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Файл:Language. Английский язык для филологов. Учебное пособие
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16. "Do they know when he __ in?" asked Charlie. (to be) (Priestley)
UNIT 2
HISTORICAL ATTITUDES TOWARD LANGUAGE
ИСТОРИЧЕСКОЕ ОТНОШЕНИЕ К ЯЗЫКУ
– What do you know about a divine
or at least a supernatural origin to
language?
– What three aspects of early
thought about language does the
later biblical tradition of the Tower
of Babel (Genesis 11:1–9) exemplify?
17. The day will come when you __... why I am silent even to you. (to
know) (Collins)
18. She'll then be sent to some place of detention for a time. However,
after a reasonable interval she'll be allowed to leave, provided she __ in Austria. (to stay – negative) (Hilton)
19. Gemma __ badly the last few nights, and there were dark shadows
under her eyes. (to sleep) (Voynich)
20. The Gadfly __ a moment, glancing furtively at Gemma; then he __
(to pause, to go on). (Voynich)
21. The moon __ There was nothing to dispel the dark of the night. (to
rise – negative) (Abrahams)
I. Warm-Up Activities (Предтекстовые упражнения)
1. Обсудите следующие вопросы со своим партнёром:
Pieter Bruegel the Elder: The Tower of Babel
2. Просмотрите текст и ответьте на вопросы.
Human life in its present form would be impossible and inconceivable
without the use of language. People have long recognized the force and significance of language. Naming–applying a word to pick out and refer to a
fellow human being, an animal, an object, or a class of such beings or objects–is only one part of the use of language, but it is an essential and promi-
22
nent part. In many cultures, people have seen in the ability to name a means
to control or to possess; this explains the reluctance, in some communities,
with which names are revealed to strangers and the taboo restrictions found
in several parts of the world on using the names of persons recently dead.
Such restrictions echo widespread and perhaps universal taboos on naming
directly things considered obscene, blasphemous, or very fearful.
Is there the reluctance to reveal the name of a man to strangers in your
native culture? Is it considered obscene, blasphemous, or very fearful?
3. Key Words. Запомните слова, которые вам понадобятся при
работе с материалом данного урока:
1.blasphemous ['blæsfɪməs] богохульный, нечестивый;
2.obscene [əb'siːn] неприличный, недопустимый;
3.reluctance [rɪ'lʌkt(ə)n(t)s] неохота, нежелание, нерасположение;
отвращение;
4.coeval [kəu'iːv(ə)l] 1. 1) ровесник, сверстник; 2) современник (о вещи
или человеке); 2. 1) одного возраста; 2) возникший или существующий
одновременно;
5.speculation [ˌspekjə'leɪʃ(ə)n] 1) размышление, обдумывание; 2) пред-
положение, теория, догадка, умозрительное построение;
6.fascination [ˌfæsɪ'neɪʃ(ə)n] очарование, обаяние; прелесть, привле-
кательность, притягательность;
7.inaccessibility [ˌɪnəkˌsesə'bɪlətɪ] недоступность, недостижимость,
недосягаемость; неприступность;
8.onomatopoeia [ˌɔnəˌmætə'piːə] ономатопея, звукоподражание; звукоподражательное слово;
9.investigation [ɪnˌvestɪ'geɪʃ(ə)n] 1) расследование, следствие; 2) исследование;
10. treatment ['triːtmənt] 1) обращение; 2) обработка, пропитка;
3) лечение, уход; 4) трактовка, рассмотрение; толкование;
11. to reconstruct [ˌriːk(ə)n'strʌkt]1) перестраивать 2) восстанавливать;
12. to discover [dɪ'skʌvə] 1) обнаруживать, находить; заставать;
2) обнаруживать, выяснять, узнавать;
13. fossil ['fɔs(ə)l] 1) а) ископаемое, окаменелость (остатки животных или растительных организмов, сохранившиеся в земной коре
с прежних геологических эпох) б) ископаемое (какой-л. откопанный
предмет);
14. unilateral [ˌjuːnɪ'læt(ə)r(ə)l] 1) односторонний; 2) неприкреплённый, неприкомандированный, на самообеспечении (о журналисте, находящемся непосредственно в районе боевых действий);
23
15. naivety [naɪ'iːvətɪ] 1) наивность, неопытность, неискушённость;
2) простота, безыскусность;
16. thence [ðen(t)s] 1) оттуда; 2) отсюда, поэтому;
17. origin ['ɔrɪʤɪn] / 1) начало, источник; 2) происхождение;
18. expression [ɪk'spreʃ(ə)n] , [ek-] выражение;
19. essence ['es(ə)n(t)s] 1) существо, сущность; 2) существование;
3) экстракт, эссенция;
20. occasion [ə'keɪʒ(ə)n] 1) возможность, случай, шанс; 2) основание, причина; повод, обстоятельство 3) происшествие, случай, событие,
явление;
21. science ['saɪən(t)s] наука;
22. apprehend [ˌæprɪ'hend] 1) понимать, постигать, разгадывать,
схватывать; 2) предчувствовать (что-л. дурное) , ожидать (несчастья) ,
опасаться; 3) арестовывать, задерживать;
23. inhabit [ɪn'hæbɪt] 1) жить, обитать; населять, заселять; 2) наполнять, заполнять;
24. token ['təuk(ə)n] маркер; знак; лексема; жетон; символ; примета;
25. acknowledge [ək'nɔlɪʤ] 1) сознавать; допускать, признавать;
2) выражать признательность.
