Page 24 - Grasp English B1+ (Workbook)

2 Keep ın Touch

Writing

A. Discuss with a partner.
1. How often do you read blogs?
2. If you started writing a blog, what would you write about?

B. Discuss with a partner. What figures do you think are missing?

1. Mandarin Chinese is the most spoken language in the world. million people speak it as
their first language.
2. Arabic is the official language in more than countries.
3. In Belgium, % of people speak Dutch as their first language and % French.

More and more people around the world are learning Spanish, and in fact, more people speak Spanish as
their first language than English. Here are three fascinating facts about the language.

1. 3,000 – the magic number 2. Arabic olives and rice
Spanish is a language which has its roots As there was an Arabic presence in Spain for over nine
in Latin, and many English words also centuries, many of the words in everyday use have
have Latin roots. So, despite never having Arabic roots. It’s estimated that around 4,000 words
learned Spanish, English speakers should come from Arabic, and whilst this can often be seen in
be able to recognise approximately 3,000 words starting with al-, it’s also true of other words such
words in the language. However, there are as azaytouna (olive) and arroz (rice).
also lots of false friends between the two 3. Backwards slang
languages – words which look similar but
have a different meaning. For example, you In Argentina, particularly in Buenos Aires, some people
might say estoy embarazada and end up use vesre, which is a type of slang in which letters are
even more embarrassed, as you’ve just told moved around. These include gomía (amigo – friend)
someone you’re pregnant! and zapi (pizza). In fact, zapi is a popular name for
pizza restaurants in the city.

C. Read the text and answer the questions.
1. Which language is more widely spoken as a first language: Spanish or English?
2. Why would an English speaker be able to understand around 3,000 Spanish words if they can’t speak
the language?
3. What is a false friend?
4. How many Spanish words are thought to have Arabic roots?
5. What is vesre?

D. Find out five facts about another language, and write a blog post about them (120–180 words).

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