高级英语第二册讲义03

Lesson Three Pub Talk and the King’s EnglishBackground InformationHenry Fairlie: he was born in London, came to the U.S. in the mid-1960s, working for The New Republic. He is known as a feisty 活跃的chronicler年代纂辑of U.S. politics and moes. He died at the age of 66, after a stroke and heart attack.Pub: also known as the public house, is a center of social life for a large number of people (esp. men) in Britain. Pubs, besides offering a wide variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and providing hot and cold food, serve as places for meeting friends and for entertainment. Many have, for instance, television sets, amusement machines and juke-boxes and provide facilities for playing darts, billiards, dominoes and similar games. Some also employ musicians for evening entertainment, such as piano playing, folk singing and modern jazz.Metaphor from a cognitive linguistic point of viewMetaphors, according to the cognitive linguists, are something more than rhetorical device or phenomenon; they reflect people’s way of thinking about things. Throughout their book Metaphors We Live By, Lakoff and Johnson repeatedly remind us that metaphor is a basic means of human cognition of the real world, a way of thinking, a mode of knowing the world and a manner of conceptualizing the experiences. A popular belief of the cognitive linguistics is that metaphor is the process of the mapping or projection from the source concept onto the target concept.eg. Her anger boiled over. HUMAN BODY IS A CONTAINER/ANGER IS FLUID.Thus the fact that when fluid in a container is heated beyond a certain limit, it will overflow corresponds to the fact that when anger increases beyond a certain limit, a person will lose control and has a catharsis 宣泄of his overwhelming anger.Nash: Thomas Nash or Nashe (1567-1601) was a journalist with a keen weapon of satire, whose pamphlets appealed to public interest in serious questions, such as the power of the bishops, and in private scandal.Dekker: Thomas Dekker, through his plays his individuality is distinctly reflected—a sunny light-hearted nature, full of real, even if somewhat disorderly genius.Detailed Study of the Text§Why does the essay have this title? What do pub talk and the King’s English stand for respectively? Pub talk stands for informal and daily conversation while the King’s English stands for formal language used by the King.P 1: §What’s the topic sentence of this para? What’s the function of the first sentence?The topic sentence of this para is “And it is an activity only of humans.” The first sentence is the theme of this essay, which is repeated in many places in this essay.the King’s/Queen’s English: the supposedly correct or standard English (esp. British English) as to grammar and pronunciationConversation…human activities.sociable: friendly/agreeable, esp. in an easy, informal wayMore than any other human activity, conversation helps to promote an agreeable, pleasant and informal relationship among people.And it is an activity only of humans.And conversation is an activity which is found only among human beings (animals and birds are not capable of conversation).However intricate…name of conversation.communicate: to give or exchange information, signal/messages in any waydeserve the name of: to have a right to be called, be worthy of the name ofNo matter how complicated the manner in which animals make known their intentions to each other, they do not go in for any activity which might rightly be called conversation.P 2: does not really start form anywhere: does not need a special topic to start a conversation meander: (it is a metaphor in which “conversation” is compared to a stream) flow placidly and aimlessly leap: flow swiftly and joyously onwardssparkle: (it is another metaphor in which “conversation” is compared to fire) burn brightly throwing off sparksglow: burn steadily without flameThe enemy…“something to say”.: Good conversation is generally spoilt by people who think they have a lot of important things to say.enemy: anything injurious/harmfulConceit is the enemy of progress.Conversation is not for making a point.Conversation is not for persuading others to accept our idea or point of view. In a conversation we should not try to establish the force of an idea or argument.In fact, …to lose.: In fact a person who really enjoys and is skilled at conversation will not argue to win or force others to accept his point of view.anecdote: a short account of an interesting or humorous incidentthey see the moment for one of their best anecdotes: they seem to understand what is going to happen could be one of the best interesting/humorous incidents ever happened to them,in a flash: in an instant; in a split secondThey are ready to let it go.They are ready to give up the opportunity to tell one of their best anecdotes.P 3: Perhaps it is because…of its own.up-bringing: the training and education received while growing upof its own: belonging strictly to it; specially belonging to itPerhaps it is because I’ve spent so much of my time in English pubs that I think bar conversation has a special charm. It’s an exaggeration, to emphasize how frequently I visit a pub.