II. Reading (Чтение). Прочитайте и переведите текст.
The origin of language has never failed to provide a subject for specu-
lation, and its inaccessibility adds to its fascination. Informed investigations
of the probable conditions under which language might have originated and
developed are seen in the late 18th-century essay of the German philosopher
Johann Gottfried von Herder, “Abhandlung über den Ursprung der Sprache”
(“Essay on the Origin of Language”), and in numerous other treatments. But
people have tried to go farther, to discover or to reconstruct something like
the actual forms and structure of the first language. This lies forever beyond
the reach of science, in that spoken language in some form is almost certainly coeval with Homo sapiens. The earliest records of written language,
the only linguistic fossils humanity can hope to have, go back no more than
4,000 to 5,000 years. Some people have tried to claim that the cries of animals and birds, or nonlexical expressions of excitement or anger, evolved
into human speech, as if onomatopoeia were the essence of language; these
claims have been ridiculed for their inadequacy (by, for example, the Oxford philologist Max Müller in the 19th century) and have been given nick-
names such as “bowwow” and “pooh-pooh” theories.
24
On several occasions attempts have been made to identify one particular
existing language as representing the original or oldest tongue of human-
kind, but, in fact, the universal process of linguistic change rules out any
such hopes from the start. The Greek historian Herodotus told a (possibly satirical) story in which King Psamtik I of Egypt (reigned 664–610 BCE)
caused a child to be brought up without ever hearing a word spoken in his
presence. On one occasion it ran up to its guardian as he brought it some
bread, calling out “bekos, bekos”; this, being said to be the Phrygian word
for bread, proved that Phrygian was the oldest language. The naiveté and
absurdity of such an account have not prevented the repetition of this experiment elsewhere at other times.
In Christian Europe the position of Hebrew as the language of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) gave valid grounds through many centuries for
regarding Hebrew, the language in which God was assumed to have addressed Adam, as the parent language of all humankind. Such a view continued to be expressed even well into the 19th century. Only since the mid1800s has linguistic science made sufficient progress finally to clarify the
impracticability of speculation along these lines.
When people have begun to reflect on language, its relation to thinking
becomes a central concern. Several cultures have independently viewed the
main function of language as the expression of thought. Ancient Indian
grammarians speak of the soul apprehending things with the intellect and
inspiring the mind with a desire to speak, and in the Greek intellectual tradition Aristotle declared, “Speech is the representation of the experiences of
the mind” (On Interpretation). Such an attitude passed into Latin theory and
thence into medieval doctrine. Medieval grammarians envisaged three
stages in the speaking process: things in the world exhibit properties; these
properties are understood by the minds of humans; and, in the manner in
which they have been understood, so they are communicated to others by the
resources of language.
Such a view of language continued to be accepted as generally adequate
and gave rise to the sort of definition proposed by Henry Sweet and quoted
above. A recognition of the part played by speaking and writing in social
cooperation in everyday life has highlighted the many and varied functions
of language in all cultures, apart from the functions strictly involved in the
communication of thought, which had been the main focus of attention for
those who approached language from the standpoint of the philosopher. To
allow for the full range of language used by speakers, more-comprehensive
definitions of language have been proposed–namely, “A language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by means of which a social group cooper-
25
ates.” Despite the breadth of this definition, however, its use of the word vocal excludes all languages that are not vocalized, particularly manual
(signed) languages.
A rather different criticism of accepted views on language began to be
made in the 18th century, most notably by the French philosopher Étienne
Bonnot de Condillac in “Essai sur l’origine des connaissances humaines”
(1746; “Essay on the Origin of Human Knowledge”) and by Johann
Gottfried von Herder. These thinkers were concerned with the origin and
development of language in relation to thought in a way that earlier students
had not been.
