The world’s most popular YouTuber is probably PewDiePie. (1)___________, his videos offer his thoughts on video games, but they also provide a philosophy of life in perfect vernacular youth English: “Don’t be a salad. Be the best goddamn broccoli you could ever be.” His 59.3 million subscribers (or “Bros”, as he calls them) have mostly stayed loyal even after Disney dropped him last year for posting anti-Semitic videos. He said he’d only been joking.
PewDiePie lives in Brighton but — as the faint accent in his videos reveals — he is a Swede called Felix Kjellberg. Born in 1989, he represents the first global generation in which tens of millions of people from outside the English-speaking world speak perfect English. That shift is (2)__________ for the US and UK. Thanks to English, these countries have dominated the global conversation. Their entertainment, media, university and tech sectors dominate the world. But now the PewDiePie generation, machine translation, Brexit and Trump are combining to threaten their dominance.
A few non-native speakers have always managed to sneak into the global English conversation. In music, for instance, think of PewDiePie’s fellow Nordics Abba and Björk. But most ambitious foreigners were held back because they spoke not English, but Globish: a simple, dull, idiom-free, (3)___________ accented version of English with a small vocabulary. So they rarely sounded as fun, clever or cool in English as native speakers.
This had (4)____________ consequences. “What is well articulated in English on the internet becomes ‘truth,’” says Japanese writer Minae Mizumura in The Fall of Language in the Age of English. Perfect English is not only heard more, but also taken more seriously than what’s said in other languages, she argues. Note the mystical reverence among the global elite for The Economist, or the spread of Trump’s (5)__________ “fake news” among autocrats worldwide. By contrast, it’s said in the Netherlands that if Jesus returned to earth, and a Dutch newspaper reported the news, the world would never find out.
But now, just as populists are trying to (6)___________ globalisation, along comes the first global generation shaped by the internet, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the opening of China. This generation always knew that Globish wasn’t enough. Emmanuel Macron, born in 1977, records a video in English called “Make the Planet Great Again”, and it impacts the global conversation. Russian social-media trolls influence elections in English. India, for the first time ever, has a new generation of urbanites whose mother tongue is English. They no longer use such Hinglish formulations as “Head is paining”. In Egypt, some children at private English-language schools now struggle to speak Arabic, reports anthropologist Noha Roushdy. These kids are being trained to be heard abroad.
And the production line of perfect English-speakers (7)__________ ever faster. More and more universities around the world offer courses in English. The Netherlands sets the pace in Europe, followed by the Scandinavians. These countries are now attracting world-class foreign academics, and that’s before the anticipated post-Brexit exodus from British universities. If Brexit and Trump (8)____________ English-language talent industries, continental Europe should benefit. Amsterdam and Copenhagen are already effectively bilingual. Berlin and Paris aren’t far behind.
Next, the US and UK will lose their dominance of media. Machine translation improves by the week. In a couple of years, a top-class newspaper like Die Zeit will produce its German edition, then press “translate” and get a very decent English version in an instant. Hire a few English-language subeditors to (9)_____________ the machine’s phrasings, and suddenly you’re competing with The New York Times.
This is bad news for non-English languages and literatures. Mizumura predicts that in Germany, for instance, novelists and poets will soon start writing in English. This would mean a return to the era before 1800, when European writers often used a universal language. Dante, Descartes, Thomas Hobbes and even Luther, the father of German, were fluent in Latin, notes Mizumura.
Everyone now piously preaches multilingualism, but it’s not going to happen. About 1.5 billion people are learning English, roughly 10 times more than are learning French, Chinese, Spanish, German, Italian and Japanese put together, estimates the German linguist Ulrich Ammon. And the more people who speak English, the more useful English becomes. Anyway, the PewDiePie generation won’t let you learn their own languages. Try going to Sweden and speaking bad Swedish. You’ll be forced into English in seconds.
From Spain to China, the aspirational classes want to upgrade from Globish to English. That should (10)____________ a boom in expat teaching jobs for native English speakers. A Briton teaching in Beijing told me in 2011 that most Chinese students he encountered had never met a native speaker before. The coming generation will have to, because Globish no longer cuts it. (Iran’s recent threat to ban English teaching in primary schools would probably just drive it underground.)
The next global ruling class will perceive the world chiefly in English. That will be a loss. As Mizumura says, you can only see what your language allows you to express. But when perfect English becomes standard, Brits and Americans lose their advantage.
0. A Gets B Takes C Puts D Cuts
1. A Notwithstanding B Ostensibly C Lest D Erstwhile
2. A livid B rife C ominous D schmaltzy
3. A sneeringly B boisterously C unceasingly D cripplingly
4. A fateful B irascible C selfsame D battered
5. A jibe B upshot C undoing D somersault
6. A knuckle down B roll back C come over D thaw out
7. A rants B chucks in C hums D strews
8. A hamper B graze C unwind D scramble
9. A bedeck B sniff at C badger D touch up
10. A cash in on B capitalise on C spark D deem
KEY
Globish: /ˈɡləʊbɪʃ/ a simplified version of English used by non-native speakers, consisting of the most common words and phrases only.
