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Chapter OneChapter One

Geography, People Geography, People and Language and Language

Contents

GeographyI

PeopleII

The English LanguageIII

I Geography

1. Geographical Feature 2. Climate 3. Major Cities

Map of the UK

Read the map to find:Atlantic Ocean North SeaIrish Sea The English Channel (The

Channel Tunnel )The Republic of Ireland

Geography

The official title of the UK the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The UK is made up of:

Great Britain (the formerly separate England and Scotland, and Wales. )

Northern Ireland Numerous smaller islands

Title and Make up of the UK

Location and territory

Location of the UK:

The mainland areas lie between latitudes 49°N and 61°N and longitudes 8°W to 2°E

Total territory: 242,910 square kilometers

Interesting Fact: Interesting Fact: No one in the UK lives more than 120 km (75 miles) from the sea.

Topography

Northern Ireland: It’s mostly hilly.

Wales: It’s mostly mountainous. South Wales is less mountainous than North and Mid Wales.

Scotland: Its geography is varied, with lowlands in the south and east and highlands in the north and west.

England: it consists of lowland terrain, with some mountainous terrain in the north-west, north and south-west.

Ben Nevis in Scotland — the highest point in UK

Rivers and Lakes

The longest river: Severn River (354 kilometers long) The second longest river: Thames (332 kilometers long) The largest Lake: Lough Neagh

Thames

Lake District

Lake poets

"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" ---William Wordsworth

 I wandered lonely as a cloudThat floats on high o'er vales and hills,When all at once I saw a crowd,A host, of golden daffodils;Beside the lake, beneath the trees,Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shineAnd twinkle on the milky way,They stretched in never-ending lineAlong the margin of a bay:Ten thousand saw I at a glance,Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

Lake poets

The waves beside them danced; but theyOut-did the sparkling waves in glee:A poet could not but be gay,In such a jocund company:I gazed---and gazed---but little thoughtWhat wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lieIn vacant or in pensive mood,They flash upon that inward eyeWhich is the bliss of solitude;And then my heart with pleasure fills,And dances with the daffodils.

2. Climate

Main characteristics: Temperate, with warm summers, cold winters and

plenty rainfall

Three major features: Winter fog Rainy days Instability/changeability

3. Major Cities — London

The River Thames

the capital of England and of Great Britain

the political center of the Commonwealth

a major port

one of the world's leading banking and financial

centers.

Landmarks & Symbols of London

The palace of Westminster

Landmarks & Symbols of London

Westminster Abbey

Big Ben

Landmarks & Symbols of London

St. Paul's Cathedral

Landmarks & Symbols of London

Hyde Park

Tower of London

Landmarks & Symbols of London

Tower Bridge

Buckingham Palace

Landmarks & Symbols of London

London Eye

Major Cities—Edinburgh

Capital of Scotland

administrative, financial, legal, medical and insurance center of Scotland

beautiful scenery

renowned architecture

Landmarks & Symbols of Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle

Palace of Holyrood

Major Cities—Cardiff

Europe's youngest capital city

has been the capital city of Wales for around 50 years

home to an enormous amount of urban regeneration and restoration

has recently become one of the most fashionable cities in the United Kingdom.

Landmarks & Symbols of Cardiff

Cardiff City Hall

Landmarks & Symbols of Cardiff

Millennium StadiumCardiff Castle

Major Cities—Belfast

City Hall

the second largest city

capital of Northern Ireland

an important historic city

Landmarks & Symbols of Belfast

Belfast Castle

II People

Overall population: over 60 millions

Distribution: England: about 50 million Scotland:over 5 million Wales: around 3 million Northern Ireland: about 1.7million

Ethnicity

The majority of this population are descendents of the Anglo-Saxons

Most people in Wales and Scotland are descendents of the Celtic people

The Irish people were also Celtic in origin immigrants

Percentage of total UK Population

Ethinc Groups of total White British 85.7% White Irish 1.2% White (other) 5.3% Mixed race 1.2% Indian 1.8% Pakistani 1.3% Bengali 0.5% Other Asian (non-Chinese) 0.4% Black Caribbean 1.0% Black African 0.8% Black (others) 0.2% Chinese 0.4% Other 0.4%

III The English Language

1. Old English 2. Middle English 3. Modern English 4. Standard English

1. Old English (5th ~ 11th)

Language of Angle-Saxons

Influenced by Old Norse Latin and Greek words Danish words

Beowulf

The most famous work from the OldEnglish period is the epic poem ”Beowulf”(approximately AD 900)

Hwæt! We Gar-Dena in geardagum,þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum

2. Middle English (11th ~ 15th )

Status French replaced English as the official language, and English

became the Language of lower class big — pork sheep — mutton cattle — beef

Development English increased in importance after the Black Death

The Canterbury Tales

written by Geofery Chaucer, 14 the century

Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote

The droghte of March hath perced to the roote

And bathed every veyne in swich licour,

Of which vertu engendred is the flour;

Geoffrey Chaucer

3. Modern English (15th~ )

The printing press—brought standardization of English

Samuel Johnson’s dictionary—established a standard form of spelling

Renaissance—assimilated foreign words throughout the Renaissance

The Industrial Revolution—necessitated the introduction of new words for new things and ideas

The rise of the British Empire or the Commonwealth of Nations—led to the assimilation of words from many other languages

Othello

by William Shakespeare 1603

La: Tho in the trade of warre, I haue flaine men, Yet doe I hold it very ftuft of Confcience. To doe no contriu’d murrher; I lacke iniquity Sometimes to doe feruice: nine or ten times, I had thought to haue ierk’d him here, Vnder the ribbes.

Oth.: Tis better as it is. Which can be translated as:La: Though in the trade of war I have slain man,

Yet do I hold it very stuff o’ the conscience. To do no contrived murder: I lack iniquity Sometimes to do me service: nine or tem times I had thought to have yerk’d him here under the ribs.

Othello: ‘Tis better as it is.

Shakespeare

4. Standard English

based on the speech of the upper class of southeastern England

adopted as a broadcasting standard in the British media

also called as Queen’s English or BBC English

based on the London dialect

becoming a universal Lingua Franca—the world language

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