APPENDICES

Translations To English

Born in Spain, and raised in Oliva (Valencia), I completed my primary and secondary education in Valencian and Spanish curricula, across different state and private educational centres, embracing boarding school and schools of international alumni. I passed my B.Sc. in Sports and Physical Education with Honours and my M.A. in Secondary and Primary School Teaching, along with Languages, at The Catholic University of Valencia. Whilst studying, I worked in Valencia teaching Physical Education and offered private football coaching, for which I have a huge passion after playing professionally for Real Madrid, Vila-real, Ross County and other football clubs. Upon moving to the United Kingdom in September 2011 after meeting my wife, East Yorkshire born and bred and proud of it, I began working at Hull Collegiate School (Tranby) teaching the children football and volunteered for the remainder of the time, helping with languages. In 2012 I was appointed teaching assistant and the school gradually increased my teaching time to become a full time PE teacher, in addition to helping Sixth Form pupils preparing for their GCSE and ‘A’ level Spanish exams.

I love the British straight-talking culture, the hard-working mentality and the sense of patriotism shared across the nation. I must admit though, that besides appreciating the joys of the different seasonal weather, I still miss my motherland’s warmer climate.

The Origins of Valenciano

Valencian language (llengua valenciana) is the official, historical and traditional name used in the Valencian Community (Spain), and unofficially the way to refer to the “Romance language” also known as Catalan since The Valencian Community's 1982 Statute of Autonomy and the Spanish Constitution officially recognise Valencian as the regional language.

Valencian is a language derived from Latin and influenced by Arabic, which was spoken in the ancient Kingdom of Valencia, as stated by Jaume I when he peacefully conquered the city of Valencia in the 13th century in the drafting of the charters ("To that the Valencians of the whole kingdom understand them and be able to comply with them" he ordered them to be translated into the language that the people spoke: Romance).

There are two generalized theories about the origin of Valencian:

1. The Mozarabist theory (Valencianist). It explains the population and linguistic continuity in Valencia during the Muslim rule. Diglossia (Arabic and Romance) and even Triglossia (classical Arabic, dialectal Arabic and Romance) practiced in Muslim Spain. Those responsible for maintaining the language, the Mozarabs, residents as well as the Muladíes, converted to Islam but who practiced a diglossia bilingualism: Arabic for administration and culture and Valencian Romance in their homes. One of the pieces of evidence presented by the defenders of the antiquity of Valencian is the proximity of the roots of its words to Latin, from which it would be deduced that the Valencian language derives from the Latin spoken in the Iberian Peninsula until the Muslim invasion (8th century).

2. The theory of repopulation; the Kingdom of Valencia was colonized by Catalans, in coastal regions, and Aragonese, in inland regions. According to this idea, the Islamic invasion of the seventh century in the Iberian Peninsula produced a cultural break of such magnitude that its roots and its language were lost. With the conquest of Valencia by Jaime I, this theory defends that Valencian is the result of Catalan speech, although the Catalan language was not officially recognized until later.

This theory presupposes that in Valencia, there were no inhabitants left after the conquest, despite being a totally peaceful conquest, and despite there being abundant evidence about the permanence of these Mozarabs in later centuries. This theory is defended by groups that are responsible for discrediting Valencian, getting many people to stop speaking it in public because they think it is an incorrect language.

Language Development Translations

Year 7 - Maria

I am called Maria. I live in Beverley. I am fun and also generous. My passion is dance. My hero is Shakira. She’s great! I have two dogs that are called Rosie and Suzie. They are ‘cavapoos’. They are white and black. Rosie is six years old and Suzie is four years old. I like to go out with my friends very much because it’s fun. Also I like to watch television because it’s interesting. But I don’t like to write emails because it’s stupid and I don’t like to read at all because it’s boring.

Year 8 - Sam

Hello. I like electronic music, but I listen to everything. My favourite singer is Bruno Mars and my favourite song is ‘Me enamora’ because I like the lyrics. My mobile is my life. Every day I take photos and twice a week I speak via Skype. At times I read my text messages but I never share my favourite videos.

Last summer I went to Spain with my family. On the first day my sister and I went to the beach whilst my parents went shopping. On the last day my parents, my sisters and I went to a restaurant. It was great!

Year 9 - Ava

Normally at the weekend I go out with my friends to the park. But next weekend I am going to go to the cinema with my best friend.

For my hobbies I love music. I play four musical instruments. Also I like to crochet because it is relaxing. However yesterday I played football with my brother. It was fantastic!

Every week I watch television and last weekend I watched a horror film. Yesterday, after school, I read a book. Next weekend I am going to go bowling. It’s going to be great!

Year 10 - Elliot

(Please note the below is a fictitious description to illustrate language structures only!)

