English Language 英语语言

EnglishLanguage英语语言EnglishLanguageEnglishLanguage, primary language ofthemajorityofpeopleintheUnitedKingdom,theUnitedStates,Canada,Australia,NewZealand,otherformercoloniesofBritain,andterritoriesoftheUnitedStates.Itisalsoanofficialorsemiofficiallanguageofmanycountrieswithacolonialpast,suchasIndia,Nigeria,Pakistan,andSouthAfrica.EvenincountrieswhereEnglishisnotaprimaryorofficiallanguage,itistaughtasaforeignlanguageandusedasthelanguageoftechnologyanddiplomacy.EnglishisspokeninmorepartsoftheworldthananyotherlanguageandbymorepeoplethananyotherlanguageexceptChinese.English is classifiedasanIndo-Europeanlanguage.ItispartoftheGermanicsubfamilyandisgroupedwithitsmostcloselyrelatedlanguage,Frisian,aspartoftheAnglo-Frisiangroup.OtherrelatedlanguagesincludeDutch,Flemish,andtheLowGermandialects,and,moredistantly,ModernHighGermanDEVELOPMENTOFTHELANGUAGEThree main stages areusuallyrecognizedinthehistoryofthedevelopmentoftheEnglishlanguage.LinguistsdisagreeonwhenEnglishbegan.TheybasetheirargumentslargelyonwhattextsareavailablethatdifferentiateEnglishfromitsGermaniccousinsontheEuropeancontinentandonhowlongitmusthavetakenforspokenEnglishtobecomeadistinctivelanguage.Traditionally,OldEnglish,knownformerlyasAnglo-Saxon,isdatedfromad449to1066or1100.MiddleEnglishdatesfrom1066or1100to1450or1500.ModernEnglishdatesfromabout1450or1500andcanbesubdividedintoEarlyModernEnglish,fromabout1500to1660,andLateModernEnglish,fromabout1660tothepresent.1：OldEnglishPeriodOld English, a variantofWestGermanic,wasspokenbycertainGermanicpeoples(Angles,Saxons,andJutes)oftheregionscomprisingpresent-daysouthernDenmarkandnorthernGermanywhoinvadedBritaininthe5thcenturyad.Accordingtotradition,theJuteswerethefirsttoarrive,in449.SettlinginBritain,theinvadersdrovetheindigenousCeltic-speakingpeoples,notablytheBritons,tothenorthandwest.Astimewenton,OldEnglishevolvedfurtherfromtheoriginalContinentalform,andregionaldialectsdeveloped.The four major dialectsrecognizedinOldEnglishareKentish,originallythedialectspokenbytheJutes;WestSaxon,abranchofthedialectspokenbytheSaxons;andNorthumbrian(seeNorthumberland)andMercian(seeMercia),subdivisionsofthedialectsspokenbytheAngles.Bythe9thcentury,partlythroughtheinfluenceofAlfred,kingoftheWestSaxonsandthefirstrulerofallEngland,WestSaxonbecameprevalentinproseliterature.AMercianmixeddialect,however,wasprimarilyusedforthegreatestpoetry,suchastheanonymous8th-centuryepicpoemBeowulfandthecontemporaryelegiacpoems.Old English was a muchmoreinflectedlanguagethancontemporaryEnglish.Itwascharacterizedbystrongandweakverbs;adualnumberforpronouns(forexample,aformforwetwoaswellasforwe);twodifferentdeclensionsofadjectives;fourdeclensionsofnouns;andgrammaticaldistinctionsofgender.Althoughrichinword-buildingpossibilities,OldEnglishwassparseinvocabulary.ItborrowedafewpropernounsfromthelanguageoftheconqueredCelts,primarilythosesuchasAberdeen(“mouthoftheDee”)andInchcape(“islandcape”)thatdescribegeographicalfeatures.ScholarsbelievethattencommonnounsinOldEnglishareofCelticorigin;amongthesearecart,down,andclock.AlthoughotherCelticwordsnotpreservedinliteraturemayhavebeeninuseduringtheOldEnglishperiod,mostModernEnglishwordsofCelticorigin,thatis,thosederivedfromWelsh,ScottishGaelic,orIrish,arecomparativelyrecentborrowings.SeeCelticLanguages.The number of