diary of a student of English

Assignment #5/Acronyms - MAURICIO NILO

2008-11-10T09:21:00.000-08:00

Assignment #5/Acronyms - mauricio nilo

Acquiring Acronym

Acronyms are both very popular and very important in the English language. It makes our speech & writing more efficient. It is important to learn the meanings of acronyms, so you can more easily understand the language. You use many acronyms when communicating on the internet, such as: lol (lots of laughs), btw (by the way) & wtf (what the fuck?).
Translate the following acronyms:

Translate the following acronyms:

1. CNN: Cable News Network.

2. UFO: Unidentified Flying Object.

3. SCUBA: Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus.

4. IBM: International Business Machines.

5. VHS: Video Home System.

6. DVD: Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc.

7. SNAFU: Situation Normal, All Fucked Up.

8. LASER: Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation.

9. RADAR: Radio Detection And Ranging.

10. NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

11. FAQ: Frequently Asked Question.

12. CD-ROM: Compact Disk - Read Only Memory.

13. DNA: Deoxyribonucleic Acid.

14. JPEG: Joint Photographic Experts Group.

15. ATM: At The Moment.

16. BCE/A.D.: Before the Common Era /After Death OR Before the Christian Era /After Death.

17. EU: European Union.

18. NAFTA: North American Free Trade Agreement.

19. 4WD: Four Wheel Drive.

20. AWD: All Wheel Drive.

21. CIA: Central Intelligence Agency.

22. FUBAR: Fucked Up Beyond All Repair or Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition

23. FIDO: Field Integrated Design and Operations. (NASA)

24. ABS: Anti-Lock Brake System.

25. TLC: : Tratado de Libre Comercio

Due: November 17th, 2008

Assignment #4/Early Modern English & Modern English-Mauricio Nilo

2008-10-27T19:59:00.000-07:00

go to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Modern_English

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_English

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakepeare

answer: the following questions on your

due: Sunday October 19, 2008

1. Define and explain, The Great Vowel Shift.

- The Great Vowel Shift was a major change in the pronunciation of the English Language. It was between 1200 and 1600.

During the Great Vowel Shift, the two highest long vowels became diphthongs, and the other five underwent an increase in tongue height with one of them coming to the front.

2. Name 5 dialects of Modern English.

- American English
- British English
- Caribbean English
- South African English
- Indo-Pakistani English.

3. One of the problems with Early Modern English was a lack of uniformity in spelling. Which 2 people (1-English, 1-American) helped establish standardized spelling?

- the two people were, Samuel Johnson (English) and Noah Webster (American).

4. How many countries in the world have given Modern English official status?

- 53 countries have given modern English official status.

5. The most recent statistics show that approximately how many people speak Modern English as a:

I. First language?

- 380 million.

II. Second Language?

- 600 million.

6. When was Early Modern English spoken?

- It was spoken From about the end of the Middle English period (the latter half of the 15th century) to 1650.

7. How are the use of Pronouns different between Early Modern & Modern English?

8. Which language families does Modern English belong in?

- Indo-European
- Germanic
- West Germanic
- Anglo-Frisian
- Anglic.

9. Name 4 worldwide uses for Modern English.

- It use in such diverse applications as controlling airplanes, developing software, conducting international diplomacy and business relations.

10. In your opinion, what was the greatest influence on the spread of Modern English around the world? Why?

The greatest influence of the Moder English is that te most of the people can use it; they can read and write in English; and the most important they understand. This is important becouse allows the communication around the world.

11. There has been a lot of controversy over the true authorship of Shakespeare's writings. Which 3 people are also candidates as the possible authors of Shakespeare's plays?

- Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe, and Edward de Vere.

12. Briefly explain The Theory.

It wrote the plays and poems attributed toWilliam Shakespeare of Srratford-upon-Avon.

13. Shakespeare wrote 38 plays, which according to the Folio Classification, fall into 3 categories. Name the 3 categories.

