Задание 54 на тексты и заголовки

1. The most spoken language
2. Reasons to study
3. Extinct languages
4. Reasons for disappearing
5. No more in use
6. The most learned worldwide
7. A dying language
8. National and important

A. A dead language is a language that no longer has any native speakers, although it may still be studied by people or used in certain contexts. If there are only a few remaining elderly speakers of a language and it is no longer used for communication, then that language is effectively considered dead even before its last native speaker has passed away. Some of the most well-known examples of dead languages include Latin, Sanskrit, Old English, Aramaic, Ancient Greek, Old Norse, Coptic, Iberian, Etruscan and Proto-Indo-European, just to name a few.

B. In the Native American Navajo nation, which sprawls across four states in the American southwest, the native language is dying. Most of its speakers are middle-aged or elderly. Although many students take classes in Navajo, the schools are run in English. Street signs, supermarket goods and even their own newspaper are all in English. Not surprisingly, linguists doubt that any native speakers of Navajo will remain in a hundred years’ time.

C. People reject the language of their parents when a crisis of confidence begins, when a small community finds itself alongside a larger, wealthier society. People lose faith in their culture, and when the next generation reaches their teens, they might not want to be induced into the old traditions. Often, governments try to kill off a minority language by banning its use in public or discouraging its use in schools. For example, in the 19th century reforming Victorian educators reported the Welsh backward and children speaking Welsh in school received punishments.

D. The wide spread of English around the globe and its presence in some of the world’s most economically influential countries have given English its place as one of the world’s most spoken language, especially on the internet. It is interesting to note that the number of non-native English speakers (371 million in 2018) nearly doubles the number of native English speakers (611 million in 2018) making it the world’s most learned and spoken foreign language.

E. Many academics study dead languages to learn more about the history of a culture. Studying dead languages can be very important if people want to learn about the history of the people who spoke them. Knowing a dead language can open a window, by allowing people to read contemporary accounts of historical events. Learning dead languages gives us interdisciplinary access to the thoughts and ideas of human beings hundreds or thousands of years ago and allows us to hear their voices and learn from their wisdom.

F. Mandarin Chinese takes the cake as the world’s most spoken language based on its tremendous number of native speakers – about 897 million and also non-native speakers – 193 million. It is widely spoken in China, Taiwan, and Singapore. As the standard official and literary form of Chinese language based on the Beijing dialect and one of the official languages of the United Nations, Mandarin is the second most popular online language, and it continues growing. The Chinese is reported to be one of the top 10 most important languages of the future.

G. Welsh, the native Celtic language of Wales, is one of the oldest languages in Europe. In spite of a variety of pressures over the centuries, the language has survived into the present day. Even though almost all Welsh people can understand and use the English language, the Welsh language is an important part of W’elsh culture and children in Wales have to study it. English books and newspapers have been translated into Welsh. For example, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” was translated into Welsh as “Harri Potter a Maen yr Athronydd”.

A – 5
B – 7
C – 4
D – 6
E – 2
F – 1
G – 8