Latin words,manyofthemderivedfromtheGreek,thatwereintroducedduringtheOldEnglishperiodhasbeenestimatedat140.AfewwereprobablyintroducedthroughCeltic;otherswerebroughttoBritainbytheGermanicinvaders,whopreviouslyhadcomeintocontactwithRomanculture.MostLatinwordswereintroducedasaresultofthespreadofChristianity.Suchwordsincludednotonlyecclesiasticalterms—forexample,altar,mass,priest,psalm,temple—butalsomanyothersoflessspecializedsignificance,suchascheese,wine,andstreet.About 40 Scandinavian(OldNorse)wordswereintroducedintoOldEnglishbytheNorsemen,orVikings,whoinvadedBritainperiodicallyfromthelate8thcenturyon.Introducedfirstwerewordspertainingtotheseaandbattle,butshortlyaftertheinitialinvasionsotherwordsusedintheScandinaviansocialandadministrativesystem—forexample,thewordlaw—enteredthelanguage,aswellastheverbformareandsuchwidelyusedwordsastake,cut,both,ill,andugly.2：MiddleEnglishPeriodAt the beginning of theMiddleEnglishperiod,whichdatesfromtheNormanConquestof1066,thelanguagewasstillquitehighlyinflectional.Bytheendoftheperiodtherelationshipbetweentheelementsofthesentencedependedbasicallyonwordorder.Asearlyas1200thethreeorfourgrammaticalcaseformsofnounsinthesingularhadbeenreducedtotwo,andtodenotethepluralthenounending(e)shadbeenadopted.The declension of thenounwassimplifiedfurtherbydroppingthefinalnfromfivecasesofthefourth,orweak,declension;byneutralizingallvowelendingstoe(soundedliketheainModernEnglishsofa),andbyextendingthemasculine,nominative,andaccusativepluralending-as,laterneutralizedalsoto-es,tootherdeclensionsandothercases.Onlyoneexampleofaweakpluralending,oxen,survivesinModernEnglish;kineandbrethrenarelaterformations.SeveralrepresentativesoftheOldEnglishmodificationoftherootvowelinthepluralsurvivealso,suchasman,men,andfoot,feet.With the reduction ofinflections,thedistinctionsofgrammaticalgenderinEnglishwerereplacedbythoseofnaturalgender.Duringthisperiodthedualnumberfellintodisuse,andthedativeandaccusativeofpronounswerereducedtoacommonform.Furthermore,theScandinavianthey,themweresubstitutedfortheoriginalhie,hemofthethirdpersonplural,andwho,which,andthatacquiredtheirpresentrelativefunctions.Theconjugationofverbswassimplifiedbythereductionofendingsandbytheuseofacommonformforthesingularandpluralofthepasttenseofstrongverbs.In the early period ofMiddleEnglish,anumberofutilitarianwords,suchasegg,sky,sister,window,andget,cameintothelanguagefromOldNorse.TheNormansbroughtotheradditionstothevocabulary.Before1250about900newwordshadappearedinEnglish,mainlywords,suchasbaron,noble,andfeast,thattheAnglo-SaxonlowerclassesrequiredintheirdealingswiththeNorman-Frenchnobility.EventuallytheNormannobilityandclergylearnedEnglish,buttheyintroducedintoitwordsfromtheFrenchlanguagepertainingtothegovernment,thechurch,thearmy,andthefashionsofthecourt,inadditiontootherspropertothearts,scholarship,andmedicine.Midland, the dialect ofMiddleEnglishderivedfromtheMerciandialectofOldEnglish,becameimportantduringthe14thcentury,whentheEnglishcountiesinwhichitwasspokendevelopedintocentersofuniversity,economic,andcourtlylife.EastMidland,oneofthesubdivisionsofMidland,hadbythattimebecomethespeechoftheentiremetropolitanareaofthecapital,London,andprobablyhadspreadsouthoftheThamesRiverintoKentandSurrey.TheinfluenceofEastMidlandwasstrengthenedbyitsuseinthegovernmentofficesofLondon,byitsliterarydisseminationintheworksofthe14th-centurypoetsGeoffreyChaucer,JohnGower,andJohnLydgate,andmostsignificantlybyitsadoptionforprintedworksbyWilliamCaxton.TheseandothercircumstancesgraduallycontributedtothedirectdevelopmentoftheEastMidlanddialectintotheModernEnglishstandardlanguage.During