§In the first sentence, the author’s personal experiences and opinions are mentioned. Do you think they are irrelevant to the theme of the essay? What function does it have?The first sentence serves as an introduction of another aspect of conversation—participants of conversations and a subcategory of conversation—pub talk.Bar friends…other’s lives.People who meet each other for a drink in the bar of a pub are not intimate friends for they are not deeply absorbed or engrossed in each other’s lives.§What’s the difference between intimates and companions?An intimate is a close friend or confidant while a companion is a person who accompanies or associates with another, is one with who to spend one’s leisure timeon the rocks: in a condition of ruin or catastrophe (a metaphor in which a marriage is compared to a ship wrecked on the rocks)get up on the wrong side of the bed: to be cross/in a bad mood/temper for the dayThe meaning of this phrase is perhaps derived from the expression: You got out of bed the wrong way. It was an ancient superstition that it was unlucky to set the left foot on the ground first on getting out of bed. is not a concern: is not a matter of importanceThey are like musketeers…and feelings.delve: to dig with a spade. It is a metaphor, meaning to investigate for informationThe three musketeers in Dumas’novel were very close friends. They supported each other with their fortune and their lives, yet they showed no curiosity in nor tried to find out anything about each other’s private lives. Bar friends, likewise, do not probe deep into each other’s lives nor do they try to find out the inmost thoughts and feelings of their drinking companions.P 4: The first sentence uses the sentence structure “It was…that…”, why do you think the author use it? moved desultorily…was a focusThe conversation rambled along aimlessly without a focal subject. They talked about the most common things and also made some remarks about the planet Jupiter. Then suddenly a magical transformation took place and there was a focal subject to talk about.alchemy: it’s a figuratively usage, meaning the seemingly miraculous change of a thing into sth. betterit was not…pressing on her mind: it wasn’t sth. in her mind that was calling for immediate attentionP 5: It is a short transition para, introducing the focal subject of the conversation—the King’s English is the term of criticism. The term “King’s English”is generally regarded by most people as referring to standard or correct English, but now the speaker says the term refers to English that should not be used. Why the direct quotation is used?To make it more objective and true-to-life.P 6: §Why the “There be” structure is used? If you are asked to rewrite the sentence what will you write down?As a method of narration, the structure has a more objective tone. Some of us affirmed, others protested and still others denied.The glow…into flames.It’s a metaphor. Conversation is being compared to a fire. The conversation became spirited and exciting. we would look, morning: we would look up reference books next morning to find out the exact meaning affirmation: positive statement or judgmentprotest: objectiondenial: refusal to accept/believeThat would settle it.By looking up reference books one could settle the right or wrong of an argument.it could still go ignorantly on: the conversation could go on without anybody knowing who was right or wrongP 7: §Why is it natural for “the King’s English”—a belittling remark of being associated with the fact that Australians are descendants of convicts?Because the Australians are thought of as crude, uneducated people since they are the descendants of convicts, and it’s natural for them to speak in the “non-King’s English”, and as a result, it’s natural for them to have a negative attitude towards “the King’s English”. But this reveals another fact: that is, the Australians are suffering from discrimination because they are the descendents of convicts.When the speaker explained that the definition was given to her by an Australian, her listeners immediately made some sharp cutting replies saying it was not surprising to hear Australians talk such nonsense because they were descendants of convicts.We had traveled…Australia.Though they were in an English pub, they were soon talking about Australia and Australian which seemed to bring them there.P 8: Why there are language barrier between the Saxon ill-bred peasant and their Norman conquerors? Because the Norman rulers, kings and nobles, spoke French at court and the conquered Saxon peasants spoke English and refused to learn the French of their masters, hence they had difficulty communicating with each other.The conversation was on wings.The conversation soon became spirited and exciting. It’s a metaphor. Conversation is compared with a bird flying and soaring.P 9: