English will fragment into 'global dialects'

Professor David Crystal, one of the world's foremost experts on English, said people will effectively have to learn two varieties of the language - one spoken in their home country, and a new kind of Standard English which can be internationally understood.

The English spoken in countries with rapidly-booming economies, such as India and China, will increasingly influence this global standard, he said.

In future, users of global Standard English might replace the British English: "I think it's going to rain", with the Indian English: "I am thinking it's going to rain", Prof Crystal argues.

Prof Crystal said: "In language, numbers count. There are more people speaking English in India than in the rest of the native English-speaking world.

"Even now, if you ring a call centre, often it's an Indian voice you hear at the end of the phone. As the Indian economy grows, so might the influence of Indian English.

"There, people tend to use the present continuous where we would use the present simple. For example, where we would say: "I think, I feel, I see" a speaker of Indian English might say: "I am thinking, I am feeling, I am seeing". This way of speaking could easily become sexy and part of global Standard English."

"In Singapore for example, 'Singlish' is used on the streets but it involves so much Chinese that you and I wouldn't understand it."

Varieties of standard spoken English
Indian: He’s a real enthu guy.

British: That guy is really enthusiastic.

South African: Jislaaik, china, I was in a bit of a dwaal.

British: Gosh, my friend, I was in a bit of a daze.

Australian: Bring your bathers, chuck some stubbies in the esky and we’ll have a barbie this arvo.

British: Bring your swimming costume, put some beers in the cool box and we’ll have a barbecue this afternoon.

Singaporean/Singlish: Dis guy Singlish damn powerful one leh.

British: This person’s Singlish is very good.

Nigerian Pidgin: I no know wetin u dey yarn.

British: I don’t know what you are talking about.

Islander Creole (from Colombian islands of San Andrés and Providencia): Da wan gud ting se di pikniny dem laan fi riid an rait.

British: It is a good thing that the children learn to read and write.

Cockney rhyming slang: She has such long bacons and lovely minces.

British: She has such long legs and lovely eyes.

Txt speak: "D gr8st booty of r heritage S d en lgn, n itz r gr8st gft 2 d wrld"

British: "The greatest treasure of our heritage is the English language, and it is our greatest gift to the world."

Source: What new English dialects have you noticed?


"Even if you do learn to speak correct English, whom are you going to speak it to?" Clarence Darrow

10 Denials of Truth

WHY do people choose to deny truth? It really doesn’t matter what that particular truth is, some will deny it. It might be true that smoking is bad for their health, or that spending more than they earn will not make them rich, or that no nation can ever tax its way into prosperity. No matter what, there is always some who will deny the truth. Here are possibly the ten reasons:


1. People deny the truth because it makes demands of them.

2. People deny the truth because it isn’t scientific enough.

3. People deny the truth because it’s more comfortable (and easier) to believe a lie.

4. People deny the truth because they’re blinded.

5. People deny the truth because they think they’re the exception.

6. People deny the truth because they’re biased.
- Political bias - rhetorical
- Regency bias – seeing things or people in their most recent light
- Data Mining bias – looking for trends that really aren’t there
- Correlation/Causation bias – thinking things are causal just because they’re correlated
- Hindsight bias – thinking you “knew” it was going to happen that way and … it did!
- Status Quo bias – having an aversion to change
- Fear bias – fear of the unknown can cause you to deny truth

7. People deny the truth because they’re afraid of standing alone.

8. People deny the truth because they’re afraid of being judged or ridiculed.

9. People deny the truth because they’re afraid of being duped.

10. People deny the truth because it doesn’t fit with their preconceived notion of how the world works.

"If we ever hope to determine if there is such a thing as truth apart from cultural and personal preferences, we must acknowledge that we are then aiming to discover something greater than ourselves, something that transcends culture and individual inclinations. To do this is to look beyond ourselves and outside of ourselves." The Wisdom Journal (Adapted)

"There is no personal charm so great as the charm of a cheerful temperament." Henry Van Dyke

"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." Mohandas Gandhi

"The superior man is modest in his speech, but excels in his action."