The intimate connection between language and thought, as opposed to
the earlier assumed unilateral dependence of language on thought, opened
the way to a recognition of the possibility that different language structures
might in part favour or even determine different ways of understanding and
thinking about the world. All people inhabit a broadly similar world, or they
would be unable to translate from one language to another, but they do not
all inhabit a world exactly the same in all particulars, and translation is not
merely a matter of substituting different but equivalent labels for the contents of the same inventory. From this stem the notorious difficulties in
translation, especially when the systematizations of science, law, morals,
social structure, and so on are involved. The extent of the interdependence
of language and thought–linguistic relativity, as it has been termed–is still
a matter of debate, but the fact of such interdependence can hardly fail to be
acknowledged.
III. Practice (Активизация лексики). Выполните следующие упражнения.
1. а) Объясните значения выделенных слов и переведите выде-
ленные словосочетания из текста урока.
б) Найдите в тексте урока словосочетания, соответствующие
русским эквивалентам:
не удалось обеспечить; условия, при которых мог возникнуть язык;
навсегда лежит вне досягаемости научной формы; почти наверняка
ровесник...; лингвистические окаменелости; претендовать на нелексичность; выражения; эволюционировать в человеческую речь; были
предприняты попытки; лингвистические изменения; достичь достаточного прогресса; спекуляции в этом направлении; выражение мысли;
желание говорить; быть в центре внимания; система произвольных
вокальных символов; односторонняя зависимость языка от мысли;
предмет дебатов.
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2. Приведите в соответствие термины из левой колонки с их
1. speculation
a. to find unexpectedly or during a search;
2. treatment
b. to build or form (something) again after it has been
damaged or destroyed;
3. unilateral
c. the forming of a theory or conjecture without firm
evidence;
4. reconstruct
d. a complete list of items such as property, goods in
stock, or the contents of a building;
5. discover
e. (of an action or decision) performed by or affecting
only one person, group, or country involved in a situation, without the agreement of another or the others;
6. inventory
f. the manner in which someone behaves towards or
deals with someone or something.
1. fascination
a. to find
2. investigation
b. contemporary
3. treatment
c. examination, inquiry
4. to discover
d. list, catalogue; account
5. coeval
e. cure
6. inventory
f. charm
толкованием из правой колонки:
3. Закончите предложения, употребляя слова из упражнения 2
в нужной форме:
1. There was _____________ that a treaty would be signed.
2. The directive required equal ____________ for men and women in
social security schemes.
3. A small area of painted Roman plaster has been ___________.
4. Fleming ___________ penicillin early in the twentieth century.
5. A ___________ decision or action is taken by only one of the groups,
organizations, or countries that are involved in a particular situation, without
the agreement of the others.
6. Before starting, he made an ________ of everything that was to stay.
4. Сопоставьте каждое слово из левой колонки с его синонимом
из правой колонки:
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5. Напишите к каждому слову из левой колонки его антоним
1. independent
1.
2. inadequacy
2.
3. nonlexical
3.
4. inaccessibility
4.
5. impracticability
5.
6. to exclude
6.
1. natural
a. structures
2. intellectual
b. speech
3. medieval
c. progress
4. logical
d. relations
5. historical
e. language
6. human
f. process
7. sufficient
g. doctrine
8. speaking
h. competence
в правой колонке. Переведите слова на русский язык:
6. Составьте словосочетания с данными прилагательными
и существительными. Переведите их на русский язык:
IV. Checklist (Упражнения на понимание содержания текста)
1. Просмотрите текст об историческом отношении к языку
еще раз и ответьте на вопросы:
1. Has the origin of language always been a subject for speculation?
2. When were informed investigations of the probable conditions under
which language might have originated and developed carried out?
3. How old are the first records of written language?
4. Was one particular existing language as representing the original or
oldest tongue of humankind identified?
5. On what grounds was the position of Hebrew as the parent language
of all humankind regarding in Christian Europe through many centuries?
6. What was (in a view of several early cultures) the main function of
language?
7. What three stages in the speaking process did medieval grammarians
envisage?
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8. What definition of language as more comprehensive definition to allow for the full range language used by speakers was proposed?
9. Why are the notorious difficulties in translation (especially when the
systematizations of science, law, morals, social structure, and so on) involved?
10. What relation between language and thought is acknowledged but is
still a matter of debate?
2. Какие предложения верны (T), а где допущены ошибки (F)?
Исправьте неверные утверждения.
1. When people have begun to reflect on language, its relation to thinking becomes a central concern._____
2. The earliest records of written language almost certainly coeval with
Homo sapiens._____
3. Phrygian word for bread proved that Phrygian was the oldest language._____
4. Several cultures have independently viewed the main function of language as the expression of thought._____
5. Medieval grammarians envisaged four stages in the speaking process._____
6. All people inhabit a broadly similar world but they would be unable
to translate from one language to another._____
3. Озаглавьте каждый параграф текста.
