. Before the Internet, English changed through people this context. What other
meanings can it have in
other contexts? What’s
5 speaking it, but the Net brought typing back into fashion and its category in each case?

6 hundreds of cases of repetitive strain injury. Nobody had ever had 2. Where does the stress
go? Look up V-neck, U-
7 to download anything before, let alone use a toolbar, and the only turn, i-Pad, T-shirt. What
do they have in
8 time someone set up a firewall, it ended with a massive insurance common?

9 claim and a huge pile of charred wallpaper. 3. Compare and contrast:

a) amusing vs amazing. b)
amusing vs amused.
10 Conversations were getting shorter than the average
4. Translate this item.
11 attention span. Why bother writing a sentence when an 5. What does this phrase
mean? Translate this into
12 abbreviation would do and leave you more time to blog, poke, and Spanish. What kind of
structure should follow
13 reboot when your hard drive crashed? In my humble opinion it?

14 became IMHO, by the way became BTW, and if we’re honest that 6. Look up these words
and provide examples in
15 life-threatening accident was pretty hilarious, simply became FAIL. context.

7. What does this phrase

16 Some changes even passed into spoken English. For your mean? What other forms
can it take? What’s the
17 information, people frequently ask questions like, “How can LOL category and function of
“do” here?
18 mean laugh out loud and lots of love?” If you’re gonna complain 8. Do you think that using
these words or phrases
19 about that, then UG2BK (You got to be kidding). destroys the English
language? Why? Can you
think of other examples?
How does the notion of
register help you here?
 5 Lengua I: Gramática – Cátedra: T7A – 3132
Prof. Titular: Francisco Zabala
Prof. Adjunto: Marcelo Videtta

1 Chapter 10: Global English or Whose Language is it Anyway?

2 In the 15 hundred years since the Romans left Britain, English

3 has shown a unique ability to absorb, evolve, invade, and if we’re
1. Compare the way
4 honest, steal. After foreign settlers got it started, it grew into a fully these phrases are
typically said in English
5 fledged language all of its own before leaving home and travelling the and Spanish. Provide a
possible translation:
6 world, first via the high seas, then via the high-speed broadband a) 15 hundred years
b) 9 and a half months
7 connection, pilfering words from over 350 languages and establishing c) a half hour

8 itself as a global institution. All this despite a written alphabet that 2. Look up these words
and provide examples in
9 bears no correlation to how it sounds and a system of spelling that context.

3. Who’s this person?

10 even Dan Brown couldn’t decipher. What did he write? Why
is that relevant in this
context?
11 Right now, around 1.5 billion people speak English. Of these,
4. How much is a billion in
12 about a quarter are native speakers, a quarter speak it as their second English? ¿Y un billón en
español?
13 language and half are able to ask for directions to a swimming pool.
5. Bit refers to
14 There’s Hinglish, which is Hindi English, Chinglish, which is Chinese Singaporean. Can you
think of a pun?
15 English and Singlish, which is Singaporean English, and not that bit
6. Describe the use of this
16 where they speak in musicals. So in conclusion, the language has auxiliary here.

17 got so little to do with England these days, it may well be time to stop 7. Look at this phrasal
verb. What idea does
“up” convey? Compare:
18 calling it English. If someone does think up a new name for it, it gobble up, drink up, etc.

19 should probably be in Chinese.