Applied Languages

English is the most commonly-spoken foreign language in 14 out of 21 European Union member states, with data not available for the other six, according to new statistics released ahead of the European Day of Languages on September 26.

English is also the most commonly-studied foreign language in the 21 EU states included in the survey, except for Luxembourg, where English, French and German are equal and Ireland and the United Kingdom, where French is most common.

Twenty-eight per cent of EU citizens speak at least two foreign languages, according to the Eurostat survey, done in 2007.

In 2007, the highest shares of the population aged 25 to 64 who said that they spoke two or more foreign languages were found in Slovenia (72 per cent), Slovakia and Finland (both 68 per cent), Lithuania (66 per cent), Estonia (56 per cent) and Latvia (55 per cent).

The United Kingdom (65 per cent), Cyprus (59 per cent), Austria (50 per cent), Greece and Sweden (both 45 per cent) had the largest proportion of those declaring they speak one foreign language.

The highest shares of those speaking no foreign language were in Hungary (75 per cent), Portugal (51 per cent), Spain (47 per cent), Bulgaria (44 per cent) and Greece (43 per cent). Among adults aged 25 to 64 years, Russian is most common in Bulgaria, the Baltic States and Poland.

In the EU, 60 per cent of pupils in upper secondary education studied at least two foreign languages in 2007. Only six per cent of secondary school pupils in the EU studied no foreign language.

The European Day of Languages is aimed “to alert the public to the importance of language learning, to promote the rich linguistic and cultural diversity of Europe and to encourage lifelong language learning in and out of school,” according to a European Commission statement.

“The EU recognised improving language learning in the EU as a key factor in the Lisbon strategy and the Barcelona European Council in 2002 set the objective of ensuring that all pupils study at least two foreign languages from an early age.”

All students in upper secondary education study two or more foreign languages in the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Finland. The highest proportions of students studying two or more foreign languages in 2007 were found in the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Finland (100 per cent of students in upper secondary education each), Slovenia and Slovakia (both 98 per cent) and Estonia (97 per cent).

The largest shares of students studying one foreign language were in Greece (92 per cent in 2006), Italy (74 per cent), Ireland (73 per cent), Spain (68 per cent), Malta (60 per cent) and Hungary (57 per cent). But more than half (51 per cent) of students in upper secondary education in the UK did not study any foreign language, followed by Ireland (19 per cent).

Read more: the sofia echo

A new book of unusual words celebrates some of the more obscure corners of the English language. Some of them may sound quirky but deipnosophists, stridewallops and shot-clogs have all made it to ‘The Wonder of Whiffling’. Adam Jacot de Boinod has assembled them in his celebrated book which chronicles the best ever words in the English language.

Here are some of the highlights from The Wonder Of Whiffling:

• Stridewallop – a Yorkshire term for a tall and awkward woman

• Shot-clog – an Elizabethan term for a drinking companion only tolerated because he pays for the round

• Deipnosophist – a Jacobean word for a skillful dinner conversationalist

• Continuations – 19th century word for trousers, so called because they continued a gentleman’s waistcoat in a direction best left unmentioned in polite company.

• Shangle – Cumberland and Westmoreland dialect word meaning to fasten a tin or kettle to a dog’s tail.

• Nottingham goodnight – phrase from the 1950s for the loud slamming of doors and saying goodnight by a courting couple, to reassure listening parents and allow the lovebirds – neither of whom have left – to retire to the sofa.

• Bunting time – term from the late 17th century for the time of year when the grass in the fields is high enough to hide young men and maids.

• Vice-admiral of the narrow seas – Regency phrase for a drunken man who relieves himself under the table into his companions’ shoes.

• Witches’ knickers – contemporary Irish slang for shopping bags caught in trees, flapping in the wind.

• Cochel – Sussex dialect word meaning “too much for a wheelbarrow but not enough for a cart”.

• Slapsauce – one who enjoys eating fine food.

• Boondoggle – carry out valueless work to convey the impression that one is busy.

• Dottle – in the north-east of England, the tobacco left in a pipe after smoking.

• Fornale – to spend one’s money before it has been earned

• Cagg – a solemn vow or resolution not to get drunk for a certain time

• Petrichor – pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after a dry spell

English words from overseas are also included, such as twack, a Newfoundland English word.

Read more: Press Trust of India, Scotsman.com

The rapidly changing language environment in Singapore poses a challenge to the teaching of both English and the Mother Tongue Languages (MTL) to students in Singapore, said Education Minister Ng Eng Hen. Calling Singapore’s language environment ‘complex’, Dr Ng sought to explain this with the aid of slides on how more students are using the English language at home today compared to the 1980s.

