History-of-the-English-Language

HistoryoftheEnglishLanguageTheverybeginningofEnglishThedevelopmentoftheEnglishlanguagecandatebacktoasfaras500BC.Accordingtohistoricalrecord,theearliestlanguageusedinGreatBritainisCeltic.In55BC,theRomanconqueredtheGreatBritainandhadruledthereformorethan500years,creatinganopportunityforLatintofinditswayintoBritainandgraduallytaketheplaceofCelticastheofficiallanguage.CelticLatinThehistoryoftheEnglishlanguagereallystartedwiththearrivalofthreeGermanictribeswhoinvadedBritainduringthe5thcenturyAD.Thesetribes,theAngles,theSaxonsandtheJutes,crossedtheNorthSeafromwhattodayisDenmarkandnorthernGermany.AtthattimetheinhabitantsofBritainspokeaCelticlanguage.ButmostoftheCelticspeakerswerepushedwestandnorthbytheinvaders-mainlyintowhatisnowWales,ScotlandandIreland.TheAnglescamefromEnglandandtheirlanguagewascalledEngliscfromwhichthewordsEnglandandEnglisharederived.GermanicinvadersenteredBritainontheeastandsouthcoastsinthe5thcentury.TheAnglo-SaxonpassedontoustheirfarmingvocabularyearthwoodfieldworklaughterViking-manywordsthatbeginwithskskyskirtsheepoxOldNorseEnglishBothsurvivedrearraisewishwantcraftskillhideskinOldEnglish(450-1100AD)TheinvadingGermanictribesspokesimilarlanguages,whichinBritaindevelopedintowhatwenowcallOldEnglish.OldEnglishdidnotsoundorlooklikeEnglishtoday.NativeEnglishspeakersnowwouldhavegreatdifficultyunderstandingOldEnglish.Nevertheless,abouthalfofthemostcommonlyusedwordsinModernEnglishhaveOldEnglishroots.Thewordsbe,strongandwater,forexample,derivefromOldEnglish.OldEnglishwasspokenuntilaround1100.PartofBeowulf《贝奥武甫》,apoemwritteninOldEnglish.MiddleEnglish(1100-1500)In1066WilliamtheConqueror,theDukeofNormandy(partofmodernFrance),invadedandconqueredEngland.Thenewconquerors(calledtheNormans)broughtwiththemakindofFrench,whichbecamethelanguageoftheRoyalCourt,andtherulingandbusinessclasses.Foraperiodtherewasakindoflinguisticclassdivision,wherethelowerclassesspokeEnglishandtheupperclassesspokeFrench.Inthe14thcenturyEnglishbecamedominantinBritainagain,butwithmanyFrenchwordsadded.ThislanguageiscalledMiddleEnglish.ItwasthelanguageofthegreatpoetChaucer(c1340-1400),butitwouldstillbedifficultfornativeEnglishspeakerstounderstandtoday.FrenchforthenoblesLatinforthechurchesEnglishforthecommonpeoplePKFinally,Englishwonthe“languagewar”AnexampleofMiddleEnglishbyGeoffreyChaucer(杰弗里·乔叟).EarlyModernEnglish(1500-1800)TowardstheendofMiddleEnglish,asuddenanddistinctchangeinpronunciation(theGreatVowelShift)started,withvowelsbeingpronouncedshorterandshorter.Fromthe16thcenturytheBritishhadcontactwithmanypeoplesfromaroundtheworld.This,andtheRenaissanceofClassicallearning,meantthatmanynewwordsandphrasesenteredthelanguage.Theinventionofprintingalsomeantthattherewasnowacommonlanguageinprint.Booksbecamecheaperandmorepeoplelearnedtoread.PrintingalsobroughtstandardizationtoEnglish.Spellingandgrammarbecamefixed,andthedialectofLondon,wheremostpublishinghouseswere,becamethestandard.In1604thefirstEnglishdictionarywaspublished.ModernEnglish文艺复兴的心脏——佛罗伦萨RenaissanceHamlet'sfamousTobe,ornottobelines,writteninEarlyModernEnglishbyShakespeare.SomewordsfromotherlanguagesGreek:geometryastronomybotanycatastrophethermometerFrench:comradealloysurpassSpanish:bananacocomosquitoLatin:violinpizzacapsulehabitualVideotelevisioncyberspaceLateModernEnglish(1800-Present)ThemaindifferencebetweenEarlyModernEnglishandLateModernEnglishisvocabulary.LateModernEnglishhasmuchmorewords,arisingfromtwoprincipalfactors:firstly,theIndustrialRevolutionandtechnologycreatedaneedfornewwords;secondly,theBritishEmpireatitsheightcoveredonequarteroftheearth'ssurface,andtheEnglishlanguageadoptedforeignwordsfrommanycountries.Theindustrialrevolution工业革命Colonialexpansion殖民扩张来自非洲的zebra，chim-pazee；来自印度的cashmere，shampoo；来自汉语的tea，litchi,tofu,taichi,mahjong,fengshui,kungfu,；来自澳大利亚的kangaroo，boomerang；来自西印度群岛的cannibal，canoe,来自日本的soy,sushi,来自土耳其的coffee.VarietiesofEnglishFromaround1600,theEnglishcolonizationofNorthAmericaresultedinthecreationofadistinctAmericanvarietyofEnglish.SomeEnglishpronunciationsandwordsfrozewhentheyreachedAmerica.Insomeways,AmericanEnglishismoreliketheEnglishofShakespearethanmodernBritishEnglishis.SomeexpressionsthattheBritishcallAmericanismsareinfactoriginalBritishexpressionsthatwerepreservedinthecolonieswhilelostforatimeinBritain(forexampletrashforrubbish,loanasaverbinsteadoflend,andfallforautumn;anotherexample,frame-up,wasre-importedintoBritainthroughHollywoodgangstermovies).SpanishalsohadaninfluenceonAmericanEnglish(andsubsequentlyBritishEnglish),withwordslikecanyon,ranch,beingexamplesofSpanishwordsthatenteredEnglishthroughthesettlementoftheAmericanWest.Frenchwords(throughLouisiana)andWestAfricanwords(throughtheslavetrade)alsoinfluencedAmericanEnglish(andso,toanextent,BritishEnglish).VarietiesofEnglishToday,AmericanEnglishisparticularlyinfluential,duetotheUSA'sdominanceofcinema,television,popularmusic,tradeandtechnology(includingtheInternet).ButtherearemanyothervarietiesofEnglisharoundtheworld,includingforexampleAustralianEnglish,NewZealandEnglish,CanadianEnglish,