THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Following the defeat of the Chinese empire in the Opium Wars, modern western education was eagerly sought out in the domains of foreign languages, national defence, and new techniques of industrial production. The Capital Foreign Language House () was set up in 1862. Countless overseas students were sent by the government or by their families to Europe, USA, and Japan. In the late 19th century, several modern universities were founded, such as Peking University and Jiaotong University.

Education in the People's Republic of China is a state-run system of public education run by the Ministry of Education. All citizens must attend school for at least nine years. The government provides primary education for six years, starting at age six or seven, followed by six years of secondary education for ages 12 to 18.^{[clarification needed]} Some provinces may have five years of primary school but four years for middle school. There are three years of middle school and three years of high school. The Ministry of Education reported a 99 percent attendance rate for primary school and an 80 percent rate for both primary and middle schools.^{[citation needed]} In 1985, the government abolished tax-funded higher education, requiring university applicants to compete for scholarships based on academic ability.

In the early 1980s the government allowed the establishment of the first private schools.

China has had a major expansion in education, increasing the number of undergraduates and people who hold doctoral degrees fivefold in 10 years.^[4] In 2003 China supported 1,552 institutions of higher learning (colleges and universities) and their 725,000 professors and 11 million students (see List of universities in the People's Republic of China). There are over 100 National Key Universities, including Beijing University and Tsinghua University. Chinese spending has grown by 20% per year since 1999, now reaching over $100bn, and as many as 1.5 million science and engineering students graduated from Chinese universities in 2006. China published 184,080 papers as of 2008.^[5]

Laws regulating the system of education include the Regulation on Academic Degrees, the Compulsory Education Law, the Teachers Law, the Education Law, the Law on Vocational Education, and the Law on Higher Education. See also: Law of the People's Republic of China

China has set up an education system with government as the major investor and social partners as co-investors. In the current stage, local government is playing a key role in compulsory education, while central and provincial governments are dominant in higher education. The national Ministry of Education is the supreme education administrative body in China, and is responsible for carrying out the relevant laws, regulations, guidelines and policies, activating and guiding education reforms and integrating and coordinating educational initiatives nd programs nationwide.

In addition, the Chinese government pays attention to guarantee citizens' rights to get education especially the right of the minorities, women and disabled people, by making appropriate laws.

Since 1949, when the People's Republic of China was founded, the government has always placed education high on its agenda. Through uninterrupted efforts over the past five decades, China has made significant progress. A nine-year compulsory education is being implemented in planned stages nationwide and primary schooling is now available to 91% of the Chinese population. Institutions of higher learning such as occupational polytechnic, diversified adult and ethical schools have also been developed rapidly.

China has set up an educational system where government is the major investor and social partners are co-investors. In its current stage, local government is playing a key role in compulsory education, while central and provincial governments are dominant in higher learning. The Ministry of Education is responsible for carrying out the related laws, regulations, guidelines and policies of the central government. It is also in charge of planning the development of the education sector, integrating and coordinating initiatives and programs nationwide, and maneuvering and guiding reform countrywide. In recent years, non-government investment has been moving into the educational sector, providing more seats for more applicants.

Financial allocation is still the major source of the education budget. At present, funds needed by schools directly and controlled by the central government come from the central financial pool; schools controlled by local governments are supported by local finance etc. Other types of arrangements include schools sponsored by small town and village governments in combination with public institutions, which are mainly financed by the sponsor institutions and subsidized by local governments. As well, funds needed by schools operated by social partners and celebrities are raised by the sponsors themselves (including collecting tuition from students and soliciting contributions). In addition to these sources, the central government is advocating work-study programs, aiming at improving the education conditions through premium services.

Education System

A Class of Elementary School

China's education system is composed of four components: basic, occupational/polytechnic, common higher and adult education.

Basic Education
Chinese government has always listed basic education as one of its top priorities. Since 1986, primary schooling has prevailed in most areas of China, while junior middle schooling is being to be implemented in large cities and economically developed areas. Up to 1999, there were 582,300 primary schools countrywide with an enrollment of 135.5 million and moderate development had been made in junior middle schooling. By 1999, there were 64,400 junior middle schools nationwide with admission of 21.8 million and enrollment of 58.1 million. In addition, there were 14,100 high schools nationwide with admission of 3,963,200 and enrollment of 10.54 million. In 1999, there were also 1,520 special schools opened for hearing impaired and mentally disabled children, with an enrollment of 371,600. More than half of the handicapped children had access to basic education. There were 181,110 kindergartens nationwide with an enrollment of 23.2 million.