worth the reconsidering: it’s same as worth reconsidering. Why a definite article “the” is used? This definite article “the” gives a greater noun force to the gerund. Because gerunds are the non-verbal forms of verbs, which some grammarians call “verbal nouns”.It’s a pig…on the table.When the animal is still alive in its sty, it is called a “pig”. But when it is killed and its meat served as a dish on the table it is called pork.They are cattle in the fields, but we sit down to beef.These animals are called cattle when they are alive and feeding in the fields; but when we sit down at the table to eat, we call their meat beef.out of snobbery: in order to show one’s superior tastes in matter of foodout of: ~ + mind/heart/head~ + curiosity/interest (from an origin, a source, or a cause)~ sight/earshot (in a position or situation beyond the range/boundaries/limits/sphere of) The original meaning of the phrase “out of” is “from within to the outside of a space”. From the cognitive linguistic view, these expressions are derived from metaphors—Human body is a container/A situation/position is a container/One’s range of ability is a container.Even if our menus…Norman English. In English restaurants, esp. in high-class restaurants, the names of the dishes on the menus are quite often in French. Even if this were not done to show the superior tastes and written in English, they would have to use many words derived from French words and which were first introduced into English by the Norman rulers.What all this…Norman conquest.What all this shows us is a deep class gap between the conquerors and the conquered after the Norman conquest.the Norman Conquest: The year 1066 was a turning point in English history. William I, the Conqueror, and his sons gave England vigorous new leadership. Norman feudalism became the basis for redistributing the land among the conquerors, giving England a new French aristocracy and a new social and political structure. England turned away from Scandinavia toward France, an orientation that was to last for 400 years.When William died in 1087, he gave England to his second son, William II (Rufus), and Normandy to his eldest son, Robert. Henry, his third son, in due time got both—England in 1100, when William II died in a hunting accident, and Normandy in 1106 by conquest. Henry I used his feudal court and household to organize the government.After the Norman conquest, the Norman kings and nobles used French and tried to impose this language on the conquered English who persisted in using their own language. This resulted in a widening of the class gap in the culture of England.P 10: the Norman lords of course turned up their noses at it: the Norman rulers scorned the cheap rabbit meat. It would lower their social position if they ate the cheap rabbit meat eaten by the poor Saxon peasants.So rabbit…of lapin: As the Norman rulers scorned rabbit meat, it is still called its Anglo-Saxon name “rabbit”. If the Norman rulers had liked it, they would have given it a name derived from the French word, “lapin”.P 11: As we listen today…the Saxon peasant: When we listen to the merits and demerits of bilingual education, we should try to think as the Saxon peasants did when two languages were being used in England.into the shoes: metaphor (idiomatic expression) to think as if one were wearing the shoes of the Saxon peasants, i.e., as if one were a Saxon peasant. The original expression is “to be (put) in another’s shoes”, meaning to be in another’s position.The New ruling class …his own language: The new ruling class by using French instead of English made it difficult for the English to accept or absorb the culture of the rulers.There must have been…by the English: The English must have felt greatly humiliated when they were forced to listen to and use a foreign language and to accept a foreign culture.“The King’s English”…become French: If the term the King’s English”had existed at that time, its meaning would be different for the king spoke French and not English.And here in America…heirs to it: The reference of “it” is unclear, therefore, the sentence may either mean: (1) The English we speak and write in America today also shows the French influence of that time. We have inherited this French influence on the English language. (2) In America today we are facing the same problem that existed in England 900 years ago. The problem of having two languages existing sideby side.P12: That would be…general use: That (if the phrase is in Shakespeare) would prove that the term “the King’s English” was in general use at that time.