English cultural legacy

I believe that a language is an integral part of culture, and vice versa, so one cannot separate them without some clear effects. Language expresses, embodies, and symbolizes cultural reality: people view their language as a symbol of their social identity. Nowadays English has-become the world's most important language in politics, science.. English is also hugely important as an international language and plays an important part even in countries where the UK has historically had little influence.

The extent and quality of English literature throughout history marks it as a language of culture and class. As a result, it carries with it a certain legitimacy, substance and gravitas that few other languages can match. The literature of England is one of the highest achievements of a great nation. It should not, however, be read simply as a national expression. It is a body of significant statements about abiding human concerns. The language in which it is written has evolved over hundreds of years and is still changing. Great Britain gave the world a lot of talented people. Many famous writers and poets were born and lived in Great Britain.

Joseph Mallord William Turner was an English Romantic landscape painter, watercolourist and printmaker. Turner was considered a controversial figure in his day, but is now regarded as the artist who elevated landscape painting to an eminence rivaling history painting. Although renowned for his oil paintings, Turner is also one of the greatest masters of British watercolour landscape painting. He is commonly known as "the painter of light" and his work is regarded as a Romantic preface to Impressionism.

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

The Fighting Temeraire tugged to her last Berth to be broken up, 1838 is an oil painting executed in 1839 by the English artist J. M. W. Turner. It depicts one of the last second-rate ships of the line which played a distinguished role in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, the 98-gun ship HMS Temeraire, being towed towards its final berth in Rotherhithe south east London in 1838 to be broken up for scrap. The beauty of the old ship is in stark contrast to the dirty blackened tugboat with its tall smokestack. The sun setting symbolises the end of an epoch in British Naval history. Behind 'Temeraire', a gleaming sliver of the waxing moon casts a silvery beam across the river, symbolising the commencement of the new, industrial era. The demise of heroic strength is the subject of the painting, and it has been suggested that the ship stands for the artist himself, with an accomplished and glorious past but now contemplating his mortality.

8. Environment and ecology (or ecology of language) Sustainability There are many definitions and there are many different ways for communities to attain a more sustainable future. The sustainability of a community depends on creating and maintaining its economic and environmental health, promoting social equity, and fostering broad-based citizen participation in planning and implementation. Communities that engage citizens and institutions to develop sustainability principles and a collective vision for the future and that apply an integrative approach to environmental, economic, and social goals are generally likely to be more successful. Job creation, energy use, housing, transportation, education and health are considered complementary parts of the whole. Since all issues are interconnected they must be addressed as a system. The process includes:

• broad and diverse involvement of citizens

• the creation of a collective vision for the future

• the development of principles of sustainability

• an inventory of existing assets and resources and additional assets that would benefit the community

• clear, measurable goals

• the development of community indicators to evaluate progress

• open and transparent communication

• early, visible results

• celebration of success

The Government of the United Kingdom defines a sustainable community in its Sustainable Communities Plan: "Sustainable communities are places where people want to live and work, now and in the future. They meet the diverse needs of existing and future residents, are sensitive to their environment, and contribute to a high quality of life. They are safe and inclusive, well planned, built and run, and offer equality of opportunity and good services for all." A sustainable community is one which:

1. Recognizes that growth occurs within some limits and is ultimately limited by the carrying capacity of the environment

2. Values cultural diversity

3. Has respect for other life forms and supports biodiversity

4. Has shared values amongst the members of the community (promoted through sustainability education)

5. Employs ecological decision-making (e.g., integration of environmental criteria into all municipal government, business and personal decision-making processes)

6. Makes decisions and plans in a balanced, open and flexible manner that includes the perspectives from the social, health, economic and environmental sectors of the community

