How to be more English
How to Be More English?
We are proud to present what seems an indispensable guide for everyone who desires to be more English, the only way to truly master the English language. It will come to you in seventeen weekly instalments covering a variety of topics. The series is meant to be light-hearted, except for the second part of every instalment, always clearly entitled Put the words into action, and consisting of specific advice on becoming more English-for simplicity kept in the recipe style. Drinking tea On the dying art of conversation On other people On playing sports On drinking and getting drunk On medicine and healing On education and teaching We start with doing something stereotypical, that is Drinking Tea, which provokes us to engage in a conversation about the Dying Art of Conversation and from there on about the Other People. We move on to enjoy Playing Sports with them and after that Drinking & Getting Drunk in their company. Even if what we need next is Medicine & Healing we will never give it up for Education & Teaching. Well, unless we learn about the Achievements of Civilisation, like Apparel, most probably developed already in the times of Adam and Eve. Dressed properly, we might want to admire the Glamour of Academia or undress for a change making Love & Relationships. If it finishes up in a Family, there is nothing left to do but Cooking. Still, even then we can be happy that we have nothing to do with the Welsh & the Scottish, although our ancestors could have because of our quirky History. As it happens they might have also done something in Arts & Sciences, which we explore before we finally reflect upon the key thing, i.e. the Language. * * * 'Why to go through it all'-you might ask-'if I'm only interested in the last part and I want to stay Polish?' Well, the answer is straightforward: first of all don't worry, you will stay Polish-this is incurable. Secondly, language is strongly linked to the culture in which it functions and so we believe you cannot speak, write and understand it properly if you know little about the society that uses it. Otherwise you speak Foreign English and Polglish in this instance-not a bad thing perhaps, but rather pointless. Quite a few things in the English society work differently and we still, despite globalisation, know little about this. Learning about these differences will not only make you appreciate a different cultural heritage but also understand problems that occur in the course of translation or interpretation. |