"[The superior man] acts before he speaks, and afterward speaks according to his actions."

"By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart."

Confucius

老师永远不教的50堂课!

第一课： 你得接受现实，生活本来就是不公平的。

第二课： 现实世界和学校不同，在这儿，没人那么在乎你的自尊。你得先有所成就，才有资格自我感觉良好。
第三课： 抱歉，你不可能中学毕业一年就年薪六万美金，也不可能当上副总经理还配有专车。很可能，你还得穿大路货的制服呢。
第四课： 你没资格……
第五课： 不管你老爸怎么说，你并不是真的公主。
第六课： 你不可能想要什么就有什么。
第七课： 等你有了老板，就知道当年的老师有多和蔼可亲了。
第八课： 别把精力都用于关注自己的小世界。
第九课： 学校里可能已经废除了优胜劣汰，但生活中可没有。
第十课： 生活就像是玩躲避球。

第十一课： 毕业之后，你们的竞争对手可不是那些童年的懦夫。
第十二课： “屈辱”是生活的一部分。你得接受它。
第十三课： 你不会进NBA的，所以别忙着佩戴那些亮闪闪的奢侈品，先努力干活吧！
第十四课： 穿得再辣，也不会让你更强大。
第十五课： 在快餐店里端盘子并不是什么丢人的事。在你爷爷那一辈，把这种工作称为“良机”。
第十六课： 你的父母和弟弟并不会给你丢人。真正丢人的是忘恩和无礼。
第十七课： 你出生前，父母可不像现在那么乏味。都是在为你付帐、来回接送、打扫你的房间、为你存学费、听你倾诉自己是个多么理想主义的人……这些琐事中消磨掉的。
第十八课： 现实生活可不是按学期算的，也根本没有暑假这回事儿。
第十九课： 如果你把事情搞砸了，那就得自己负责，别怨父母。

第二十课A： 抽烟看起来并不酷，反而让你像个白痴。
第二十课B： 即使你妈妈很厉害，校长很懦弱，你也不能想穿鼻环就穿鼻环、想干吗就干吗。
第二十一课： 有人冒犯你了？那又怎样？我是说真的，那又能怎么样？
第二十二课： 你算不上什么受害者，所以别再抱怨了！
第二十三课： 总有一天你必须长大、真正搬出父母的家。
第二十四课： 蝙蝠侠的女朋友说的没错儿：重要的不是你是谁，而是你做了什么。
第二十五课： “π”可不在乎你的想法。
第二十六课： “道德指南针”并不实际存在。
加课：“无用输入导致无用输出”，这句话不仅适用于你吃的东西，也适用于你的所看所听。
第二十七课： 别听下半身指挥。
第二十八课： 慎独。
第二十九课： 学会面对虚伪。

第三十课： 零姑息＝毫无常识。
第三十一课： 骨瘦如柴在现实中并不美。
第三十二课： 生活和电视剧是两码事。
第三十三课： 对那些老实的书呆子和气点儿，没准儿最后你得在人家手下打工呢。
第三十四课： 胜利者有一套自己的人生哲学，失败者亦然。
第三十五课： 要是你屁股太肥，麦当劳可没强迫你吃他们的巨无霸汉堡；要是你抽烟，那也不是万宝路的错。
第三十六课： 你不是刀枪不入、永生不死的。
第三十七课： 信息灵通不等于你对一切了如指掌。
第三十八课： 与人交流的时候，要注视对方的眼睛。
第三十九课： 黑白电影里演的很多都是真人真事。世界也不是从你出生那一刻才开始运转的。

