TAREA DE SESIÓN DE APRENDIZAJE 01

Datos de la asignación

Curso: Inglés Avanzado Intensivo

Ciclo: II Semana: 1

Título: “Trade Language”

Instrucciones para la entrega de la TSA

 El nombre del documento de trabajo debe tener la siguiente estructura:

Indicaciones:

Read and answer the questions:

Warm up

1 Read the following phrases out loud. What do you think they mean?

Gutbai. Plis, Tenkyu. Wan, tu, tri … Mi sori.

Gutbai: Good bye

Plis: Please

Tenkyu: thank you

Wan: Want

Tu: Two

Tri: Three

Mi: me

Sori: Sorry
2 These are all examples of Tok Pisin, a national language in Papua New Guinea. Tok Pisin started out as
a trade language, or pidgin. How do you think it was invented?

I think it was invented by citizens to learn better and faster English.

Reading

1 Read Trade language and check your answer to Warm up exercise 2.

Trade language by David Crystal

How long does it take for a new global variety of English to evolve? Not very long at all.

In 1607, after a long and eventful sea voyage from England, Captain John Smith arrived in America,
and soon after became president of the council of Jamestown in Virginia. A highly controversial figure,
he explored the new territory at length, and wrote about his encounters with the native American
tribes. He became well known because of the story that he was saved from execution by Pocahontas,
the daughter of an Indian chief – though whether this actually happened in the way he described has
been greatly debated.

Smith sent his account of the new colony back to Britain, where it was published. English people
would never have seen such place names as Rappahannock and Nandtanghtacund before. The fauna
and flora of the new country introduced them to racoons and skunks. Other accounts talked
ofmoccasins, wigwams, and squaws. These words were being read in Britain within a few years of the
colonists’ arrival – the first signs of a future American English.

We see the same kind of process happening all over the world, as English has travelled to new shores.
Within a very short time of settlers arriving, we find them using a local vocabulary and writing home
about it. After only a few years, these new words can number several hundred. The manner of speech
alters too, so that a distinctive accent is one of the earliest signs of a new variety of English.

Probably the most dramatic linguistic result of world exploration is the invention of a pidgin or trade
language. What happens when sailors and the local people meet and have no language in common?
They do their best to communicate. Everyone instinctively talks in a simpler way, making sentences
shorter, repeating words, and avoiding difficult sounds and grammar. After a while, a pidgin language
can become quite sophisticated, and be used as an everyday means of communication. It can even
end up as a national language, as has happened to Tok Pisin in Papua New Guinea-one of the most
impressive linguistic consequences of sea travel ever.
2 Read the text again and choose the correct answer.

1 The English Captain John Smith was saved from execution by Pocahontas.

a This is probably true.

b This is probably untrue.

c People are not sure if this is true or not.

2 The beginnings of American English came from …

a the names of local animals and plants.

b Captain John Smith’s Virginia accent.

c the books and history of American tribes.

3 Pidgins and trade languages …

a start with a more simple structure.

b can be quite sophisticated.

c both a and b
3 Complete the sentences with the correct form of the word in bold. All the words are in the text.

1 We had an EVENT journey to the airport and almost missed our plane. EVENT

2 This island was occupied by English __ for 200 years. COLONY

3 Oh, you can’t miss her. She wears very __ clothes. DISTINCT

4 It was rather a boring film, but it had a very DRAMA ending. DRAMA

5 When I saw the ball coming towards me I __ covered my head. INSTINCT

Reading and Writing

Read about a constructed language:

Esperanto (https://www.theverge.com/2015/5/29/8672371/learn-esperanto-language-duolingo-app-
origin-history), and write a paragraph about how our lives could change if we use it as a lingua franca.

It would be much easier to communicate with anyone around the world, without any language barrier,
we could go anywhere in the world and be able to talk to whoever we want

Warm up

1 Read the following examples of an English child’s early language. Put them in order from youngest to
oldest.

Mummy.

Mummy?

No, mummy!

I no want.

I don’t want.

I don’t want cake.

1 Read Learning to talk and put the paragraph titles in order.

Correcting words (5)

The first words (2)

Word order (4)

Words come quickly (1)

Words or sentences? (3)

Learning to talk by David Crystal

When do children start to talk? If you ask a group of parents when this happened, most will say
‘around twelve months of age’. They will probably even remember what the children said. Many
parents keep a diary of their child’s ‘first words’.

We can never predict what a first word is going to be. Often it’s the name for ‘mummy’ or ‘daddy’, but
it could just as easily be the word for an animal or a favourite toy. Everything depends on what has
most captured the child’s attention. But one thing is certain: after the first word, others come quickly.
By 18 months, most children have learned about 50 words. By two, the total has risen to around 200.

Early words are actually one-word sentences. One of the first features of language a child learns well
is to control the rise and fall of the voice to make the difference between stating and questioning. In
English, daddy with a high rising tone means ‘is that daddy?’ Daddy with a high falling tone means
‘There’s daddy’. Of course, only very basic meanings can be communicated using intonation alone. So
it soon becomes necessary to learn some grammar.

In English, grammar chiefly means learning to put words in different orders. Children have to see that
mummy push is different from push mummy. They start practising such changes at around 18
months. By two, they have learned the basic patterns of word order, and we hear them saying such
things as man kick ball and where daddy go?

What are the parents doing, all this time? They’re acting as teachers. Here’s a typical exchange
between a mother and child:

Mother: What’s that?

The mother is doing what teachers do when they want their students to learn: she’s reinforcing the
correct answer. Notice too how she shows the child some new grammar at the same time – by putting
dog into a longer sentence – and also how she points the child in the direction of some new
vocabulary. Parents always have an active role to play in their child’s language learning.

2 Read the text again and answer the questions.

1 What determines a child’s first words?

Everything depends on what has most captured the child’s attention, often is mummy or daddy

2 How can one word constitute a sentence?

Early words are actually one-word sentences

3 What is the difference between a high rising tone and a high falling tone?

In English, daddy with a high rising tone means ‘is that daddy?’ Daddy with a high falling tone means
‘There’s daddy’

4 What is the most basic element of English grammar?

means learning to put words in different orders

5 How do parents teach children to talk?

They are reinforcing the correct answer

3 Each of the following sentences has one error in word order. Without looking back at the text, correct
the error.
1 Parents even will probably remember what the children said.

2 Everything depends on what has captured most the child’s attention.

3 So soon becomes it necessary to learn some grammar.

4 In English, grammar chiefly means learning to put words in orders different.

5 The mother is doing what teachers do when they want to learn their students.
Write your answer here.