- comedies

- histories

- tragedies

14. In which town was Shakespeare born?

- Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon- Avon

15. Which famous London theatre (built by actors, for actors) is connected with Shakespeare's plays?

16. Even though Richard III is the most performed play, Hamlet is Shakespeare's most famous play. In you opinion, what does this portion of Hamlet's famous soliloquy mean:

To be or not to be, that is the question;

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

And by opposing, end them. To die, to sleep;

No more; and by a sleep to say we end

The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks

That flesh is heir to — 'tis a consummation

Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;

To sleep, perchance to dream. Ay, there's the rub,...

17. Name 5 post-Shakespearean artists whose work was heavily influenced by the writings of William Shakespeare.

--Shakespeare influenced novelists such as Thomas Hardy, William Faulkner, Charles Dickens; the American novelist Herman Melville, the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud.

18. Which of Shakespeare's plays are included in The Wars of the Roses series?

-Henry VI part 1.

19. Shakespeare wrote most of his works in blank verse composed in iambic pentameter. What is blank verse & iambic pentameter?

a)Blank verse: is a type of poetry, distinguished by having a regular meter, but no rhyme. In English, the meter most commonly used with blank verse has been iambic pentamer.
b)Iambic pentameter: is a type of meter that is used in poetry and drama. It describes a particular rhythm that the words establish in each line. That rhythm is measured in small groups of syllables; these small groups of syllables are called "feet". The word "iambic" describes the type of foot that is used. The word 'pentameter' indicates that a line has five of these 'feet'.

20. Name 4 actors from Shakepeare's original company.

- Richard Burbage, William Kempe, Henry Condell and John Heminges.

Assignment # 3: Middle English --- Mauricio Nilo

2008-09-30T20:35:00.000-07:00

Middle English

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_English

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Canterbury_Tales

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Gawain_and_the_Green_Knight

read: article pages

answer: the following questions on YOUR blog site.

due: October 1st, 2008

Clearly Identify: Assignment #, title & your name (last, first)

1. Approximately when was Middle English spoken?

-spoken between the Norman invasion of 1066 and the mid-to-late 15th century.

2. What were the major factors which led to the development and the spread of Middle English?

- When the Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, began to become widespread, a process aided by the introduction of the printing press into England by William Caxton in the 1470s, and slightly later by Richard Pynson.

3. Match the following Old English words with their Anglo-Norman equivalent:

A. Pig: Pork

B. Cow: Beef

C. Wood: Forest

D. Sheep: Mutton

E. House: Mansion

F. Worthy: Honourable

G. Bold: Corageous

4. Compare & contrast the structure of nouns, pronouns and verbs, between Middle English & Modern English.

-Nouns: Despite losing the slightly more complex system of inflectional endings, Middle English retains two separate noun-ending patterns from Old English. Compare, for example, the early Modern English words engel (angel) and nome (name)

- Verbs: As a general rule (and all these rules are general), the first person singular of present tense verbs ends in -e (ich here - "I hear"), the second person in -(e)st (þou spekest - "thou speakest"), and the third person in -eþ (he comeþ - "he cometh/he comes"). (þ is pronounced like the unvoiced th in "think"). In the past tense, weak verbs are formed by an -ed(e), -d(e) or -t(e) ending. These, without their personal endings, also form past participles, together with past-participle prefixes derived from the old English ge-: i-, y- and sometimes bi-. Strong verbs form their past tense by changing their stem vowel (e.g. binden -> bound), as in Modern English.

- Pronouns: First and second pronouns survive largely unchanged, with only minor spelling variations. In the third person, the masculine accusative singular became 'him'. The feminine form was replaced by a form of the demonstrative that developed into 'she', but unsteadily – 'ho' remains in some areas for a long time. The lack of a strong standard written form between the eleventh and the fifteenth century makes these changes hard to map.

