Unit 3

1. Unit 3 byHenry Fairlie Pub Talk and the King’s English Lecturer: Meng Fanyan

2. Teaching Objectives • To know how to make a good conversation • To trace the history of the King’s English • To analyse the features of spoken English • To appreciate the language features

3. Teaching Contents • I. Background knowledge • II. Introduction to the passage • III. Text Analysis • IV. Rhetorical devices • V. Questions

4. Background Knowledge • 1.   British pub culture • 2.   The author • 3. The History of Britain

5. British Pub Culture

6. A British Pub

9. Questions on pub culture • What is a pub? • Are there any official rules regulating the publicans? • Can you enjoy the service of the waiter? What’re the social benefits? • What are served in British pubs?

10. What is a pub? • ‘Pub’ is short for ‘Public House’. • The publican opens part of his or her ‘house’ to the public --- a bit like giving a party in your own home every day. • It is more cosy/cozy and welcoming than bars and cafes in other parts of the world.

12. Official Rules • By law, pubs are not allowed to open until 11am. They cannot serve drinks after 11pm. • It is illegal for pubs to serve alcoholic drinks to anyone under the age of 18. Some pubs will allow people over 14 years old to go inside if they are with someone who is over 18, but they are not allowed to have an alcoholic drink.

13. Waiter Service • Most pubs have no waiters---you have to go to the bar to buy drinks. • A group of Italian youths waiting 45 minutes before they realized they would have to fetch their own. • This may sound inconvenient, but there are social benefits.

14. Social benefits • Having to go up to the bar for your drinks ensures plenty of opportunities for social contact between customers.

15. Social benefits • Pub culture is designed to promote sociality in a society. Standing at the bar for service allows you to chat with others waiting to be served. The bar counter is possibly the only site in the British Isles in which friendly conversation with strangers is considered entirely appropriate and really quite normal behaviour.

16. Pub drinks • The drinks such as wine, bitter are usually served in a pub.

17. Bitter • Bitter is traditional British beer (also known as ale). • It is quite strong and leaves a bitter taste in your mouth after drinking.

19. Wine • Wine is an increasingly popular drink in the UK. • Cider is a traditional English alcoholic drink made from apples. • Whisky is a strong drink produced in Scotland and in Ireland.

21. Drinks

22. Pub Food • It is common to ask for snacks to eat with your drink. • Common snacks: • ---crisps • ---peanuts

23. crisps

24. Pub friends • Bar friends are companions, not intimates. They are friends but not intimate enough to be curious about each other’s private life and thoughts.

25. Henry Fairlie (1924-1990) • He was a British author and journalist. • He was a contributing editor of The New Republic. • He wrote for The Observer, The Times of London before 1966.

26. After moving to the United States, he wrote for American publications, including The Washington Post, The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic.

27. Masterpieces • The Kennedy Promise (1973) • The life of Politics (1969) • The Spoiled Child of the Western World (1976)

28. History of Britain

29. The History of Britain • The early inhabitants in Britain • Celts (凯尔特人) arriving in Britain in 700BC • Celt (language) • Roman Britain • (Caesar) 43 AD, ruled for 400 years • Latin (language)

30. The History of Britain • The Anglo-SaxonBritain • from 410 to 1066 • Old English • Norman Conquest • ruling for 400 years (1066-1485) • French (language) • Tudor Period (1485-1603) -- English won its recognition.

31. Introduction to the Passage

32. Introduction to the Passage • 1.Type of literature: • a piece of ____________ exposition

33. 2. The thesis: • The thesis is expressed in ________________________________________________________________________________. the opening sentence---- “Conversation is the most sociable of all human activities”

34. 3. The main idea: • General discussion on___________________________. what makes a good conversation

35. The writer feels that bar conversation in a pub has a ________ of its own and illustrates his point by describing the charming conversation he had with some people one evening in a pub on the topic ________________. charm “the King’s English”

36. Question: What makes a good conversation? • A good conversation does not really start from anywhere, and no one has any idea where it will go. • A good conversation is not for making a point. • Argument may often be a part of it, but the purpose of the argument is not to convince.

37. 4. Seemingly loose organization • Title (Well-chosen?) • Transitional paragraph (Which?) • Digression ( turning aside or wandering away from the subject) (Where?)

38. The title not well chosen • The title of this piece is _____________. • It misleads the reader into thinking that the writer is going to demonstrate some intrinsic or linguistic relationship between pub talk and the King’s English. Whereas the writer, in reality, is just discussing on what makes a good conversation.

39. What’s the meaning of the title? • --- An interesting pub talk which centered around the meaning of the phrase, “the King’s English”.

40. How do you understand “the King’s English”? • The King’s English: correct and standard English with regard to grammar and pronunciation • The term “The Queen’s English” is used when the ruling monarch is a queen.

41. Transitional paragraph • Para.___ is a transition. • From here the writer passes from a general discourse on good conversation to a particular instance of it. 5

42. Digression • His reflections on ___________ and ________ of “the King’s English”. • His love for ___________ and the ________ of 18th century Paris. the history meaning dictionaries salons

43. 5. Highly informal language • abundance of_________________________. • copious (plentiful) literary and historical allusions • mixed metaphors • simple idiomatic expressions

44. Structure of the essay • Part 1(Para.1-3) • General discussion on the charm of conversation

45. Para. 1: Conversation is the most sociable of all human activities. • Para. 2: how to make conversation charming • Para. 3: Conversation has a charm of its own

46. Part 2 ( Para. 4-17) • An instance of pub talk that centered around the King’s English

47. Para 4: an example to illustrate “what makes good conversation” • Para.5: transition, introducing the focal subject of the conversation---the King’s English • Para. 6: the response of the listeners when hearing the criticism on the King’s English

48. Paras7-10: The writer’s reflections on the history and meaning of “the King’s English. • Digression ( wandering away from the subject: what makes good conversation) • Para.11: Bilingual education vs. cultural humiliation

49. Para.12: The source of “the king’s English • Para. 13: English had come royally into its own • Para.14: The development of English

50. Para.15: The rebellion against the cultural dominance by Norman ruling class • Para.16: King’s English is a class representation of reality. • Para.17: The author’s love for dictionaries