0. D Cuts
(not) cut it
1. B Ostensibly /ɒˈstensəbli/ according to what seems or is stated to be real or true, when this is We were playing against a more experienced team, and we just couldn't cut itperhaps not the case. Apparently. E.g. Troops were sent in, ostensibly to protect the civilian population.
notwithstanding (also used following the noun it refers to) without being affected by something; despite something. E.g. Notwithstanding some major financial problems, the school has had a successful year. The bad weather notwithstanding, the event was a great success.
lest in order to prevent something from happening. Sp. no sea que. E.g. He gripped his brother's arm lest he be trampled by the mob. Lest anyone should doubt my story, I have brought documents to attest to its truth. I said naught lest they see my anger. Sp. No dije nada, no sea que se dieran cuenta de mi enojo. Lest anyone forget his name, we erect this monument to the late admiral. Sp. Para que no se olvide su nombre, hemos erigido este monumento para el difunto almirante.
erstwhile: /ˈɜːstwaɪl/
former; that until recently was the type of person or thing described but is not any more. E.g. an erstwhile opponent. His erstwhile friends turned against him. An erstwhile leader.
Salad looser, or anti-social. E.g. A "I can't wait to go out on Saturday"B "Me neither, It's a shame Rob's being being such a salad"
Broccoli Term used mostly by online gamers to express their skill in a videogame.
2. C ominous suggesting that something bad is going to happen in the future. Sp. amenazante. De mal agüero. E.g. Those clouds look very ominous; I think there's going to be a storm. that's ominous Sp. eso es una mala señal. it was an ominous sign Sp. era una señal de mal agüero. the silence was ominous Sp. el silencio no auguraba/ no presagiaba nada bueno. to look/sound ominous Sp. no augurar/presagiar nada bueno.
livid: extremely angry. Furious. E.g. Dad will be livid when he finds out.
rife:
1. if something bad or unpleasant is rife in a place, it is very common there. Widespread. E.g. It is a country where corruption is rife. Rumours are rife that he is going to resign. Poverty was rife.
2. rife (with something) full of something bad or unpleasant Los Angeles is rife with gossip about the stars' private lives.
schmaltzy: /ˈʃmɔːltsi/ Causing extreme emotions of love or sadness, esp. in the arts. E.g.They spend a lot of time together listening to schmaltzy love songs. Gloria thought the film was too schmaltzy. Sp. Gloria opinó que la película era demasiado sensiblera.
3. D cripplingly /ˈkrɪplɪŋli/ To an extent that causes a severe or almost insuperable problem (used to emphasize the extreme degree of something) E.g. ‘it would be cripplingly expensive to buy replacements’‘I was cripplingly shy’
sneeringly: /ˈsnɪərɪŋli/ in a way that shows that you have no respect for somebody by the expression on your face or by the way that you speak. Mockingly. Sp. despectivamente. E.g. "I don't believe in these customs," he said sneeringly"
boisterously: /ˈbɔɪstərəsli/ in a noisy way, full of life and energy. Sp. bulliciosamente, alborotadamente; [laugh] escandalosamente. E.g. they had to put up with a crowd of schoolchildren, boisterously playing football.
unceasingly: /ʌnˈsiːsɪŋli/ without stopping. Incessantly. E.g. She talked unceasingly/ incessantly about the most trivial things.
4. A fateful: having an important, often very bad, effect on future events. Sp. fatídico, catastrófico, funesto. E.g. She looked back now to that fateful day in December. his final fateful journey to Moscow. and so the fateful day arrived — y llegó el día fatídico (humorístico)
irascible: /ɪˈræsəbl/ becoming angry very easily. Irritable. E.g. to be tired and irascible/ irritable
selfsame: exactly the same. E.g.‘he was standing in the selfsame spot you're filling now.
battered: old, used a lot, and not in very good condition. E.g. a battered old car.
5 A jibe (at somebody/something) an unkind or insulting remark about somebody. Sp. mofa, burla, insulto.E.g. He made several cheap jibes at his opponent during the interview. Jibes about mothers-in-law were kept out of the script. The schoolboys' jibes tormented Bobby for years. Sp. Las burlas de los chicos de la escuela atormentó a Bobby durante años.
the upshot: (singular) the final result of a series of events. Outcome. E.g. The upshot of it all was that he left college and got a job. The upshot of the discussions is that the two companies have agreed to work together.
undoing: Someone's undoing is the thing that ruins their life or causes them to fail completely. Sp. perdición, ruina. E.g. That one mistake was his undoing. The writer is saying that the fact that Webb refused to give up swimming was disastrous for him in the end.
somersault: /ˈsʌməsɔːlt/ a movement in which somebody turns over completely, with their feet over their head, on the ground or in the air. E.g. to do/ turn a somersault. He turned back somersaults. (figurative) Her heart did a complete somersault when she saw him.
