英美文化Chapter One Geography

Chapter One Geography, People and Language

Contents I Geography

1. Geography

The official title of the UK

the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland The UK is made up of:

? Great Britain (the formerly separate England and Scotland, and Wales. ) ? Northern Ireland

? Numerous smaller islands Location and territory Location of the UK:

The mainland areas lie between

? latitudes 49°N and 61°N and ? longitudes 8°W to 2°E

Total territory: 242,910 square kilometers

Interesting Fact: No one in the UK lives more than 120 km (75 miles) from the sea. Topography

Rivers and Lakes

The longest river: Severn River (354 kilometers long)

? The second longest river: Thames (332 kilometers long) ? The largest Lake: Lough Neagh Lake District Lake poets

\I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud\ ---William Wordsworth I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company:

I gazed---and gazed---but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils. 2. Climate

Main characteristics:

Temperate, with warm summers, cold winters and plenty rainfall Three major features: ? Winter fog ? Rainy days

? Instability/changeability 3. Major Cities — London Major Cities—Edinburgh ? Capital of Scotland

? administrative, financial, legal, medical and insurance center of Scotland ? beautiful scenery

? renowned architecture Major Cities—Cardiff

? Europe's youngest capital city

? has been the capital city of Wales for around 50 years

? home to an enormous amount of urban regeneration and restoration

? has recently become one of the most fashionable cities in the United Kingdom. Major Cities—Belfast

II People

Overall population: over 60 millions Distribution:

? England: about 50 million ? Scotland:over 5 million ? Wales: around 3 million

? Northern Ireland: about 1.7million Ethnicity

? The majority of this population are descendents of the Anglo-Saxons ? Most people in Wales and Scotland are descendents of the Celtic people ? The Irish people were also Celtic in origin ? immigrants

Percentage of total UK Population

Ethinc Groups of total

? White British 85.7% ? White Irish 1.2% ? White (other) 5.3% ? Mixed race 1.2%

? Indian 1.8% ? Pakistani 1.3% ? Bengali 0.5% ? Other Asian (non-Chinese) 0.4%

? Black Caribbean 1.0% ? Black African 0.8% ? Black (others) 0.2%

? Chinese 0.4% ? Other 0.4%

1. Old English (5th ~ 11th)

Language of Angle-Saxons Influenced by

? Old Norse

? Latin and Greek words ? Danish words

III The English Language

Beowulf

The most famous work from the Old

English period is the epic poem ”Beowulf” (approximately AD 900)

Hw?t! We Gar-Dena in geardagum, teodcyninga, trym gefrunon, hu ea ?telingas ellen fremedon. Oft Scyld Scefing sceatena treatum 2. Middle English (11th ~ 15th ) Status

French replaced English as the official language, and English became the Language of lower class ? big — pork

? sheep — mutton ? cattle — beef Development

English increased in importance after the Black Death

The Canterbury Tales

written by Geofery Chaucer, 14 the century

Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote

The droghte of March hath perced to the roote And bathed every veyne in swich licour, Of which vertu engendred is the flour; 3. Modern English (15th~ )

? The printing press—brought standardization of English

? Samuel Johnson’s dictionary—established a standard form of spelling ? Renaissance—assimilated foreign words throughout the Renaissance

? The Industrial Revolution—necessitated the introduction of new words for new things and ideas

? The rise of the British Empire or the Commonwealth of Nations—led to the assimilation of words from many other languages

Othello

by William Shakespeare 1603

La: Tho in the trade of warre, I haue flaine men, Yet doe I hold it very ftuft of Confcience. To doe no contriu’d murrher; I lacke iniquity Sometimes to doe feruice: nine or ten times, I had thought to haue ierk’d him here, Vnder the ribbes.

Oth.: Tis better as it is.

Which can be translated as:

La: Though in the trade of war I have slain man, Yet do I hold it very stuff o’ the

conscience. To do no contrived murder: I lack iniquity Sometimes to do me service: nine or tem times I had thought to have yerk’d him here under the ribs. Othello: ‘Tis better as it is. 4. Standard English

? based on the speech of the upper class of southeastern England ? adopted as a broadcasting standard in the British media ? also called as Queen’s English or BBC English ? based on the London dialect

? becoming a universal Lingua Franca—the world language