How English evolved into a global language

        As the British Library charts the evolution of English in a new major exhibition, author Michael Rosen gives a brief history of a language that has grown to world domination with phrases such as "cool" and "go to it".

        The need for an international language has always existed. In the past it was about religion and intellectual debate. With the technologies of today, it's about communicating with others anywhere in the world in a matter of moments.

          Two events, separated by nearly 400 years, show how this need has always been present.

         Firstly, sitting in front of me I have a copy of the celebrated book Utopia, by Sir Thomas More. This particular edition is published in 1629 in Amsterdam, not in English, not in Dutch, but in Latin.

       The second event was a talk I recently had with a German scientist. He said that he knew of scientific conferences taking place in Germany, where all the people attending were German and yet the conference was conducted in English.

 Source: <http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-12017753>

TEXTO 8

AUGUST 2017 WAS THE SECOND WARMEST ON RECORD

      August 2017 was the second warmest August in 137 years of modern record-keeping, according to a monthly analysis of global temperatures by scientists at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York.

      The measured value is consistent with the trend in global average surface temperatures that has been observed during the past few decades. Last month was +0.85 degrees Celsius warmer than the mean August temperature from 1951-1980.

      It was surpassed by August 2016, which was still affected by the 2015-2016 El Niño and was 0.99 degrees Celsius warmer than normal. However, August 2017 was about +0.2 degrees warmer than the August following the last large El Niño event in 1997-1998.

      The monthly analysis by the GISS team is assembled from publicly available data acquired by about 6,300 meteorological stations around the world, ship- and buoy-based instruments measuring sea surface temperature, and Antarctic research stations.

      The modern global temperature record begins around 1880 because previous observations didn't cover enough of the planet. Monthly analyses are sometimes updated when additional data becomes available, and the results are subject to change.

NASA’S GODDARD INSTITUTE FOR SPACE STUDIES. August 2017 was the second warmest on record. Disponível em: Acesso: 09 out. 2017. Adaptado.

TEXTO 7

AMERICA’S OPINION OF TRUMP ARE FULLY BAKED, IN ONE CHART

      Washington (CNN) - Everyone has an opinion of President Donald Trump - and they're sticking to it. The President's approval rating has remained in a narrow 10 percentage point window for his entire first nine months in office, the smallest range for new presidents in almost a half century.

      Trump kicked off his presidency at a 45% approval rating during his first week, sinking slightly over his term so far to the high 30s, where it's remained mostly steady since May, according to a CNN analysis of weekly approval numbers from Gallup.

      The numbers show just how baked in Americans' approval (or disapproval) of Donald Trump is. His approval rating among Democrats has remained mired at historic lows, while Republicans have consistently maintained their strong support for his White House.

      A separate poll found that six in 10 people who approve of Trump (and disapprove of Trump) say they can't imagine anything he could do to make them change their minds.

      Approval ratings historically have experienced some turbulence during their first nine months, as honeymoon periods wear off and presidents face the first tests of their tenures.

      Barack Obama's approval sank from two-thirds of Americans to half in this time span. George W. Bush's spiked after the 9/11 terrorist attacks — a broad 39-point swing. Bill Clinton's fell 22 points over his first several months to a low in June.

      In fact, Trump's approval rating window marks the third narrowest in data stretching back to the 1940s -- wider than only Richard Nixon and Lyndon B. Johnson.

      Not to mention, most presidents see some significant movement among independents -- the most volatile group -- in the first nine months. The last seven presidents have experienced at least a 20-point swing among independents to this point, but Trump's approval among independents has remained in just a 13-point range.

      The consistency in Trump's approval rating, however, comes amid a mixed first nine months for his White House; strong economic numbers have combined with derailed major legislative priorities and battles with his own party, the National Football League and the intelligence community.

STRUYK, Ryan. America’s opinion of Trump are fully baked, in one chart. Disponível em:<http://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/03/politics/trump-approval-flat-decades-gallup/index.html?iid=ob_article_footer_expansion> . Acesso: 09 out. 2017. Adaptado. 

TEXT V 

They call it ‘tourism-phobia’ but that’s not what’s happening in Barcelona

Jordi Rabassa, Barcelona en Comú District Councilor for the

Old City in Barcelona

   There‘s a new word that‘s taken over the local political debate in Barcelona: tourism-phobia. For months now, political and media personalities have been using accusations of tourism-phobia to attack the social movements and political parties that are questioning the so-called ‗tourism industry‘ and its repercussions on the right to the city.

   The use of ―tourism-phobia‖ seeks to criminalize this criticism, painting it as a form of racism against people who visit the city in the popular imagination. But this attempt to compare, even at a subconscious level, ―tourism-phobia‖ and racism is not just irresponsible, it‘s a sign of defeat by those who have invented the word. Because these are the same people who warned us that regulating tourism would paralyze economic activity and employment in the city. This argument, based on the supposedly unquestionable logic of the productive economy, hasn‘t gone anywhere; it‘s the same old neoliberal discourse that tourism is a harmless and friendly activity. They‘ve just pushed it aside temporarily to make room for the related idea of tourism-phobia, which aims to appeal to people‘s emotions.

   They call it tourism-phobia but they probably don‘t know what they really want to say. They use the concept of tourism-phobia to camouflage their support for business interests that are putting the right to the city of the people of Barcelona at risk. They call it tourism-phobia to weaken the city government, to criminalize the most active and radical social movements, and to patronize unorganized citizens. They call it tourism-phobia to inject a meme that can be launched on social media and vomited up on TV and the radio.

   Those of us in Barcelona who criticize, problematize or reject an economic model based on the liberalization of the tourism industry are not filled with hate. We‘re defending human rights, principally the right to housing and the right to the city.

  Those who criticize the hegemony of tourism as an economic model are calling for a fair and inclusive city, a city with neighborhoods where people can live. We‘re demanding rent caps and denouncing speculation with commercial premises and licenses. We‘re condemning the black market of tourist apartments that is pushing low-income families out of their homes. We‘re saying, loud and clear, that we want public, affordable housing. We‘re working to make sure that our streets and squares aren‘t overwhelmed by visitors. We‘re grieving for the men and women who‘ve been expelled from our neighborhoods.

   They call it tourism-phobia but that‘s not what it is: it‘s a conscious demand for the right to the city.

Translation of an article published in eldiario.es on 27/06/2017

Disponível em: https://medium.com/@BComuGlobal/they-call-ittourism-phobia-but-that-s-not-what-s-happening-in-barcelonacb56b02da97b Acesso em: 07 ago. 2017.