17.11.12
13.11.12
11.11.12
16.10.12
11.10.12
English as a global language
English is used around the world as a global language or a lingua franca - a language which is used to establish communication between speakers of different languages.
Here's what happens when it is not used properly:
Here's what happens when it is not used properly:
Video suggested by João Vinhas. Thanks
26.9.12
online dictionary
Here is a link to an online dictionary which you can use to find information about different words. It has references to the origin of the word - whether it comes from Old English, Middle English or even a new variety of English or a loan word. And you can even listen to the way the word is pronounced. Just type the word and choose "search".
Here is the example of a loan word borrowed from Portuguese:
21.9.12
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was a poet and a playwright at the end of the 16th century and beginning of the 17th (during the time of Elizabeth I). He is one of the greatest writers in the English language. He wrote in Modern English.
Here are a few sarcastic scenes of two of his most famous plays.
Hamlet:
Romeo and Juliet:
history of the English language
| A brief chronology of English | ||
|---|---|---|
| BC 55 | Roman invasion of Britain by Julius Caesar - LATIN | Local inhabitants speak Celtish |
| BC 43 | Roman invasion and occupation. Beginning of Roman rule of Britain. | |
| 436 | Roman withdrawal from Britain complete. | |
| 449 | Settlement of Britain by Germanic invaders begins - GERMANIC DIALECTS | |
| 787-850 | Viking invasion. OLD NORSE or SCANDINAVIAN LANGUAGES | Old English |
| 1066 | William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, invades and conquers England - FRENCH | |
| c1150 | Earliest surviving manuscripts in Middle English. | Middle English |
| 1348 | English replaces Latin as the language of instruction in most schools. | |
| 1362 | English replaces French as the language of law. English is used in Parliament for the first time. | |
| c1388 | Chaucer starts writing The Canterbury Tales. | |
| c1400 | The Great Vowel Shift begins. | |
| 1476 | William Caxton establishes the first English printing press. | Early Modern English |
| 1564 | Shakespeare is born. | |
| 1604 | Table Alphabeticall, the first English dictionary, is published. | |
| 1607 | The first permanent English settlement in the New World (Jamestown) is established. | |
| 1616 | Shakespeare dies. | |
| 1623 | Shakespeare's First Folio is published | |
| 1702 | The first daily English-language newspaper, The Daily Courant, is published in London. | |
| 1755 | Samuel Johnson publishes his English dictionary. | |
| 1776 | Thomas Jefferson writes the American Declaration of Independence. | |
| 1782 | Britain abandons its American colonies. | |
| 1828 | Webster publishes his American English dictionary. | Late Modern English |
| 1922 | The British Broadcasting Corporation is founded. | |
| 1928 | The Oxford English Dictionary is published. | |
more info here
29.5.12
26.5.12
23.5.12
22.5.12
15.5.12
mtv, TV and the cinema in the 80's
First video ever played on MTV
TV series - Fame
Cinema - Footloose
Cinema -Top Gun
14.5.12
music from this century
13.5.12
10.5.12
3.5.12
school's out forever
a hard rock song from the beggining of the 70s
2.5.12
30.4.12
27.4.12
26.4.12
25.4.12
9.4.12
rock and roll
Rock-and-Roll - expression used (1951) by Alan Freed, Cleveland disc jockey, taken from the song "My Baby Rocks Me with a Steady Roll". The use of rock, roll, rock and roll, etc., with reference to sexual intercourse, is traditional in blues, a form of popular music that evolved in the 1950's from rhythm and blues, characterized by the use of electric guitars, a strong rhythm with an accent on the offbeat, and youth-oriented lyrics. It’s a form of popular music arising from and incorporating a variety of musical styles, especially rhythm and blues, country music, and gospel. Originating in the United States in the 1950s, it is characterized by electronically amplified instrumentation, a heavily accented beat, and relatively simple phrase structure.
More info here.
15.3.12
hula hoops
The name "hula hoop" came from the Hawaiian dance its users seemed to imitate.
Wham-O (the original manufacturers) sold 25 million hula hoops in two months. Almost 100 million international orders followed. They were manufacturing 20,000 hoops a day at the peak of popularity.
Not all nations thought this was such a spiffy idea. Japan banned the hoops thinking they might promote improprieties. The Soviet Union said the hula hoop was an example of the "emptiness of American culture." Well, okay, maybe they had a point there.
Wham-O (the original manufacturers) sold 25 million hula hoops in two months. Almost 100 million international orders followed. They were manufacturing 20,000 hoops a day at the peak of popularity.
Not all nations thought this was such a spiffy idea. Japan banned the hoops thinking they might promote improprieties. The Soviet Union said the hula hoop was an example of the "emptiness of American culture." Well, okay, maybe they had a point there.
grease
A musical about teens in love in the 50's! It's California, 1959 and greaser Danny Zuko (John Travolta) and Australian Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton-John) are in love. They spend time at the beach, but when they go back to school, what either of them doesn't know is that they both now attend Rydell High. Danny's the leader of the T-Birds, a group of black-jacket greasers while Sandy hangs with the Pink Ladies, a group of pink-wearing girls led by Rizzo. When they clash at Rydell's first pep rally, Danny isn't the same Danny at the beach. They try to be like each other so they can be together.
It was successful both critically and at the box office; its soundtrack album ended 1978 as the second-best selling album of the year in the United States.
7.3.12
Kony 2012
i think it's important for everyone to see this video
"who are we to end a war? who are we not to?"
5.3.12
howl
Ginsberg celebrates his fellow "angel-headed hipsters" and excoriates what he saw as the destructive forces of capitalism and conformity in the United States. It is one of the classic poems of the Beat Generation.
You can read the poem here.
(translation into Portuguese here)
I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked,
dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix,
angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly
connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night.
15.2.12
8.2.12
7.2.12
european union
25.1.12
24.1.12
20.1.12
16.1.12
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)