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I was all smooth
I went silently in the fields
biting
everyone said I was a great fox
Oh, don't deny it
I was pretty good
and I had the whole wood to myself.
This only translates some of the meaning of the words; the
relationship between the Scottish words and the whole effect
of the poem cannot be translated. Thus it only makes complete
sense among those who live in Glasgow, one city in Scotland.
What this poem means to you is that in places where English is
a native language the everyday usage may be a variety or dialect
which is different from standard English. Many people in Britain
have to learn the standard variety at school, or pick it up from
the radio and television. Some writers in Scotland claim that
the language there is separate from English; others that it is
a dialect. One, perhaps joking, definition of the difference
has been made: a language is a dialect with an army and navy.
Scots might have been a language but Scotland has not been an
independent state since 1601.
Are these varieties "wrong English"? No, they are the
vernacular languages of people. They may not be very useful for
communication with people of other groups because Standard English
is the variety which can be understood all over the world and
is therefore the most useful variety. In West Africa there are
several varieties of English which are useful for people communicating
with other social groups within West Africa. If the listener
understands what the speaker intends then communication has occurred
and the language has been useful. It is only wrong if the listener
doesn't understand. West African Pidgin would not be useful in
London, where few people understand it. But it is quite all right
in Lagos where most people understand it. If you write for people
who use that variety of language (though it is more likely to
be used on film, television or radio) there is nothing wrong
about using it. Like all vernaculars it is limited to a certain
area of the world. The skillful and experienced user of language
can express himself in the variety which is right for the people
and occasion. When standard English is called for he can use
it; when another variety is suitable he will use that. The sensitive
person will use the language suitable for the people he is talking
to. Almost everyone in the world can understand and use several
varieties of language. Most people in Britain can use more than
one variety of English.
The Arts
Literature is one of the Arts. What do we mean by an art?
Students often talk loosely about arts. By the arts I don't mean
the non-sciences. Many schools are divided into sections, one
labelled arts, the other science, another perhaps
commerce. The sciences we know: physics, chemistry, biology
and so on. The arts students may be studying languages, literature,
history and so on. When I use the word art here I don't mean
that studying literature is not like studying science. The important
thing about the arts is that they are things people do.
(By the way, there is no law of nature which says that scientists
can't be interested in literature: educational administrators
sometimes make it difficult for science students to study literature,
but they are wrong to do this. The truly educated person should
be interested in everything.)
The arts are human activities in which something new is created.
In a way this can be true also of the sciences: a scientist or
engineer also creates something new. However, it is customary
to exclude these from the list of creative arts.
The Arts are usually considered to include: Music, Painting,
Sculpture, Architecture, Ballet and Literature. Literature is
made up of Poetry, Drama, and the Novel. These are the arts considered
important in Europe and America. Sometimes newer arts such as
Photography and Cinema may be included.
All of them may have popular and elite forms. Thus in western
music there are the commercial forms - varieties of Pop (for
Popular) - and the less popular but harder to learn forms including
classical, instrumental and jazz. There is nothing to prevent
someone liking all kinds of music but some of them require training
and much practice to perform well - and a lot of study to appreciate
when listening to them.
Traditional Arts
You might like to think about the traditional creative activities
in your society. Do people carve wood or make things out of brass
or bronze? These can be considered part of Sculpture - the art
of making solid shapes. Do people paint designs on the walls
of their houses? This is part of the art of
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Dead Poets Society
A teacher makes literature interesting for his students


Dead Poets Society 
Der Club der toten Dichter - Special Edition |