ACRONYMS

1. CNN: Cable News Network (Cadena de Noticias por Televisión por Cable)
2. UFO: Unidentified Flying Object (Objeto Volador no Identificado)
3. SCUBA: Self Contained Underwater Breathing Aparatus (Equipo auto-contenido de espiración bajo el agua)
4. IBM: International Business Machines (Máuina de Negocios Internacional)
5. VHS: Video Home System (Sistema de Video Casero)
6. DVD: Digital Versatile Disc (Disco Versáil Digital)
7. SNAFU: Situation Normal: All Fucked Up (Situación Habitual: Todo Jodido)
8. LASER: Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation (Amplificación de Luz por Emisión Estimulada de Radiación)
9. RADAR: Radio Detection and Ranging (Detección y Medición de Distancias Radial)
10. NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Organización Tratado Atlántico Norte)
11. FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions (Prguntas frecuentes)
12. CD-ROM: Compact Disc - Read Only Memory (Disco Compacto de Memoria de Sólo Lectura)13. DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid (Ácido desoxirribonucleico)
14. JPEG: Joint Photographic Experts Group (Grupo Experto en Compresión Fotográfica)
15. ATM: Automated teller machine (Cajero Automático)
16. BCE/A.D.: Before Common Era/ After death (Antes de la Época actual/ Después de la muerte)
17. EU: European Union (Unión Europea)
18. NAFTA: North American Free Trade Agreement (Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte)
19. 4WD: 4 Wheel Drive (Tracción 4 Ruedas)
20. AWD: All Wheel Drive (Tracción todas las ruedas)
21. CIA: Central Intelligence Agency (Agencia Central de Inteligencia)
22. FUBAR: Fucked Up Beyong Any/All Recognition (Jodido más allá de todo Reconocimiento)
23. FIDO: Field Integrated Design and Operations (Archivo Integral de Diseño y Operaciones)24. ABS: Animal Behavior Society (Sociedad de Comportamiento Animal)
25. TLC: Tender Loving Care (Oferta Cuidados Amorosos)

MODERN ENGLISH

1. Define and explain, The Great Vowel Shift.

The Great Vowel Shift was a major change in the pronunciation of the English language that took place in the south of England between 1200 and 1600. The Great Vowel Shift was first studied by Otto Jespersen (1860–1943), a Danish linguist and Anglicist, who coined the term.

The values of the long vowels form the main difference between the pronunciation of Middle English and Modern English, and the Great Vowel Shift is one of the historical events marking the separation of Middle and Modern English. Originally, these vowels had "continental" values much like those remaining in Italian and liturgical Latin. However, during the Great Vowel Shift, the two highest long vowels became diphthongs, and the other five underwent an increase in tongue height with one of them coming to the front.

2. Name 5 dialects of Modern English.

American English.
Australian English.
British English.
Canadian English.
Caribbean English.

3. One of the problems with Early Modern English was a lack of uniformity in spelling. Which 2 people (1-English, 1-American) helped establish standardized spelling?

Samuel Johnson and Noah Webster.

4. How many countries in the world have given Modern English official status?

53 countries in the world have given Modern English official status


5. The most recent statistics show that approximately how many people speak Modern English as a:

Over 508 million speakers.

I. First language?
309 – 380 million.
II. Second Language?
199 – 600 million.

6. When was Early Modern English spoken?

It was spoken since the Great Vowel Shift, completed in roughly 1550.

7. How are the use of Pronouns different between Early Modern & Modern English?

In Early Modern English, there were two second-person personal pronouns: thou, the informal singular pronoun, and ye, which was both the plural pronoun and the formal singular pronoun (like modern French tu and vous or the German du and Sie). (Thou was already falling out of use in the Early Modern English period, but remained customary for addressing God and certain other solemn occasions, and sometimes for addressing inferiors.) Like other personal pronouns, thou and ye had different forms depending on their grammatical case; specifically, the objective form of thou was thee, its possessive forms were thy and thine, and its reflexive or emphatic form was thyself, while ye's objective form was you, its possessive forms were your and yours, and its reflexive or emphatic forms were yourself and yourselves.


