1) SUBJECT
I hope my research will sensitize people by showing them how bad is the situation in Darfur because people need to know what is going on there. I would like to write about the life conditions in Darfur, the movement of population and the actions of different organizations because I think those elements are the best to explain the situation. My paper’s title will probably simply be: “The Darfur Crisis”. Finally, as my approach, I will probably choose “examine and analyse”.
2) AUDIENCE
My audience will be university students and Quebec population interested in politics, human catastrophes and genocides.
3) DEFENCE
I think my subject is interesting because it is a current event and not everybody knows what is going on in Darfur and I think it is important to know why people are killing others. Because I already worked on the Rwanda Conflict and because I am really interested in international conflicts, I think it is quite legitimate that I want to work on the Darfur Conflict. I think my subject is worth considering according to the fact that after the Rwanda Conflict, international organizations said that they will never let this kind of war happen again. With my research, I want to see what are the actions of different organizations in order to help the population in Darfur. Even if I already worked on a conflict, I think it is more exciting for me to do my paper on another one because it will expand my knowledge on the subject and I will be able to do a comparison between the two.
4) METHODOLOGY
The first step to follow is to go to the school library because over there I can find various sources such as books, periodicals, electronic resources and videos. Then, I can search on Internet and find a lot of reliable sites. Once I have all my sources, I have to read them and note all useful information I can find on index cards or with my computer. With the summaries on my index cards, I can write my first draft.
General outline:
Topic : The Darfur crisis and the support brought to the population.
Introduction
Where is Darfur
History of the crisis
Set up the problem
The life conditions in Darfur
Murders, violence and raping
Lack of food and potable water
Health problems
The movement of population
Refugee camps in Sudan and Chad
Life conditions in refugee camps
The actions of different organizations
What they have done
What are the barriers
Conclusion
What are the recent developments in the region
What are the possible solutions
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Answers based on last week readings
A)What are the most important differences between British English and American English? (Provide a few examples)
The most important differences between British English and American English are differences of grammar, vocabulary, spelling and pronunciation. Indeed, in grammar, two forms are possible in a certain English while only one is possible in another English.
E.g.:
American English: He just went home. OR He’s just gone home.
British English: He’s just gone home.
American English: He probably has arrived. OR He has probably arrived.
British English: He has probably arrived.
In vocabulary, sometimes many words can be used for the same meaning or the same word has different meanings depending if it is in American English or British English.
E.g.:
Same meaning
“Resumé” in AmE = “CV” in BrE
“Elevator” in AmE = “Lift” in BrE
Different meanings
“Mad” in AmE = “Angry” in BrE BUT “Mad” in BrE = “Crazy” in AmE
In spelling, words in AmE end in –or as in BrE the same words end in –our (e.g.: odor-odour, color-colour, honor-honour). Moreover, some words end in –er in AmE and in –re in BrE (e.g.: center-centre, meter-metre, liter-litre).
Many verbs ending in –ize in AmE are ending in –ize or –ise in BrE (e.g.: analyze-analyse, organize-organise/organize, realize-realise/realize).
Also, some words ending with two “l” in AmE are ending with only one “l” in BrE (e.g.: enroll-enrol, fulfill-fulfil).
There are a lot of differences between AmE and BrE in pronunciation. The most important ones are:
-In AmE some vowels are “nasal”, but not in most British accents.
-There is one more vowel in BrE. It is called the “rounded short o” and it is used in words like “dog”, “gone”, “stop” and “lost”.
-There is a difference in the pronunciation of words written with a + consonant.
-In BrE, the vowel in words like “home”, “go” and “open” is pronounced more “open” than in AmE.
-In BrE, “r” is only pronounced before a vowel sound but in AmE “r” is pronounced at all time.
-In BrE, “t” and “d” are very different but in AmE their pronunciation is quite alike.
-Words with “th”, “d”, “t” or “n” followed by “u” or “ew” are pronounced differently in BrE and AmE, as the words ending in unstressed –ile
-In AmE, long words ending in –ary, -ery or –ory are pronounced with one more syllable.
-Words borrowed from French and ending with a vowel sound are usually stressed in AmE but not in BrE.
B)What is standard English?
Standard English is the language accepted for official purpose such as government, law, business, education, media, literature and the armed forces. Standard English is the result of “accidents” in history.
C)What is a dialect?
A dialect is part of a language and it differs from regions to regions. There are differences between dialects and standard English but that does not mean that dialects are poor languages, they just cannot be used for official purposes.
