What is English(英语语言发展史)

WhatisEnglish?HistoryoftheEnglishLanguageAshorthistoryoftheoriginsanddevelopmentofEnglishThehistoryoftheEnglishlanguagereallystartedwiththearrivalofthreeGermanictribeswhoinvadedBritainduringthe5thcenturyAD.Thesetribes,theAngles,theSaxonsandtheJutes,crossedtheNorthSeafromwhattodayisDenmarkandnorthernGermany.AtthattimetheinhabitantsofBritainspokeaCelticlanguage.ButmostoftheCelticspeakerswerepushedwestandnorthbytheinvaders-mainlyintowhatisnowWales,ScotlandandIreland.TheAnglescamefromEnglalandandtheirlanguagewascalledEnglisc-fromwhichthewordsEnglandandEnglisharederived.GermanicinvadersenteredBritainontheeastandsouthcoastsinthe5thcentury.OldEnglish(450-1100AD)TheinvadingGermanictribesspokesimilarlanguages,whichinBritaindevelopedintowhatwenowcallOldEnglish.OldEnglishdidnotsoundorlooklikeEnglishtoday.NativeEnglishspeakersnowwouldhavegreatdifficultyunderstandingOldEnglish.Nevertheless,abouthalfofthemostcommonlyusedwordsinModernEnglishhaveOldEnglishroots.Thewordsbe,strongandwater,forexample,derivefromOldEnglish.OldEnglishwasspokenuntilaround1100.MiddleEnglish(1100-1500)In1066WilliamtheConqueror,theDukeofNormandy(partofmodernFrance),invadedandconqueredEngland.Thenewconquerors(calledtheNormans)broughtwiththemakindofFrench,whichbecamethelanguageoftheRoyalCourt,andtherulingandbusinessclasses.Foraperiodtherewasakindoflinguisticclassdivision,wherethelowerclassesspokeEnglishandtheupperclassesspokeFrench.Inthe14thcenturyEnglishbecamedominantinBritainagain,butwithmanyFrenchwordsadded.ThislanguageiscalledMiddleEnglish.ItwasthelanguageofthegreatpoetChaucer(c1340-1400),butitwouldstillbedifficultfornativeEnglishspeakerstounderstandtoday.PartofBeowulf,apoemwritteninOldEnglish.AnexampleofMiddleEnglishbyChaucer.ModernEnglishEarlyModernEnglish(1500-1800)TowardstheendofMiddleEnglish,asuddenanddistinctchangeinpronunciation(theGreatVowelShift)started,withvowelsbeingpronouncedshorterandshorter.Fromthe16thcenturytheBritishhadcontactwithmanypeoplesfromaroundtheworld.This,andtheRenaissanceofClassicallearning,meantthatmanynewwordsandphrasesenteredthelanguage.Theinventionofprintingalsomeantthattherewasnowacommonlanguageinprint.Booksbecamecheaperandmorepeoplelearnedtoread.PrintingalsobroughtstandardizationtoEnglish.Spellingandgrammarbecamefixed,andthedialectofLondon,wheremostpublishinghouseswere,becamethestandard.In1604thefirstEnglishdictionarywaspublished.LateModernEnglish(1800-Present)ThemaindifferencebetweenEarlyModernEnglishandLateModernEnglishisvocabulary.LateModernEnglishhasmanymorewords,arisingfromtwoprincipalfactors:firstly,theIndustrialRevolutionandtechnologycreatedaneedfornewwords;secondly,theBritishEmpireatitsheightcoveredonequarteroftheearth'ssurface,andtheEnglishlanguageadoptedforeignwordsfrommanycountries.VarietiesofEnglishFromaround1600,theEnglishcolonizationofNorthAmericaresultedinthecreationofadistinctAmericanvarietyofEnglish.SomeEnglishpronunciationsandwordsfrozewhentheyreachedAmerica.InHamlet'sfamousTobe,ornottobelines,writteninEarlyModernEnglishbyShakespeare.someways,AmericanEnglishismoreliketheEnglishofShakespearethanmodernBritishEnglishis.SomeexpressionsthattheBritishcallAmericanismsareinfactoriginalBritishexpressionsthatwerepreservedinthecolonieswhilelostforatimeinBritain(forexampletrashforrubbish,loanasaverbinsteadoflend,andfallforautumn;anotherexample,frame-up,wasre-importedintoBritainthroughHollywoodgangstermovies).SpanishalsohadaninfluenceonAmericanEnglish(andsubsequentlyBritishEnglish),withwordslikecanyon,ranch,stampedeandvigilantebeingexamplesofSpanishwordsthatenteredEnglishthroughthesettlementoftheAmericanWest.Frenchwords(throughLouisiana)andWestAfricanwords(throughtheslavetrade)alsoinfluencedAmericanEnglish(andso,toanextent,BritishEnglish).Today,AmericanEnglishisparticularlyinfluential,duetotheUSA'sdominanceofcinema,television,popularmusic,tradeandtechnology(includingtheInternet).ButtherearemanyothervarietiesofEnglisharoundtheworld,includingforexampleAustralianEnglish,NewZealandEnglish,CanadianEnglish,SouthAfricanEnglish,IndianEnglishandCaribbeanEnglish.TheGermanicFamilyofLanguagesEnglishisamemberoftheGermanicfamilyoflanguages.GermanicisabranchoftheIndo-Europeanlanguagefamily.AbriefchronologyofEnglishBC55RomaninvasionofBritainbyJuliusCaesar.LocalinhabitantsspeakCeltishBC43Romaninvasionandoccupation.BeginningofRomanruleofBritain.436RomanwithdrawalfromBritaincomplete.449SettlementofBritainbyGermanicinvadersbegins450-480EarliestknownOldEnglishinscriptions.OldEnglish1066WilliamtheConqueror,DukeofNormandy,invadesandconquersEngland.c1150EarliestsurvivingmanuscriptsinMiddleEnglish.MiddleEnglish1348EnglishreplacesLatinasthelanguageofinstructioninmostschools.1362EnglishreplacesFrenchasthelanguageoflaw.EnglishisusedinParliamentforthefirsttime.c1388ChaucerstartswritingTheCanterburyTales.c1400TheGreatVowelShiftbegins.1476WilliamCaxtonestablishesthefirstEnglishprintingpress.EarlyModernEnglish1564Shakespeareisborn.1604TableAlphabeticall,thefirstEnglishdictionary,ispublished.1607ThefirstpermanentEnglishsettlementintheNewWorld(