8. Which language families does Modern English belong in?

Indo-European
Germanic
West Germanic
Anglo–Frisian
Anglic


9. Name 4 worldwide uses for Modern English.

controlling airplanes.
developing software.
conducting international diplomacy.
business relations.

10. In your opinion, what was the greatest influence on the spread of Modern English around the world? Why?

I think that’s obvious. The increase of literacy and more people had access to books, because it’s important as nowadays as in the past that people can read and can learn through the literature.

11. There has been a lot of controversy over the true authorship of Shakespeare's writings. Which 3 people are also candidates as the possible authors of Shakespeare's plays?

Nicholas Rowe
John Aubrey
Alexander Hoghton

12. Briefly explain The Oxfordian Theory.

It wrote the plays and poems attributed to William Shakespeare of Srratford-upon-Avon.

13. Shakespeare wrote 38 plays, which according to the Folio Classification, fall into 3 categories. Name the 3 categories.

Comedies
Histories
Tragedies.

14. In which town was Shakespeare born?

He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon.

15. Which famous London theatre (built by actors, for actors) is connected with Shakespeare's plays?

Global.


16. Even though Richard III is the most performed play, Hamlet is Shakespeare's most famous play. In you opinion, what does this portion of Hamlet's famous soliloquy mean:

To be or not to be, that is the question;

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

And by opposing, end them. To die, to sleep;

No more; and by a sleep to say we end

The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks

That flesh is heir to — 'tis a consummation

Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;

To sleep, perchance to dream. Ay, there's the rub,...

Sincerely, I don't know. I’m not good at to analyze this kind of things.

17. Name 5 post-Shakespearean artists whose work was heavily influenced by the writings of William Shakespeare.

Shakespeare influenced novelists such as Thomas Hardy, William Faulkner, Charles Dickens; the American novelist Herman Melville, the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud.

18. Which of Shakespeare's plays are included in The Wars of the Roses series?

Henry VI part 1.

19. Shakespeare wrote most of his works in blank verse composed in iambic pentameter. What is blank verse & iambic pentameter?

Blank verse: is a type of poetry, distinguished by having a regular meter, but no rhyme. In English, the meter most commonly used with blank verse has been iambic pentamer.
Iambic pentameter: is a type of meter that is used in poetry and drama. It describes a particular rhythm that the words establish in each line. That rhythm is measured in small groups of syllables; these small groups of syllables are called "feet". The word "iambic" describes the type of foot that is used. The word 'pentameter' indicates that a line has five of these 'feet'.

20. Name 4 actors from Shakepeare's original company.

Richard Burbage
William Kempe
Henry Condell
John Heminges.

1. Approximately when was Middle English spoken?
It was spoken between Norman invasion of 1066 and the mid-to-late 15 th century.

2. What were the major factors which led to the development and the spread of Middle English?
The first one is the introduction of the printing press into England by William Caxton in the 1470s, and slightly later by Richard Pynson.The second one is that the Middle English as a written language displays a wide variety of scribal forms.

3. Match the following Old English words with their Anglo-Norman equivalent:
A. Pig - Pork
B. Cow - Beef
C. Wood - Forest
D. Sheep - Mutton
E. House - Mansion
F. Worthy - Honourable
G. Bold - Corageous

4. Compare & contrast the structure of nouns, pronouns and verbs, between Middle English & Modern English.
Nouns: The strong -s plural form has survived into Modern English, while the weak -n form is rare.
Verbs: As a general rule , the first person singular of present tense verbs ends in -e (ich here - "I hear"), the second person in -(e)st (þou spekest - "thou speakest"), and the third person in -eþ (he comeþ - "he cometh/he comes"). (þ is pronounced like the unvoiced th in "think"). In the past tense, weak verbs are formed by an -ed(e), -d(e) or -t(e) ending. These, without their personal endings, also form past participles, together with past-participle prefixes derived from the old English ge-: i-, y- and sometimes bi-. Strong verbs form their past tense by changing their stem vowel (e.g. binden -> bound), as in Modern English.
Pronouns: First and second pronouns survive largely unchanged, with only minor spelling variations. In the third person, the masculine accusative singular became 'him'. The feminine form was replaced by a form of the demonstrative that developed into 'she', but unsteadily – 'ho' remains in some areas for a long time. The lack of a strong standard written form between the eleventh and the fifteenth century makes these changes hard to map.

