ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IS SO IMPORTANT FOR A
NATION`S CULTURE AS ITS LANGUAGE
Wilhelm von Humboldt
Russian language as a world language
Total speakers: Primary language:
164 million Secondary
language: 278 million
(2006) Official language in
11 countries
Contribution of Russian culture to the world culture
Famous Russian names
Russian proverbs
*Every road has two directions
*Looking at a tree see its fruit; looking at a man see its deeds.
*A mile walk with a friend has only one hundred steps.
*Eat what is cooked, listen to what is said.
*A guest has not to thank the host, but the host the guest.
Chinese language as a world language
Total speakers: 1.3 billion
Official language in 5 countries
Spoken in countries with Chinese communities
Contribution of Chinese culture to the world culture
Famous Chinese names
CHINESE PROVERBS
*A child`s life is like a piece of paper on which every passerby leaves a mark.
*Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself.
*A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.
*A single conversation with a wise man is better than ten years of study.
Arab language as a world language
Total speakers: 280 million native
speakers 250 million non-
native speakers
Official language in 25 countries
Contribution of the Arab culture to the world culture
Omar Khayyam rubayatA drop of water falls in an ocean wideA grain of dust becomes with earth alliedWhat doth they coming, going here donate?A fly appeared a while, then invisible he became.
Океан, состоящий из капель велик.Из пылинок слагается материк.Твой приход и уход – не имеют значенья.Просто муха в окно залетела на миг.
Arabic proverbs
*Every day of your life is a page of your history.
*What starts with a condition has a good ending.
*Blindness of the eye is better than blindness of the heart.
*Avoiding mistakes is better than apologizing after.
*Leading by example is better than commandments.
Spanish language as a world language
Total speakers: first language: 350
million second language:
150 million
Official language in 21 countries
Contribution of Spanish culture to the world culture
Famous Spanish names
Spanish proverbs
*Water you are not going to drink, let it run.
*Faces we can see, hearts we can`t know.
*Lazy people work twice.
*Don`t speak unless you can improve on the silence.
*A lazy youth, a lousy age.
*A wise man changes his mind, a fool never.
Home task1. Comment on one of the phrases: If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart. (Nelson Mandela) I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men and German to my dog. (Emperor Charles V)
2. Express your opinion about a world language in future.
3. Give the examples of interaction of Russian language with English language (or Chinese, Arab, Spanish languages).
You may choose one of the tasks you like.
