Image and identity

Image adn identity

Let's work.

Exercise 01

You are going to watch a TED Talk by Hetain Patel and Yuyu Rau called Who am I? Think again. Read the text about the speakers and the talk, then answer the questions.

HETAIN PATEL

HETAIN PATEL, a performance artist, and dancer YUYU RAU give a surprising performance that plays with identity, language and accent – and challenges us not to judge by surface appearances. Patel has used photography, sculpture, installation and performance to explore cultural identity. Yuyu Rau, who trained in ballet and contemporary and Chinese classical dance, has toured with Patel and often acts as his translator in performances. Hetain Patel and Yuyu Rau's idea worth spreading is that gender, race, and class are only a few of the factors that define a person's identity.

Open Ended

1. What do you think 'Think again' in the title means?

Open Ended

2. Rau and Patel talk about accent. In your native language, what do you think people can tell about you based on your accent?

Open Ended

3. For you, which is the most important to your identity. Why?:

* Your language?

* Your ethnicity?

* Your nationality?

Exercise 02

Read the sentences (1–6). The words in bold are used in the TED Talk. First guess the meaning of the words.

Read the sentences (1–6). The words in bold are used in the TED Talk. First guess the meaning of the words.

• When I heard his accent, I made the assumption that he was from India.

• My grandparents emigrated from their native country many years ago in the 1920s.

• My brother does a very good imitation of Bruce Lee's way of moving.

• When I was a kid, I loved reading Spider-Man comics.

• Chinese is a tonal language, which means the rising and falling of the voice is important.

• I doubted the authenticity of his accent.

Exercise 03

Match the words with their definitions.

Multiple Choice

Listen to and select the correct alternative.

Multiple Choice

Listen to and select the correct alternative.

Multiple Choice

Listen to and select the correct alternative.

Multiple Choice

Listen to and select the correct alternative.

Multiple Choice

Listen to and select the correct alternative.

Multiple Choice

Listen to and select the correct alternative.

Authentic listening skills

Dealing with accents: Voiced and unvoiced sounds.

Look at the Authentic listening skills box.

The sounds /b/, /d/ and /ɡ/ are voiced in English, but in Chinese are unvoiced, so Chinese speakers often say /wʊt/ rather than /wʊd/ for would and /bɪk/ for big. For examples of changing consonant sounds in native speech.

The Chinese language doesn't use consonant clusters at the end of words. As a result, /ɑːskt/ can become /ɑːsk/ or have a vowel added /ɑːskɪd/. Knowing about the different ways of saying consonants may help you understand other people better.

Exercise 04

Now, listen to sentences 1–3 from the TED Talk. Choose the words with /t/ or /d/ sounds at the end that are silent or almost silent.

Open Ended

1. Hi, I'm Hetain. I'm an artist. And this is Yuyu, who is a dancer I have beenworking with. I have asked her to translate for me.

Open Ended

2. If I may, I would like to tell you a little bit about myself and my artwork.

Open Ended

3. I'm not going to say it in English to you, because I'm trying to avoid any assumptions that might bemade from my northern accent.

Read sentences 4 and 5. How do you think they will be spoken? Listen and check your answers.

• 4. As a child, I would hate being made to wear the Indian kurta pyjama, because I didn't think it was very cool.

• 5. My dad never wore it, so I didn't see why I had to.

4. As a child, I would hate being made to wear the Indian kurta pyjama, because I didn't think it was very cool.

5. My dad never wore it, so I didn't see why I had to.

TEDtalks

Who am I? Think again.