the period of thislinguistictransformationtheotherMiddleEnglishdialectscontinuedtoexist,anddialectsdescendingfromthemarestillspokeninthe21stcentury.LowlandScots,forexample,isadevelopmentoftheNortherndialec 3：ModernEnglishPeriodIn the early part of theModernEnglishperiodthevocabularywasenlargedbythewidespreaduseofonepartofspeechforanotherandbyincreasedborrowingsfromotherlanguages.TherevivalofinterestinLatinandGreekduringtheRenaissancebroughtnewwordsintoEnglishfromthoselanguages.OtherwordswereintroducedbyEnglishtravelersandmerchantsaftertheirreturnfromjourneysontheContinent.FromItaliancamecameo,stanza,andviolin;fromSpanishandPortuguese,alligator,peccadillo,andsombrero.Duringitsdevelopment,ModernEnglishborrowedwordsfrommorethan50differentlanguages.TheworksofWilliamShakespeareareprimeexamplesofthewayinwhichanaccomplishedwritercouldincorporateawidevocabularyandreflecttheexpandinggeographicalandculturalhorizonsoftheRenaissance.In the late 17th centuryandduringthe18thcentury,certainimportantgrammaticalchangesoccurred.TheformalrulesofEnglishgrammarwereestablishedduringthatperiod.Thepronounitscameintouse,replacingthegenitiveformhis,whichwastheonlyformusedbythetranslatorsoftheKingJamesBible(1611).Theprogressivetensesdevelopedfromtheuseoftheparticipleasanounprecededbytheprepositionon;theprepositiongraduallyweakenedtoaandfinallydisappeared.Thereafteronlythesimpleingformoftheverbremainedinuse,asin,forexample,“Thebabyiscrying.”Afterthe18thcenturythisprocessofdevelopmentculminatedinthecreationoftheprogressivepassiveform,forexample,“Thejobisbeingdone.”The most important developmentbegunduringthisperiodandcontinuedwithoutinterruptionthroughoutthe19thand20thcenturiesconcernedvocabulary.Asaresultofcolonialexpansion,notablyinNorthAmericabutalsoinotherareasoftheworld,manynewwordsenteredtheEnglishlanguage.FromtheindigenouspeoplesofNorthAmerica,thewordsraccoonandwigwamwereborrowed;fromPeru,llamaandquinine;fromtheWestIndies,barbecueandcannibal;fromAfrica,chimpanzeeandzebra;fromIndia,bandanna,curry,andpunch;andfromAustralia,kangarooandboomerang.Inaddition,thousandsofscientifictermsweredevelopedtodenotenewconcepts,discoveries,andinventions.Manyoftheseterms,suchasneutron,penicillin,andsupersonic,wereformedfromGreekandLatinroots;otherswereborrowedfrommodernlanguages,aswithblitzkriegfromGermanandsputnikfromRussian.4:20th-CenturyEnglishFor much of the 20th centuryinGreatBritain,thespeechofeducatedpersonscouldbeclassifiedasReceivedStandardEnglish.Aclassdialectratherthanaregionaldialect,itwasbasedonthetypeofspeechcultivatedatsuchschoolsasEtonandHarrowandatolderuniversitiessuchasOxfordandCambridge.ManyEnglishpeoplewhospeakregionaldialectsintheirchildhoodacquireReceivedStandardEnglishwhileattendingschoolanduniversityorservinginthemilitary.ItsinfluencewasstrengthenedbyitsuseinsuchpublicmediaastheBritishBroadcastingCorporation(BBC).However,widelydifferingregionalandlocaldialectsremainedinusethroughoutBritain.InrecentdecadesregionaldialectsofBritishEnglishhavebecomemuchmoreprestigiouslocallyandmuchmoreacceptableinthehighestsocialcircles.Today,BBCnationalbroadcastersmayhaveregionalaccentssuchasWelsh,Scottish,andNorthernIrish.In