D)What are the characteristics of formal English as oppose to informal or spoken English?
Formal English is used when people are careful about how they express themselves. It is also mostly used in writing. Depending on the situation, some words and expressions are informal or formal. As an example, we use formal English for conferences, meetings and business, but we use informal English to talk with friends and family.
Another difference concerns the grammatical structures. Indeed, they are not the same in formal and informal English. In fact, contracted auxiliary verbs and negatives are only used in informal speech and writing.
Formal: It has gone.
Informal: It’s gone.
Also, in informal language, prepositions come at the end of certain structures.
Formal: In which century did he live?
Informal: Which century did he live in?
Some relative structures are different.
Formal: The man whom she married.
Informal: The man she married.
Some determiners are followed more often by singular verb forms in formal language.
Formal: Neither of us likes him.
Informal: Neither of us like him.
Subject and object forms of pronouns are used differently.
Formal: It was she who first saw what to do.
Informal: It was her that first saw what to do.
Ellipsis is more common in informal language.
Formal: Have you seen Mr Andrews?
Informal: Seen John?
Another difference concerns vocabulary. There are some words used mostly in formal situations, others mostly in neutral or informal situations or only in informal situations.
Formal: I beg your pardon?
Neutral/Informal: Pardon? Sorry? Excuse me? Pardon me?
Informal: What?
E)Do languages change over time? (Explain how and why).
Languages change over time and there are several reasons for that:
1-Communicative need
A long time ago there were two second-person pronouns: thou and ye. However, modern English uses only you, but some people need to differentiate the two you with expressions such as “you guys” and these expressions are beginning to function as second person plural pronouns.
2-Influence from other dialects
British English and American English are starting to mix their structures up together.E.g.: I feel like I’m getting a cold. (Older British form: I feel as if I’m getting a cold.)
3-Languages simplify themselves
With times, complicated structures become simpler and are used more often. As an example, the English conditional sentences: If you’d have asked I’d have told you.
4-Small, less important distinctions are confused or disappear
Some irregular verb forms are often confused in speech. Because of that, it can lead to a change in the language.
5-New forms and uses spread through the language
Progressive verb forms gradually became used more and more widely. E.g.: I’m understanding French a lot better now.
6-“Underground” forms become respectable
Some forms were not used so often by careful speakers but now people are more tolerant so they are becoming common.
E.g.: Here’s your papers (instead of Here are your papers.)
7-Mistakes become part of the language
When many people make a mistake, it can sometimes become part of the normal form. E.g.: data and between…to.
8-Phonetically weak forms disappear
A weak form of have is mostly not heard and people are beginning to “forget” them while talking. Thus, instead of hearing “I’ve got”, we heard “I got”.
9-Some more examples of changes in modern English
-Who is replacing whom.
-Will and would are replacing shall and should.
-Were is becoming less common.
-Adverbs without –ly are becoming more common.
-Plural noun modifiers are becoming more common.
-Less with plurals is becoming more respectable.
-Some American English prepositional uses and phrasal verb forms are moving into British English ones.
-The American English use of past tense with just and already is becoming common in British English.
The most important differences between British English and American English are differences of grammar, vocabulary, spelling and pronunciation. Indeed, in grammar, two forms are possible in a certain English while only one is possible in another English.
E.g.:
American English: He just went home. OR He’s just gone home.
British English: He’s just gone home.
American English: He probably has arrived. OR He has probably arrived.
British English: He has probably arrived.
In vocabulary, sometimes many words can be used for the same meaning or the same word has different meanings depending if it is in American English or British English.
E.g.:
Same meaning
“Resumé” in AmE = “CV” in BrE
“Elevator” in AmE = “Lift” in BrE
Different meanings
“Mad” in AmE = “Angry” in BrE BUT “Mad” in BrE = “Crazy” in AmE
In spelling, words in AmE end in –or as in BrE the same words end in –our (e.g.: odor-odour, color-colour, honor-honour). Moreover, some words end in –er in AmE and in –re in BrE (e.g.: center-centre, meter-metre, liter-litre).
Many verbs ending in –ize in AmE are ending in –ize or –ise in BrE (e.g.: analyze-analyse, organize-organise/organize, realize-realise/realize).
Also, some words ending with two “l” in AmE are ending with only one “l” in BrE (e.g.: enroll-enrol, fulfill-fulfil).
There are a lot of differences between AmE and BrE in pronunciation. The most important ones are:
-In AmE some vowels are “nasal”, but not in most British accents.