6. B roll back
roll something back to turn or force something back or further away. Sp. echar para atrás. Hacer retroceder. E.g. to roll back the frontiers of space. the government's attempts to roll back the welfare state. Sp. los intentos por parte del gobierno de reducir el estado del bienestar. to roll back the years. Sp. retroceder en el tiempo, volver atrás en el tiempo.
knuckle down (to something)(informal) to begin to work hard at something. synonym get down to. E.g. I'm going to have to knuckle down to some serious study.
come over: suddenly
feel sth. If a feeling comes over you, it suddenly affects you in a strong way.
E.g. A wave of anger came over him.
thaw out
1. If you thaw out, you gradually get warm again after being very cold. E.g. I'm just starting to thaw out after taking the dogs out this morning.
2. become more friendly
7. C hums
hum:
1. to make a low continuous sound. E.g. The computers were humming away. The overhead wires hummed with power.
2. to sing a tune with your lips closed. E.g. She was humming softly to herself. He began to hum along with the music. hum something What's that tune you're humming?
3. to be full of activity. E.g. The streets were beginning to hum with life. The whole room was humming now. Things were beginning to hum.
rant: speak or shout at
length in a noisy, excited manner or in an angry, impassioned (showing strong
feelings) way . E.g. she was still ranting on about the unfairness of it
all. Stop ranting and raving for a minute and start being honest with yourself
(rant and rave to show that you are angry by shouting or complaining
loudly for a long time)
chuck in: quit. E.g.
The simple truth is, if you chuck in your job and decide to write full time,
unless you're very lucky, you're going to run out of cash pretty soon.
strew: / struː/ strewed,
strewed or strewn / struːn/ to cover a surface with things.
Scatter. Sp. esparcir. E.g. Clothes were strewn across the floor.
8. A hamper
hamper somebody/something to prevent somebody from easily doing or achieving something. Hinder. Sp. dificultar, obstaculizar. E.g. Our efforts were severely hampered by a lack of money. the investigation was hampered by their lack of cooperation. Sp. la investigación se vio entorpecida por su falta de colaboración.
graze: to eat grass
that is growing in a field. E.g. There were cows grazing beside the river.
unwind /ˌʌnˈwaɪnd/ unwound, unwound /ˌʌnˈwaʊnd/ to begin to relax after you have been working hard or feeling nervous. To stop worrying or thinking about problems and start to relax. E.g. Music helps me unwind after a busy day. I need to sit down and unwind for half an hour.
scramble:
1. to move quickly, especially with difficulty, using your hands to help you. E.g. She managed to scramble over the wall. They finally scrambled ashore. He scrambled up the cliff and raced towards the car.
2. (eggs) whisk during cooking. E.g. Tina cracked the eggs into the pan and scrambled them.Tina echó los huevos en la sartén y los revolvió.
9. D touch up
touch something up to improve something by changing or adding to it slightly. E.g. She was busy touching up her make-up in the mirror.
bedeck something/somebody (with/in
something)
(literary) to decorate
something/somebody with flowers, flags, precious stones, etc. E.g. The entrance hall was bedecked
with trees and tropical plants. A flower-bedecked
balcony. The subject of the portrait is
richly bedecked with jewellery. The room was bedecked with flowers. The people
of Costa Rica were bedecked in gold.
sniff at something to show no interest in or respect for something. E.g. He sniffed at my efforts at writing. The fans sniffed at the choice of new manager for the club. Sp. Los aficionados desecharon la opción de una nueva administración para el club.
badger: /ˈbædʒə(r)/ to put pressure on somebody by repeatedly asking them questions or asking them to do something. E.g. badger somebody (into doing something) I finally badgered him into coming with us. badger somebody about something Reporters constantly badger her about her private life. badger somebody to do something His daughter was always badgering him to let her join the club.
10. C spark
spark: to cause something to start or develop, especially suddenly. E.g. spark something The proposal would spark a storm of protest around the country. Winds brought down power lines, sparking a fire. The organizers are hoping to spark some interest in young people. spark something off The riots were sparked off by the arrest of a local leader.
To cash in on: to gain an
advantage for yourself from a situation, especially in a way that other people
think is wrong or immoral. Sp. Aprovecharse de. E.g. The film studio is being
accused of cashing in on the singer's death. To cash in on an idea.
capitalize on/upon something: to gain a
further advantage for yourself from a situation. Take advantage of. E.g. The
team failed to capitalize on their early lead.
Deem: to have a particular opinion about something.
Consider. E.g. The evening was deemed a great success. I
deem it an honour to be invited. She deemed it prudent not to say anything. They would take any action deemed necessary.
Financial Times
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