READING FOR WORDS AND CULTURE

Languages are treasure chests of cultures and people world outlook. Look at any specific language and you will find that  words are used in a different way and what is regular for your mother language fails to work for a foreign one. One of the examples of this is the use of verbs to name actions of people, animals and objects.

Read the abstract from the book THE COLOURS by Rose Tremain. Find the verbs which are used to describe the typical actions of:

- the spinning top
- the acrobat
- the tiger

What does a spinning top do?
What does an acrobat do?
What does a tiger do?

 

Word collocations is a usual problem. We know which word collocates with which is our mother language and transfer it, translating directly into a foreign language we speak. Can words and cultures be transferred so artificially onto another language?:) The answer is a definite NO!!!
Reading is a magic tool for enriching our stock of word collocations!!
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