-There is one more vowel in BrE. It is called the “rounded short o” and it is used in words like “dog”, “gone”, “stop” and “lost”.
-There is a difference in the pronunciation of words written with a + consonant.
-In BrE, the vowel in words like “home”, “go” and “open” is pronounced more “open” than in AmE.
-In BrE, “r” is only pronounced before a vowel sound but in AmE “r” is pronounced at all time.
-In BrE, “t” and “d” are very different but in AmE their pronunciation is quite alike.
-Words with “th”, “d”, “t” or “n” followed by “u” or “ew” are pronounced differently in BrE and AmE, as the words ending in unstressed –ile
-In AmE, long words ending in –ary, -ery or –ory are pronounced with one more syllable.
-Words borrowed from French and ending with a vowel sound are usually stressed in AmE but not in BrE.
B)What is standard English?
Standard English is the language accepted for official purpose such as government, law, business, education, media, literature and the armed forces. Standard English is the result of “accidents” in history.
C)What is a dialect?
A dialect is part of a language and it differs from regions to regions. There are differences between dialects and standard English but that does not mean that dialects are poor languages, they just cannot be used for official purposes.
D)What are the characteristics of formal English as oppose to informal or spoken English?
Formal English is used when people are careful about how they express themselves. It is also mostly used in writing. Depending on the situation, some words and expressions are informal or formal. As an example, we use formal English for conferences, meetings and business, but we use informal English to talk with friends and family.
Another difference concerns the grammatical structures. Indeed, they are not the same in formal and informal English. In fact, contracted auxiliary verbs and negatives are only used in informal speech and writing.
Formal: It has gone.
Informal: It’s gone.
Also, in informal language, prepositions come at the end of certain structures.
Formal: In which century did he live?
Informal: Which century did he live in?
Some relative structures are different.
Formal: The man whom she married.
Informal: The man she married.
Some determiners are followed more often by singular verb forms in formal language.
Formal: Neither of us likes him.
Informal: Neither of us like him.
Subject and object forms of pronouns are used differently.
Formal: It was she who first saw what to do.
Informal: It was her that first saw what to do.
Ellipsis is more common in informal language.
Formal: Have you seen Mr Andrews?
Informal: Seen John?
Another difference concerns vocabulary. There are some words used mostly in formal situations, others mostly in neutral or informal situations or only in informal situations.
Formal: I beg your pardon?
Neutral/Informal: Pardon? Sorry? Excuse me? Pardon me?
Informal: What?
E)Do languages change over time? (Explain how and why).
Languages change over time and there are several reasons for that:
1-Communicative need
A long time ago there were two second-person pronouns: thou and ye. However, modern English uses only you, but some people need to differentiate the two you with expressions such as “you guys” and these expressions are beginning to function as second person plural pronouns.
2-Influence from other dialects
British English and American English are starting to mix their structures up together.E.g.: I feel like I’m getting a cold. (Older British form: I feel as if I’m getting a cold.)
3-Languages simplify themselves
With times, complicated structures become simpler and are used more often. As an example, the English conditional sentences: If you’d have asked I’d have told you.
4-Small, less important distinctions are confused or disappear
Some irregular verb forms are often confused in speech. Because of that, it can lead to a change in the language.
5-New forms and uses spread through the language
Progressive verb forms gradually became used more and more widely. E.g.: I’m understanding French a lot better now.
6-“Underground” forms become respectable
Some forms were not used so often by careful speakers but now people are more tolerant so they are becoming common.
E.g.: Here’s your papers (instead of Here are your papers.)
7-Mistakes become part of the language
When many people make a mistake, it can sometimes become part of the normal form. E.g.: data and between…to.
8-Phonetically weak forms disappear
A weak form of have is mostly not heard and people are beginning to “forget” them while talking. Thus, instead of hearing “I’ve got”, we heard “I got”.
9-Some more examples of changes in modern English
-Who is replacing whom.
-Will and would are replacing shall and should.
-Were is becoming less common.
-Adverbs without –ly are becoming more common.
-Plural noun modifiers are becoming more common.
-Less with plurals is becoming more respectable.
-Some American English prepositional uses and phrasal verb forms are moving into British English ones.
-The American English use of past tense with just and already is becoming common in British English.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
What is happening in Darfur?
I would like to write a paper about the Darfur Crisis because it is a current event, not everybody really knows what is going on over there and I am concerned about it.
Last year, I did a research paper on the Rwanda Conflict and I found many Internet web sites and articles talking about those two “genocides”. Up to a certain level they are linked together and that is why I have interests on what is going on with the Darfour conflict.
