2_Lecture Two_The English-Speaking Countriess.ppt

1、Lecture Two,The English-Speaking Countries,1. The Country and Its History,The first English-speaking country is Britain where the English language was originated. Its official full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Its official simple form is the United Kingdom. And U

2、. K. is the shortened or abbreviated word of United Kingdom. The British Empire is a historical conception, with a broader sense than the United Kingdom. It used to cover a larger territory, including Britain itself and its former colonies. Now Britain and some of its former colonies have formed the

3、 British Commonwealth of Nations, which can be simply called the British Commonwealth, or the,Commonwealth. It is an international organization in which Britain and other member countries carry out political and economic consultation and cooperation. The Commonwealth consists of the United Kingdom,

4、other English-speaking countries like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, African countries like Nigeria, Zambia, Uganda and the Sudan, Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Singapore, and American countries in the West Indies. Britain is make up of four parts. They are England, Scotl

5、and, Wales and Northern Ireland. The first three nations constitute Great Britain,located on the largest island of the British Isles（不列颠群岛）. Geographically, the British Isles refer to the group of islands on the northwest of Europe, which includes Great Britain, Ireland , and the smaller islands aro

6、und them. In the geographical sense, Great Britain is often incorrectly used to refer to the political state, officially called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Normally, people simply call it Britain. So, Britain in the political sense may include Northern Ireland, which is

7、 actually part of the United Kingdom. As to the Irish Island, it refers to the whole of Ireland. On its northern part,is located Northern Ireland which is a part of the United Kingdom, while on its southern part is located the Republic of Eire r or the Republic of Ireland（爱尔兰共和国）which has been an in

8、dependent country since 1949.,2. Britain and Its People,The British population consists of the English people, the Scottish people, the Welsh people and the Irish People. Some scholars say that Britain is one kingdom of four countries or four nations, because many of the Scots, Welshmen and Irishmen

9、 still have a strong sense of national independence. So we mustnt refer to a Scotsman, a Welshman or an Irishman as an Englishman, which will annoy them greatly. They dislike being called English even if they live in England. A Briton is a person who comes from Great Britain or who is a citizen of t

10、he United Kingdom. And a Britisher also refers to a person who comes from Great Britain or who is a citizen of the United Kingdom, and it is an informal word found only in American English, but not used by the,British people. An Englishman is a British male citizen born in England or a British male

11、citizen of English parent or parents. And Englishwoman is such a British female citizen. A Scot is a person who comes from Scotland. A Scotsman is a male who comes Scotland. And a Scotswoman is a female who comes from Scotland. A Welshman is a male who comes from Wales. And a Welshwoman is a female

12、who comes from Wales. An Irishman is a man who comes from the Republic of Ireland, or Northern Ireland which is a part of the United Kingdom. And an Irishwoman is a woman who comes from the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland.,3. The Four Countries of Britain and Their languages,Celtic(凯尔特语), as

13、 a general term, is used to refer to a group of related languages which are or were once spoken in Scotland, Wales, Ireland and some other areas. Gaelic(盖尔语), as a specific term, is used to refer to any of the Celtic languages, especially that of Scotland, or that of Ireland. The Gaelic language spo

14、ken in Ireland is also called Erse(爱尔兰盖尔语). Celts are people from Scotland, Wales, Ireland and some other areas. The Celts from Scotland are called Scottish Celts. And the Celts from Ireland are called Irish Celts.,Wales is a bilingual country with two official languages, welsh(威尔士语) and English. We

15、lsh is the language spoken by the Welsh people in some parts of Wales.,In Britain, when people talk about the Continent (欧洲大陆), they mean the European Continent, that is, the mainland of Europe, especially Western Europe. The European Continent is also called the Old continent(旧大陆),which is in contr

16、ast to the New Continentthe American Continent. Between Britain and the European Continent there is the English Channel(英吉利海峡) or the Channel. It is the narrow area of water between England and France, which joins the North Sea(北海) to the Atlantic Ocean(大西洋). Historically, the Old World,4. Other Eng