I love Spanish because it is the most relevant and fun subject. Another subject that I like loads is French because it is the most interesting and useful subject. I like Physics less and it is more difficult than Chemistry and Biology. A really good subject is PE because it is the most practical subject. I like my teacher because he makes me think and never gets angry. On the other hand, my new teacher of Maths is very impacient and not at all tolerant. Also, my teacher of Geography creates a good working atmosphere and has a good sense of humour, but he sets us a lot of homework!

Pre-Sixth - Phoebe

Last summer I went to the city of Pamplona and I saw the traditional festival of San Fermin. Between the 7 and 14 of July they celebrate in the street with more than a million Spaniards and foreigners. In the festival participants wear a red neck scarf and white T-shirt and run in front of the bulls. How scary! In my opinion it is so dangerous.

One day I would like to see ‘The Day of the Dead’ in Mexico. In think that this is the most exciting festival in the world. The festival is held in November and many people visit cemeteries where they decorate the graves with candles and flowers. I would like to see the festival because it is a big part of Mexican culture. I think that festivals are important because they give you the opportunity to enjoy yourself with your friends and family. Also many festivals and traditions have a religious or historic importance – for example Christmas and Bonfire Night in England. Furthermore, they are popular amongst tourists and therefore they help the economy.

Year 12 - Meesha

Mobile phones have a very big role nowadays. For example, many young people who have a mobile use it to chat on-line with friends and family, and to help with homework. Normally the most important role of mobiles is that in an emergency the young person can call his or her parents. I like my mobile because it is a multifunctional tool and it’s very useful and easy to use.

Young people also use their mobile to access social networks sites. In my case I use these for everything and especially in order to share very funny videos with my parents because my dad likes cat videos on the Internet. However, I think that the number of apps is too much and nowadays apps are more and more complicated.

Another advantage of mobiles is that a person can be independent and have responsibilities and I think that is very important for young people. But there are problems: there are many people you don’t know who can send messages, call and hack young people. Furthermore, it is very easy to download content illegally and that can be dangerous. Another disadvantage is that young people can get hooked on their mobiles and can also become victims of blackmail.

AN INTRODUCTION TO DR MARCO BAFFETTI, ITALIAN NATIONAL AND TEACHER OF MATHEMATICS

My name is Marco Baffetti and since September I have been teaching mathematics at Tranby. I originally come from Verona, a city in north-eastern Italy, famous in the UK for being the city where William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” takes place, which also offers many historical – the city has a long history from Roman times to our time – and naturalistic attractions, such as the Lessini mountains to the north or Lake Garda to the west, a popular tourist destination. My life led me to a lot of different places around Europe, from Germany, where I studied for my master’s degree, to Nottingham, where I obtained my Ph.D. in Maths, to Manchester and Hull for my teaching career.

This wandering around different countries pairs up well with my passion for languages, that I have always studied with great interest, because I think that few things like languages allow you to know the world and delve deeper into other cultures. Beside my mother tongue, Italian, I speak English and German, and I can speak a little French and Spanish, which have the advantage of being similar to Italian. My dream is to learn Russian so I can read the novels of that great literary tradition, like my favourite novel “The Master and Margarita” by Mikhail Bulgakov; if I am being honest, I would learn all languages if I could. At the moment I am trying to learn Thai, my wife’s language, to be able to better share her culture. Apart from Maths and languages I really like cycling and hiking in the mountains. I am a big classical music fan and in particular I adore opera; I consider myself lucky because being able to speak Italian allows me to understand the libretto of many operas; having grown up in Verona I could attend since my childhood opera performances in the Roman Arena, which is the largest open-air theatre in the world.

Hi! My name is Gosia and I was born in a small town in south western Poland called Deer Mountain - a wonderful city surrounded by mountains and forests. As a little girl, my parents and I often went hiking in the forest to pick mushrooms, and in the summer we camped for most of our vacations by the lake, because my dad was an avid fisherman.

So my childhood was very active, and we spent most of our time outside with other children playing all day.

In my hometown, I studied Polish Philology, but due to the lack of prospects, in 2006 I decided to go to London, and so began my adventure in England, which continues to this day.

From the very beginning, my career in London was related to hospitality business. After 16 years of working in the capital, I can say that I have worked for some of the finest chefs in the UK. I had the pleasure of working with people from all over the world, including many Poles, thanks to which I have had the opportunity to speak in my native language in the workplace. However there was a one golden rule, never talk in your native language in front of someone who won’t understand it. I remember one such place in particular - Gordon Ramsay at Claridges restaurant, where there were seven receptionists, four of whom were from Poland!

London is in my opinion the best place to learn English as well as honorifics in languages of other countries from around the word. That way I am able to say ‘hello, how are you’ in at least ten different languages.

Having moved to Yorkshire, I can say with certainty that the charm and beauty of the landscape reminds me of my homeland in Poland. Like the warmth of the local community and the fresh air!