Speaking at the Ministry of Education (MOE) Work Plan Seminar 2009 on Thursday morning, he said only one in 10 Primary One Chinese students came from homes that used English in 1982, compared to six in 10 today.

For Indian students, it has moved from three in 10 to 6, and for Malays, from 0.5 in 10 to 3.5. ‘A seismic shift in language environment has occured in one generation,’ said Dr Ng. ‘Those above 40 years of age today would have grown up in homes that spoke their mother tongue language, either predominantly or partly, either with parents or grandparents or siblings. But increasingly, children of all races now come from homes that speak English predominantly or only.’

Despite such changes, Dr Ng said Singapore should maintain its bilingual policy as it it more beneficial to be proficient in more than one language. ‘I believe we can achieve an acceptable standard of English and also help our students gain proficiency in their MTL…but it will require different methods of instruction,’ he said.

He said the education system has begun to adapt to evolve ‘better approaches’ to the teaching of languages for ‘more effective outcomes’.
‘Effectiveness must also be measured by how students can express themselves clearly and communicate with impact, and not just a good grade on their report cards,’ added Dr Ng.

Read more: Straits Times

Cool beans! Rents, teachers and university professors have long complained that students speak a language of their own. Now, they have a chance to swot up on their baffling vocabulary to avoid looking like a total fudge or worse still, a neek, in front of them.

A new dictionary, Pimp Your Vocab, aims to demystify Teenglish which is spoken by thousands of teenagers and young people around the country. Traditionally seen as uncommunicative, teenagers have their own rich language. Author Lucy Tobin said she had been in a tutorial during her English degree, when a tutor became confused with the discussion.

A fellow student declared: ‘I was IM-ing about ways to interpret the question…’ Miss Tobin said: ‘She had slipped into Teenglish, a language tutors and teachers find impenetrable no matter how many degree-designating letters follow their name. So after we students explained IM-ing – when you ‘talk’ to friends online via instant messaging – I started to think: do adults ever wonder if it’s a good thing when a student says they ‘got owned’? Do tutors consider whether they’re being complimented when someone calls them teek? So I wrote down a guide to the language the kids use.’

Miss Tobin believes that the guide could help improve staff-student communication. She said: ‘Language changes fast – and that can scare the hell out of  parents, teachers and anyone who no longer braves the clubs on Friday night for fear of being ‘too old’.

‘In communicating with a Teenglish-speaking randomer (that’s an outsider to your social group) their words can seem like a new language. Meaning is not an exact science, but depends on mutual agreement between reader and writer, speaker and listener, teenager and adult.’

However, teachers and academics are already complaining that Teenglish and ‘textmessage speak’ are creeping into formal work. GCSE and A-level examiners have also criticised the growing trend.

But last year, John Wells, president of the Spelling Society, claimed that the informal language of texts, chat rooms and emails were the ‘way forward’. He said that people should stop worrying about ‘textmessage speak’ creeping into general usage and called for the apostrophe to be abolished.

Professor Wells said: ‘Let’s stop worrying if people sometimes spell ‘you’ as ‘u’, ‘your’ and ‘you’re’ both as ‘ur’; and ‘whose’ and ‘who’s’ both as ‘whos’. Nowadays we often see ‘light’ written as ‘lite’ and ‘through’ as ‘thru’.’

Read more: Daily Mail

The University of Johannesburg will launch its new language policy on Wednesday. The policy will introduce Sesotho sa Leboa, English, Afrikaans and Zulu as the UJ’s official languages.

“The four UJ official languages and their associative cultures are the cornerstone of creating a unique and distinct UJ community but coexisting with peer institutions and the rest of South Africa,” said Mpho Monareng, head of the language policy unit.

Monareng said the policy was adopted in 2005 and was slowly given structure so that the two extra languages could become part of university life. He said the two languages would help transform the campuses and also be in compliance with the constitution, that puts emphasis on multilingualism and multiculturalism.

Most higher education institutions have adopted African languages to comply with transformation. Cape Town University has elevated IsiXhosa and Southern Sotho, while Pretoria University has added on IsiNdebele and Sepedi.

The universities are acting on recommendations made by the ministerial committee under Professor Jakes Gerwel that they need to develop multiculturalism by taking up two or three African languages. “We cannot teach in IsiZulu at the moment but this is a progressive step where memos, announcements and communications will be in the four languages.

“The language policy will change the image of the university to a blend of the four languages. We want the UJ community to be distinct from other universities,” Monareng said.

Read more: Sowetan News