Esami di stato, Maturità 2011: liceo linguistico, Inglese (Attualità), prova di comprensione e produzione – Il sito del ministero dell’Istruzione ha messo a disposizione degli studenti che hanno appena affrontato la seconda prova degli esami di maturità le tracce ufficiali degli elaborati svolti poche ore fa. Di seguito, proponiamo la soluzione alla traccia ufficiale della prova di comprensione e produzione di inglese per il liceo linguistico.
What is the present tendency of the English language as regards the vocabulary?
The English language is currently growing, as about 8,500 words are added each year.
According to Professor David Crystal, what is vocabulary growth connected with?
David Crystal says that vocabulary growth is connected with new concepts in society. For example, now that we are in a time (he calls it the Electronic Revolution) when new ideas are in abundance, many new words are naturally created to express those new things.
What is Professor David Willis’ idea about the size of vocabulary of English?
David Willis says that it is impossible to know whether or not English has more words than other languages. The English may have larger dictionaries though!
Why does English represent an exception if compared to other islands’ languages?
While other islands generally have more limited vocabularies because they are generally more isolated from other countries, English is innovative, constantly developing new words. This is because English speaking people were and are more in contact with other countries.
Why does linguistic diversity represent a challenge nowadays?
There is less linguistic diversity today because very few new languages are being created, while older ones continue to die out. It is a challenge to maintain linguistic diversity in a world that is increasingly more interconnected.
How are France and Germany trying to safeguard their languages?
In France, they are trying to save French by banning words like “le chewing gum”, which are not originally French but, in this case, are taken from English. Germany too is trying to ban words. The German Minister of Transport is attempting to ban words like “laptop” and “ticket”. They hope to purify their languages of the influence of English, thus maintaining their identity.
Why is the verb “to google” likely to survive, according to Professor Willis?
The verb “to google” is so established that it is no longer tied to its brand, but is an autonomous word. Thus, Willis argues, even if the Google company fails, the word will remain in use.
What does the creation of new words in a language show us?
The fact that new words are being created shows us that the language is alive. Professor Willis says, “If it doesn’t change, then it’s dead”.
SUMMARY
The article in The Independent talks about languages, focusing especially on English. English is a growing language, and new words are constantly being added. Some argue that growth in language is connected to growth in other areas. Since we are in the Electronic Revolution, and there are many new things being developed, new words are naturally developed as well. Also, a language has a good chance of changing and continuing if it is in contact with other languages and cultures. Though English is growing, other languages are dying out. Linguistic diversity is becoming increasingly challenging as very few new languages are being created. Though some countries are trying to preserve their languages by banning English words, the trend seems impossible to reverse. New words continue to be created in English and, while some may be short-lived, others have achieved a lasting quality. New words are a sign that a language is alive.
COMPOSITION
There are many languages: sign language, national, regional and minority languages, languages of migrants and also languages of other continents. Why do you think it is important to preserve and enhance linguistic diversity? Make reference to your linguistic and social environment.
Language is an extremely important part of culture. Every different language expresses different cultural values because things that are important to the culture will have more words to describe them, or more specific words to distinguish between different states or types of one thing. For example, everyone has heard the legend that the Eskimos have many more words for snow than other societies. People feel themselves expressed by their own language in a way that no other language can describe them. Though languages are translatable, something always gets lost in the translation. Perhaps it is something intangible, but those nuances are vital to the beauty and uniqueness of a language. When Italians are studying English, for example, we often come across words that we cannot translate perfectly into English. There are also thousands of expressions that come from our specific culture. They are things that we all know, but that, if we translated them, they would be incomprehensible to an English person. Italian words tend to be longer than English ones, and Italian sentences more complex than the usual English sentence. Italian also has a formal case, whereas English does not. These things could reflect two different mindsets. Perhaps in English speaking countries, things are more informal and people get straight to the point, whereas in Italy, people are more indirect. Since Italian is longer and more complicated, yet also more musical sounding because of the larger concentration of vowels in each word, Italians could seem more emotional than English speakers. Many of the characteristics of our culture are therefore reflected in our language. Linguistic diversity is important because, the more languages we have, the more different types of people and places are expressed in the world. When a language dies out, it is as if the identity of an entire race dies as well, taking untold secrets of uncounted numbers of people throughout history with it.