Role Play

64. Act as a doomsayer. You see English as a crumbling castle. Soon you will be talking about the collapse of grammar and proper styles, cacophony of accents, degrading standards and the consequent fall of morals. Your interlocutor views this language as a river with varied and changing tributaries (areas of new language content) and water never being stagnant (changing vocabulary). They will take the challenge and present the other – more optimistic vision of changes underway. Prepare your lists of arguments and share opinions on the ideas presented in the text below in a conversation, aiming at the maximum use of the new vocabulary.

Walk through central London today and within a few blocks you hear Arabic and Italian, French and Spanish, Urdu and German. Australian accents are almost as common as American ones.

The distinct class dialects I remember from my youth - the high vowels of the aristocracy; the rough, broad edges of cockney; the awkward flatness of mid-England - are far less distinct. Even the BBC is a cacophony of regional twang, with Scottish brogue and Welsh lilt more common than the plummy Queen's English of my teens.

Elsewhere, there is a kind of sonorous merging, the rise of a new accent that seems to have absorbed East End vowels with a southern English blandness. It is classless but at the same time fashionably downmarket. Tony Blair's voice captures it: he swings in one sentence from solid English propriety to sudden proletarian slang. The new England wired into the very vocal cords. When I was young, most immigrants still retained a Caribbean tilt or Pakistani staccato. Now they reflect lower Blair or the English region they come from.

Additional Vocabulary Exercises

65. Look up the following words in an explanatory dictionary, copy out their basic meanings and provide an example of their use in context, following the established format.

supplant, vibrant, profanity, convoluted, gem, instrumental, prescriptive, glacial(ly), bemuse, potent, baffle, in the loop, degrade, mean streets, (mother) lode, ferret out, morph, twang, brogue, plummy, wire into

66. Translate the sentences into Ukrainian.

1. By the 1980’s the workplace had replaced home – with co-workers supplanting biological family members. 2. Many see outdoor recreation as a means to a vibrant and healthy community. 3. Before the hurricane it was a vibrant community populated by big-city escapers. 4. The story contained profanity, unnecessary expletives, many harsh four-letter words and other vulgarities. 5. The history of the theatre is as long and convoluted as any opera plot. 6. Over the long and convoluted career as a dancer and choreographer he has tried varied styles. 7. Buyer beware. Not all those gems are what they seem. 8. Henry Kissinger’s “shuttle diplomacy” was instrumental in bringing about a ceasefire between Egypt and Israel. 9. The guidelines were not intended to be prescriptive. 10. Darwin thought that evolution proceeded only at a glacial pace and its workings would be evident only after lengthy periods. 11. I find it incredibly bemusing that some people hope to travel through time soon. 12. The tranquilizer was potent and should have taken effect within seconds. 13. The Internet has become the most potent media force on the planet. 14. Parents of adult children are baffled by the amount of toys in their grandchildren’s lives nowadays. 15. That wasn’t a regular accident and she was very much in the loop on this case. 16. The government coffers were filled with money from fines for the supposed environmentally degrading activities. 17. This policy continues to degrade both natural and social environments. 18. Calvin made a journey from the mean streets of Harlem to the corridors of power as a congressman. 19. Lil Scrappy plays a rookie cop learning the mean streets of LA from the veteran officer mate. 20. Sierra Nevada foothills shelter a mother lode of cycling routes. 21. I wanted more time to ferret out all the revealing details of this matter. 22. Between childhood and adolescence she had morphed from a sweet and very girly girl into an obstinate rebel. 23. His distinctive twang and poetic lyrics have produced some of the most memorable songs. 24. Every voice you hear in this lovely hangout has a brogue as thick as the crust on the chicken pot pie. 25. He had the plummy accent of an upper-crust Englishman. 26. His getting wired into the broadcasting industry has definitely paid off.

67. Translate the sentences into English using the vocabulary of the exercises above.

1. Багато жінок вказували консультантів як дієву допомогу у виборі кар’єри.

2. Міськрада повинна прийняти нові більш директивні стандарти забудови міста.

3. За сучасними вимогами комп’ютер був допотопно повільним і потребував заміни.

4. Здається обидва варіанти бентежили її маму.

5. Для мандрівника Непал – це невичерпне джерело пригод.

6. Мета Антикорупційного комітету – добувати інформацію про шахрайство і марнотратство у владі.

7. Після декількох ролей вона успішно перетворилася на безперечно популярну кінозірку.

8. Відносно нова партія стала потужною політичною силою в країні.

9. Він подобав різні стилі вимови, провінційні акценти, місцеві говірки і вмів всіх їх імітувати.

10. Її добре поставлений британський акцент якось не відповідав прокуреному голосу.

11. Ті комп’ютери підключені до інтернету.

12. Кожна технологія багата на свій жаргон, який неминуче пантеличить новачків.

13. Керівництво хотіло бути обізнаними у всіх ініціативах з оподаткування.

14. Сім’ї військових з трьох або чотирьох осіб проживають в гуртожитку у принизливих умовах.

15. Вони беруть і роблять що необхідно, щоб тримати під конролем криміногенні райони міста.

16. Книжки і газети зараз підміняє кіно і телебачення.

17. Численні магазинні розпродажі відкривають жвавий різдвяний сезон.

18. Там було декілька тисяч людей що вигукували лайливі слова в бік уряду.

19. Фільм пропонує надзвичайно закручений сюжет, за яким просто неможливо відстежити.

20. У місті повно популярних кулінарних перлин як наприклад Олива, Мафія чи Іль Патіо.