Medium-level Occupational and Polytechnic Education
This section is mainly composed of medium-level professional schools, polytechnic schools, occupational middle schools and short-term occupational and technical training programs of various forms.

Up to 1997, there were 33,464 occupational and polytechnic schools nationwide with an enrollment of 18.7 million.

NorthWest University of Politics and Law

Common Higher Education
It is comprised of junior college, bachelor, masters and doctoral degree programs. Junior college programs usually last two or three years; bachelor programs four years (medical and some engineering and technical programs, five years); masters programs two or three years; doctoral programs three years.

In last five decades, China has made significant achievements in higher learning. Through waves of reform and restructuring, higher education in the country has been vitalized. The scale has expanded structure upgraded and quality and efficiency improved, leading to a multilayered, diversified and discipline-inclusive higher education system.

Up to 1999, there were 1,071 common colleges and universities countrywide. These schools offered 2,754,500 seats to those applying for junior college and bachelor programs, 19,900 seats to those applying for doctoral programs and 72,300 seats to masters' program applicants.

In recent years, higher education is experiencing reform. Key moves have been made in the management system and layout restructuring of higher education. In 1999, the number of colleges and universities was 1,942, decreasing by 49 from the previous year. To compensate for this admission expansion of colleges and universities has been

successfully implemented, leading to a significant increase in seats offered. This tendency will continue for the next few years.

Adult Education
It comprises of schooling, anti-illiteracy education and other programs oriented to adult groups.

A Chinese Classroom

China's adult education has evolved rapidly since the Liberation. Up to 1999, there were 871 colleges and universities dedicated to adult education and 800 correspondence-based and evening programs at common colleges. These schools offered 1,157,700 seats to those pursuing junior college and bachelor programs, and granted diplomas to 888,200 people.

Adult 'higher learning institutes' include radio and TV universities, workers' colleges, farmers' colleges, correspondence colleges, evening universities, and colleges giving in-service training to government employees or secondary school teachers. 'Secondary schools' for adult education include vocational secondary schools, middle schools and technical training schools. 'Primary schools' for adult include workers' and farmers' primary schools and literacy classes.

International Communication and Cooperation
Since 1978, when China inaugurated the opening and reform initiative, international communication and cooperation in the education sector has migrated onto a new stage. The system is now cheering the development of study abroad programs, increasing the number of foreigners studying in China, and expanding cross-border academic communication. More and more universities are beginning to provide long and short-term studying programs for foreign students in China.

http://en.academic.ru

THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Session 11: The evolution of adjectives, pronouns and numerals of English language.

1. The evolution of the English adjectives.

The Germanic tribes were exposed to Latin before they invaded England, so the languages they spoke did have some Latin influence. After converting to Christianity, Latin had more influence, as evidenced in words pertaining to the church. Celtic did not have a large impact on English, as only a few place names are of Celtic origin, but Danish (Old Scandinavian) did contribute many vocabulary words.

Adjectives could be weak or strong. If preceded by a determiner, the weak ending was added to the adjective. If no determiner preceded the adjective, then the strong endings were used. They also agreed in gender, case and number with the nouns they described. The comparative was formed by adding -ra to the adjective, while the superlative had many endings: -ost, -ist, -est, and -m. Eventually the -ost and -m endings combined to form the word "most" which is still used before adjectives in the superlative today.

Adjectives lost agreement with the noun, but the weak ending -e still remained. The comparative form became -er and the superlative became -est. Vowels tended to be long in the adjective form, but short in the comparative form (late - latter). The demonstratives these and those were added during this period. And the adverb ending -lič became -ly; however, some "flat" adverbs did not add the -ly: fast, late, hard.

The dual number disappeared in the pronouns, and the dative and accusative became the object forms of the pronouns. The third person plural pronouns replaced the old pronouns with th- words (they, them, their) borrowed from Scandinavian. She started being used for the feminine singular subject pronoun and you (plural form) was used in the singular as a status marker for the formal.

Adjectives lost all endings except for in the comparative and superlative forms. The neuter pronoun it was first used as well as who as a relative pronoun. The class distinctions between formal and informal you were decreasing, so that today there is no difference between them. More strong verbs became weak and the third person singular form became -(e)s instead of -(e)th. There was a more limited use of the progressive and auxiliary verbs than there is now, however. Negatives followed the verb and multiple negatives were still used.

