Bohemia Rhapsody

Assignment #5/Acronyms.

2008-11-17T06:36:00.000-08:00

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Assignment #5/Acronyms

Acquiring Acronym

Acronyms are both very popular and very important in the English language. It makes our speech & writing more efficient. It is important to learn the meanings of acronyms, so you can more easily understand the language. You use many acronyms when communicating on the internet, such as: lol (lots of laughs), btw (by the way) & wtf (what the fuck?).

Translate the following acronyms:

1. CNN: Cable News Network.
2. UFO: Unidentified Flying Object.
3. SCUBA: Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus.
4. IBM: International Business Machines.
5. VHS: Video Home System.
6. DVD: Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc.
7. SNAFU: Situation Normal, All Fucked Up.
8. LASER: Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation.
9. RADAR: Radio Detection And Ranging.

10. NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

11. FAQ: Frequently Asked Question.

12. CD-ROM: Compact Disk - Read Only Memory.

13. DNA: Deoxyribonucleic Acid.

14. JPEG: Joint Photographic Experts Group.

15. ATM: At The Moment.

16. BCE/A.D. : Before the Common Era /After Death OR Before the Christian Era /After Death.
17. EU: European Union.
18. NAFTA: North American Free Trade Agreement.

19. 4WD: Four Wheel Drive.

20. AWD: All Wheel Drive.
21. CIA: Central Intelligence Agency.

22. FUBAR: Fucked Up Beyond All Repair or Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition

23. FIDO: Field Integrated Design and Operations. (NASA)

24. ABS: Anti-Lock Brake System.

25. TLC: Tratado de Libre Comercio

Due: November 17th, 2008

assigment 4-guillermo peralta.

2008-11-10T07:46:00.000-08:00

go to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Modern_English

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_English

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakepeare

answer: the following questions on your

due: Sunday October 19, 2008

1. Define and explain, The Great Vowel Shift.

- The Great Vowel Shift was a major change in the pronunciation of the English Language. It was between 1200 and 1600.

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
- British English
- Caribbean English
- South African English
- Indo-Pakistani 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?

- the two people were, Samuel Johnson (English) and Noah Webster (American).

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

- 53 countries have given modern English official status.

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

I. First language?

- 380 million.

II. Second Language?

- 600 million.

6. When was Early Modern English spoken?

- It was spoken From about the end of the Middle English period (the latter half of the 15th century) to 1650.

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

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.

- It use in such diverse applications as controlling airplanes, developing software, conducting international diplomacy and business relations.

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

The greatest influence of the Moder English is that te most of the people can use it; they can read and write in English; and the most important they understand. This is important becouse allows the communication around the world.

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?

- Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe, and Edward de Vere.

12. Briefly explain The Theory.

It wrote the plays and poems attributed toWilliam 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?

- Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon- Avon

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

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,...

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?

a)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.
b)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 and John Heminges.

Assignment # 3: Middle English

2008-09-30T07:53:00.000-07:00

Middle English

go to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_English

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Canterbury_Tales

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Gawain_and_the_Green_Knight

Nicholas I want that you know that on Monday i could not to sleep doing this task. I hope that it(he,she) has good results. Jajajaja ... i'm sorry for my nonattendance but I have been very tired(tiring). From now on forward i'll be on all your classes. see you soon.

1. Approximately when was Middle English spoken?

between the Norman invasion of 1066 and about 1470.

2. What were the major factors which led to the development and the spread of Middle English?

the printing press into England by William Caxton in the 1470s, and slightly later by Richard Pynson, and when the Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, began to become widespread, a process aided by the introduction of the printing press into England by William Caxton in the 1470s, and slightly later by Richard Pynson. By this time the Northumbrian dialect (prevalent in Northern England) spoken in south east Scotland was developing into the Scots language. The language of England as spoken after this time, up to 1650, is known as Early Modern English.

3. Match the following Old English words with their Anglo-Norman equivalent:

Pig = Gluttonous and dirty, Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig.

Cow = Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle (cows).

Wood = A forest is an area with a high density of trees.

Sheep = Lamb, hogget, and mutton are the meat of domestic sheep. The meat of an animal in its first year is lamb; that of an older sheep is hogget and later mutton.

House = A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives from the Latin word mansus.

Worhty =It is like to give a meaning to certain classes of person or men for example: 1) Worthy Is the Lamb, outdoor drama which portrays the life, death and resurrection of Christ. 2) The honor or the dignidd of a warrior. /honourable

Bold = it’s like brave, in typography, emphasis is the exaggeration of words in a text with a font in a different style from the rest of the text to emphasise them. courageous.