5. How is pronunciation different between Middle English and Modern English?

- Generally, all letters in Middle English words were pronounced. (Silent letters in Modern English come from pronunciation shifts but continued spelling conventions.) Therefore 'knight' was pronounced /ˈknɪçt/ (with a pronounced K and a 'gh' as the 'ch' in German 'Knecht'), not /ˈnaɪt/as in Modern English.
In earlier Middle English, all written vowels were pronounced. By Chaucer's time, however, final -e had become silent in normal speech, but could be optionally pronounced in verse as the meter requires (but normally silent when the next word begins in a vowel). Chaucer follows these conventions: -e is silent in 'kowthe' and 'Thanne', but pronounced in 'straunge', 'ferne', 'ende', etc.

6. What is the Chancery Standard, and how did it come into effect?

- Chancery Standard was a written form of English used by government bureaucracy and for other official purposes from the late 14th century. It is believed to have contributed in a significant way to the development of the English language as spoken and written today.
Because of the differing dialects of English spoken and written across the country at the time, the government required a clear and unambiguous form for use in its official documents. Chancery Standard was developed to meet this need.

7. Who wrote the Canterbury Tales?

- The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer.

8. Describe the medieval pilgrims who journeyed from Canterbury to London.

- Religious characters, such as a monk and a pardoner, travel alongside a sailor, miller, carpenter, and a knight, among others. When the group stops for the night, the host of the pilgrimage proposes that they all tell stories to each other along the way.

The pilgrims agree to tell four stories each, two on the way to Canterbury, and two on the way back. The person who tells the best story, as determined by the host, will have his way paid by the rest of the group. The tale-telling begins with the knight and proceeds as the pilgrims near Canterbury, each person telling a story that reflects their social position, and some telling stories which are intended to make fun of others in the group.

9. Why did the pilgrims take this journey?

- to pay their respects to the tomb of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral.

10. It is thought that some of the stories in The Canterbury Tales originated in Italy. What was the name of the Italian book and who wrote it?

- The name of the Italian book was The Decameron, and it was written by Giovanni Boccaccio.

11. The Canterbury Tales is considered an extremely important book, both in terms of English Literature & in the history of English writing. In your opinion, why is this book so important?

- Because The Canterbury Tales was the first English literary works to mention paper.

12. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is:

A medieval romance poem, with Arthurian themes.

13. Who is Sir Gwain?

- Sir Gwain is a knight of King Arthur Round Table.

14. What is the challenge that The Green Knight proposes to the Knights of the Round Table?

- The Green knight offers to allow anyone to strike him with his axe if the challenger will take a return blow in a year and a day.

15. What is the similarity between Sir Gwain and the Green Knight and the Irish tale of Cúchulainn?

-The beheading challenge.

16. What is the importance of the pentagram/pentangle in the poem?

- The poem describes the pentangle as a symbol of faithfulness and an "endless knot". It is described as "a sign by Solomon". Solomon, the third king of Israel, in 10th century B.C. was said to have the mark of the pentagram on his ring, which he received from the archangel Michael. The pentagram seal on this ring was said to give Solomon power over demons.
The symbol was also associated with magical charms which, if recited or written on a weapon, would call forth magical forces. However, concrete evidence tying the magical pentagram to Gawain's pentangle is scarce.

17. How are numbers used to symbolize events in the poem?

- The poet highlights number symbolism to add symmetry and meaning to the poem. For example, three kisses are exchanged between Gawain and Bertilak's wife; Gawain is tempted by her on three separate days; Bertilak goes hunting three times, and the Green Knight swings at Gawain three times with his axe. The number two also appears repeatedly, as in the two beheading scenes, two confession scenes, and two castles.

18. What is the significance of Sir Gwain's neck wound?

-The neck, specifically, was believed to correlate with the part of the soul related to will, connecting the reasoning part (the head) and the courageous part (the heart). Gawain's sin resulted from using his will to separate reasoning from courage.

19. Which actor played The Green Knight in the film adaptation, Sword of the Valiant?

-Sean Connery.

20. In many ways this poem is, in the modern sense, a soap opera. Compare Sir Gwain and the Green Knight with a modern Chilean teleseries.

