language-family-and-classification

+13000languagesintheworldaredividedinto300languagefamiliesonthebasisofsimilaritiesintheirbasicwordstockandgrammar.+TheIndo-EuropeanismadeupofmostlanguagesofEurope,theNearEast,andIndia.+Thedevelopmentofalanguage(includingwords)hasacloserelationshipwiththehistoryofanation.+TheearliestnativesonBritishislesareCelts,orBriton.About55B.CCeltsweredrivenintomountainsofWelshandScotlandbytheRomans,headedbyJuliusCaesar.Until410A.DtheRomans’controloftheBritishisleswasover.+AftertheRomans,theGermanictribesfromthenorthofGermanyinvadedandtookcontroloftheislesinthe5thcentury.TheywereAngles,SaxonsandJutes.+TheEnglishlanguageisthelanguageusedbyAngle-Saxons.PeoplestudyinghistoryoflanguageclassifythedevelopmentofEnglishintothreephases:OldEnglish,MiddleEnglishandModernEnglish.+OldEnglish(alsotheAngle-Saxon)+TheGermanicspeakerstookpermanentcontrolofthelandthatwaslatercalledEngland.Theirlanguage,historicallyknownasAnglo-Saxon,dominatedandalmosttotallyblottedouttheCeltic.+Manydialectsexistedinthatperiod,buttherewerethreeones:theAnglicandialectsinthenorth;NorthumbrianandMercian,theSaxondialectsinthegreaterpartoftheSouth,+FeaturesofOldEnglish(50000-60000words):+1)monogeneousvocabularywithonlyafewborrowingsfromLatinandScandinavian.+LatinwordsareborrowedbecauseofChristianityinthe6thcentury;+TheScandinavianwordsenteredtheEnglishlanguagewiththeinvasionbyNorwegianandDanishvikingsinthe9thcentury.+2)highlyinflected.+Fullendings+Nouns,pronouns,adjectivesverbsandadverbshadcomplexsystemsofendingsorvowelchangesorboth,whichdiffergreatlyfromthelanguagethatweusetoday.+Inthe11thcentury,NormansinvadedEnglandfromFrance.+NormanConquestin1066startedacontinualflowofFrenchwordsintoEnglish.+AftertheNormanConquest,theNormansheldallimportantpositionsinthechurchandgovernment.ThereforethoseinpowerspokenFrench.+TheEnglishwererelegatedtothestatusofan‘inferiorpeople’,NormanFrenchbecamethepolitespeech.+Bytheendofthe13thcentury,Englishgraduallycamebackintoschools,thelawcourts,andthegovernmentandregainedsocialstatus.+ItmadethefinalstepbacktoapositionofimportancewhenitemergedonceagainasarespectedliterarymediumwiththeWyclifftranslationoftheBibleandthewritingsofChaucerandothers.+FeaturesofMiddleEnglish:+leveledinflections.+Endingsofnounsandadjectivesmarkingdistinctionofnumber,caseandoftenofgenderlosttheirdistinctiveforms.Thesameistrueoftheverb.+ModernEnglishbeganwiththeestablishmentofprintinginEngland(in1500).+Consideringthechangesinvocabulary,itisnecessarytosubdivideitintoEarly(1500-1700)andLate(1700-uptonow)ModernEnglish.+IntheearlyperiodofModernEnglish,LatinandGreekwererecognizedasthelanguagesoftheWesternworld’sgreatliteraryheritageandofgreatscholarship.ButtranslatorswererapidlymakinggreatliteraryworksavailableinEnglish.+From1500’sthrough1700’s,manywritersexperimentedwithwords.Over10,000newwordsenteredtheEnglish.ManyoftheseweretakenfromLatinandGreekbyscholarswhowantedtoreplacetheformsearlieradoptedfromFrench.+Sincethemid-17thcentury,EnglandexperiencedtheBourgeoisRevolutionfollowedbytheIndustrialRevolutionandrosetobeagreateconomicpower.Withthegrowthofcolonization,Britishtentaclesbeganstretchingouttoeverycorneroftheglobe,thusenablingEnglishtoabsorbwordsfromallmajorlanguagesoftheworld.++Sincethebeginningofthe20thcentury,particularlyafterWWII,theworldhasseenbreathtakingadvancesinscienceandtechnology.+Asaresult,thousandsandthousandsofnewwordshavebeencreatedtoexpressnewideas,inventions,andscientificachievements.+.Nownewwordsaremultipliedinallwalksoflife:politics,economy,commerce,culture,entertainment,education,sports,transportation,massmedia,etc.+Englishvocabularyowesmostofitswordstoforeignlanguages,whichcametosettleinEnglishthroughborrowing.+Forconvenience,weshallcallBorrowedwords“foreignelements’.++Fourmajorcontributors:Latin,Greek,French,andScandinavian,whichhaveexercisedgreatinfluenceontheEnglishvocabulary.+OtherlanguageshavealsodonetheirpartinthedevelopmentofmodernEnglishvocabulary.+(TheScandinavianlanguage:Norwegian,Swedish,Danish,andIcelandic)1Rapidgrowthofscienceandtechnology2Social,economicandpoliticalchanges3Theinfluenceofotherculturesandlanguages+Threechannels:+1Creation+Theformationofnewwordsbyusingtheexistingmaterials;+Thisisthemostimportantwayofvocabularyexpension.+2SemanticChange+Anoldformtakesonanewmeaning;+Eg,mouse,breakdance+3Borrowing+Itisimportant,especiallyintheearlierstage.+Indo-EuropeanFamily印欧语系+Sino-TibetanFamily汉藏语系+AustromesianFamily奥斯特罗尼亚语系+Afro-AsiaticFamily非亚语系