English is an important global language, but that doesn’t mean it is easy to learn. Many experts have tried to make English easier to learn, but they weren’t always successful.
In 1930, Professor CK Ogden of Cambridge University invented Basic English. It had only 850 words (and just eighteen verbs) and Ogden said most people could learn it in just thirty hours. The problem was that people who learned Basic English could write and say simple messages, but they couldn’t understand the answers in ‘real’ English! It was also impossible to explain a word if it wasn’t in the Basic English word list.
RE Zachrisson, a university professor in Sweden, decided that the biggest problem for learners of English was spelling, so he invented a language called Anglic. Anglic was similar to English, but with much simpler spelling. ‘Father’ became ‘faadher’, ‘new’ became ‘nue’ and ‘years’ became ‘yeerz’. Unfortunately, for some students of English, Anglic never become popular.
Even easier is the language which ships’ captains use: it is called ‘Seaspeak’. Seaspeak uses a few simple phrases for every possible situation. In Seaspeak, for example, you don’t say, ‘I didn’t understand, can you repeat that?’ it is just, “Say again.” No more grammar!
In the age of international communication through the Internet, a new form of English might appear. A large number of the world’s e-mail are in English and include examples of ‘NetLingo’ like OIC (Oh, I see) and TTYL (Talk to you later).
1. What is the role of English?
2. When did Professor Ogden invent Basic English? How many words did it have?
3. Why did Professor Zachrisson invent Anglic? What happened to it?
4. What is the feature of Seaspeak?
5. What has appeared in the age of international communication through the Internet?
Loga
Sinh Học lớp 12
