English-speaking countries https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qz658-9ZOCc
2
Countries where English is an official or de facto official language
Australia
5
At a glance…
• an island continent • the world's sixth largest country • capital:
– Canberra
• largest: Melbourne and Sydney
• history– first inhabitants: the Aboriginal people– European settlement in late 18th century
• a British penal colony, abolished by 1868
6
…At a glance
• Multicultural and multiracial
• Heritage from indigenous people
• Population: over 22 million – concentrated along coast from Adelaide to
Cairns, Eastern Australia• a small population around Perth, Western Australia
7
States and territories
8
Legal system
• a Westminster system of government and law inherited from the British
• two main political parties + minor parties,– make up the Commonwealth Parliament
• each state and territory: own government
9
Geography• the lowest, the flattest and (apart from
Antarctica) the driest continent– nearly 20 per cent is desert
• many thousands of islands• the mainland + Tasmania
• climate– from tropical rainforests, deserts to snow-
covered mountains
10
Biodiversity…
• the uniqueness of much of Australia's flora and fauna – have evolved on a geographically isolated
continent– through a time of a slowly drying climate– high variability in climate
• more than one million species of plants and animals– less than half have been described scientifically– cca. 85% of flowering plants, mammals, freshwater fish and
almost 50% of birds are unique to Australia
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…Biodiversity
• over 140 species of marsupials (mammals with a pouch)– e.g., kangaroo and koala
• at least 18 exotic mammals: feral populations– feral: domesticated species returning to the wild to e.g. extinct
rodents and ‘harmful’ animals– cats and foxes responsible for the decline and extinction of
several native animals
• at least 2700 non-native (introduced) plants have established populations in Australia– 68% of these are considered a problem for natural ecosystems
12
Sustainability in Australia
• http://www.environment.gov.au/– Numerous topics and policies
• Atmosphere• Marine• Heritage• Human settlements• Land• Living sustainably• Parks• Water
United States of America(USA, U.S.A., US, U.S.)
15
At a glance
• 50 states + a federal district – Washington, District of Columbia– Alaska and Hawaii away from the other 48– overseas territories: Puerto Rico, the United States
Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands
• 4th largest country in the world by area and 3rd by population– Over 315 million
• one of most ethnically diverse and multicultural (large-scale immigration)
16
History…
• 15,000 years ago Paleoindians migrated from Asia
• after 1500, Old World diseases introduced by Europeans greatly reduced their populations
• Around 1600 European colonization began – 13 British colonies – July 4, 1776: the Declaration of
Independence• established the USA
17
…History
• 19th century: expansion across North America– displacing native tribes and acquiring new territories– the Civil War ended legalized slavery
• by the end of the 19th century, the American national economy was the world's largest
• WW1, WW2, the end of the Cold War with the Soviet Union the United States the sole superpower
18
US today
• the world's largest national economy– an abundance of natural resources– a well-developed infrastructure– high productivity– one of the world's largest manufacturers
• also a leading political, scientific and cultural force in the world
19
Geography• 6,194 m Alaska's Mount McKinley
• 86m below sea level: Death Valley (CA)– Mount Whitney, 4,421m, highest in the continental US (CA)– about 80 miles apart
• most climate types– extreme weather is not uncommon: hurricanes, tornadoes
• “megadiverse“ ecology– Hawaii: about 17,000 species of plants, and over 1,800 species of
flowering plants few of which occur on the mainland– The Endangered Species Act of 1973 protects threatened and
endangered species
20
Legal system
• Federation, three-level government (local, state, federal)
• Two parties– Republican (conservative) – South, Great
Plains, Rocky Mountains– Democratic (liberal) – Northeast, West Coast
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Sustainability
• US Environmental Protection Agency http://www.epa.gov – various issues (air, climate change, emergencies,
green living, health and safety, land and cleanup, pesticides and chemicals, waste, water)
– numerous projects• Example: food for green energy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhyekv1V32s • Example: oil clean-up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65oqjg87wv0
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
(the United Kingdom, UK, Britain)
23
http://goeurope.about.com/cs/unitedkingdom/l/
bl_uk_map.htm
24
At a glance…
• 4 constituent countries– England, Scotland (Edinburgh), Wales (Cardiff),
Northern Ireland (Belfast)• varying powers
• 3 Crown dependencies: – Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man
• 14 British Overseas Territories (e.g., Gibraltar)– remnants of the British Empire– mostly self-governing but British monarch as head of
state
25
…At a glance
• Population over 60 million– mostly white British, 85%– small-scale immigration– some areas like London and Liverpool over 30% are
non-white
• 4 Celtic languages in use in the UK to a greater or lesser extent: – Welsh– Irish– Scottish Gaelic – Cornish
26
History…
• 30,000 years ago: Celtic• the Roman Conquest: 43 AD for 400 years• Anglo-Saxons in south: Kingdom of England
– in north: Kingdom of Scotland
• 1066 – the Norman invasion• Scotland, Ireland and England constant
(religious) conflicts until 1707 – England and Scotland the Kingdom of Great Britain– 1801: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
27
…History
• 18th ct: Atlantic slave trade
• Defeat of France in Napoleonic Wars (18/19th ct) prinicipal imperial power
• Industrial revolution
• British Empire expanded to almost 1/4 of the world’s land
28
Legal system
• a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system
• Queen Elizabeth II – the head of the UK – the head of 15 other independent Commonwealth
countries– has "the right to be consulted, the right to encourage,
and the right to warn“
• three major political parties: the Conservative Party, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats
29
Sustainability
• DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) http://www.defra.gov.uk/
• Listed topics:– Natural environment and biodiversity– Green economy, green business– Climate change– Flooding and coastal change– Marine– Waste and recycling– Water, air, other environment quality issues
• E.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up6pw_MvySI&list=UUXV14pQStNln11pjSgZEeoA&index=5
Australian versus American versus British English
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Differences
• Vocabulary
• Grammar
• Word derivation
• Writing
• E.g. phrases in Australian English: http://www.e-phrase.com.au/
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Spelling
• AE / BE, e.g.:
centre / center
litre / liter
color / colour
flavor / flavour
apologise / apologize
analyse / analyze
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