Paper 4
An important issue raised in the text was the fact that a majority of the people on the earth today speak English but not as a first language. Around 400 million out of 1.5 billion English speakers have it as their first language. This correlates with the fact that there are more people in China who speak English as a second language than people in America who speak it as their first. This shows that the present state of English is good. Another country widely speaking a different language can be beneficial for the language since it expands its use. This specific point supports the statement that English is growing in popularity. This may support language imperialization since there is such interest in the language.
Another important point that was raised in the text was that English is the world’s favorite lingua franca. Meaning that in an interaction between two people from different countries that speak different languages than English will most likely be spoken. This supports Kachru’s circle model because when looking at the outer circle which represents people who speak English as a second language. We can see that these people will most commonly use English as a common language between people. This supports the statement that English is presently at a good status and that it is rising in popularity.
English’s days as the top language may be limited however, due to the fact that technology is advancing quickly. Advances in computer translation as well as voice-recognition technology allow for machine translation in real time. These translators can possibly make a widely known language obsolete since people will have the capability to translate anyone and anything at any time. Wonkyum Lee, a South Korean computer scientist for Gridspace, is a part of developing these advancements in translation and voice recognition. He states that it will be so good that people won’t be able to differentiate the computer from a real person. This supports the statement that English will die in the future because it will no longer be used so much. The idea is that translators will replace people and be just as accurate if not more than human translators. This will make a common language unnecessary and English is the current “common language” used throughout the world.
Even with all of this technology English will not go extinct. At this point it is only expanding and evolving. Just 1000 years ago Latin was predominantly spoken and other languages such as French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Romanian were the products of people changing Latin. This is already appearing in English since other countries will have their own versions of English. For example looking at the rhoticity of British and American English you can see a difference. British people do not pronounce “r” unless it is before a vowel. This makes the word herd sound like “h3:d” or words like grammar in British English may sound similar to grandma in American English.
To conclude, English is currently the most popular language in the world. There are many reasons as to why but it all comes down to it being the most commonly known language. English has spread to almost every corner of the world and it seems that almost every country has altered it to their liking. However, with rising technology can English keep up to keep it relevant in the future?
Hi Joe, your blog was good.
ReplyDeleteAO1: In regards to the understanding of the text that you read, in terms of context, meaning, and audience, you had a basic understanding. To get full points you should have connected your previous knowledge of other theories to the text you read. As your blog states, “another important point that was raised in the text was that English is the world’s favorite lingua franca. ” and then you later state, “This supports Kachru’s circle model because…” This is very good as you connect these two pieces. To improve in this specific area, I suggest that you connect everything back to what you read and use as many quotes as possible. You did a great job about speaking on what you read but lacked in quoting and paraphrasing. I would give you 2 marks.
A02: The structure of your response is okay, your paragraphs are a perfect length as it allows your readers to understand and completely grasp what you were saying. Your introduction was good as you provide an explanation of what you will be talking about. “An important issue raised in the text was the fact that a majority of the people on the earth today speak English but not as a first language” This is a good way to start your response. However, a weaker point in the introduction is when you start to lay down the facts like, “Around 400 million out of 1.5 billion English” and, “Another country widely speaking a different language” To create a perfect introductory paragraph, is to provide the information will be talking about but do not go to a deeper level with it. The evidence you provide was good and relevant, while I would have added more of it. In the future, it would be beneficial to use more evidence from the text that you read. Yes, it is important to remember concepts that were not mentioned in the text, it is very important to add evidence from which you read and a comma to tie them together. I would give
I would give you 2 marks.
AO4: You expressed a perfect amount of other knowledge, while I think that you should have elaborated on them more, the concepts and methods and approaches to relate to the text were good. In almost every paragraph you spoke about a theory, if you were to tie it to textual evidence then that would be beneficial for your sake. I would give you 3 marks.
7/25 marks! Great Job!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Joe!
ReplyDeleteYou state in your first paragraph that “the present state of English is good”, and I’m not too sure as to what this means. I feel this sentence doesn’t bring this paragraph together, as it should. At the end of this paragraph you bring up “language imperialization”, but you don’t explain this at all. This could have been a strong point for you to expand upon.
You next begin to further explain “lingua franca” but you use no quotes to give further examples. You state what it is, but not how it relates to the text. It almost feels off topic. You should always bring your point back to the text, and an easy way to do this is through quotes and elaboration.
When writing about the technological advances you do use examples from the text, but again, no quotes are used. You also state that “English will die” and I feel that this was a huge jump. I have not seen a theory that states that English will completely die. In your next paragraph you contradict your previous statement by stating that “English will not go extinct.” This feels as though you are impeding upon your own communication.
AO1:3/10
AO2: 2/5
AO4: 3/10
What's up Joe!
ReplyDeleteAO1: There is a clear understanding of the text (meaning/context/audience) this can be seen through your mention of the meaning of the article seen by, “English’s days as the top language may be limited however, due to the fact that technology is advancing quickly”. You also mention something from the text which shows an understanding of the context of the article, “Wonkyum Lee, a South Korean computer scientist for Gridspace, is a part of developing these advancements in translation and voice recognition. He states that it will be so good that people won’t be able to differentiate the computer from a real person.” But there seems to be some lack of understanding shown by the fact that you mention that a fact from the text correlates with the “present state of English” as being ‘good’. Although you don’t elaborate on what you mean by this.
There is an effective reference to specific points such as seen by your reference to points like, “Another important point that was raised in the text was that English is the world’s favorite lingua franca.” and there are others.
[6]
AO2: Effective expression, with no errors or high level of accuracy.
Content is relevant; ideas are developed in an effective manner. The rhetorical devices at the end for example, “However, with rising technology can English keep up to keep it relevant in the future?”
[4]
AO4: “rhoticity of British and American English”, “Kachru’s circle model because when looking at the outer circle”. There is also an example given to show the relevance of the theory mentioned seen by “which represents people who speak English as a second language. We can see that these people will most commonly use English as a common language between people. This supports the statement that English is presently at a good status and that it is rising in popularity.” And this same sentence also shows how the theory is somewhat represented in the text material although it could have been explained in simpler terms for me since I am too dumb to understand.
[7]
Total: 17
Hi Joe
ReplyDeleteAO1-6 marks. I can tell you have a clear understanding of the text due to referencing pieces of information from the text. However, never used specific quotes to show you grabbed the evidence from the text. Aswell as you brung up important points like “Lingua Franca” but never quote from the text to back up your points. This makes your information feel like it is almost off topic and severely weakens it.
AO2- 2 marks. Your structure was good and each of your paragraphs were easy to follow. All of your information was very important relevent however, without using evidence from the text this weakens your argument. Such as when you state “English will go extinct,” However had no information to have full developed ideas.
AO4- 6 marks. You gave a lot of knowledge about the topic and mentioned theories and methods. My only advice is bring textual evidence in order to support your points.
Your total would be 14/25 good job!