5. How is pronunciation different between Middle English and Modern English?
Generally, all letters in Middle English words were pronounced. (Silent letters in Modern English come from pronunciation shift but continued spelling conventions).
In earlier Middle English, all written vowels were pronounced. By Chaucer's time, however, final -e had become silent in normal speech, but could be optionally pronounced in verse as the meter requires (but normally silent when the next word begins in a vowel).

6. What is the Chancery Standard, and how did it come into effect?
Chancery Standard was a written form of English used by government bureaucracy and for other official purposes from the late 14th century. It is believed to have contributed in a significant way to the development of the English language as spoken and written today.Because of the differing dialects of English spoken and written across the country at the time, the government required a clear and unambiguous form for use in its official documents. Chancery Standard was developed to meet this need.

7. Who wrote the Canterbury Tales?
It was written by Geoffrey Chaucer.

8. Describe the medieval pilgrims who journeyed from Canterbury to London.
Religious characters, such as a monk and a pardoner, travel alongside a sailor, miller, carpenter, and a knight, among others. When the group stops for the night, the host of the pilgrimage proposes that they all tell stories to each other along the way. The pilgrims agree to tell four stories each, two on the way to Canterbury, and two on the way back.

9. Why did the pilgrims take this journey?
A group of medieval pilgrims set out on a pilgrimage from London to Canterbury to pay their respects to the tomb of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral.

10. It is thought that some of the stories in The Canterbury Tales originated in Italy. What was the name of the Italian book and who wrote it?
The Decameron, by Giovanni Boccaccio.

11. The Canterbury Tales is considered an extremely important book, both in terms of English Literature & in the history of English writing. In your opinion, why is this book so important?
The Canterbury Tales, because they were the first story wrote in English.

12. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is:
d. A medieval romance poem, with Arthurian themes.

13. Who is Sir Gwain?
He’s King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table.

14. What is the challenge that The Green Knight proposes to the Knights of the Round Table?
He offers to allow anyone to strike him with his axe if the challenger will take a return blow in a year and a day.

15. What is the similarity between Sir Gwain and the Green Knight and the Irish tale of Cúchulainn?
The beheading challenge.

16. What is the importance of the pentagram/pentangle in the poem?
The poem describes the pentangle as a symbol of faithfulness and an "endless knot". It is described as "a sign by Solomon".
The symbol was also associated with magical charms which, if recited or written on a weapon, would call forth magical forces. However, concrete evidence tying the magical pentagram to Gawain's pentangle is scarce.Gawain’s pentangle also symbolises the “phenomenon of physically endless objects signifying a temporally endless quality.Gawain’s pentangle also symbolises the “phenomenon of physically endless objects signifying a temporally endless quality.

17. How are numbers used to symbolize events in the poem?
The poet highlights number symbolism to add symmetry and meaning to the poem.
Ex: three kisses are exchanged between Gawain and Bertilak's wife; Gawain is tempted by her on three separate days; Bertilak goes hunting three times, and the Green Knight swings at Gawain three times with his axe.Also the five points of the pentangle, the poet adds, represent Gawain's virtues (friendship, generosity, chastity, courtesy and piety), for he is "faithful five ways and five times each".

18. What is the significance of Sir Gwain's neck wound?
During the medieval period, the body and the soul were believed to be so intimately connected that wounds were considered an outward sign of inward sin. The neck, specifically, was believed to correlate with the part of the soul related to will, connecting the reasoning part (the head) and the courageous part (the heart). Gawain's sin resulted from using his will to separate reasoning from courage.