21. Його високогірна гугнява вимова могла точно вказати нам де ми знаходились навіть з закритими очима.

68. Familiarize with and look up 20 particularly British words (after Natalia Kuznetsova-Rice). Then fill in the gaps in the sentences with one of them.

1. The cues they give can be subtle, difficult to read and easy to overlook. Explaining her happiness all the while she missed the subtler but bigger influence on their long-run well-being. This breakthrough in research gives us a better understanding of cholesterol in all its subtleties. Country music has never counted subtlety among its virtues.

2. Saying he is not a gifted learner of foreign languages is to vastly understate a discouraging truth. This author’s room designs boast elegant, understated but beautiful aesthetics, which matter more than status symbols. The project costs were understated by three million pounds. I don’t mean to understate his contribution into the collective effort.

3. These Tony Manero-like gold chains. They are cheesy and sleazy. The joint framed itself as a men’s club and organized some cheesy beauty pageants. After the refurbishment the restaurant has kept the same menu with an addition of a few cheesy interior decorations now sold for triple the price.

4. He had been an awkward adolescent, unloved by anyone but his mother and father. Truth be told, the overall design is as awkward as the gallery’s double name.

5. The manufacturer claims their first rugged SUV will be relaunched, this time being as smooth and posh as the Lexus LS460 sedan. The Pacific coast near Acapulco is rife with movie stars, foreign dignitaries at posh estates.

6. Recently a peer caused an outcry when she tweeted about being stuck in a queue in "chav-land". (http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-13626046 ) In modern Britain the chav stereotype is used by governments as a convenient figleaf to justify widening inequality.

7. Should he indeed be elected, as widely expected on Sunday, what could it mean for the nation? While jogging and cycling are indeed healthy activities that should be promoted, municipality’s allocations on their development are scarce.

8. He is inconsistent, idiosyncratic, but just as often brilliant – he has single-handedly won this contract for the company. He was just a regular guy, but he was completely brilliant.

9. It was hard to understand the reason we were all so bloody careful to keep it a secret. I just have this annoying bloody feeling that all may well fall apart. I don’t have to tell my father everything I bloody do.

10. Three hundred quid a day? Blimey! This is more than I make in a week. She runs into him on a London street and says, “Blimey, it’s Joe, alive and in the flesh!”

11. How do you fancy a little ride to Wales? I know a few gorgeous nooks to spend the weekend there. He fancies himself as a doctor even though he is a lawyer. You know I always fancied you and stuck up for you whenever boss was too harsh.

12. German press criticized Greek early retirement ages and dodgy accounting. They went to that sleazy joint called Indra Club run by this dodgy bloke named Bruno. Do you see, Clare, the old guy in a dodgy coat and the posh young lady? They don’t look local.

13. He’ll say, “Oh, no rest for the wicked and the righteous don’t need none”. That was a wicked delicious stew she cooked last night.

14. Ten quid for that rubbish? You’ve got to be joking. He usually agrees to work for a summer school hoping to make some extra quid on the side.

15. On Sunday the hosts are usually knackered and need to unwind and the staff want to go home.

16. New office blocks have replaced the grubby areas of the former less fab city. You know that creating a fab first connection means showing interest in others.

17. The season started with three cheers for Alex Rodriguez. Recently I have heard more cheers than jeers as the project was launched.

18. I reckon my blog-post is nearly over. Wicked.”

19. I can see perfectly well that you are trying to take the piss out of me. Only it won't work. This bloke is taking the piss out of us, concluded one of the soldiers.

20. He left all his friends in Good Old Blighty.

bloody, fancy, reckon, take the piss, chav, indeed, brilliant, subtle, cheesy, awkward, blimey, understated, posh, dodgy, wicked, quid, knackered, fab, cheers

1. I took out a few items from my luggage but it was still too _____________ heavy. 2. It was the first time he had seen a 3-D film. _____________, it made his day! 3. She didn’t _____________being caught out in the open like this if the storm broke out. 4. I _____________I don’t truly know what that means. 5. Will you stop _____________out of me! It's not one bit funny any more. 6. _____________is, of course, along with "hoodie," "scally," or "ned," a label for an often-imagined adolescent who, in addition to sportswear, likes weed, benefit fraud and is notorious for antisocial behaviour. 7. While the Student Council is calling for a greater emphasis on social events, the administration has _____________said the same. 8. They came into the bar arm-in-arm; they looked like two _____________, expensive, top-class models. My courage sank into my boots. 9. Several _____________aspects of that table announced the status of its owner. 10. In their house Marcella and Peter wanted it to be classic and _____________on the outside, functional and somewhat refined on the inside. 11. If you have ever made a mistake, skip the _____________compliments. Saying sorry is a great start. 12. The waiting period was _____________ because there was not enough space for people to socialize. 13. Why do you think I’m all dressed up in my _____________ clothes today? 14. Your _____________eating habits, erratic exercising and generally spreading yourself thin may end up badly. 15. I watch her dancing and my heart sinks: she is a _____________girl, and she is more radiant every day. 16. Tin of salmon fetches fifty _____________on the black market these days. 17. He was _____________good and proper even though he was a tough customer. 18. The movie was fantastic, and Christina Aguilera is _____________in every way! 19. Let them come and watch; and if that leads to ear-splitting ___________ for the football teams, so be it.

 In conclusion:

 

Be subtle, don’t be cheesy or awkward, beware of chavs and dodgy places, try not to take piss out of the posh too often, and I reckon Blighty will find you bloody brilliant indeed, which will be fab and wicked. Blimey I’m knackered now. Cheers.