Assignment #2/Old English

2008-09-11T16:13:00.000-07:00

Old English (Anglo-Saxon)

go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_english

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beowulf

read: article pages

answer: the following questions

1. When was Old English spoken?
A) was spoken and written in parts of what are now England and southern Scotland between the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century.

2. Name 4 language groups which influenced the development of Old English.
A)Germanic ,Latin ,Viking AND Celtic origins.

3. In the Phonology section, name 5 phonetical differences between Old English & Modern English.
A)

4. Are there any similarites between Old English and Modern English? Name them.
A)

5. In the Orthography section, enlarge the picture of the runic alphabet. How many letters (runes) are there in this alphabet?
A)34 letters

6. Which epic poem was originally written in Old English?
A) Beowulf.

7. In the See Also section, click on: Beowulf. Appoximately when was Beowulf written?
A)dating as recorded in the Nowell Codex manuscript from between the 8th to the 11th century.

8. Even though Beowulf was written in England, the story takes place in which countries?
A)Beowulf was written in England, but is set in Scandinavia.

9. In the poem, which 3 antagonists does Beowulf battle or fight against?
A)Grendel, a Dragon, Grendel's mother.

10. What happens to Beowulf at the end of the story?
A)Beowulf and his warriors come to fight the dragon, but only one of the warriors, a brave young man named Wiglaf, stays to help Beowulf, because the rest are too afraid.
Beowulf kills the dragon with Wiglaf's help, but Beowulf dies from the wounds he has received. In addition, the immense hoard of the dragon is buried with the hero.

11. Who was the author of Beowulf?
A)Beowulf is an Old English heroic epic poem of anonymous authorship, dating as recorded in the Nowell Codex manuscript.

12. What were the titles and the dates of the two film versions of Beowulf?
A)Beowulf has been adapted a number of times for other novels, theater, and cinema, including the 1999 film Beowulf (1999 film) with Christopher Lambert and Rhona Mitra,
the 2005 film Beowulf and Grendel and the 2007 animated film Beowulf directed by Robert Zemeckis.

My life

2008-09-04T15:27:00.000-07:00

my name is Mauricio Nilo gonzalez , I was born on the 13 of november 1986 , I'm 21 years old , I live in Maipu with my parents , my friends call me Mazer , my hobby and passion is listen to hip-hop ,r&b music and watching movies with my friends , I working Monday to Friday afternoon in a hardware store, I'm studying pedagogy in english.

I LOVE HIP-HOP AND R&B

2008-07-09T20:57:00.000-07:00

tips for a better study

2008-07-02T22:11:00.000-07:00

Use a comfortable chair.

It is not desirable that study with hunger.

have good lighting and ventilation.

When you have to read a text, first make a general reading, and then mark the important thing. We will help you remember better.

Try to bed early to pay better during the day.

The study is only good. But if you act in groups must learn to organize themselves in a responsible manner.

The study area should be ventilated. ( Your neurons need oxygen.)

The table must be clean and clear of what can Distracting.

Let your study periods are about 50 minutes.

Never sleeps less than 6 hours per night.

Do not make your friends call during the study.

Can I learn by listening?

2008-06-25T22:29:00.000-07:00

The podcast is a new way to communicate, we can burn almost whatever we want and then tell the Web to anyone who wants to download it and listen to wherever, because what most often used for these files are mp3, as i-pod The idea is to keep updated with the information you want, it saves us quite some time.

to make a podcast requires a microphone, a computer and an idea that pass. A podcast directly what I find on the website of the creator, ( www.chilepodcast.cl), or search in podcast directories. A podcast can be heard across any audio player.

the instructions to download our podcast
1. Visit the official podcast
2. Right-click Download.
3. Click "save link as".
4. Choose where will the download link.

my university

2008-06-11T14:27:00.000-07:00

2008-06-11T14:25:00.001-07:00

My experience in the university to been incredible, I have a group of friends who are very good persons, the teachers always ready to listen to myself, the bad thing is that I get up at 6 a.m.

My presentation

2008-06-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

Hello my name is mauricio I am 21 years old, live in maipu with my family, do not have brothers, work every evening in a hardware store to pay my studies