第四十课： 那个斥资百万的项目简直是为了把你们变成猪脑子，学着清晰、有条理地思考吧。
第四十一课： 很多人都经历过你那些事，你不是第一个，也不是唯一一个。
第四十二课： 更换机油。
第四十三课： 不要让别人的成功打击自己。
第四十四课： 同事不一定要成为朋友，朋友也不是你的家人。
第四十五课： 大人们可能已经忘了你们这个年纪有多可怕。但你要记住：这都会过去的。
第四十六课： 记得去看看地下室里的豚鼠。
第四十七课： 你不完美，也不必变得完美。
第四十八课： 回顾一下自己的人生，抓住重点。
第四十九课： 别忘了说谢谢。
第五十课： 珍惜并享受现在的时光。

- Internet


"It is easy to sit up and take notice. What is difficult is getting up and taking action." Al Batt

"Passive acceptance of the teacher's wisdom is easy to most boys and girls. It involves no effort of independent thought, and seems rational because the teacher knows more than his pupils; it is moreover the way to win the favour of the teacher unless he is a very exceptional man. Yet the habit of passive acceptance is a disastrous one in later life. It causes man to seek and to accept a leader, and to accept as a leader whoever is established in that position." Bertrand Russell

"Really big people are, above everything else, courteous, considerate and generous - not just to some people in some circumstances - but to everyone all the time." Thomas J. Watson

'I will continue to teach until I can't'

BEN TRE, VIETNAM - "I will continue to teach students in my hometown until I can't."

For 84-year-old Tran Ngoc Anh of Ben Tre Province's Mo Cay District, teaching is akin to breathing. He has been doing it non-stop for 30 years. And his passion for teaching is matched only by his willingness to learn.

Nguyen Thi Suong, principal of My Hung Primary School in Thanh Phu District, says: "Mr Anh is a diligent and enthusiastic teacher who loves his students very much.

"He always learns new things from his colleagues and other sources to enrich his knowledge and uses it for his teaching. I'm very lucky to have been taught by him."

Anh graduated from high school in 1943 under the French curriculum, but he was unable to continue his studies because of many problems in his life then.

Many years later, he joined the resistance war against the French. He returned home in 1954 and focused on taking care of his family - his wife and two children.

Anh began teaching and continued his studies at the Sai Gon Lecturer's University a year later. After graduation, he taught literature at the Thanh Phu High School in Ben Tre Province, going on to become its principal from 1969 to 1973.

Twenty years later, he retired at the age of 65, but two years on, in 1995, he opened his first class, teaching English.

Despite learning under the French curriculum, he had been taught English for two years, and he was ready to build on that.

At the age of 74, Anh would ride his bicycle to teach English in the morning and learn it in the evening at the Ben Tre Foreign Language Centre.

He smiles as he recalls: "Several teachers and students who could be my grandchildren were very surprised when they saw a man over 70 years old go to school."

After three years of study, Anh became much more proficient in English, and began teaching the language in right earnest.

"I have to make teaching plans which help students understand lessons quickly."

He now teaches English to about 20 students, ranging from beginners to ninth-grade students. He also receives a few high school students sometimes.

Many people who have studied English under him have succeeded in life. Some of them are studying at Dong Thap Province's University of Pedagogy and Can Tho City's University and others have become teachers.

Anh is one of the first teachers in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre to receive the Viet Nam Medal for the Cause of Education.

Apart from teaching, Anh is also a poet. His poems about education have been published on local art magazines.

Someone once said: You don't grow old. You become old when you stop growing.

At 84, Anh has not stopped growing.

- Vietnam News/Asia News Network

Employers are demanding better English skills to cope with new challenges in the business environment By Dao Phuong Mai, a teacher of English at the Hanoi-based University of Commerce.

"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance." Derek Bok

Lunar Reunion

"When eating a fruit, think of the person who planted the tree." Vietnamese Quote

Young Dragons

5 Waves of Chinese Immigrants in Singapore (Adapted)



"While the initial waves of Chinese immigrants came here to make a living and for a better lifestyle, the current wave has come here to explore, to see the whole and to broaden their horizons." Straits Times.

