Передмова. Підготовка студентів-філологів передбачає не тільки оволодіння загальним обсягом матеріалу за програмою

Підготовка студентів-філологів передбачає не тільки оволодіння загальним обсягом матеріалу за програмою, формування навичок використання спеціальної термінології, але й знайомство з традиціями та історією країн, мова яких вивчається. Важливість вивчення лінгвокраїнознавства у вищих навчальних закладах, що мають гуманітарну спрямованість, пов`язана з вирішенням головної філологічної проблеми – адекватного розуміння іншомовного тексту. Необхідність навчити студентів любити, знати та поважати не тільки традиції та історію своєї країни, але й історію англомовних країн, сприяла створенню даного навчально-методичного посібника, що відповідає чинній програмі курсу англійської мови за спеціальністю «Переклад».

Даний посібник містить матеріал, який охоплює історію Великої Британії з найдавніших часів до XX століття. У посібнику також йдеться про становлення та розвиток Сполучених Штатів Америки, Канади та Австралії.Посібник містить інформацію країнознавчого та лінгвістичного характеру, висвітлюючи різні аспекти сучасного життя, історії та культури цих країн.

Посібник складається з 4 розділів, кожний з яких присвячується окремій країні. Опис історичних подій завершується фактами з історії розвитку мови, які дозволяють простежити їх взаємозв`язок.

Даний посібник не обмежується роботою з текстом, а й пропонує вправи, спрямовані на формування й розвиток навичок та вмінь різних типів мовленнєвої діяльності. Особлива увага у даній системі вправ приділяється не тільки лінгвістичному аспекту країнознавства, але й розвитку навичок самостійної роботи студентів з різними джерелами інформації.

Introduction

It is a common knowledge that English is a language of global importance. It became a world language in the past two hundred years and it is likely to remain so. To understand the language and to represent it better a teacher is to know the history, the traditions and the culture of Great Britain and English-speaking countries. A teacher of English should always be aware of the global role of the language in modern world and should be ready to trace the connections between historical events and modern life of English-speaking world.

The main aim of this text-book is to provide the accurate, systematic and up-to-date description of versatile facets of history, culture, social and political life of Great Britain, the United States of America, Canada and Australia. The object of this text-book is to help students to find their way among the great number of facts, to provide them with the means of seeing as a whole the body of historical, cultural, political, social and linguistic material with which they get acquainted during the years of study of the English language.

The book contains theoretical and practical material. The exercises can be used at the lessons of Country Study at higher educational establishments. This text-book may also give the teachers the opportunity to understand and to realize the interconnection of linguistic subjects and to show it to their students during their lectures and seminars. The text-book is devised for the students who study English as the first major and may be also used as an additional source of material. On the basis of careful analysis and latest data available the student is supposed to receive a profound and critical evaluation of the life of the British state, the USA, Canada and Australia.

The text-book consists of four parts devoted to Great Britain, the USA, Canada and Australia respectively. The facts and dates from the history of these countries have been selected to focus students` attention at the main events of each period of history. Tasks and exercises are worked out to help students to memorize the given material better. The chapter devoted to the development of the language helps to see changes in the English language in different periods.

PART I

GREAT BRITAIN

CHAPTER I

ANCIENT BRITAIN

The first inhabitants of the island for whom a traditional name exists are the Iberians or Megalithic men, who probably form the basis of the present-day population in Western England, Wales, North and Western Scotland and Ireland. This race is supposed to have arrived in Britain from the region of the Mediterranean and inhabited it between 3000 and 2000 BC.

Soon after 2000 BC a new race of Alpine stock came from the east of Europe. They entered the country, this time from the south-east and east.

Soon after 700 BC Britain was invaded by the Celts, who are supposed to have come from Central Europe. A commonly accepted theory of their invasions is that they came in three distinct waves. The first group was called the Goidels or Gaels. These first Celts were driven by later invaders into the less fertile and more mountainous western and northern regions. The original language of Ireland and of North-West Scotland is thus Goidelic Celtic (Gaelic). The second wave of Celtic tribes, the Brythonic Celts or Brythons, from whose name is derived the word Britain, arrived in England between 600 and 500 BC and settled in the South of England, in Wales and in North-West England and South-West Scotland. Their language developed into the Celtic language of modem Wales.

A third wave of invaders, Belgae from Northern Gaul, containing many people of Teutonic origin, arrived about 100 BC and occupied the greater part of what are now known as the Home Counties (the central part of Great Britain).

The earliest Celts were in the bronze stage of development, but later Celtic invaders brought with them the knowledge of iron working. Trade, industry and agriculture flourished, as did sheep and cattle raising. The tribal form of government prevailed.

The Roman Conquest and Occupation

It was the close relations of Britain to Gaul which first attracted the notice of the Romans. Julius Caesar was the first to carry the Roman banner to the British Isles. The Greeks called the island “Albion”, and the Romans said that this meant 'white-land', because the first view for most visitors was the white cliffs near Dover. In55 BC he landed and engaged the Britons but soon withdrew because local opposition was strong. In the following year with an army of 25,000 he landed again and penetrated to where London now stands and defeated the Celtic tribesmen.

It was not until AD 43, nearly a hundred years later, that the Roman Emperor Claudius sent an army to Britain which conquered the southern part of the island. In the north and west the older social order remained much untouched, while in the south-eastern region of England, where the Romans built most of their towns and where the Roman type villas were concentrated, the slave-owning system developed. Otherwise the old way of life of the British Celts did not change very much.

A further important legacy of the Roman Empire was the network of military roads, which the Romans according to their custom built throughout the occupied region. In some parts of the country these roads to this day form the basis of road communication. The towns were fortified. Most British towns with names ending with “chester” were, in Roman times, fortified camps. Many defensive walls were built to defend the country from the attacks of the barbarians living in the north and the west of the country. Most outstanding was the wall built on the orders of Emperor Hadrian, from Solway Firth to the Tyne river, which roughly divided England from Scotland and was to keep out the Picts.

The Romans established various types of towns which served different functions. The largest of the towns was called Londinium. It was on the river Thames, where London is today. It became the capital city. There were colonies for soldiers as Colchester, York, Lincoln and Gloucester. Bath became a spa resort.

The destruction of the Roman Empire was due to a unique combination of internal and external causes. The slave-owning system hampered the development of the productive forces. Unproductive slave labour led to the economic decline of the empire. The incessant revolts of the slaves weakened the empire too. They were coupled with the attacks of the barbarian tribes from outside. In the fifth century the barbarian Germanic tribes brought about the overthrow of the Roman Empire in Western Europe.