English across cultural and linguistic bouderies

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WOMEN IN ENGLAND

Until the late nineteenth century education in Britain was neither free nor compulsory, nor state-pro­vided.

As a result, many children - and most children from working-class and poorer families were haphazard­ly educated, if at all.

Formal, full-time schooling was by no means a typical part of childhood for the majority of the population.

Girls, even aristocratic ones, could receive little or no schooling, and women's literacy rates were consequently lower than men's.

Historians usually use the ability to sign one's name as a marker of litera­cy.

In 1764 59 per cent of male weavers marrying in Manchester could sign their names, but only 11 per cent of their brides could do the same.

The education of girls varied strictly by class. Children from wealthy families began their education at home, in the nursery as very young children⁵ and later in the family's schoolroom.

Many aristocratic parents participated in their children's education; mothers were especially likely to take charge of reli­gious instruction, and some taught their children to read as well.

Children were also taught by governesses, who were usually young middle-class women, and by male tutors.

Girls were trained to be accomplished young ladies, beyond the basics of reading, or writing, and religious instruction, they learned singing or piano playing, drawing, and modern European lan­guages.

They might also learn maths, science, or clas­sics from their brothers' tutors.

Aristocratic boys were expected to develop into the leaders of the next generation, and were sent to boarding schools at a fairly young age to prepare for this future.

The classical education they received at school served as a crucial marker of class and status.

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INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS AND CULTURE SHOCK

Leaving home and travelling to study in a new country can be a stressful experience. Even though it may be something you have planned and prepared for, the extent of the change and the effects it has on you may take you by surprise.

"Culture shock" describes the impact of moving from a familiar culture to one which is unfamiliar. It includes the shock of a new environment, meeting lots of new people and learning the ways of a different country. It also includes the shock of being separated from the important people in your life, maybe family, friends, colleagues, teachers: people you would normally talk to at times of uncertainty, people who give you support and guidance.

Although you may first become aware of cultural differences in your physical environment, e.g. food, dress, behaviour, you may also come to notice that people from other cultures may have very different views of the world from yours. Cultures are built on deeply-embedded sets of values, norms, assumptions and beliefs. It can be surprising and sometimes distressing to find that people do not share some of your most deeply held ideas, as most of us take our core values and beliefs for granted and assume they are universally held.

It is important to stress that culture shock is entirely normal, usually unavoidable and not a sign that you have made a mistake or that you won’t manage. In fact there are very positive aspects of culture shock. The experience can be a significant learning experience, making you more aware of aspects of your own culture as well as the new culture you have entered.

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ENGLISH ACROSS CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC BOUDERIES

How did the English language begin, this subtle instrument of communication, commerce, and belles lettres that has become de facto and in many institutions and contexts de jure the lingua franca of the world?

It is impossible to point to a specific date, a specific place, or a specific person, and say: that is when the English language began. The birth of a language is never an event like the birth of a baby.

In their origins and spread languages are like trees growing in a dense jungle: the foliage – the varieties of English we can see and hear today: Indian English, Australian English, Singapore English, British English, American English, Irish English; the roots – the origins – are no longer in sight.

There is much in the early history of English and its antecedent languages that we do not know and will probably never know for certain. But what is true of all the other countries, former British colonies in Africa, Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, the West Indies, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and of course America, is the fact that English once was the language of rule. English is one of the natural means by which gifted writers express themselves in countries once under British rule. And when they write their graceful prose and eloquent poetry, they doubtless do not often stop to reflect on how it came about that it is English that is their instrument of choice.

“Our beginnings never know our ends,” wrote T. S. Eliot. How far we have come from those early days when German and Scandinavian warriors descended on the south of England, unloading their languages along with their weapons of conquest. But as Eliot also wrote, “In my beginning is my end.” The dots are not always easy to connect, even for linguists.

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