4. Напишите журнальную статью об одном известном мыслителе из текста этого урока.
Выбирайте из следующих учёных: Генри Свит, Макс Мюллер,
Этьен Бонно де Кондильяк, Иоганн Готфрид фон Гердер (Henry Sweet,
Max Müller, Étienne Bonnot de Condillac, Johann Gottfried von Herder).
Придерживайтесь следующего плана при написании статьи:
TITLE:……………….
PARAGRAPH 1
Who is this thinker and what is he best known for?
PARAGRAPH 2
Biographical information: when and where born / family life / important
points in life.
PARAGRAPH 3
What was his message? What were his influential thoughts?
PARAGRAPH 4
Why do you think this person is important?
29
Write 100–150 words.
V. Additional Reading and Tasks (Дополнительные тексты и задания).
1. Прочитайте текст о божественном происхождении языка и
ответьте, какую новую информацию об истории языка вы узнали.
Perhaps not surprisingly, several independent traditions ascribe a divine
or at least a supernatural origin to language or to the language of a particular
community. The biblical account, representing ancient Jewish beliefs, of
Adam’s naming the creatures of the earth under God’s guidance is one such
example:
So out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and
every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call
them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.
(Genesis 2:19)
Norse mythology preserves a similar story of divine participation in the
creation of language, and in India the god Indra is said to have invented articulate speech. In the debate on the nature and origin of language given in
Plato’s Socratic dialogue Cratylus, Socrates is made to speak of the gods as
those responsible for first fixing the names of things in the proper way.
A similar divine aura pervades early accounts of the origin of writing.
The Norse god Odin was held responsible for the invention of the runic alphabet. The inspired stroke of genius whereby the ancient Greeks adapted a
variety of the Phoenician consonantal script so as to represent the distinctive
consonant and vowel sounds of Greek, thus producing the first alphabet such
as is known today, was linked with the mythological figure Cadmus, who,
coming from Phoenicia, was said to have founded Thebes and introduced
writing into Greece. By a traditional account, the Arabic alphabet, together
with the language itself, was given to Adam by God.
The later biblical tradition of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1–9) exemplifies three aspects of early thought about language: (1) divine interest
in and control over its use and development, (2) a recognition of the power it
gives to humans in relation to their environment, and (3) an explanation
of linguistic diversity, of the fact that people in adjacent communities speak
different and mutually unintelligible languages, together with a survey of the
various speech communities of the world known at the time to the Hebrew
people.
30
Notes:
Genesis [ˈdʒɛnɪsɪs] the first book of the Bible, which includes the sto-
ries of the creation of the world, Noah's Ark, the Tower of Babel, and the
patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph;
Indra [ˈɪndrə] the warrior king of the heavens, god of war and storm, to
whom many of the prayers in the Rig Veda are addressed;
Plato ['pleɪtəu] (c. 429– c. 347 BC), Greek philosopher. A disciple of
Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle, Plato founded the Academy in Athens.
An integral part of his thought is the theory of ‘ideas’ or ‘forms’, in which
abstract entities or universals are contrasted with their objects or particulars
in the material world. His philosophical writings are presented in the form of
dialogues, with Socrates as the principal speaker; they include the and the.
Plato's political theories appear in the, in which he explored the nature and
structure of a just society;
Socrates [ˈsɒkrətiːz] (469–399 BC), Greek philosopher. As represented
in the writings of his disciple Plato, he engaged in dialogue with others in an
attempt to define ethical concepts by exposing and dispelling error (the Socratic method). Charged with introducing strange gods and corrupting the
young, Socrates was sentenced to death and died by drinking hemlock;
Cadmus [ˈkadməs] the brother of Europa and traditional founder of
Thebes in Boeotia. He killed a dragon which guarded a spring, and when (on
Athene's advice) he sowed the dragon's teeth a harvest of armed men came
up; he disposed of the majority by setting them to fight one another, and the
survivors formed the ancestors of the Theban nobility;
Odin [ˈəʊdɪn] (also Woden or Wotan) the supreme god and creator, god
of victory and the dead. Wednesday is named after him;
Phoenician [fɪ'nɪʃ(ə)n] 1. 1) финикиец, финикиянин, финикиянка
(представитель народа, жившего на берегах Средиземного моря и в Северной Африке); 2) финикийский (язык) (мёртвый язык; относится
к семитской группе языков); 2. Финикийский;
Hebrew ['hiːbruː] 1. 1) еврей, иудей; израильтянин; 2) а) древнееврейский язык (относится к ханаанейской группе семитской языковой
семьи; язык Ветхого Завета, устная традиция до 2 в. н.э.); б) иврит (современная модификация древнееврейского языка; государственный
язык Израиля); 3) неразборчивая речь; непонятный язык.
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