English-speaking countries https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qz658-9ZOCc

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Countries where English is an official or de facto official language

Australia

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http://www.ga.gov.au/images/GA1073.jpg

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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

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…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

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States and territories

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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

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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

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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

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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.)

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http://www.50states.com/us.htm#.UOrEjKyyl7s

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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)

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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

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…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

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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

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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

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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)

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http://goeurope.about.com/cs/unitedkingdom/l/

bl_uk_map.htm

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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

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…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

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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

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…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

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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

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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