Understanding Language Skills and Intercultural Competence
Why Language Skills Are Interconnected
We cannot separate language skills, particularly listening and speaking, for several reasons:
- Interdependence: One skill often requires another. For example, speaking in a conversation necessitates listening.
- Integrated Use: Individuals frequently use multiple skills when engaging with the same subject. Someone listening to a lecture might take notes (writing), discuss it with friends (speaking), or read related articles (reading).
- Listening and Speaking: These
14th Century Spanish Literature: Hita & Don Juan Manuel
Mester de Clerecía and 14th-Century Innovations
The Mester de Clerecía (Ministry of Clergy) signifies a shift. The issues addressed are no longer exclusively scholarly, i.e., derived solely from books, but also originate from life experiences. Another major innovation in 14th-century literature is the birth of narrative prose authored by figures like Don Juan Manuel, known for El Conde Lucanor (Count Lucanor).
Hita: Juan Ruiz, Archpriest of Hita
Juan Ruiz, the Archpriest of Hita (in Guadalajara),
Read MoreSocial Varieties of Language and the Generation of ’98
Social Varieties of Language: Cultivated, Colloquial, and Vulgar
This document explores the different social varieties of language, focusing on the characteristics of cultivated, colloquial, and vulgar registers. It also examines the literary movements of Modernism and the Generation of ’98.
Cultivated Language
The cultivated level is the most stable and rich form of language, used to express complex ideas in depth. Key features include:
- Phonetics and Phonology: Careful pronunciation, avoiding the elision
Catalan Language and Literature: Key Figures & Works
Biographical Sketches
Her interest in folk culture and language led Joan Alcover to collect stray reuben in 24 volumes, written in dialect. Gathering these meant inventorying a large number of dialect words. He quit the idea of a dictionary and collected materials first-hand, questioning people all over the linguistic domain.
He organized a corps of correspondents in different regions and secretaries to organize the collected materials in order to produce a dictionary of the language. This would bring
Read MoreModernism and Postmodernism: A Literary Comparison
Unit 6: Paradigm Shift / Postmodernism
As with structuralism and post-structuralism, there is a great deal of debate about how exactly modernism and postmodernism differ. The two concepts are of different vintage, ‘Modernism’ being a long-standing category which is of crucial importance in the understanding of twentieth-century culture, whereas the term ‘postmodernism’, as is well known, has only become current since the 1980s.
Modernism: A Cultural Earthquake
‘Modernism’ is the name given to the movement
Read More19th-Century English Novel: Key Authors & Context
Gothic Novel and 19th-Century Transition
The Gothic novel represented a movement away from classical order, towards imagination and feeling. Key characteristics include:
- Gothic
- Barbarous
- Medieval
- Supernatural
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus is a prime example.
Jane Austen
Jane Austen, daughter of the rector of Steventon (Hampshire), lived an intimate life with family and close friends. She bridged the gap between the 18th and 19th centuries with her novels of manners, often ignoring
Read More