Scripts

UNIT 1

Studies and degrees in great britain

Courses in sciences are offered by most universities. There are 45 universities in Britain.

Some of them are very old such as Oxford and Cambridge date from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Most of the universities were founded in the 19^th or 20^th centuries. They concentrate on technology although they also offer a number of courses in social studies, modern languages and other non-technological subjects. About 45 percent of full-time university in Great Britain are taking arts or social studies courses and 41 percent science and technology; about 10 percent are studying medicine and the remainder agriculture, forestry, veterinary, architecture and country planning.

University degree courses generally extend over three or four years, though in medicine five or six years are required. The first degree in Bachelor is awarded on the competition, depending on satisfactory examination results. Further study or research is required at the modern Universities for the degree of Master. Actual degree titles vary according to the practice of each Universities.

University teaching combines lectures, practical classes (in scientific subjects) and small group teaching in either seminars or tutorials.

Most of members of the academic staffs devote time to research and at all universities there are postgraduate students engaged in research.

UNIT 2

Lingua franca: many languages for many different roles

Rebecca Scudder

The definition of lingua franca accepted by most sources is a common language used by people who normally speak other languages. While the words actually mean 'Frankish language', from the Italian language, the concept is much older than Italian, or even Latin.

Before the rise of Rome, Greek was the language of educated men, from the philosophers of Greece to Alexander the Great. Because Alexander conquered most of the 'known' world, most important documents were copied in Greek, even if they were written in other countries.

As the Roman Empire began to conquer the world, Latin spread where ever the legions went. For a while, educated Roman citizens had their children taught by Greek tutors, and even after the fall of Rome to barbarians in the fifth century, the Byzantine Empire, which saw itself as the surviving Rome, kept Greek alive as an essential language.

Latin, however, had spread far beyond where Greek had gone, and as the language of the Catholic church, stayed of primary importance. Monasteries had precious libraries of Latin scrolls and then books, and it was the language of scholarship. When universities were established in the middle ages, the men of many countries who attended them were taught in Latin, and they wrote the fruits of their scholarship in Latin as well. Even today, Latin is not only the lingua franca of the Catholic church, but is the official language of the Vatican.

Arabic was a lingua franca among the counties in the Islamic Empire, till the fall of the Ottoman Empire, and was used by all those who traded with the Islamic Empire. It is still the lingua franca of the Mid East. Arabic is also a language gaining in use on the Internet.

Early in the 20th century, English became the language where most scientific research was published, although many papers continued to be published in the native language of the scientist as well. Now, to get cataloged internationally, a paper needs to be available in English, whatever the native language of the scientist.

UNIT 3