英语专业晨读美文-文化篇 4 On Learning English

[00:03.32]On Learning English
[00:06.83]A correspondent from the Czech Republic
[00:10.15]asks a powerful question:“How would you encourage
[00:13.35]English language learners at secondary
[00:15.44]and postsecondary schools;
[00:17.38]what do they have to be careful about
[00:19.86]and what joys can they expect
[00:21.73]when dealing¹ with a language of
[00:23.21]some 2 billion speakers worldwide?”
[00:25.35]In a way, the question answers itself.
[00:27.78]English enables you to communicate with
[00:30.14]a third of the world's population,
[00:32.11]and that has to be a plus on the agenda of anyone
[00:35.26]with an international outlook. That third, moreover,
[00:38.68]is hugely diverse. English is present, as a first,
[00:42.76]second, or foreign language, in every country in the world.
[00:46.14]So, in using it as a tool,
[00:48.34]you have an unparallelled opportunity to
[00:51.02]explore the individuality of nations and peoples.
[00:54.32]The metaphor² of the tool is important.
[00:56.79]English is not a prism, through which you see others.
[01:00.84]It is a tool which enables you to
[01:02.49]have a close encounter with others.
[01:04.47]Culture is not wholly dependent on language,
[01:07.27]but it does need language to explain its uniqueness—
[01:10.93]an experience all travellers have had, as they watch,
[01:13.81]say, a local folk dance and wonder what it is all about.
[01:17.94]However, the metaphor of the tool only goes so far,
[01:21.64]because you can change the character of the tool
[01:23.98]to suit your purposes. If you have adopted English
[01:27.35]as one of your languages, then you are able to adapt it—
[01:31.35]to take personal ownership of it.
[01:33.75]One of the great joys of making headway
[01:36.04]in a new language is that you can use it to talk about
[01:39.24]what you want to talk about—and if
[01:41.86]that means inventing new words,
[01:43.90]to express your local experience,
[01:45.44]then do not hesitate to invent them.
[01:48.03]Just translating the culture of your school
[01:50.69]and town into English—such as the names of localities
[01:54.12]and personalities—will immediately add dozens of new expressions.
[01:59.04]Don't restrict yourself to the words
[02:01.37]that are already in the dictionaries.
[02:03.14]English is yours now. The words and expressions
[02:06.25]you and your fellows invent today might be
[02:09.01]in the dictionaries of tomorrow, if they catch on.
[02:11.33]You're doing nothing that hasn't already been done
[02:14.29]thousands of times before. New words were added to
[02:17.68]English within days of the first settlers
[02:19.89]arriving in America from Britain,
[02:21.63]and the same pattern has been observed
[02:23.79]in all countries where a community of users has evolved.
[02:27.60]What you find yourselves doing you will see
[02:30.71]being done elsewhere. So to adopt the motto of
[02:34.48]the scouting³ movement—be prepared.
[02:36.75]Be prepared for linguistic⁴ diversity, change,
[02:39.79]playfulness, and creativity wherever you listen
[02:42.28]and look on radio and television, in the press,
[02:45.56]literature, film, pop music, the internet...
[02:49.24]Develop a sense of the kind of English
[02:51.75]that is appropriate to particular circumstances.
[02:54.38]And make it your major aim to be so
[02:56.89]in control of your own English that you can vary it
[03:00.37]to suit the circumstances in which you find yourself.
[03:02.66]Your goal is not to learn English, but Englishes.
[03:06.97]The same principle applies to any language, of course,
[03:10.72]but it is particularly important in the case of English
[03:14.27]because of its global reach.
 

1 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

2 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。

3 scouting   

守候活动，童子军的活动

参考例句：

• I have people scouting the hills already. 我已经让人搜过那些山了。
• Perhaps also from the Gospel it passed into the tradition of scouting. 也许又从《福音书》传入守望的传统。 来自演讲部分

4 linguistic   

adj.语言的，语言学的

参考例句：

• She is pursuing her linguistic researches.她在从事语言学的研究。
• The ability to write is a supreme test of linguistic competence.写作能力是对语言能力的最高形式的测试。