Onwards and Upwards,The Economist,Unit 1 The Nature of Language,Onwards and Upwards,The Economist,Text A The Complexity of Language,,Questions / Activities,Check-on Preview,Objectives,W,B,T,R,Preparatory work,1. How many languages are there in the world?,2. What is language? 3. What are the differences between written language and spoken language? 4. What is the purpose of the language complexity?,Please translate the following into English,Check-on Preview,十几个 音序 网页点击数 使…被理解 使…区分开 工艺美术,To get … across Sound sequence Set apart hits A dozen or so arts and crafts,,,,,,Preparatory work,,Objectives,This unit is designed to help students develop their reading skills, communicative competence, critical thinking, intercultural reflection and abilities of autonomous learning in the following aspects. Reading skills: ---Scan for main ideas ---Identify topic sentences ---Identify supporting details Communicative competence: ---Illustrate your points with appropriate examples ---Use topic sentences and supporting sentences to organize your presentation/essay ---Be aware of different styles in communication,Preparatory work,Objectives,Critical thinking: ---Make inferences and Interpretations based on linguistic facts ---Assess the credibility of statements ---Note and reflect on significant similarities and differences between two languages Intercultural competence: ---Identify and articulate similarities and differences between different languages and cultures ---Be aware of the links between cultural differences and language differences ---Devalue discriminations against a language or culture,Preparatory work,,Critical reading,Evaluation and exploration,Understanding the text,,Critical reading,Understanding the text,Paraphrasing the following sentences: Para 7: S1 Para 8: S3 Para 10: S1 Para 14: S2,(para. 7 )S1 Because of the existence of morphological and syntactic rules, language enables to create new words and sentences making use of available materials. This is not possible with other ways that we use to communicate, such as the use of facial expressions or bodily gestures. (2) (para. 8 )S3 We have to be cautious about the use of “language” because it is often used figuratively, referring to any means of communication (body language) or even the basis of mutual understanding (speaking the same language).,(3) Para. 10： Facial expressions are different from real language in that there are no grammatical rules such as word order to help us express different meanings when we communicate with facial expressions. (4) ) （Para. 14 ）S2 “Arts and crafts” are also means of communication. If I have the ability, I can express my thoughts and feelings in painting, drawing, sculpture, dance and music.,Interpreting linguistic facts,Evaluation and exploration,Critical reading,(1). Sound-sequences such as ‘up’, ‘shoe’, and ‘spots’ are possible ways of talking in English, but ‘ngop’, ‘shmfi’, and ‘doprns’ aren’t. Question: What does this tell us about phonetic rules in general and English phonetic rules in particular? Answer: For any language, there are certain phonetic rules that determine which sounds are allowed or disallowed in each part of the syllable.,Interpreting linguistic facts,Evaluation and exploration,Critical reading,English allows very complicated syllables; syllables may begin with up to three consonants (as in string or splash), and occasionally end with as many as four (as in prompts).Initial consonant clusters in English always begin with a /s/, followed by one of the voiceless stops (/p/, /t/, /k/) and a liquid or glide (/l/, /r/, /w/).In fact there are only five initial consonant clusters in English: /spl-/, /spr-/, /str-/, /skr-/, /skw-/). (George Yule, The Study of Language, 4th ed. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2010),Interpreting linguistic facts,Evaluation and exploration,Critical reading,(2)While people are talking, they’re also looking at each other, and we can see that the expressions on their faces add a great deal to what they’re saying. Question: What does this tell us about the visual aspect (a kind of paralinguistic feature) of linguistic communication? Answer: Communication is not completed merely in the exchanges of words, especially in face-to-face talk. Communication is prototypically multi-modal. Paralinguistic features add to or even convert the literal meaning of what people say. .,Interpreting linguistic facts,Evaluation and exploration,Critical reading,(3) You might not know a preposition from an adverb, or the difference between the passive voice and the indicative, nor what the double object construction is, but as a native speaker of English, you can use them with your hands tied behind your back. Question: What does this tell us about people’s knowledge of grammar? Answer: A native speaker’s knowledge of grammar is implicit rather than explicit.,Interpreting linguistic facts,Evaluation and exploration,Critical reading,（4）A sobering fact about language is that unlike other forms of cultural be。