Prime Time 5, Coursebook mit Audio-CD

Text: The world speaks English 1 Reading: English as a global language a) Read the following text and underline the passages that you think are most remarkable/surprising/ noteworthy. b) Prepare a short statement about these passages and explain why you have chosen them. In the 1960s there were about 250 million speakers of English. This has risen to two billion, including those who speak it as a second or foreign language. When Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603, the English-speaking world had a population of just eight million. The British founded many colonies, from America to Australia, Asia to Africa. In the year 1900, a quarter of the planet was controlled by the British. By the 1940s, when the Empire started to break up, English had become important in the world. But it still wasn’t quite the world language. That changed afterWorldWar II with the growing influence of the United States. America had become a superpower and more people were dealing with English-speakers than ever before. Hollywood, jazz and rock ’n’ roll helped to make English the world language of pop culture – a status the language still has today. The leading American role in science and technology has also given the world the PC, the internet and e-mail, all of which have taken English to every last corner of the world. Now whole fields of business (e.g. IT and marketing) are dominated by English terms. As English spreads, other languages are affected. Some disappear, others adapt. English itself is evolving: new varieties are taking root and challenging the concept of “correct” English. The rise of English is closely tied to globalisation. Over the last few years it has become the prime language of communication on the internet. While English is likely to remain the dominant language in fields such as international business, technology, medicine, pop music and air traffic control, other languages are gaining influence – notably Chinese (Mandarin) and Spanish. 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 2 Listening: Not the only show in town a) You are going to listen to an interview with a language expert. First you will have 45 seconds to study the task below, then you will hear the recording twice. While listening, answer the questions (1–5) using a maximum of four words. Write your answers in the spaces provided. The first one (0) has been done for you. 0 What is the main reason that languages spread? the movement of people / international travel Q1 What has English become as a consequence of international travel? ............................................................................................................................................ Q2 Is the number of languages in the world rising or falling? ............................................................................................................................................ Q3 How many languages can be found worldwide today? ............................................................................................................................................ Q4 What does the expert mean when she talks about “the linguistic food chain”? ............................................................................................................................................ Q5 Where does English rank when we look at second language users? ............................................................................................................................................ 1.1 ✔ 9 1 The world speaks English Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv