节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-06-22
难易度:Medium
关键字:critical, commerce, appropriate, prompt, coin, acronym
Hi, friends.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
My name is Steve.
Thanks so much for taking time out of your day to study English with us.
Well, if you like a good story, study a language regardless whether it's your
mother tongue or not.
If you dig deep enough into a language, you'll find that many words, phrases,
idioms and proverbs have very interesting tales to tell.
New words are born.
They change meaning, they die out.
They are imported from somewhere else.
Some get lost.
And on occasion, some are found to live another day.
You see, all the great makings for a great story.
So let's get back into some fun language facts by reading today's lesson
starting on page 43.
Fun Language Facts.
Languages change with the times.
People coin new words to add to them.
Shakespeare was a master at creating words.
His works contain the first usage of 2,035 English words, including critical,
excellent and countless.
Even today in the 21st century, new words are being added all the time.
Just last year, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary added 150 words.
One of them, m-commerce, means a business deal completed using a mobile device.
Languages also appropriate words from other languages.
Hello, friends.
Thank you so much for joining us right here in the studio.
My name is Kaylah.
My name is Ryan.
And we know that language is a very interesting thing.
Yesterday we saw a lot of interesting and strange facts about English.
And today we're going to learn a little bit more about this very fascinating
language.
That's right.
We learned about short sentences, funny words, long definitions, and even the
most commonly used letters and least used letters in the alphabet.
That's right.
But now we're going to see a little bit more about language in general.
We see: Languages change with the times.
That's right.
That means they're continually changing.
They don't stay the same.
Just like people, languages change as well, which makes sense.
As we progress, so does the language.
Exactly. Now this is a very interestingly written sentence.
So let's learn a little bit more about it by visiting Liz in Grammar on the Go.
Hello, friends.
I hope you are all doing well today.
My name is Liz.
And it's time for Grammar on the Go.
According to the writer of today's article: Languages change with the times.
That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
Notice the phrase at the end of the sentence, with the times.
The word "times" does not mean hours, minutes or days.
Instead, it's about current changes, trends and how things are right now in
society.
So today's sentence just means that languages change with the way things are.
If something is being done in a way to follow or match current social trends or
developments, then you can use this expression.
For example, as more and more health reports are showing how we really need to
be careful with what we're eating,
restaurants are changing their menus and adding healthier food options for
diners. So we can say:
More and more restaurants are going with the times and offering healthier food
choices for diners.
Or, certain job industries require people to follow the latest trends in order
to maintain their professionalism. So we can say:
Certain job professions require you to constantly adjust and move with the
times.
If you'd like to see some more example sentences, they're available in today's
Grammar Tip section in your magazine.
That's all the time we have for today.
This is Liz with Grammar on the Go signing off.
Bye-bye.
Thank you, Liz.
Well, we learned that languages are always changing.
They change with time because people coin new words to add to them.
Now what does it mean to coin a word?
OK. If you "coin" a word, that means you invent a new word.
Either that or you use a word that already exists in a brand new way to give it
a new definition.
That's right.
You're creating a new word is essentially what "coin" would mean.
Now Shakespeare was a master of creating words.
Now we know who Shakespeare is.
William Shakespeare, we call him the Bard, is a very famous playwright from
England a long, long time ago.
Now usually, Ryan, when we read Shakespeare, it doesn't make very much sense.
To a lot of us, yeah, it doesn't make much sense.
And of course, he did use a lot of new words in his playwrights.
Yes, he had a very special style.
It was sometimes hard to understand.
But he was creating words and creating phrases that once we knew what they meant
became part of everyday language.
Yeah. He was a master at word creation.
And if you're a master, that means you are very, very good at something,
probably one of the best.
Now his works contain the first usage of 2,035 English words.
He created 2,035 English words.
Those are all words that he coined. Wow!
That's right. We say "usage" here.
It means the first time it is being used, or the first time it is written down
and used in a language.
So it contains the first usage, the first time that these words were used.
OK. So let's see a couple of these words.
He created the word critical.
Now what does the word "critical" mean?
Now "critical" means of the greatest importance or the way things... or to the
way things are going to happen.
So it means it is most important.
We use this word a lot.
Unfortunately, in hospitals, when we say they're in critical condition, that
means it's very dangerous, there's a big problem.
Yeah. But it... this word can also be used to describe something that people
need in life as well.
It's critical to be loved.
It's critical that you drink water every day.
That's right. It is most important, you have to have water every single day.
Now he created this word critical, as well as the word we all know, excellent,
and the word countless.
Exactly. OK, so.
Even today in the 21st century, new words are continually being added all the
time.
Just last year, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary added 150 words.
Wow! That's amazing.
So English language is continually growing.
And I'm sorry, but that's more vocabulary for you to learn.
Now I think it's fun to see how new words come about.
I know that the books... the Harry Potter books have actually added words to the
English dictionary as well.
That's right.
Now one of these new words that is... was created last year was m-commerce,
which means a business deal that is completed using a mobile device.
Now "commerce" is the activities involved in buying and selling things, buying
and selling business, buying and selling stock.
Now m-commerce means that's all done on a mobile device.
So... an iPhone, um, any kind of smartphone really.
Maybe an iPad or a tablet.
Yeah. That "m-" stands for the word mobile, which means you can move it from
place to place or carry it just like an iPhone or tablet or computer.
That's right.
Now this language... this word would have to be very new because we didn't use
to do this kind of thing.
OK. So languages they also appropriate words from other languages.
This happens a lot in English.
If you "appropriate" something, that means you take it so that you can use it
yourself.
That's right.
So languages appropriate - another way of saying it is borrow - and use it for
what you need it to as well.
So languages are always growing.
And we're going to see how languages continue to grow and change.
That's right.
We'll see that after we visit the Chat Room.
Hey, Bryan, have you ever heard the term robocall?
Robocall? No, I haven't.
What does that mean?
Well, I'm looking at the newest edition of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
There's a list of new words that they added last year.
And robocall is on it.
OK. So what is a robocall?
It's a phone call with a recorded message that is delivered automatically to a
lot of people.
Oh, that makes sense.
It must be a combination of the words robot and call.
Hmm, I hadn't thought of it that way.
Hey, that's pretty cool.
Say, what other new words are in that dictionary?
Let's see.
Well, there's helicopter parent.
Oh, I've heard that term.
It means a parent who is too involved in their child's life.
That's right.
Hey, do you happen to know where the word comes from?
I think the idea is that helicopters can hover.
They can stay in the air in one place.
Similarly, helicopter parents hover over their children supervising everything
they do.
That makes sense.
I bet helicopter parents use a lot of social media.
That's also a new term in the dictionary.
I guess they do.
So, you have heard the phrase social media before?
Yes. I know it refers to websites like Facebook and Twitter that let you
interact with people?
Right.
Media means forms of communication.
But these websites are social media because they let you form communities that
share information.
Well, thanks for the explanations, Bryan.
It's interesting to see where these new words came from.
You're welcome, Ken.