1) What is language? Think of as many notions associated with language as you can to complete the spidergram.

2. How would you define “language”? In groups of 3 make up your own definition of language, using the spidergram.

3) Now read the definitions of language from the encyclopedia and dictionaries, compare them with your own definition. Which one is better? Why?

A language is a dynamic set of visual, auditory, or tactile symbols of communication and the elements used to manipulate them. (Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language)

LANGUAGE 1 a : the words, their pronunciation, and the methods of combining them used and understood by a community  b(1) : audible, articulate, meaningful sound as produced by the action of the vocal organs (2) : a systematic means of communicating ideas or feelings by the use of conventionalized signs, sounds, gestures, or marks having understood meanings  (Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary)

LANGUAGE 1) a system for the expression of thoughts, feelings, etc., by the use of spoken sounds or conventional symbols 2) the faculty for the use of such systems, which is a distinguishing characteristic of man as compared with other animals 3) the language of a particular nation or people the French language 4) any other systematic or nonsystematic means of communicating, such as gesture or animal sounds the language of love (ABBYY Lingvo 12)

2. Paraphrase the quotations below. Which one do you agree with? Why? Discuss with your partner. To organize your discussion you should use the useful language from Reference Section at the back of the book.

• Language is the means of getting an idea from my brain into yours without surgery. (Mark Amidon)

• Language is a city to the building of which every human being brought a stone. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

• Words are the leaves of the tree of language, of which, if some fall away, a new succession takes their place. (John French)

• Language is an anonymous, collective and unconscious art; the result of the creativity of thousands of generations. (Edward Sapir)

• I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men and German to my horse. (Charles V)

3. Amazing facts about English

1) Read the following facts about English. Which one is the most amazing? Why?

• According to Illinois state law, it is illegal to speak English. The officially recognized language is "American."

• Widow is the only female form in the English language that is shorter than its corresponding male term (widower).

• There is only ONE word in the English language with three consecutive sets of double letters .... Bookkeeper

• There is a word in the English language with only one vowel, which occurs five times: "indivisibility."

• There is a seven letter word in the English language that contains ten words without rearranging any of its letters, "therein": the, there, he, in, rein, her, here, ere, therein, herein.

• There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: "abstemious" and "facetious."

• There are only 4 words in the English language which end in "duos": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.

• There are at least two words in the English language that use all of the vowels, in the correct order, and end in the letter Y: abstemiously & facetiously.

• The word "queue" is the only word in the English language that is still pronounced the same way when the last four letters are removed.