7. Makes best use of local efforts and resources (nurtures solutions at the local level)

8. Uses renewable and reliable sources of energy

9. Minimizes harm to the natural environment

10. Fosters activities which use materials in continuous cycles.

And, as a result, a sustainable community: Does not compromise the sustainability of other communities (a geographic perspective) Does not compromise the sustainability of future generations by its activities (a temporal perspective). 9. IT in language learning or Addiction to Hi-Tech Статья MSN - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10558581/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/t/poll-americans-need-high-tech-gadgets#.T9dQX5jhcTI Personal computers, cell phones and high-speed Internet are considered essential to getting by for millions of people who are showing early signs of addiction to the next wave of high-tech toys. The latest wave includes MP3 players — popular with everyone from the kid next door to president — high-definition television and digital video recorders. Some people freely admit to being high-tech junkies. The Internet connection for them is the lifeline. It's the connection to friends, e-mail — especially for stay-at-home moms. The bill for being thoroughly plugged in to entertainment and communications can be very high, it runs more than $200 a month for a third of the households in this country, up to $500.  Four in 10 spend between $100 and $150 a month. Almost half of personal computer owners say they can't imagine life without their computers.  About as many cell phone owners say the same thing about their portable phones. The intense loyalty to high-speed Internet is a sign that people are getting hooked on newer technology.  Almost four in 10 people with high-speed Internet say they consider it essential. Our culture is about distraction, numbing oneself. There is no self-reflection, no sitting still. It's absolutely exhausting. The number of people owning high-tech gadgets continues to grow. High-tech items mentioned most often as gifts to give were DVD players, MP3 players, cell phones and video-game consoles. Many parents nowadays buy plenty of electronic gadgets for their children. Why the emphasis on electronic goods?  Because that's what kids want. It's something they asked for. Interest in high-tech gadgets tailed off a bit a couple of years ago, but appears to be making a strong comeback.                              There is more interest in these products, pricing is more reasonable.  They're getting smaller, more mobile. Gadgets from an earlier wave of technology, including DVD players, CD players and cell phones, are now in most homes. But the next wave hasn't saturated the market yet. About four in 10 have video-game consoles like the Xbox.  About a fourth have MP3 players like the iPod. One household in seven has satellite radio. The appeal of different high-tech products differs from group to group. For the most part, the appeal of these devices is very generational.  In many cases, as you move up in age, it becomes increasingly a male audience. Men were more likely than women to have personal computers, Internet access and MP3 players.  Those who make more than $50,000 a year were more likely to have Internet access, digital video recorders and MP3 players than those who made less. For so many people to consider high-tech gadgetry essential to modern life is no surprise. Part of the reason of this is the hype, the commercial selling of it. Some people feel the products will improve the quality of their lives.  But do we really need to be connected in every way, shape or form? Статья BBC NEWS - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8256490.stm        Tech addiction ‘harms learning’ Technology addiction among young people is having a disruptive effect on their learning, researchers have warned. Their report concluded that modern gadgets worsened pupils' spelling and concentration, encouraged plagiarism and disrupted lessons. The study of 267 pupils aged 11 to 18 found 63% felt addicted to the Internet and 53% to their mobile phones. The research said technology drove a social lifestyle that involved a strong desire to keep in touch with friends. The study - Techno Addicts: Young Person Addiction to Technology - was carried out by researchers. They used a written questionnaire to examine the nature and the volume of mobile phone calls and text messaging as well as computer use including e-mail, instant messaging and accessing social networking sites. Three hours on the mobile They found 62% first used or owned a computer before the age of eight, 80% first used the Internet between the ages of five and 10, 58% first used a mobile phone between the ages of eight and 10 and 58% have had access to a social networking sites between the ages of eleven and 13.                      Over half (53.2%) indicated they spent up to around 30 minutes a day on their mobile, while 17% said they spent at least three hours on their mobile. Just over one in five (20.2%) said they left the phone on in lessons - which is usually forbidden by schools. Over 30% reported spending between one to two hours a day using the Internet and 26% said they spent up to six or more hours a day. On average, pupils said they spent between one and two hours on social networking sites each day. Pupils said they sent more e-mails than they received and the majority said they sent and/or received up to 20 texts a day. Over a third (39%) admitted that text shortcuts damaged the quality of their written English, particularly when it came to spelling. And 84% openly admitted copying chunks of information from the Internet into their homework or projects on a number of occasions. Pupils said the Internet was by far the largest source of information for such work, with over 90% saying they used it compared with 43% who said books.