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英语发展简史 History of the English Language

(2009-05-29 11:43:59)
标签:

英语教育

教育

分类: 人文经典双语阅读

英语发展简史

简介

作为英语的爱好者或憎恶者,你到底对其了解多少呢?让我们从它的出身一探其面吧

英语发展历史

英语起源与发展的简短介绍

英语真正的历史应该从公元5世纪时入侵英国的三个日耳曼部落说起. 这几个部落分别是, 盎格鲁人, 撒克逊人,和朱特人,他们从今天的德国北部和丹麦出发,然后横渡北海。那时候英国的本地居民都说凯尔特语。但由于入侵者的逼迫,他们都被赶到了西部和北部-主要是现在的威尔士,苏格兰和爱尔兰。盎格鲁人来自Englaland他们的语言称为Englisc(古英语)-这两个词就是现在England和English的前身。


日耳曼入侵者在公元5世界通过英国东海岸和南海岸进入英国。

英语时代(450-1100AD)


用古英语写就的诗,《贝奥武夫》的一部分

入侵英国的这几个日耳曼部落,其语言基本相近,这些语言的融合形成了我们现在称的古语言。古英语的发音与书写与现在的英语并不一样。因此以英语为母语的人对于阅读古英语也有很大的困难。然而,现代英语最常用的词语中,大约就有一半起源于古英语。例如be,strongwater。古英语一直被使用到1100年左右。

 

 

中世纪英语 (1100-1500)


乔叟著作,语言为中世纪英语

1066年,诺曼底(现法国的一部分)公爵威廉率兵征服了英国。征服者带来了他们的语言-一种法语,而这也成为皇室法庭,统治阶级和商人阶级的语言。曾经一段时间,出现了以语言区分阶级的现象,下层阶级说英语,上层阶级说法语。在14世纪英语重新成为英国主流语言,但也增加了许多法语单词,这就是中世纪英语。伟大的诗人乔叟就是这种语言,但对于今天的人来说仍旧十分难懂。

 

 

 

 

现代英语

早期现代英语 (1500-1800)

 

莎士比亚用早期现代英语写就的《哈姆雷特》中的著名语句“To be,or not to be”

随着中世纪英语的泯灭,发音突然发生了很大的变化(元音大推移),元音的发音越来越短。而从16世纪起英国与世界的接触多了起来,再加上文艺复兴的影响,导致越来越多的单词和短语被添加到英语中。印刷术的发明使得书面语流行起来。书变得越来越便宜,更多的人开始学习阅读。拼写和语法变得越来越固定,而由于伦敦市大多数出版社的所在,伦敦方言就变成了标准语言。1604年第一部英文词典出版了。

 

 

 

晚期现代英语(1800-Present)

早期现代英语与晚期现代英语的主要区别是词汇。晚期现代英语增加了许多词汇,这主要有两个因素:首先,工业革命的出现需要更多的新词;其次,英帝国在其鼎盛时期覆盖了地球大约四分之一的面积,英语也许多其他国家吸收了很多新词。

英语变种

大约从1600年开始,北美地区的英国殖民地开始形成美洲英语,这是一种独特的英语变种。一些词的发音,甚至单词本身,一到了美国就被“冻结”了。。从某些方面来说,美式英语比英式英语更像莎士比亚时代的英语。一些英国人所称的“美式风格”表述方式其实是英式表达,但这些表达方式因为其比较古老,他们只在殖民地保留了下来(例如垃圾Trash,借贷Loan,秋天fall,另一个例子frame-up,通过好莱坞警匪片重新引入英国)。西班牙语对美式英语也有一定影响(其次才是英式英语),如canyon,ranch,starmpede和vigilante等,这些词汇都是通过在美国西部定居的西班牙人传入美国的。一些法语词汇(通过路易斯安那州)和一些西非词汇(通过奴隶交易)也影响了美式英语的发展(当然,一定程度上,也影响了英式英语)。

今天,由于美国在电影,电视,流行音乐,商业和技术(包括因特网)的优势,美式英语的影响之大,超乎想象。但世界上仍有其他英语的变种,例如:澳大利亚英语,新西兰英语,加拿大英语,南非英语,印度英语和加勒比海英语。

日耳曼语言家族

英语是日耳曼语言家族的一员。
日耳曼语派则作为印欧语系的一个分支。

英语年代简表

BC 55

罗马凯撒大帝入侵英国

凯尔特语作为本土语言

BC 43

罗马的入侵和占领,开始了罗马在英国的统治

436

罗马从英国撤退

449

日耳曼入侵者的定居

450-480

最早的古英语碑铭

英语

1066

诺曼底公爵威廉政府英国

c1150

中世纪英语最早手抄稿

中世纪英语

1348

在大部分学校英语取代了拉丁语

1362

英语取代法语作为律法语言 英语第一次被用在议会中。

c1388

乔叟开始写《坎特波里故事集》

c1400

元音大推移开始

1476

威廉。卡壳斯顿建立了第一个英文印刷所

早期现代英语

1564

莎士比亚诞生

1604

Table Alphabeticall, 第一本英文词典出版.

1607

The first permanent English settlement in the New World (Jamestown) is established.(不懂,Help me!)