19. Which actor played The Green Knight in the film adaptation, Sword of the Valiant?
Was Sean Connery how played The Green Knight.

20. In many ways this poem is, in the modern sense, a soap opera. Compare Sir Gwain and the Green Knight with a modern Chilean teleseries.
For me, between Sir Gwain and the Green Knight with a modern Chilean teleseries there are only different things, because if you think, the principal different is that, today in our soup opera there aren’t religious themes, for example.

Old English

1- When was Old English spoken?

between the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century.

2- Name 4 language groups which influenced the development of Old English.

Latin, Viking, Celtic and Dialects.

3- In the Phonology section, name 5 phonetical differences between Old English & Modern English.

-fricative(labiodental)= f (v)

-fricative(dental) = θ (ð)

-fricative(alveolar)= s (z)

-affricative(postalveolar)= tʃ (dʒ)

-fricative(palatal) = (ç)

4- Are there any similarites between Old English and Modern English? Name them.

Old English should not be regarded as a single monolithic entity just as Modern English is also not monolithic.

5- In the Orthography section, enlarge the picture of the runic alphabet. How many letters (runes) are there in this alphabet?

There are 34.

6- Which epic poem was originally written in Old English?

Was Beowulf

7- In the See Also section, click on: Beowulf. Appoximately when was Beowulf written?

It was written between the 8th to the 11th century.

8- Even though Beowulf was written in England, the story takes place in which countries?

In what is now Denmark and Sweden.

9- In the poem, which 3 antagonists does Beowulf battle or fight against?

Grendel, Grendel´s Mother and unnamed dragon.

10- What happens to Beowulf at the end of the story?

Beowulf receives fatal wounds and dies, and the dragon is buried with the hero.

11- Who was the author of Beowulf?

Beowulf is an epic poem of anonymous authorship.

12- What were the titles and the dates of the two film versions of Beowulf?

The first film was in 1999 and it called "Beowulf", the 2005 film "Beowulf and Grendel" and the 2007 animated film Beowulf directed by Robert Zemeckis.

My Biography

My name's Andrea Díaz. I was born in Mendoza, Argentina in 1984, I'm 24, but I grew up in Chile, I arrived here when I was three years old with all my family, my father, my mother and my sister but now I live only with my father and my sister. My mom lives with my grandma.

I finished my school about six years ago and then I studied Englis in "North American Institute" I studied for two years and six month, I learned English but I think that it was only basic English although it helped me a lot because I fell in love! but I didn't fall in love of a man, I fall in love of the English and now I'm study Translation and Interpretation at UCINF.

Now I'm going to talk about my heart, my feelings in general.

I'm a sentimental person, I'm so friendly, I like to enjoy the life, I enjoy the simple things although the luxury too. I really love to sing but I have embarrassment, this is my dream... someday I will sing without embarrassment!

In the picture, She's my sister, Carolina. I love her although we're so different.

Anyone remember it? It`s Jem`s cartoon.

When I was a child, I was fanatic of "Jem and the holograms" It was very nice cartoon because it didn't have violene, it always was magic.

I think that this kind of cartoon should be show in the present child's programs because it's more educative than the present cartoons. It teachs values like honesty, perseverance and love for the things that you do.

You can try to find more information about Jem and the most probably is that you finish love it.

You need to involve with magic, it's very easy, you only need imagination.

Dream doesn´t cost anything!!! Try to do it.

If you want to visit Santiago!!!

Here in Santiago you can do a lot of different things, for example: If you want to visit some museums, you can go to the "Museo De Historia Natural". If you like animals, you can visit our national zoo in the San Cristobal hill or you can go to Buin and visit the "buinzoo".
Now, if you want to eat our seafood you can go to the "Mercado Central", there you can eat all kind of our delicious fish and shellfish.
And, if you want to go to dance and drink something, in Suecia avenue you can find many kind of restaurants, pub and discotheques.