different English-speakingcountriesrecognizablevarietiesofEnglishhavedeveloped.Forexample,theEnglishlanguageinIrelandhasretainedcertainindividualpeculiaritiesofpronunciation,someofwhichresultfromcontactwithIreland’sGaeliclanguageandsomeofwhichresultfromcontactwithScots.Scotlandhasanumberofregionaldialectsandisconsideredbysomelinguiststohavedevelopedintoaseparatelanguage.LowlandScots,sometimescalledLallans(seeScottishLanguage),wasfirstmadeknownthroughouttheEnglish-speakingworldbythesongsof18th-centuryScottishpoetRobertBurns.Itfeaturesdifferencesinpronunciation,suchasguidfor“good”,andwordsofScandinavianorigin,suchasbraw(for“fine”)andbairn(for“child”).TheDoric,spokeninAberdeenshireinScotland,featurespronunciationdifferences,suchasfitfor“what,”anddistinctivevocabulary,suchasquinefor“woman.”TheEnglishspokeninAustraliaisnotableforitsmarkeddiphthongizationofvowels,itsretentionoffeaturesfromEnglishregionaldialectusages,itsincorporationofindigenousAustraliantermssuchaswallabyanddigeridoo.5:AmericanEnglishAn important developmentofEnglishoutsideGreatBritainoccurredwiththecolonizationofNorthAmerica.AmericanEnglishmaybeconsideredtoincludetheEnglishspokeninCanada,althoughtheCanadianvarietyretainssomefeaturesofBritishpronunciation,spelling,andvocabulary.ThemostdistinguishingdifferencesbetweenAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglishareinpronunciationandvocabulary,althoughthereareslighterdifferencesingrammar,spelling,pitch,andstressaswell.AmericanEnglishappearstobebothtolerantofnewlycoinedwordsandconservativeincomparisontoBritishEnglish.There are a wide varietyofAmericandialects,someofwhichappeartobedivergingmarkedlyfromothers.Inparticular,dialectsofcertainNortherncitiesseemtobeundergoingshiftsthataredifferentfromthoseofcertainSoutherncities.Furthermore,AmericanEnglishhasdevelopedratherdistinctiveethnicdialects,suchasAfricanAmericanVernacularEnglishandHispanicAmericanEnglish.Theuseofethnicdialectsvariesfromregiontoregionandsocialgrouptosocialgroup.6:PidginEnglishEnglish also featuresanumberofsimplifiedlanguagesthataroseamongnon-English-speakingpeoples.PidginEnglish(seePidgin)developedasameansofcommunicationbetweenEnglishandnon-English-speakingtraders.ItisspokenintheMelanesianislands(seeMelanesia),NewGuinea,Australia,thePhilippines,andHawaii,andontheAsianshoresofthePacificOcean.ThespeakersofPidginEnglishdevelopedasimplifiedstructurewithavocabularyformedfromamixtureofEnglish,indigenous,andinternationalwords.Thevocabularygraduallyexpandedwithfrequencyofcontactandtheextensionofcommunicationrequirements.Bêche-de-Mer, a pidginspokeninthesouthernandwesternPacificislands,ispredominantlyEnglishinstructure,althoughitincludesmanyPolynesianwords.ChinookJargon,usedasalinguafrancabytheNativeAmericans,French,andEnglishontheNorthAmericanPacificcoast,containsEnglish,French,andNativeAmericanwords;itsgrammaticalstructureisbasedonthatoftheChinooklanguage.TheuseofpidginisgrowinginAfrica,notablyinCameroon,SierraLeone,andEastAfrica.Certainvarietiesofthissorthavedevelopedfurther,becomingthefirstlanguageofgenerationsofspeakers.Theselanguagesarereferredtoascreoles;examplesincludeJamaicanandHawaiianCreole.