When you think of the languages of the UK, you might imagine a typical British accent, or Modern RP. But actually, there are many languages in the UK, and not just ones from overseas. One of the native language groups to the UK is the Celtic languages, which includes Welsh (Cymraeg), Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig), and Irish (Gaeilge) as the most well-known examples. However, these languages used to be far more widely-spoken many years ago, and some of these languages are facing struggles in the modern day. A newer age of revival has started for many of these languages, with schools teaching students, and Celtic language media becoming more and more popular. One of these languages, Cornish (Kernewek), was even declared extinct at one point, but today is seeing a revival effort that hopes to bring new generations of speakers into the language and culture of the region. Through the first article, we can see just how these efforts are going, and what it takes to revive a language in the age of the internet.

The second story this week is of a world-record holder who has been banned from his competition. It’s not quite the Olympics, but rather a hot-dog eating competition, in which Joey Chestnut is widely regarded as the greatest “athlete” of all time. So what exactly caused this ban? No, he wasn’t taking steroids, or secretly disposing of his food. The story is of a sponsorship that “goes against the identity of the competition”. So, just what happened in this rather ridiculous story? What is the world of competitive eating really like? And is this a fair situation for the competitors?

Finally, the video this week is about the world of Forex trading, and how so many people fall into the trap of the get-rich-quick scheme. With flashy lifestyles and luxury vehicles shared on Instagram, it’s no wonder that we are envious of those who seem to make “easy” money. While online scams are nothing new, the way in which these scams spread has definitely shifted in the internet age. Though pyramid-schemes are not legal, there is the closely-related cousin – Multi-Level Marketing (MLM). These organisations are less focused on actually making money, and more so on bringing in more and more people that will eventually funnel money up the chain so that the people at the top are making genuinely impressive sums. It might be an attractive lifestyle, but the lack of ethics and clarity leads many to chase the money, only to end up losing it all. In this video, you can hear the story of one of the biggest MLMs, how they make money, and how many of their members are losing everything.

Why not use this as a chance to learn some new language?

Try to note some new language that you see or hear in the articles or video and bring it to the class.

1. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/jun/16/cornish-language-revives-on-back-of-psych-pop-and-covid

2. https://www.npr.org/2024/06/12/nx-s1-5003036/joey-chestnut-banned-nathans-hot-dog-eating-competition

3. https://youtu.be/P4PfO7qHJVY?si=kBJ2mBZAXpJmclIc

Remember, I always encourage you to send in your interesting articles, videos, or podcasts. You can message me directly, or email me here.

Have a great week.

See you in class!