最新英语的发展史中英文版

精品文档一种民族语言（包括词汇）的发展与民族的历史密切可关。要了解英语语汇的发展史，不可避免地跟整个英语的发展史，乃至英国的历史密不可分。不列颠群岛的最早居民是凯尔特人，又称不列颠人。公元前55年，罗马人在凯萨大帝的率领下侵入不列颠群岛，凯尔特人被罗马人赶入威尔士和苏格兰的深山之中。直到公元410年，罗马占领时期才告结束。随后，来自德国北部平原的三个日耳曼部落盎格鲁人，撒克森人和朱特人开始来到不列颠定居。英语就是盎格鲁一撒克森人的语言。语言史学家一般把英语的历史分为三个时期：1、古英语时期，2、中古英语时期，3、现代英语时期。1、古英语时期（又称盎格鲁萨克森时期公元450—1100年）日尔曼部落在不列颠定居后，名自占领一些地区。盎格鲁人占领了泰晤士河以北的英格兰的大部分地区和苏格兰的低地，朱特人占领了肯特郡一带地区，撒克森人占领了泰晤士河以南的大部分地区。各个部落建立了一些小王国，出现了英国历史上的七国时代。直到公元830年，阿尔弗雷德大王才统一了整个英格兰地区。由于全国长期没有统一，所以古英语时期存在着多种方言，主要方言有四种：西萨克森语，肯特语，莫西亚语和北恩布里亚语。这四种方言都曾一度占主导地位。西撒克森语保存下来的手搞最多。其它方言在形成英语的过程中也起过很重要的作用。古英语的词汇有着浓厚的日尔曼语族的特点。这主要表现为复合法是重要的构词方法。复合词在古英语词汇中占有显著的地位。据统计，在史诗《贝奥武夫》3183行诗句中，竟有1069个复合词。有些复合词中不重读部分，渐渐失去了独立地位，而演变成了词缀，如for-,in-,-ful等派生法在古英语中也广泛使用。共有二十四个名词后缀、十五个形容词后缀，-dom,-hood,-ship,-ness,-the,-ful,-ish等词缀都可溯源到古英语时期。古英语时期的诗歌有一种特殊的修辞手法，即头韵（alliteration），由此产生的许多短语一直保留到现在，如nightandmain,friendorfoe,alabouroflove。古英语时期有两个重要的历史事件，给英语词汇带来较大的影响。第一件事是基督教传入英国。公元597年，一个名叫奥古斯丁的牧师从罗马来到英国传教。罗马文化随着基督教传入了英国。与此同时，一批拉丁词进入了英语。第二件事是北欧人入侵英国。从公元790年开始，大批斯堪的那维亚人在英国定居。丹麦国王卡纽特还一度成为英国的君主。斯堪的那维亚人和英国人频繁交往，所以有许多斯堪的那维亚各国的词语进入了英语。2、中古英语时期（公元1100—1500年）公元1066年，诺曼人在征服王威廉率领下，横渡英吉利海峡，在哈斯丁战役中击溃了盎格鲁-萨克森军队，英王哈路德战死，英国被征服。这在历史上被称为诺曼征服。从此，英国结束了分裂状态，置于中央集权的封建统治之下。谨曼征服是英国历史上的重要转折点，对英语的发展有巨大的影响。诺曼征服之后，谨曼人占据了教会和政府的一切重要职务。以后的二、三百年里，谨曼法语成为英国的官方语言。普通人仍然讲英语，但英语的文字记载却几乎中断。中古英语一般右以分为两个时期，1204年后，英语逐渐恢复主导地位。1362年英王爱德华三世首次精品文档精品文档用英语向议会致词。十五世纪，伦敦标准方言兴起。1476年，卡克斯顿把印刷术传入英国，对英语拼写标准化、传播英语书面语都起了很大的推进作用。在中古英语时期，英语历经了剧烈变化。词尾变化大多消失，名词的性也消失了。词序，虚词和语调成了表示句子关系的主要手段。如果说古一英语与其它日尔曼语族的语言一样是典型的综合语，那么到了中古英语末期，英语已逐渐具有分析语的特性。而且这个趋势一直在继续着。词汇方面的变化也是显著的。由于诺曼法语一度是英国统治阶级的语言，大批法语词涌入英语。在政治、宗教、法律、军事、社交、服饰、饮食等凡是与统治阶级有关的一切领域都有反映。法语词成了这些领域所用词语的主体。从此，英语改变了运用复合法创造新词的主要手段，并用来指称新事物，表达新概念这一日尔曼语族语言的特征，而向外来语敞开了大门。用直接引进借词的方法来满足对新词的需要。这一变化对英语词汇的发展影响深远，为日后大量借词一主要是希腊语词、拉丁语词一进入英语铺平了道路。随着众多的法语借词被吸收进英语，一些法语和拉丁语的词缀也被英语化了，成为英语构词的重要素材。如前缀dis-,en-,inter-,mal-,non-,pre-,re-,semi-,sub-后缀如-abbacy,-age,-al,-ancy/ency,-ate,-ory,-ance,-ant/-ent,-ician,-ise。与此同时，有些英语本族语的词缀反而被废弃不用了。在复合词的构成格式方面，也吸收了法语的一些特色，例如：名词+形容词，副词+过去分词（例by-gone）。这些现象，语言学史上称为英语的罗曼语化。这就是为什么从谱系关系上看，英语与德语同族，但现代英语的词汇和法语更相近的原因。大量的法语词的涌入，也使英语词汇起了词义变化。有一些英语固有的词被淘汰掉了，有一些虽然还存在，但词义范围有所改变，或者带上特有的文体色彩和感情色彩。例如：wed在古英语中作“结婚”解，但在中古英语时期传入了法语词"merry"，英语中"结婚”这一意义渐渐由marry来表示，wed只用在引申意义中了；它的动名词wedding还是一个常用的词，但只限于指"婚礼"。带有不同文体意义的英语本族语词与法语并存，组成了英语中特有的同义词群格式。3、现代英语时期（1500--）到中古英语末期，英语已经确立了作为英国国语的地位。乔叟的作品证明，英语已成为一种成熟的文学语言。英语语法的简单化过程已大体完成，拼写走向固定，基本词汇也已形成。总之，现代英语的基础也已经奠定。如果说阅读中古英语以前的英语仿佛是在读另外一种语言，那么十六世纪以后的英语与当代的英语的差别也就不那么明显了。现代英语一般以1700年为界，分为早期现代英语与后期现代英语。1700年英语规范化和标准化过程已经完成，这以后英语的语音和语法都无大的变化，只有词汇不断地扩大和丰富。早期现代英语时期，对英语词汇的影响最大的是文艺复兴运动。文专职复兴运动是十四世纪在意大利开始的，在十六世纪以后的两个世纪内对英国的影响很大。在这一时期，强调研究古代希腊、罗马文化，以对抗中世纪的封建文化。