“here will be…King’s English”: there will be a great trying of one’s patience and plentiful misuse of the King’s English.God’s patience: (no matter how patient you are, you won’t be able to bear him, because he will even try) God’s patience. God is more patient than any human being.it rings true: it sounds true. it gives people the impression that Mistress Quickly’s statement is true.P13: After five centuries…the conqueror: After 500 years of development, after struggling and contending with the French of the Norman rulers, English succeeded in absorbing the French elements. English survived and became once more the universal language of England.the conquered conquering the conqueror: the Norman rulers and the French language they used were both absorbed by the EnglishEnglish had come royally into its own.: The English language received proper recognition and was used by the king once more.come into one’s own: to receive what properly belongs to one, esp. acclaim or recognitionroyally: the king of England now spoke English (not French), so the term “the King’s English” became appropriateP14: The Elizabethan…of the earth: a simile, the English language being compared to the seeds of the dandelion. The Elizabethan writers spread the English language far and wide.“The King’s English”…racial discrimination: The use of “the King’s English” was no longer a form of racial discrimination. The use of English was no longer restricted to a certain race or class. After the Norman conquest the king and nobles used French and the oppressed Saxon peasants used English. Now, English is used both by the king and common people in England.P15: The phrase…lower classes: The phrase, the King’s English, has always been used disparagingly (disrespectfully) and jokingly by the lower classed. The working people very often make fun of the proper and formal language of the educated people.will lose control…ordinary folk: Dr. Caius may lose control of himself and use the strong language that ordinary people would use in such circumstances. The language of the ordinary people is more vigorous, direct and straightforward. The educated people would speak euphemistically or in a roundabout way.If the King’s English…should be spoken: The educated people insist that one must use the King’s English, i.e. speak English as it should be spoken. But the working people, members of the so-called lower classes mock and jeer at the people by replying in non-standard English that one should speak “English as it should be spoken”.The rebellion…still there: There still exists in the working people, as in the early Saxon peasants, a spirit of opposition to the cultural authority of the ruling class.p 16: There is always…things for us: There is always a great danger that we might forget that words are only symbols and take them for things they are supposed to represent. For examples, the word “dog” is a symbol representing a kind of animal. We mustn’t regard the word “dog” as being the animal itself.The King’s English…representation of reality: The term “the King’s English”or the Anglo-French used by the Norman rulers only represent the language used by the ruling class (or the king). It represents the language used by a certain class.it should not be…change from the below: people should not be ordered to speak the King’s English and they should be allowed to introduce changes into the language.lay down an edict: to issue an order or decree (by an official authority)made immune: exempt from or protected against (sth. harmful)The King’s English…an ultimatum: The King’s English sets up an excellent standard for us to imitate for we can gain a lot of useful knowledge or information by studying it but people shouldn’t be forced to accept it.P 17: I have an unending love affair with dictionaries—: I like reading dictionaries and I have an eagerinterest in dictionaries. I’ve always had an intense and eager interest in dictionaries.It’s a metaphor—dictionary is compared to a lady whom I am in love with.§What does the author mean by saying “dictionaries are instruments of common sense”?§What’s the underlined meaning of the author’s remark? What does dictionary stand for?Although I love dictionaries very much I don’t think they are that important as Auden believes, they are nothing but instruments. Here dictionary stands for standard, formal and grammatically correct language written in dictionaries.ultimatum: this term originally refers to the final statement of terms made by one party to another; here it means the final established educated usage in speech/writing.P 18: §What is the function of the first sentence in this para?The writer realizes he has been digressing from his subject, therefore, he comes back to his central theme—conversation. This makes this writing more of a prose than an exposition. But this bringing back of the theme is a little bit awkward and abrupt.with prep. : according to the experience or practice ofeg. With me, it is a question of priorities. 