1616

莎士比亚逝世

1623

莎士比亚第一部著作出版

1702

第一份英文日报-The Daily Courant在伦敦出版

1755

塞缪尔.约翰逊出版了他的英文词典

1776

托马斯.杰斐逊的独立宣言横空出世。

1782

英国放弃了他的美国殖民地

1828

韦伯斯特发布他的美式英语词典

晚期现代英语

1922

BBC成立

1928

牛津英文词典出版

History of the English Language

A short history of the origins and development of English

The history of the English language really started with the arrival of three Germanic tribes who invaded Britain during the 5th century AD. These tribes, the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes, crossed the North Sea from what today is Denmark and northern Germany. At that time the inhabitants of Britain spoke a Celtic language. But most of the Celtic speakers were pushed west and north by the invaders - mainly into what is now Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The Angles came from Englaland and their language was called Englisc - from which the words England and English are derived.


Germanic invaders entered Britain on the east and south coasts in the 5th century.

Old English (450-1100 AD)


Part of Beowulf, a poem written in Old English.

The invading Germanic tribes spoke similar languages, which in Britain developed into what we now call Old English. Old English did not sound or look like English today. Native English speakers now would have great difficulty understanding Old English. Nevertheless, about half of the most commonly used words in Modern English have Old English roots. The words be, strong and water, for example, derive from Old English. Old English was spoken until around 1100.

Middle English (1100-1500)

 


An example of Middle English by Chaucer.

In 1066 William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy (part of modern France), invaded and conquered England. The new conquerors (called the Normans) brought with them a kind of French, which became the language of the Royal Court, and the ruling and business classes. For a period there was a kind of linguistic class division, where the lower classes spoke English and the upper classes spoke French. In the 14th century English became dominant in Britain again, but with many French words added. This language is called Middle English. It was the language of the great poet Chaucer (c1340-1400), but it would still be difficult for native English speakers to understand today.

Modern English

Early Modern English (1500-1800)

 

 

Hamlet's famous "To be, or not to be" lines, written in Early Modern English by Shakespeare.

Towards the end of Middle English, a sudden and distinct change in pronunciation (the Great Vowel Shift) started, with vowels being pronounced shorter and shorter. From the 16th century the British had contact with many peoples from around the world. This, and the Renaissance of Classical learning, meant that many new words and phrases entered the language. The invention of printing also meant that there was now a common language in print. Books became cheaper and more people learned to read. Printing also brought standardization to English. Spelling and grammar became fixed, and the dialect of London, where most publishing houses were, became the standard. In 1604 the first English dictionary was published.

Late Modern English (1800-Present)

The main difference between Early Modern English and Late Modern English is vocabulary. Late Modern English has many more words, arising from two principal factors: firstly, the Industrial Revolution and technology created a need for new words; secondly, the British Empire at its height covered one quarter of the earth's surface, and the English language adopted foreign words from many countries.

Varieties of English

From around 1600, the English colonization of North America resulted in the creation of a distinct American variety of English. Some English pronunciations and words "froze" when they reached America. In some ways, American English is more like the English of Shakespeare than modern British English is. Some expressions that the British call "Americanisms" are in fact original British expressions that were preserved in the colonies while lost for a time in Britain (for example trash for rubbish, loan as a verb instead of lend, and fall for autumn; another example, frame-up, was re-imported into Britain through Hollywood gangster movies). Spanish also had an influence on American English (and subsequently British English), with words like canyon, ranch, stampede and vigilante being examples of Spanish words that entered English through the settlement of the American West. French words (through Louisiana) and West African words (through the slave trade) also influenced American English (and so, to an extent, British English).

Today, American English is particularly influential, due to the USA's dominance of cinema, television, popular music, trade and technology (including the Internet). But there are many other varieties of English around the world, including for example Australian English, New Zealand English, Canadian English, South African English, Indian English and Caribbean English.

The Germanic Family of Languages

English is a member of the Germanic family of languages.
Germanic is a branch of the Indo-European language family.

A brief chronology of English

BC 55

Roman invasion of Britain by Julius Caesar.

Local inhabitants speak Celtish

BC 43

Roman invasion and occupation. Beginning of Roman rule of Britain.

436

Roman withdrawal from Britain complete.

449

Settlement of Britain by Germanic invaders begins

450-480

Earliest known Old English inscriptions.

Old English

1066

William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, invades and conquers England.

c1150

Earliest surviving manuscripts in Middle English.

Middle English

1348

English replaces Latin as the language of instruction in most schools.

1362

English replaces French as the language of law. English is used in Parliament for the first time.

c1388

Chaucer starts writing The Canterbury Tales.

c1400

The Great Vowel Shift begins.

1476

William Caxton establishes the first English printing press.

Early Modern English

1564

Shakespeare is born.

1604

Table Alphabeticall, the first English dictionary, is published.

1607

The first permanent English settlement in the New World (Jamestown) is established.

1616

Shakespeare dies.

1623

Shakespeare's First Folio is published

1702

The first daily English-language newspaper, The Daily Courant, is published in London.

1755

Samuel Johnson publishes his English dictionary.

1776

Thomas Jefferson writes the American Declaration of Independence.

1782

Britain abandons its American colonies.

1828

Webster publishes his American English dictionary.

Late Modern English

1922

The British Broadcasting Corporation is founded.

1928

The Oxford English Dictionary is published.

 

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