于是许多外来词，主要是拉丁语和希腊语的词语传入英语，成为英语的书面语和术语词的基本部分。同时也为英语提供了大量的同义词。希腊和拉丁语词进入英语后有的保留了原来的形式，如climax,appendix,exterior,axis;有的失去了词尾，如（扩号内为拉丁语）,consult（consultare）,exclusion精品文档精品文档(exclusioneum)exotic(exoticus);还有的改变了词尾，使之更适合英语的形式，如形容词词尾us变成了ous或变成al，名词词尾tas变为ty。经过1640年英国资产阶级革命和其后的工业革命，英帝国开始向外扩张，与世界各地的交往日趋频繁，全球各地的语言都有语汇进入了英语，例如：harem［波斯语，商队］，bazaar［波斯语，市场］，shawl［波斯语，披肩］，kiosk［土耳其语，凉亭］，coffee［土耳其语］，nabob［印地语，大富翁］，soy［日语，酱油］，orang-outang［马来语，猩猩］，paddy［马来语，稻］。与此同时，由于与法国一直保持着密切关系，法语词仍然源源不断地传入英语。这一时期传入英语的法语词很多保留了法语在发音和拼写上的特征，如prot6g6,被保护人，chaise两轮马车。在构词法方面，截短单词和混成词迅速增加。依靠元音交替构成新词的方法被逐渐废弃了。在这一时期，英语被带到了英国以外的一些地区、国家。成为那里的通用语言。这里应特别提到的美国英语。随着时间的推移，大西洋两边的盎格鲁萨克森人使用的英语尽管基本相同，但在语言，拼写和语法方面都开始出现一些区别。二十世纪以来，英美的科学文化有了很大的发展，各式各样的宣传媒介越来越普及，又发生了两次世界大战，从们之间的交往越来越多，英语的词汇也随着越来越丰富。词汇量有了成倍的增加。英语作为一种国际的语言，是英国，美国，澳大利亚，新西兰，加拿大等国的国语。使用人口过三亿四千万以上，是在国际上使用最广泛的语言，在国际交往中起着重要的作用。经过1500年的变迁，英语从几个日耳曼部族的语言发展为今天具有重大国际影响的语言，这固然有政治，经济，社会的原因，但英语本身也有其它主要语言所没有的长处。词汇的国际性便是他的优点之一。从本单元简略地回顾中可以看出英语善于吸收外来词。一方面英语属于日尔曼语族，有日尔曼语的共同词语，另一方面又长期与法语及其它罗曼语族语言的联系密切，同时吸收了大量古典词语。可以说，英语把代表欧洲主要文化的词语兼收并蓄于一身，这在欧洲各语言中间是独特的。从语法角度看，英语词尾变化简单，没有复杂的性数格变化。英语正在不断向分析性语言的方向发展，向简化的方向发展，英语的词序起的作用越来越大，这也使英语比较容易学习，特别是容易入门了。英语也有他的弱点。最容易察觉的便是拼读不统一，造成的拼写混乱。此外，同义词、惯用语特别多，这固然使其表现力强，但同时也给英语学习者带来了不少的因难。EnglishisamemberoftheIndo-Europeanfamilyoflanguages.ThisbroadfamilyincludesmostoftheEuropeanlanguagesspokentoday.TheIndo-Europeanfamilyincludesseveralmajorbranches:LatinandthemodernRomancelanguages(Frenchetc.);theGermaniclanguages(English,German,Swedishetc.);theIndo-Iranianlanguages(Hindi,Urdu,Sanskritetc.);theSlaviclanguages(Russian,Polish,Czechetc.);theBalticlanguagesofLatvianandLithuanian;theCelticlanguages(Welsh,IrishGaelicetc.);Greek.TheinfluenceoftheoriginalIndo-Europeanlanguagecanbeseentoday,eventhoughnowrittenrecordofitexists.Thewordforfather,forexample,isvaterinGerman,paterinLatin,andpitrinSanskrit.Thesewordsareallcognates,similarwordsindifferentlanguagesthatsharethesameroot.BythesecondcenturyBC,thisCommonGermaniclanguagehadsplitintothreedistinctsub-groups:精品文档精品文档EastGermanicwasspokenbypeopleswhomigratedbacktosoutheasternEurope.NoEastGermaniclanguageisspokentoday,andtheonlywrittenEastGermaniclanguagethatsurvivesisGothic.NorthGermanicevolvedintothemodernScandinavianlanguagesofSwedish,Danish,Norwegian,andIcelandic(butnotFinnish,whichisrelatedtoHungarianandEstonianandisnotanIndo-Europeanlanguage).WestGermanicistheancestorofmodernGerman,Dutch,Flemish,Frisian,andEnglish.OldEnglish(500-1100AD)WestGermanicinvadersfromJutlandandsouthernDenmark:theAngles(whosenameisthesourceofthewordsEnglandandEnglish),Saxons,andJutes,begantosettleintheBritishIslesinthefifthandsixthcenturiesAD.Theyspokeamutuallyintelligiblelanguage,similartomodernFrisian-thelanguageofthenortheasternregionoftheNetherlands-thatiscalledOldEnglish.FourmajordialectsofOldEnglishemerged,NorthumbrianinthenorthofEngland,MercianintheMidlands,WestSaxoninthesouthandwest,andKentishintheSoutheast.Theseinvaderspushedtheoriginal,Celtic-speakinginhabitantsoutofwhatisnowEnglandintoScotland,Wales,Cornwall,andIreland,leavingbehindafewCelticwords.TheseCelticlanguagessurvivetodayintheGaeliclanguagesofScotlandandIrelandandinWelsh.Cornish,unfortunately,is,inlinguisticterms,nowadeadlanguage.(ThelastnativeCornishspeakerdiedin1777)AlsoinfluencingEnglishatthistimeweretheVikings.Norseinvasionsandsettlement,beginningaround850,broughtmanyNorthGermanicwordsintothelanguage,particularlyinthenorthofEngland.Someexamplesaredream,whichhadmeant'joy'untiltheVikingsimparteditscurrentmeaningonitfromtheScandinaviancognatedraumr,andskirt,whichcontinuestolivealongsideitsnativeEnglishcognateshirt.ThemajorityofwordsinmodernEnglishcomefromforeign,notOldEnglishroots.Infact,onlyaboutonesixthoftheknownOldEnglishwordshavedescendantssurvivingtoday.Butthisisdeceptive;OldEnglishismuchmoreimportantthanthesestatisticswouldindicate.AbouthalfofthemostcommonlyusedwordsinmodernEnglishhaveOldEnglishroots.Wordslikebe,water,andstrong,forexample,derivefromOldEnglishroots.OldEnglish,whosebestknownsurvivingexampleisthepoemBeowulf,lasteduntilabout1100.ShortlyafterthemostimportanteventinthedevelopmentandhistoryoftheEnglishlanguage,theNormanConquest.TheNormanConquestandMiddleEnglish(1100-1500)WilliamtheConqueror,theDukeofNormandy,invadedandconqueredEnglandandtheAnglo-Saxonsin1066AD.ThenewoverlordsspokeadialectofOldFrenchknownasAnglo-Norman.TheNormanswerealsoofGermanicstock("Norman"comesfrom"Norseman")andAnglo-NormanwasaFrenchdialectthathadconsiderableGermanicinfluencesinadditiontothebasicLatinroots.PriortotheNormanConquest,LatinhadbeenonlyaminorinfluenceontheEnglishlanguage,mainlythroughvestigesoftheRomanoccupationandfromtheconversionofBritaintoChristianityintheseventhcentury(ecclesiasticaltermssuchaspriest,vicar,andmasscameintothelanguagethisway),butnowtherewasawholesaleinfusionofRomance(Anglo-Norman)words.TheinfluenceoftheNormanscanbeillustratedbylookingattwowords,beefandcow.精品文档精品文档Beef,commonlyeatenbythearistocracy,derivesfromtheAnglo-Norman,whiletheAnglo-Saxoncommoners,whotendedthecattle,retainedtheGermaniccow.Manylegalterms,suchasindict,jury,andverdicthaveAnglo-NormanrootsbecausetheNormansranthecourts.Thissplit,wherewordscommonlyusedbythearistocracyhaveRomanticrootsandwordsfrequentlyusedbytheAnglo-SaxoncommonershaveGermanicroots,canbeseeninmanyinstances.SometimesFrenchwordsreplacedOldEnglishwords;crimereplacedfirenandunclereplacedeam.Othertimes,FrenchandOldEnglishcomponentscombinedtoformanewword,astheFrenchgentleandtheGermanicmanformedgentleman.Othertimes,twodifferentwordswithroughlythesamemeaningsurviveintomodernEnglish.ThuswehavetheGermanicdoomandtheFrenchjudgment,orwishanddesire.In1204AD,KingJohnlosttheprovinceofNormandytotheKingofFrance.ThisbeganaprocesswheretheNormannoblesofEnglandbecameincreasinglyestrangedfromtheirFrenchcousins.Englandbecamethechiefconcernofthenobility,ratherthantheirestatesinFrance,andconsequentlythenobilityadoptedamodifiedEnglishastheirnativetongue.About150yearslater,theBlackDeath(1349-50)killedaboutonethirdoftheEnglishpopulation.Andasaresultofthisthelabouringandmerchantclassesgrewineconomicandsocialimportance,andalongwiththemEnglishincreasedinimportancecomparedtoAnglo-Norman.ThismixtureofthetwolanguagescametobeknownasMiddleEnglish.ThemostfamousexampleofMiddleEnglishisChaucer'sCanterburyTales.UnlikeOldEnglish,MiddleEnglishcanberead,albeitwithdifficulty,bymodernEnglish-speakingpeople.By1362,thelinguisticdivisionbetweenthenobilityandthecommonerswaslargelyover.Inthatyear,theStatuteofPleadingwasadopted,whichmadeEnglishthelanguageofthecourtsanditbegantobeusedinParliament.TheMiddleEnglishperiodcametoaclosearound1500ADwiththeriseofModernEnglish.EarlyModernEnglish(1500-1800)ThenextwaveofinnovationinEnglishcamewiththeRenaissance.TherevivalofclassicalscholarshipbroughtmanyclassicalLatinandGreekwordsintotheLanguage.Theseborrowingsweredeliberateandmanybemoanedtheadoptionofthese"inkhorn"terms,butmanysurvivetothisday.Shakespeare'scharacterHolofernesinLovesLaborLostisasatireofanoverenthusiasticschoolmasterwhoistoofondofLatinisms.ManystudentshavingdifficultyunderstandingShakespearewouldbesurprisedtolearnthathewroteinmodernEnglish.But,ascanbeseenintheearlierexampleoftheLord'sPrayer,ElizabethanEnglishhasmuchmoreincommonwithourlanguagetodaythanitdoeswiththelanguageofChaucer.ManyfamiliarwordsandphraseswerecoinedorfirstrecordedbyShakespeare,some2,000wordsandcountlessidiomsarehis.NewcomerstoShakespeareareoftenshockedatthenumberofclichescontainedinhisplays,untiltheyrealizethathecoinedthemandtheybecameclichesafterwards."Onefellswoop,""vanishintothinair,"and"fleshandblood"areallShakespeare's.Wordshebequeathedtothelanguageinclude"critical,""leapfrog,""majestic,""dwindle,"and"pedant."TwoothermajorfactorsinfluencedthelanguageandservedtoseparateMiddleandModernEnglish.ThefirstwastheGreatVowelShift.Thiswasachangeinpronunciationthatbeganaround1400.WhilemodernEnglishspeakerscanreadChaucerwithsomedifficulty,Chaucer'spronunciationwouldhavebeencompletelyunintelligibletothemodernear.Shakespeare,ontheotherhand,wouldbeaccented,butunderstandable.Vowelsoundsbegantobemadefurthertothefrontofthemouthandtheletter"e"at精品文档精品文档theendofwordsbecamesilent.Chaucer'sLyf(pronounced"leef")becamethemodernlife.InMiddleEnglishnamewaspronounced"nam-a,"fivewaspronounced"feef,"anddownwaspronounced"doon."Inlinguisticterms,theshiftwasrathersudden,themajorchangesoccurringwithinacentury.Theshiftisstillnotover,however,vowelsoundsarestillshorteningalthoughthechangehasbecomeconsiderablymoregradual.ThelastmajorfactorinthedevelopmentofModernEnglishwastheadventoftheprintingpress.WilliamCaxtonbroughttheprintingpresstoEnglandin1476.Booksbecamecheaperandasaresult,literacybecamemorecommon.Publishingforthemassesbecameaprofitableenterprise,andworksinEnglish,asopposedtoLatin,becamemorecommon.Finally,theprintingpressbroughtstandardizationtoEnglish.ThedialectofLondon,wheremostpublishinghouseswerelocated,becamethestandard.Spellingandgrammarbecamefixed,andthefirstEnglishdictionarywaspublishedin1604.Late-ModernEnglish(1800-Present)Theprincipaldistinctionbetweenearly-andlate-modernEnglishisvocabulary.Pronunciation,grammar,andspellingarelargelythesame,butLate-ModernEnglishhasmanymorewords.Thesewordsaretheresultoftwohistoricalfactors.ThefirstistheIndustrialRevolutionandtheriseofthetechnologicalsociety.Thisnecessitatednewwordsforthingsandideasthathadnotpreviouslyexisted.ThesecondwastheBritishEmpire.Atitsheight,Britainruledonequarteroftheearth'ssurface,andEnglishadoptedmanyforeignwordsandmadethemitsown.Theindustrialandscientificrevolutionscreatedaneedforneologismstodescribethenewcreationsanddiscoveries.Forthis,EnglishreliedheavilyonLatinandGreek.Wordslikeoxygen,protein,nuclear,andvaccinedidnotexistintheclassicallanguages,buttheywerecreatedfromLatinandGreekroots.Suchneologismswerenotexclusivelycreatedfromclassicalrootsthough,Englishrootswereusedforsuchtermsashorsepower,airplane,andtypewriter.Thisburstofneologismscontinuestoday,perhapsmostvisibleinthefieldofelectronicsandcomputers.Byte,cyber-,bios,hard-drive,andmicrochiparegoodexamples.Also,theriseoftheBritishEmpireandthegrowthofglobaltradeservednotonlytointroduceEnglishtotheworld,buttointroducewordsintoEnglish.Hindi,andtheotherlanguagesoftheIndiansubcontinent,providedmanywords,suchaspundit,shampoo,pajamas,andjuggernaut.VirtuallyeverylanguageonEarthhascontributedtothedevelopmentofEnglish,fromFinnish(sauna)andJapanese(tycoon)tothevastcontributionsofFrenchandLatin.TheBritishEmpirewasamaritimeempire,andtheinfluenceofnauticaltermsontheEnglishlanguagehasbeengreat.Phraseslikethreesheetstothewindhavetheiroriginsonboardships.Finally,themilitaryinfluenceonthelanguageduringthelatterhalfoftwentiethcenturywassignificant.BeforetheGreatWar,militaryserviceforEnglish-speakingpersonswasrare;bothBritainandtheUnitedStatesmaintainedsmall,volunteermilitaries.Militaryslangexisted,butwiththeexceptionofnauticalterms,rarelyinfluencedstandardEnglish.Duringthemid-20thcentury,however,alargenumberofBritishandAmericanmenservedinthemilitary.Andconsequentlymilitaryslangenteredthelanguagelikeneverbefore.Blockbuster,nosedive,camouflage,radar,roadblock,spearhead,andlandingstripareallmilitarytermsthatmadetheirwayintostandardEnglish.精品文档精品文档AmericanEnglishandothervarietiesAlsosignificantbeginningaround1600ADwastheEnglishcolonizationofNorthAmericaandthesubsequentcreationofAmericanEnglish.Somepronunciationsandusages"froze"whentheyreachedtheAmericanshore.Incertainrespects,somevarietiesofAmericanEnglishareclosertotheEnglishofShakespearethanmodernStandardEnglish('EnglishEnglish'orasitisoftenincorrectlytermed'BritishEnglish')is.Some"Americanisms"areactuallyoriginallyEnglishEnglishexpressionsthatwerepreservedinthecolonieswhilelostathome(e.g.,fallasasynonymforautumn,trashforrubbish,andloanasaverbinsteadoflend).TheAmericandialectalsoservedastherouteofintroductionformanynativeAmericanwordsintotheEnglishlanguage.Mostoften,thesewereplacenameslikeMississippi,Roanoke,andIowa.Indian-soundingnameslikeIdahoweresometimescreatedthathadnonative-Americanroots.But,namesforotherthingsbesidesplaceswerealsocommon.Raccoon,tomato,canoe,barbecue,savanna,andhickoryhavenativeAmericanroots,althoughinmanycasestheoriginalIndianwordsweremangledalmostbeyondrecognition.SpanishhasalsobeengreatinfluenceonAmericanEnglish.Mustang,canyon,ranch,stampede,andvigilanteareallexamplesofSpanishwordsthatmadetheirwayintoEnglishthroughthesettlementoftheAmericanWest.AlessernumberofwordshaveenteredAmericanEnglishfromFrenchandWestAfricanlanguages.LikewisedialectsofEnglishhavedevelopedinmanyoftheformercoloniesoftheBritishEmpire.TherearedistinctformsoftheEnglishlanguagespokeninAustralia,NewZealand,SouthAfrica,Indiaandmanyotherpartsoftheworld.GlobalEnglishEnglishhasnowinarguablyachievedglobalstatus.Wheneverweturnonthenewstofindoutwhat'shappeninginEastAsia,ortheBalkans,orAfrica,orSouthAmerica,orpracticallyanywhere,localpeoplearebeinginterviewedandtellingusaboutitinEnglish.ToillustratethepointwhenPopeJohnPaulIIarrivedintheMiddleEastrecentlytoretraceChrist'sfootstepsandaddressedChristians,MuslimsandJews,thepontiffspokenotLatin,notArabic,notItalian,notHebrew,nothisnativePolish.HespokeinEnglish.Indeed,ifonelooksatsomeofthefactsabouttheamazingreachoftheEnglishlanguagemanywouldbesurprised.Englishisusedinover90countriesasanofficialorsemi-officiallanguage.Englishistheworkin