对我来说，这是个优先权的问题the King’s English slips and slidesThis is a metaphor, to slide on a slippery surface, to lose one’s footing/balance means to make a mistake, fall into error. Therefore, if the King’s English slips and slides, one will use some non-standard English which is no longer absolutely correct.Even with the most…slides in conversation.: Even the most educated and literate people do not use standard, formal English all the time in their conversation.punctuate: to stress and emphasizewho punctuates his words as he speaks: he speaks as if he were inserting punctuation marks in his speech to emphasize and accentuate what he is saying“the sinister corridor of our age”: it’s a metaphor in which the things we do, the road we travel in this age is compared to a corridor. What people are doing in our age are all kinds of evil things.sit up: (colloq) to become alert suddenlyat: because ofWe become suddenly alert and interested because the phrase is so vivid and the image created by the metaphor in our mind is so powerful and even frightening.§Why does the writer choose a colloquial phrase “sit up” to express his idea? Does he do it on purpose? Why are we entitled to ask Forster to leave?Because he violates the basic rule of conversation and makes it impossible for us to carry on with the conversation, thus behaves in a very impolite way.P 19: §Why the present continuous tense is used in the first sentence of this para?The present continuous tense is used to show the strong feeling of the writer. It is used to emphasize. Other people…18th century Paris.celebrate: praise and honourlofty: grandthe great minds: people with great minds; distinguished eminent peopleHere the figure of speech—metonymy is used. In a metonymy, one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated, as in the use of Washington for the United States government or of the sword for military power.salon: a drawing room of a private home in French-speaking countries. In the drawing room of famous people regular meetings of literary and artistic people were held. In such meetings conversation was supposed to be witty and learned. Paris in the 18th century was famous for such salon meetings.Other people may praise and honor the supposed grand conversations of distinguished and eminent people in the great salons in 18th century Paris.§What does suspect mean here? Then why does the writer predict what these great minds may talk? Can you detect the irony in it?suspect: surmise to be true or probableThe presumption of these great minds talking and judging the quality of the food and wine is somewhat out of our expectation, because they are supposed to talk something so much grander than that.bitterly: marked by resentment or cynicismUnder what circumstance will you complain sth. bitterly? Will you say so about your sauce?One may complain bitterly about sth. important, but will never do so about the taste of one’s sauce. observe: to make a comment or remarkthe only difference…in their intentions: the sauces were equally terrible. The only difference between the two cooks lay perhaps in how they would use these sauces in preparing the dishes.§What’s your understanding of “their intentions”? Why such a formal word is chosen?Maybe the phrase refers to their plans of putting the sauces in which dish. We can take it as an irony, because it’s so ridiculous to use such grand and formal words to talk about such common things like food and tastes of sauces and into which dishes these sauces are to put.P 20: Otherwise one will…here and there.Looking up the dictionary in the middle of a conversation will, like a rope or band, tie up the conversation. It will not flow freely.We would never have gone to Australia,…Conquest.We would never have talked about Australia nor about the language barrier that existed in England after the Norman Conquest.It’s a metaphor, comparing talking about Australians and language used during Norman rule in England to traveling to Australia and jumping back in time to the Norman Conquest.P 21:§In these sentences in which subjunctive mood is used, many things that we would not have done are listed, what are they? But why the phrase “above all” is used when the last item is mentioned? Why is this one the most important of all?They are 1. conversation; 2. conversation about Australia and the Norman Conquest; 3. sth. to think about;4. interest about the woman raising the question. This “above all”shows the essence of any conversation—people and communication between human beings.The bother…so ruin all conversation.bother: sth. annoying§Why chimpanzees are involved? What do they stand for here? Why not any other animal but chimpanzees? Is that chimpanzees trying to talk sense and ruin all conversation that really bothers the writer? What’s his true intention of saying so?They stand for nonhuman animals which are incapable of talk and conversation. Chimpanzees are chosen because they are thought of as the possible category of animals which could be taught to speak.This a biting satire in which the writer derides people who ruin good conversation by trying to talk sense, behaving like animals that are taught to speak, but not knowing how to talk.The theme appears in the opening sentence of para 1, and is winded up in the last part of the essay by pointing out what is the bane of good conversation—talking sense. The author discourses on what makes a good conversation by one which he had with some people one evening in a pub.。