I really have difficulties to understand why human wants to kill each other. How can it be possible to be so bad? I think it is sad that people do not feel concerned about this crisis because there are a lot of people dying in Darfour.
The Darfur conflict is an armed conflict between a militia group called the Janjaweed (supported by the Sudanese government) and “land-tilling” tribes of the region. The conflict takes place in the Darfur region of western Sudan, in Africa and it began in July 2003.
Here are some Internet sites on this subject:
Amnesty International, Sudan crisis - Background.
http://web.amnesty.org/pages/sdn-background-eng.
Amnesty International, Darfur crisis spreads to Chad.
http://web.amnesty.org/pages/sdn-290606-editorial-eng
Amnesty International, Act now to end the crisis in Darfur.
http://darfur.amnestyusa.org/site/c.ggLLIYOHKrF/b.1847455/k.B1DD/Amnesty_International_USA_Act_now_to_end_the_crisis_in_Darfur.htm
BBC News. Sudan 'starving Darfur refugees'.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3692005.stm
Braker, Dr. K. Sudanese refugees in Chad: One Year On. Voices from the field, Doctors Without Borders.
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/voices/2004/11-2004_chad.htm
European Commission [ECHO], (2005). ECHO’s strategy for Sudan. http://ec.europa.eu/echo/presentation/index_en.htm
Human Rights Watch (2005). African Union and Darfur.
http://hrw.org/wr2k5/darfur/5.htm
Humanitarian Information Center for Darfur (HIC-Darfur). Darfur: IDP concentrations and refugee locations. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – Relief Web.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/SKAR-64GER3?OpenDocument
North, R. Darfur’s refugees in Chad. The Magazine of The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
http://www.redcross.int/EN/mag/magazine2005_2/index.html
Oxfam, Crisis in Darfur. http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_we_do/where_we_work/sudan/emergency/updatesitutation.
Last year, I did a research paper on the Rwanda Conflict and I found many Internet web sites and articles talking about those two “genocides”. Up to a certain level they are linked together and that is why I have interests on what is going on with the Darfour conflict.
I really have difficulties to understand why human wants to kill each other. How can it be possible to be so bad? I think it is sad that people do not feel concerned about this crisis because there are a lot of people dying in Darfour.
The Darfur conflict is an armed conflict between a militia group called the Janjaweed (supported by the Sudanese government) and “land-tilling” tribes of the region. The conflict takes place in the Darfur region of western Sudan, in Africa and it began in July 2003.
Here are some Internet sites on this subject:
Amnesty International, Sudan crisis - Background.
http://web.amnesty.org/pages/sdn-background-eng.
Amnesty International, Darfur crisis spreads to Chad.
http://web.amnesty.org/pages/sdn-290606-editorial-eng
Amnesty International, Act now to end the crisis in Darfur.
http://darfur.amnestyusa.org/site/c.ggLLIYOHKrF/b.1847455/k.B1DD/Amnesty_International_USA_Act_now_to_end_the_crisis_in_Darfur.htm
BBC News. Sudan 'starving Darfur refugees'.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3692005.stm
Braker, Dr. K. Sudanese refugees in Chad: One Year On. Voices from the field, Doctors Without Borders.
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/voices/2004/11-2004_chad.htm
European Commission [ECHO], (2005). ECHO’s strategy for Sudan. http://ec.europa.eu/echo/presentation/index_en.htm
Human Rights Watch (2005). African Union and Darfur.
http://hrw.org/wr2k5/darfur/5.htm
Humanitarian Information Center for Darfur (HIC-Darfur). Darfur: IDP concentrations and refugee locations. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – Relief Web.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/SKAR-64GER3?OpenDocument
North, R. Darfur’s refugees in Chad. The Magazine of The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
http://www.redcross.int/EN/mag/magazine2005_2/index.html
Oxfam, Crisis in Darfur. http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_we_do/where_we_work/sudan/emergency/updatesitutation.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
First Entry
Another semester, another year… but nothing really seems to change…
This is my fourth semester of International Studies and I am studying English, Portuguese and Communication.I have a great interest in languages and since I am a kid, I want to be a polyglot. I also have an interest in international conflicts and that is why I will probably work on the Rwanda or the Darfur conflict.
This is my fourth semester of International Studies and I am studying English, Portuguese and Communication.I have a great interest in languages and since I am a kid, I want to be a polyglot. I also have an interest in international conflicts and that is why I will probably work on the Rwanda or the Darfur conflict.
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