"Because English is my second language, I had to put in thrice the effort. It's been all hard work, no short cuts." Lin Song, Lawyer, from loan officer to firm partner in 8 years, Khatter Wong, local Law Firm.

"I have matured a lot over the past 10 months in the army and learnt more about Singapore than in my 6 years as a student." Luo Sheng, NS Man.

真正爱你的男人

1. 真正爱你的男人，一下子说不出真正爱你的理由，只知道自己顾不上注意别人。　
　　
2. 真正爱你的男人，其实总惹你生气，你却发觉不了他到底做错了什么。
　　
3. 真正爱你的男人，很少当面赞美你，可是心里肯定你是他最棒的。
　　
4. 真正爱你的男人，会在你忘记回复他短信时狠狠地说你一顿。
　　
5. 真正爱你的男人，只可能在你一个人的面前流眼泪，当你触摸到他时，也触摸到了那颗只为你跳动的心。
　　
6. 真正爱你的男人，会默默地记住你不经意说过的话，在某时某刻重复它们。
　　
7. 真正爱你的男人，不会轻易做出承诺，因为他想让自己成为你心中说话最算话的男子汉，只想给你最可靠最安全的幸福。
　　
8. 真正爱你的男人，总告诉你不要胡思乱想，因为其实他在为你们谋划着最美丽真实的未来。同时让你无忧无虑地等待他要给你的惊喜。
　　
9. 真正爱你的男人，可能不像你一样清楚地记得某些纪念日，他觉得爱你是每时每刻的，并不是靠这几天简单的日子。
　　
10.真正爱你的男人，不会轻易对你当面说“我爱你”，因为他为你做过的每件事都已经这么说了。除非在非常时刻，为了不让你无端地误解他。
　　
11.真正爱你的男人，总觉得有些话只说一遍就够了，因为你已经了解他的心。说得多了，他会觉得不珍贵。
　　
12.真正爱你的男人，如果他去机场接你，不会像你期望的那样捧着玫瑰大声叫“亲爱的”，只是自然地提过你的行李，然后想用眼睛抱紧你似的心疼地说，怎么瘦得像豆芽菜了？
　　
13.真正爱你的男人，当你发脾气时，只会不做声地听你把火发完，然后慢慢地说，你明天有课吗？早点睡吧。
　　
14.真正爱你的男人，不懂当你生气挂掉电话后应该立即打来，过了若干小时后会发条短信问你消气了没有？如果你质问他为何这么久才打来，他会理直气壮的说，你生气时我的解释一定没有用，等你的火消了，我的解释才有效果。
　　
15.真正爱你的男人，总是叫你小姑娘，可是每次他做什么重大的决定，却总想先听听你的建议。
　　
16.真正爱你的男人，不喜欢玩具小毛熊，却一直把你送他的小熊放在床头。　
　　
17.真正爱你的男人，当和你发生争执时，总是控制不了地先妥协，先承认“我错了”，过后发来短信以“神经病”开头，以“宝贝”结尾。事实上你也清楚，这次是你有点无理取闹。　
　　
18.真正爱你的男人，很想很想你时，也会买玫瑰送你，傻傻地等着你，却不知道自己捧的是月季。没关系，他的心里送的是玫瑰。
　　
19.真正爱你的男人，都不甜，但是他的吻能传递他嘴巴所有的热情。
　　
20.真正爱你的男人，当听到你对他讲很“酸”的话时，他反而会装得很正经，其实心里很甜很甜。
　　
21.真正爱你的男人，如果不能经常见到你，他会让自己忙碌起来，为了不去想你，因为他知道一想你将会一发不可收拾．．.

"The well-dressed woman draws her husband away from another woman's door." Spanish Proverb.

"Women shouldn't be too smart, and try not to pick at details in a marriage." Quan Yifeng

Singapore Flyer

Feng Shui Part 1
Feng Shui Part 2
Feng Shui Part 3


"I don't have to believe in Feng Shui, but I use it because it makes me money." Donald Trump