4. Compare & contrast the structure of nouns, pronouns and verbs, between Middle English & Modern English.

Nouns

Despite losing the slightly more complex system of inflectional endings, Middle English retains two separate noun-ending patterns from Old English. Compare, for example, the early Modern English words engel (angel) and nome (name):

	singular		plural
nom/acc	engel	nome	engles	nomen
gen	engles*	nome	engle(ne)**	nomen
dat	engle	nome	engle(s)	nomen

Verbs

As a general rule (and all these rules are general), 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

Post-Conquest English inherits its pronouns from Old English:

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 shifts but continued spelling conventions.) Therefore 'knight' was pronounced /ˈknɪçt/ (with a pronounced K and a 'gh' as the 'ch' in German 'Knecht'), not /ˈnaɪt/ as in Modern English.
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). Chaucer follows these conventions: -e is silent in 'kowthe' and 'Thanne', but pronounced in 'straunge', 'ferne', 'ende', etc. (Presumably, final -y is partly or completely dropped in 'Caunterbury', to make the meter flow.)

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?

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. The person who tells the best story, as determined by the host, will have his way paid by the rest of the group. The tale-telling begins with the knight and proceeds as the pilgrims near Canterbury, each person telling a story that reflects their social position, and some telling stories which are intended to make fun of others in the group.

9. Why did the pilgrims take this journey?

They took this journey for paying 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 name of the Italian book was The Decameron, and it was written 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?

Because The Canterbury Tales was the first English literary works to mention paper.

12. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is:

d. A medieval romance poem, with Arthurian themes.

13. Who is Sir Gwain?

Sir Gwain is a knight of King Arthur Round Table.

14. What is the challenge that The Green Knight proposes to the Knights of the Round Table?

The Green knight 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". Solomon, the third king of Israel, in 10th century B.C. was said to have the mark of the pentagram on his ring, which he received from the archangel Michael. The pentagram seal on this ring was said to give Solomon power over demons.
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

17. How are numbers used to symbolize events in the poem?

The poet highlights number symbolism to add symmetry and meaning to the poem. For example, 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. The number two also appears repeatedly, as in the two beheading scenes, two confession scenes, and two castles.

18. What is the significance of Sir Gwain's neck wound?

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?

Sean Connery was the actor in the film.

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.

I could Not to give my opinion with respect of the story, since i don't know this type of literature. But for what read, this one related to the medieval legends and the king Arthur.

beowulf

2008-09-11T17:27:00.000-07:00

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.

Germanic ,Latin origins

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

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

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

These are Thirty four

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

the most important surviving works of Old English literature are Beowulf

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

it was written from between the 8th to the 11th century

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

was written in England, but is set in Scandinavia.

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

Grendel, a Dragon, Grendel's mother.

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

Beowulf and his warriors come to fight the dragon, but only one of the warriors, a brave young man named Wiglaf, stays to help Beowulf, because the rest are too afraid.
Beowulf kills the dragon with Wiglaf's help, but Beowulf dies from the wounds he has received

11. Who was the author of Beowulf?

Beowulf is an Old English heroic epic poem of anonymous authorship, dating as recorded in the Nowell Codex manuscript.

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

Beowulf has been adapted a number of times for other novels, theater, and cinema, including the 1999 film Beowulf (1999 film) with Christopher Lambert and Rhona Mitra,
the 2005 film Beowulf and Grendel and the 2007 animated film Beowulf directed by Robert Zemeckis.

my self

2008-09-11T14:38:00.000-07:00

my name is Guillermo Peralta Isla , I was born on the 22 of november 1986 , I'm 21 years old ,
I live in la Cisterna with my grandmother , my hobby and passion is playing guitar and I am a member of a group tribute to queen , I working and work every day, I'm studying pedagogy in english , I like to listen to music and watch movies , I was 2 years in the army

2008-07-10T07:18:00.000-07:00

well, to me this class was very important becouse I could learn many many things, from the all english speaking countries and how we can work with the internet, for be exact, I learn something that I did never before, like to create my own blog. I would like to say that we did the class very entertainment, due to our teacher was very didactic and she was never angry with us.
I think that a teacher of english must be or must have all that caracteristic, like be cool, funny, entertainment and flexible.

my dream

2008-07-09T20:30:00.000-07:00

2008-07-09T20:26:00.000-07:00

podcast

2008-07-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

A podcast is a digital audio file that you can access automatically. The content may be the most diverse programs conversation, music, environmental sounds, speeches, comments from various specialized topics, language classes. Generally podcasts are free and free access. Anyone, anywhere in the world, you can subscribe or download audio content through a podcast.
You can hear or see from the website where they have been placed.

2008-07-09T18:39:00.000-07:00

the return of Quenn

2008-07-09T18:18:00.000-07:00

Quenn in chile if true, the concert will take place in the national stadium in November, with vocalist Paul Rodgers in September comes the new disc called "The Cosmos Rocks" for more information visit the website / www.queenconcerts.com

My English Class

2008-05-31T12:11:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone of you, this is my first blog. I call it, Bohemia Rhapsody and in this part i give you the wellcome. Here you can to leave your comentary and see all my blog.