English Extra from Parkland Language School

The English Extra service

     from the Parkland summer school staff

We are delighted to introduce a new service designed to be of interest to students and teachers who wish to keep their English bang up to date!

Thank you to Glen Thompson, our Director of Studies, for this selection:

The things we say:

The English people use every day might not always be the same as the English you learn from books in school.  One of the big advantages of Parkland is that you’re taught by well-qualified, native speaker teachers who can teach you real English.

What do you think these expressions mean?

1)            That’s wicked!

a)            That’s horrible.

b)            That’s very good.

c)            That’s bad for you.

2)            He’s a couch potato.

a)            He eats lots of chips.

b)            He’s quite fat.

c)            He isn’t very active.

3)            I hear what you’re saying.

a)            I understand but I don’t agree.

b)            You’re talking too loudly.

c)            You don’t need to repeat.

4)            Wake up and smell the coffee.

a)            It’s time to get up.

b)            I’ve made a drink for you.

c)            Be realistic.

5)            “What are you doing this weekend?”  “I’m going to chill out.”

a)            I’m going somewhere cold.

b)            I’m going to relax

c)            I haven’t decided yet.

6)            They’re hanging out together.

a)            They’re spending time together.

b)            They work together.

c)            They are doing the laundry.

Answers:

1) b        Wicked means cool, great, fantastic!  Of course it also means cruel or bad but these days young people usually use it to mean cool.

2) c         A couch potato is someone who spends a lot of their free time sitting down, perhaps watching TV or playing on the computer.

3) a        This means I understand what you’re saying but I don’t agree with you.

4) c         People say this when something is obvious but they’re not being realistic.  The idea is that someone is still asleep and dreaming and so they should wake up and smell the morning coffee.

5) b        “Chilling” or “chilling out” means relaxing, doing nothing much.

6) a        “Hanging out” means spending time with a  friend.  The place they go to – for example a café – might be their “hangout”.

How well did you do?

Where our words come from:

Internet, DVDs, cyberspace – sometimes it seems that every language is using English words these days!  You may know that English has ‘borrowed’ words from many other languages as well.

In the fifth and sixth centuries, Anglo-Saxons from the north-western part of Europe invaded England.  They spoke a Germanic language and many of their words became used in England.  Words such as ship, field, earth and wood are examples.  This was probably the first type of English.

In the ninth century, Vikings from Scandinavia invaded.  Many Scandinavian words became used in English.  Modern words such as egg, sister, sky, and craft come from the Norse language, which the Vikings spoke.  (Incidentally, in Yorkshire, where Parkland holds its summer school, many of the towns and villages have Viking names.  York was the capital of Viking England.)

After 1066, when William the Conqueror defeated King Harald and invaded England, many French words became used in English.  Because the French were often in positions of power, French words became common in law and government.  English words like prince, justice, parliament and gentleman were adapted from French.          Lots of words connected with the church – such as religion, prayer and saint also have French origins.

From the 17^th Century onwards, many European countries were building empires and trading.  This meant that English speakers had more contact with speakers of other languages.  In this time, English adopted words from languages such as Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese.   Words like landscape, iceberg and rucksack came from Dutch, whereas mosquito and avocado came from Spanish.  Words of Portuguese origin in English include banana, coconut and marmalade.   Similarly, we got the words sugar and coffee from Arabic because of tradesmen.

British settlers in India adopted local words such as veranda and pyjamas, often for things which didn’t exist in England at that time.

So you can see that most languages, including English, borrow and adapt words from other languages.  Are there any words from your language in English?

What about these words?  Which language do you think they come from?  Do you know what they mean?

cotton                  hurricane             jungle                   dam                      abseil                    dungeon

bungalow            mustard               freckle                  wagon                  patio                     awkward

Answers:

cotton (Arabic)

hurricane (Spanish)

jungle (Hindi)                    

dam (Dutch)                      

abseil (German)                

dungeon (French)

bungalow (Hindi)             

mustard (French)             

freckle (Scandinavian)                   

wagon (Dutch)                 

patio (Spanish)                 

awkward (Scandinavian)

Did you know…SMS might mean Short Messaging Service, but unlike some other languages like German and Dutch, English speakers don’t often say it.  We usually “send someone a text” or even “text someone”.

A Parkland Excursion

One of the most popular trips with Parkland is to Whitby, a small fishing town on the coast.  Can you find words in the grid for things you might see, hear  or eat at the seaside?  There are ten.

(Answers: crab; cliffs; beach; sea; waves; ice cream; sand; boats; fish; gulls).

Did you know…Britain may not be famous for its food, but one British food is eaten in many countries – the sandwich.  The Earl of Sandwich, a small town in Kent, used to enjoy playing cards.  If he didn’t want to stop playing to have lunch, he would ask his servants to bring him a slice of meat in between two slices of bread.  And so the sandwich was invented!