Holiday towns and fishing villages in the South-West are
Preparing to fight the oil pollution which is
Threatening local beaches.
Yesterday there was a collision in the English Channel between the "S. P. Titan ", which is one of the biggest oil tankers in the world, and a Dutch cargo ship. The collision happened in thick fog late last night, and damaged the tanker's engines. It drifted onto rocks, and broke in half. The tanker was carrying 100,000 tons of crude oil, and an oil slick is moving slowly towards Cornwall. Helicopters rescued both crews, and nobody died in the collision. Hundreds of small boats, which are carrying detergents, are spraying the oil.
• Practice reading the following news items.
FREE LOZENGES FOR WOULD-BE
COUGHERS IN OPERA HOUSE
COUGHING at Sydney’s Opera House should be an unheard-of disturbance this summer: the opera house is distributing free lozenges at the door. AP reports that the cough drops, donated by the manufacturer, would be given to all opera fans throughout July and August.
‘For years concert-goers, critics and performers alike have been plagued by the constant interruption of coughing audiences,’ said Robert Pool, spokesman for the Opera House Trust. ‘Hopefully, this move will see an end to the cacophony of coughs during orchestral concerts, and earn the opera house the title of a cough-free zone.’
WOAMAN WAITS THREE
QUARTERS OF A CENTURY
TO RECEIVE HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA
TESS TWIETMEYER waited almost three quarters of a century to earn her high school diploma, but a computer that didn’t believe she was born in 1893 made her wait a few weeks longer. Mrs Twiemeyer, 94, of Tribune, Kansas, finally received her diploma in the mail when humans took over from a computer that rejected her because it had been programmed to recognize only birthdays in this century and couldn’t print her name on a list of grads.
SHAKESPEARE HAD ‘EXTRAORDINARY’
MEDICAL MIND
SHAKESPEARE, the acknowledged master of the English language, also had an extraordinary grasp of medical science, according to a new study just published.
In 37 plays he mentions practically all the diseases and drugs of the day, and some of his descriptions could not be bettered by any modern doctor, says Aubrey Kall, author of ‘The Medical Mind of Shakespeare’.
Foreign words in English
Many English words have their origins in other languages. Some of these words are no longer thought of as 'foreign'; for example, bungalow (Hindi origin), caravan (Persian origin), tomato (Spanish origin). Others, however, are still associated with the language they are borrowed from, either because they are recent borrowings or because they keep the appearance of a foreign word. This unit looks at the pronunciation of words in this second group.
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Some of these words are said with a pronunciation that makes them sound like English words; others may also be said in a way that is close to their pronunciation in the original language (marked * below).
French words used in English
I'm not really au fait with the rules of cricket, /ˌəʊ'feɪ/ (= familiar with)
The negotiations have reached an impasse, with neither side wanting to back down, /'æmpɑ:s/ or /'æ̃mpɑ:s/* (= a situation where progress is impossible)
The symbol ˜ is put over a vowel when it is pronounced with a nasal sound.
Other examples: faux pas /ˌfəʊ'pɑ:/, joie de vivre /ˌʒwɑ:də'vi:vrə/, deja vu /ˌdeɪʒɑ:'vu:/, fait accompli /ˌfeɪtə'kɒmpli:/ or /ˌfetəkɔ:̃m'pli:/*.
A number of French words in English are pronounced with a /ɑ:̃/ sound:
They show a lot of avant-garde films at the cinema, /ˌævɑ:̃ŋ'ɡɑ:d/ (= original and modern).
Other examples: carte blanche /ˌkɑ:t'blɑ:̃nʧ/, entre nous /ˌɒntrə'nu:/ or /ˌɑ:̃ntrə'nu:/*,
en route /ˌɒn'ru:t/ or /ˌɑ:̃n'ru:t/*, nuance /'nju:ɑ:nts/ or /'nju:ɑ:̃ns/*.
German words used in English
He went through a long period of angst during his teens, /æŋkst/ (= worry and unhappiness about personal problems).
Other examples: doppelganger/'dɒplˌɡæŋəʳ/, realpolitik/reɪ'ɑ:lpɒlɪˌti:k/, wanderlust /'wɒndəlʌst/ or /'vɑ:ndəlʊst/*.
Spanish words used in English
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She's an aficionado of Spanish literature, /əˌfɪʃiən'ɑ:dəʊ/ or /æˌfɪθjə'nɑ:dəʊ/*
(= very interested and enthusiastic about the subject).
Other examples: incommunicado/ˌɪnkəˌmju:nɪ'kɑ:dəʊ/, mañana /mæn'jɑ:nə/, El Nino (or El Niño) /el'ni:njəʊ/.
Italian words used in English
He complained that he couldn't go anywhere without being followed by the paparazzi. /ˌpæpərˈætsi/ (= photographers who follow famous people to get pictures for newspapers).
Other examples: cognoscente /ˌkɒnjəʊ'ʃenti/, prima donna/ˌpri:mə'dɒnə/.
Japanese words used in English
The tsunami killed over a million people, /tsu'nɑ:mi/ or /su'nɑ:mi/ (= a huge wave).
Other examples: bonsai /'bɒnsaɪ/, kimono /kɪ'mənəʊ/, origami /ˌɒrɪ'ɡɑ:mi/.
Chinese words used in English
He does an hour of t'ai chi every morning, /ˌtaɪ'ʧi:/ (= a form of exercise originally from China).
Other examples: feng shui /ˌfeŋ'ʃu:i/ or /ˌfʌŋ'ʃweɪ/*, lychee /ˌlaɪ'ʧi:/, typhoon /taɪ'fu:n/.
Exercises
• Listen and repeat these foreign words used in English. What language do you think each word comes from: French, Chinese, Italian, German, Japanese or Spanish? If you are not sure, use the examples given above and try to notice similar spelling or sounds. Transcribe these words, use the Pronunciation Dictionary to check yourself.
denouement
diva
nouvelle cuisine
ersatz
haiku
ginseng
schadenfreude
sotto voce
macho
kumquat
ninja
pronto
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• Listen and repeat the French words in coloumn A. Then try to match them with the brief definition in coloumn B. Use the example sentences below the table.
| A | B | ||
| 1 | bête noire | a | describing something you must have or do to appear fashionable |
| 2 | cause célèbre | b | a false name used by a writer |
| 3 | de riɡueur | c | an embarrassing small disagreement |
| 4 | Clientele | d | a person or thing that particularly annoys you or that you dislike |
| 5 | Contretemps | e | being able to do or say the right thing in any situation |
| 6 | en suite | f | the customers or clients of a business |
| 7 | nom de plume | g | a controversial event that attracts a lot of public |
| 8 | savoir-faire | h | describing a connected bathroom and bedroom |
• My particular bête noire is people who use mobile phones when they are driving.
• The trial of the two teenagers became an international cause célèbre.
• Where I work, smart suits are de riɡueur for the women.
• The restaurant has a clientele that includes film stars and famous sportspeople.
• There was a contretemps between the neighbours over the fence dividing their gardens.
• All the rooms in the hotel are en suite.
• She writes under the nom de plume of Cathy Kay.
• I really envy him for his savoir-faire.
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