Friday, March 25, 2011

English, a Global Language

English is a language that originated in the British area, and which was spread across the globe frequently during the times of the great colonies. Brittan was quite active at exploring what they called the “new world”. This resulted in many British colonies around the world, as well as expanding in the users of the English language and vocabulary. Today, another méthode is used for this very task. The internet and global Medias are frequently used internationally. For instance, this blog has been read of people from many countries. The colonies were abandoned by the British colonial lords at the last part of the 17th century. But the British language stayed behind. Today, many of these countries have developed their own variety of the English language. How do these differ from the original language? To try and answer this question, I have chosen three different varieties: Hinglish, Pakistani-English and South African English.

Hinglish is a variety of English spoken in India. Apparently, this language is expanding alongside the technical revolution. Mobile, internet and television helps this language expand. This variety is actually a mix of the two languages Hindi and English. The characteristics are using Hindi words in an English sentence, or vice versa. This is considered a more global and international way to talk than to completely stick to one of the languages.

The South African English is a non-rhotic language. This means that they only pronounce letters such as R if it is followed by a vowel. The word car is pronounced without the last -R. This is similar to the British language. This language differs from the British variety in some ways. The influence from their original language has defiantly had an influence.

English came to Pakistan later than its arrival in India. Today, English is one of Pakistan’s official languages. Many documents are written in English. The Pakistani-English is most similar to the
British English, but it is heavily influenced by the Pakistani language as well as the varieties of English used in the neighboring countries of Pakistan.

In conclusion, I would say that English is an important language. It is about to be t
he global language, which could be an important key to cooperation and globalization in the future. The different varieties of the language will be influenced on the habitat’s culture and original language. I do not consider this to be a problem as long as we are able to understand each other across borders.

Sources:

Friday, March 18, 2011

Gran Torino


Today, we watched the movie Gran Torino.
The opening of the movie is from a funeral, where a young priest is having a memorial speech for a woman. After few minutes, we understand that this woman was the wife of the main character, Mr. Walt Kowalski. He is an old vet from the Korean War who lives alone in his house together with his dog, Daisy. In this first event, the funeral, we are introduced to Walt's family, his two sons, the wife and children of one of these. But more importantly, we are introduced to Walt's neighbors. The family living next door consists of a grand-mother, a mother and her two children, Sue and Thao. Their ethnicity is Hmong, from the western Asia.

The main problem in the movie is these children's cousin, Spider. He is the leader of a gang which is highly criminal, and wants to recruit Thao to their gang. In order to join, they ask him to steal Mr. Kowalski's Gran Torino. However, Walt discovers him at the crime scene, and this is, remarkably as it seems, the beginning of a heartbreaking relationship. The reason is that Thao's family considers it a huge dishonor, and in order to pay back, they make Thao work for Walt. As they get to know each other, Walt grows fund of the boy who works so hard for him. When his working-hours for Walt are over, Mr. Kowalski finds Thao a job.
But things can never be just happy... The cousin of Thao and Sue are destined to make the new, happier life of Walt and the family a nightmare. One night, they drive by the house of Thao and Sue, and start shooting at the entrance. This results in Thao being shot. Anyhow, he is not seriously damaged by this. The worse it is for Sue. Her cousin beat her up and rape her, then to leave her, almost dead from the beating, on the porch of the family house.

This is in many ways a turning point in the movie. From here on, there is only one thing to do: Punish the ones responsible for this outrageous crime. Walt decides to take the matter in his own hands, and finds a way to help the family, and be at peace with himself...
Gran Torino is a movie about great friendship, reliability, and justice. In addition to that, it raises many problems that people with another ethnicity or another background can face when they come to a new country. How to learn the language and culture? It is also about the hard job it is for people to find their place in the society of the new country in which they have moved to. I thought the scenes and the composition of this movie makes it worth every penny. This is one to watch!

and www.vanachteren.net/2010/01/10/gran-torino-clint-eastwood/

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

I have now read in this book a couple of times. Currently, I am at page 120. Throughout these pages, we have been introduced to the main character Henry. The book is written with a divided storyline. In the first chapter, we meet Henry in 1986. His wife has just passed away, and he is in grief. We also learn quite early that his relationship with his son Marty is complicated. They seem to have a hard time communicating. We have yet to learn why. Right now, Marty have told his father Henry that he is engaged. Henry asks Marty and Samantha, Martys fiancée, to help Henry find Keikos old possessions in the basement at the Panama Hotel.

The other storyline evolves around Henry in his High-school years in 1942. He lives in Chinatown in Seattle. He is accepted to the school trough what his parents calls scholarshipping. At school, he meets a girl at his same age called Keiko. Her parents are from Japan, but she is born in America. Keiko and Henry turn out to be great friends, despite Henrys father's fury towards japanese people. (Henrys father is very furious about the war between Japan and China, and therefore he is negative towards every japanese person he lays his eyes on.) Right now, Americans have started to escort japanese people to camps all around the country. Keiko is afraid for her family, and Henry is scared for Keiko...