17、lish-speaking Countries,refers to the eastern hemisphere of the world, especially Asia, Europe and Africa. When the British people say the Far East (远东), they mean China, Japan and the other countries of East and Southeast Asia. They loosely call the area comprising Egypt(埃及), Iran (伊朗) and the coun

18、tries between them the Middle East (中东) or the Near East (近东). The American Continent (美洲大陆), including North America, Central America and South America, is called the New Continent (新大陆) or the New World (新世界). Between Britain and America there is the Atlantic Ocean (大西洋), which can be simply calle

19、d the Atlantic.,Another important English-speaking country is the United States which is located in North America. Its official full name is the United States of America. It can be simply called the United States. The British call it the States. Its shortened from is U. S. A. or U. S. It can also be

20、 called America. Actually, America is a big conception. It may refer to the whole American Continent, including North America, Central America and South America. America, as a whole continent, is bounded throughout by the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the Pacific Ocean (太平洋) on the west. When Ameri

21、ca is used only to refer to the United States, it is disliked by the people from other,countries of North, Central and South America. Latin America (拉丁美洲) refers to the countries of South America, Central America and Mexico, because Spanish (西班牙语) or Portuguese (葡萄牙语) that was developed from Latin i

22、s the official language in these countries. The United States is a country of multi-cultures and multi-races. An American is a person who comes from the United States. In a broad sense, an American can also refer to a person from North, Central and South America. A Yank (美国佬) is a person from the Un

23、ited States, which is a slightly offensive word used mainly in British English.,A Yankee (美国北方佬) also refers to a citizen from the United States, and especially a person born or living in the northern or northeastern states of the United States, which is a word used mainly in American English. The o

24、riginal inhabitants of America were called Native Americans (美洲印地安人), or American Indians. The shortened form of American Indians is Amerindian. A Native American or an American Indian is a person from one of the first groups of people who lived in America before white people arrived there. These ex

25、pressions are used especially about people from South America and sometimes considered offensive. In the 17th century,the colonists from British came to settle in North America and colonized it. In the 18th century, the colonists traded slaves from Africa. The American Blacks (美国黑人) are called Afric

26、an Americans or Afro-Americans (非洲裔美国人). An African American or an Afro-American is a black American whose family originally came from Africa, especially as slaves. In the 19th century and the 20th century, there were several immigration tides. Immigrants from every corner of the world came to settl

27、e in the United States. People who originally came from Mexico or whose family originally came from Mexico are called Chicanos (墨西哥裔美国人); while people,who originally came from Latin America or whose family originally came from Latin America, are called Latinos (拉美裔美国人). Immigrants from Asian countri

28、es are called Asian Americans (亚洲裔美国人). Those Americans of Chinese descent are called Chinese Americans (华裔美国人, 美籍华人). Those Chinese Americans who were born in the United States are called American-born Chinese (美国出生的华人)., or ABC for short. Canada is another English-speaking country, which is locate

29、d to the north of the United States in North America. Australia and New Zealand are two English-speaking countries, which are located in,Oceania or Oceanica (大洋洲). Ireland is also an English-speaking courtly, which is a neighbouring country of Britain. It is located in the southern part of the Irish

30、 Island. South Africa is also an English-speaking country, which is located in the southern part of Africa. Its official full name is the Republic of South Africa.,Other Main English-Speaking Countries,Geographically, the Western countries (西方国家) refer to those countries located in the western part

31、of the world, mainly in Europe and North America. Politically and Ideologically, the Western countries originally referred to the non-Communist countries of Europe and North America. It may also constitute a contrast in culture with the Oriental countries (东方国家), especially China. The Western Powers

32、 (西方列强，西方大国) have become a political term, referring to such countries as the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. These countries have loosely formed a political and economic alliance (同盟). Very often,people use a general term “the West”, to refer to the Western countries. Western culture refers to the way in which the people of Europe and North America live, especially to their political and