Adjective declensions

Adjectives in Old English agree with the noun they describe in case, gender, and number. There are several variations on the general declension, but overall, adjectives decline thus:

Notice that the genitive, dative, and instrumental feminine are all -re, and the masculine/neuter genitive is the same, the dative is the same, and the instrumental is the same. This agrees with how masculine/neuter nouns themselves decline. Also, the neuter adjective adds no ending in the nominative/accusative case, just like neuter nouns themselves. Basically, you can see that the adjective ending will roughly correspond to the article ending (þæs and -es, þǣm and -um, þǣre and -re', etc.).

Like nouns, the plural adjectives have the same form in nominative/accusative cases, and the genitives and datives are the same. The only real changing point for adjectives is whether or not to have -u in the singular feminine, and in the plural neuter. It is not present when:

• The adjective is one-syllable, and ends in 2 consonants (blind) or has a long vowel and one consonant (hāl)
• The adjective is two-syllable, and the first syllable has a short vowel and one consonant (manig), or of the pattern VCVC (the last four letters are vowel-consonant-vowel-consonant)
• The adjective ends in certain suffixes (-cund, -fæst, -feald, -lēas)

The -u ending is present when:

• The adjective is one-syllable, and ends in a short vowel and one consonant (VC) (trum, glæd)
• The adjective is two-syllable, and the first syllable has a long vowel and one consonant (āgen, hālig), or a short vowel and two consonants (crīsten, bitter)
• The adjective ends in certain suffixes (-lic, -sum)

Adjectives ending in -e, like wilde will always take the -u. Adjectives already ending in -u are a little different:

So too in the plural, we find -ora in the genitive, -wum in the dative, and -we/-wa for masculine/feminine.

Adjectives and Cases

Sometimes adjectives in Old English can govern cases, like prepositions. German does the same thing with adjectives such as gleich, which can operate both as a descriptive adjective, and a predicate adjective with a noun "object". In Old English, adjectives often took the dative case, but cold also take other cases as well.

Adjectives governing the dative

1. Gelīc - like

2. Midsprecende - speaking on behalf of

1. þu þe wǣre midsprecende þǣm Hǣlende thou who wert speaking on behalf of the Lord

Degrees of comparison

The last thing to be said about the adjectives is the degrees of comparison. Again, the traditional Indo-European structure is preserved here: three degrees (absolutive, comparative, superlative) - though some languages also had the so-called "equalitative" grade; the special suffices for forming comparatives and absolutives; suppletive stems for several certain adjectives.

The suffices we are used to see in Modern English, those -er and -est in weak, weaker, the weakest, are the direct descendants of the Old English ones. At that time they sounded as -ra and -est. See the examples:

earm (poor) - earmra - earmost

blæc (black) - blæcra - blacost

Many adjectives changed the root vowel - another example of the Germanic ablaut:

eald (old) - ieldra - ieldest

strong - strengra - strengest

long - lengra - lengest

geong (young) - gingra - gingest

The most widespread and widely used adjectives always had their degrees formed from another stem, which is called "suppletive" in linguistics. Many of them are still seen in today's English:

gód (good) - betera - betst (or sélra - sélest)

yfel (bad) - wiersa - wierest

micel (much) - mára - máést

lýtel (little) - læ'ssa - læ'st

fear (far) - fierra - fierrest, fyrrest

néah (near) - néarra - níehst, nýhst

æ'r (early) - æ'rra - æ'rest

fore (before) - furþra - fyrest (first)

Now you see what the word "first" means - just the superlative degree from the adjective "before, forward". The same is with níehst from néah (near) which is now "next".

For those who are fond of word composition we can offer some essential materials about the Old English affixation for adjectives:

1. -ede (group "adjective stem + substantive stem") - micelhéafdede (large-headed)

2. -ihte (from substantives with mutation) - þirnihte (thorny)

3. -ig (from substantives with mutation) - hálig (holy), mistig (misty)

4. -en, -in (with mutation) - gylden (golden), wyllen (wóllen)

5. -isc (nationality) - Englisc, Welisc, mennisc (human)

6. -sum (from stems of verbs, adjectives, substantives) - sibbsum (peaceful), híersum (obedient)

7. -feald (from stems of numerals, adjectives) - þríefeald (threefold)

8. -full (from abstract substantive stems) - sorgfull (sorrowful)

9. -léás (from verbal and nominal stems) - slæpléás (sleepless)

10. -líc (from substantive and adjective stems) - eorþlíc (earthly)

11. -weard (from adjective, substantive, adverb stems) - inneweard (internal), hámweard (homeward)

Date: 2015-01-02; view: 1608