The History of English in 10 minutes - Chapter 6 (OU)
Comprehension
- This lecture is called “The Sun Never Sets on the English Language”. How does the original saying go? Why do you think the lecture has this title?
- The lecturer says that they decided to take the English language on “a world tour”. What is implied in this?
- From the time of Napoleon until WWI,
- what was the size of the British Empire in sq miles?
- how many people were part of the British Empire?
- How did the British colonies affect the English language and its vocabulary?
Discussion
- Why was it natural to adopt new words from the new countries in the Empire?
- Which impact do you think English had on the local languages in the British colonies?
- Below you will find some of the words listed in the lecture. Try to trace their origin and their meaning:
- Bungalow
- Walkabout
- Barbeque
- Nugget
- Cannibal
- Yoga
- Voodoo
- Rum punch
- Zombie
- Canoe
Suggested Further Reading
Relatert innhold
CC BY-SASkrevet av Knut Inge Skifjeld og Eli Huseby.
Sist faglig oppdatert 15.06.2018