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英语历史(English History)
学习英语应对英语的发展历史有所了解，它会帮你掌握英语的一些特点，从而更好的学好这门语言。下面本人摘选几篇有关这方面的文章。
Historical Background of British and American English
A Brief Look at the History of English
English History
The history of the English language is divided into
three periods: The period from 450 to 1150 is known as the Old English.
It is described as the period of full inflections(词尾变化), since during
most of this period the case ending of the noun, the adjective and
the conjugation(结合) of the verb were not weakened. Old English was
a highly inflected language. It had a complete system of declensions(变格)
with four case and conjugations. So Old English grammar differs
from Modern English grammar in these aspects(方面).
The period from 1150 is known as the Middle English
period. It is know as the period inflections. This period was marked
by important changes in the English language. The Norman Conquest
was the cause of these changes. The change of this period had a
great effect on both grammar and vocabulary. In this period many
Old English words were lost, but thousands of words borrowed from
French and Latin appeared in the English vocabulary. In the Middle
English period grammatical gender(性) disappeared, grammatical gender
was completely replaced by the natural gender.
Modern English period extends from 1500 to the
present day. The Early modern English period extends from 1500 to
1700. The chief influence of this time was great humanistic(人文主义的)
movement of the Renaissance. The influence of Latin and Greek on
English was great. The nineteenth and twentieth centuries are a
period of rapid expansion(扩张) for the English vocabulary in the
history of the English language.
The development of the English language in America
can be separated into three periods: The first period extends from
the settlement of Jamestown in 1607 to the end of colonial times.
In this period the population in America numbered about four million
people, 90 of percent of whom came from Britain. The second period
covers the expansion of the original thirteen colonies. This time
may be said to close with the Civil War, about 1860. This period
was marked by the arrival of the new immigrants(移民) from Ireland
and Germany. The third period, since the Civil War, is marked by
an important change in the source from which the European immigrants
came. They came from northern and southern Europe in large numbers.
As time went on, the English language gradually
changed on both sides of the Atlantic. The Americans adopted(接纳)
many words from foreign languages and invented large number of new
words to meet their various needs.
American English began in the seventeenth century.
At the beginning of the 17th century the English language was brought
to North American by colonists from English. They used the language
spoken in England, that is, Elizabethan English, the language used
by Shakespeare, Milton and Banyan. At first the language stayed
the same as the language used in Britain, but slowly the language
began to change. Sometimes, the English spoken in American changed
but sometimes the language spoken in the place stayed the same,
while the language in England changed.
Following American independence, famous persons
like Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Webster began to consider
that the country should have a language of its own. English in America
has developed a character(特点) of its own, reflecting the life and
the physical and social environment of the American people.
Selected from An Introduction to English Lexicology
by Lin Chengzhang
To the top(回页首)
A Brief Look at the History of English
赵宝斌 摘选 注释
The history of English is conventionally(按惯例),
if perhaps too neatly(巧妙地), divided into three periods usually called
Old English (or Anglo-Saxon), Middle English, and Modern English.
The earliest period begins with the migration of certain Germanic
tribes from the continent to Britain in the fifth century A. D.,
though no records of their language survive from before the seventh
century, and it continues until the end of the eleventh century
or a bit later. By that time Latin, Old Norse (the language of the
Viking invaders), and especially the Anglo-Norman French of the
dominant(占优势的) class after the Norman Conquest in 1066 had begun
to have a substantial impact(冲击) on the lexicon(词法), and the well-developed
inflectional(词尾变化的) system that typifies(代表) the grammar of Old
English had begun to break down. The following brief sample of Old
English prose illustrates several of the significant ways in which
change has so transformed(转化) English that we must look carefully
to find points of resemblance(相似) between the language of the tenth
century and our own. It is taken from Aelfric's "Homily on
St. Gregory the Great" and concerns the famous story of how
that pope came to send missionaries(传教士) to convert(使...改变信仰) the
Anglo-Saxons to Christianity after seeing Anglo-Saxon boys for sale
as slaves in Rome.
A few of these words will be recognized as identical(一致)
in spelling with their modern equivalents(对应词) -- he, of, him, for,
and, on -- and the resemblance of a few others to familiar words
may be guessed -- nama to name, comon to come, w?re to were, w?s
to was -- but only those who have made a special study of Old English
will be able to read the passage with understanding. The sense of
it is as follows: "Again he [St. Gregory] asked what might
be the name of the people from which they came. It was answered
to him that they were named Angles. Then he said, 'Rightly are they
called Angles because they have the beauty of angels, and it is
fitting that such as they should be angels' companions in heaven.'
" Some of the words in the original have survived in altered
form, including axode (asked), hu (how), rihtlice (rightly), engla
(angels), habbae (have), swilcum (such), heofonum (heaven), and
beon (be). Others, however, have vanished from our lexicon, mostly
without a trace, including several that were quite common words
in Old English: eft "again," eeode "people, nation,"
cw?e "said, spoke," gehatene "called, named,"
wlite "appearance, beauty," and geferan "companions."
Recognition of some words is naturally hindered by the presence
of two special characters, t, called "thorn," and e, called
"edh," which served in Old English to represent the sounds
now spelled with th.
Other points worth noting include the fact that
the pronoun system did not yet, in the late tenth century, include
the third person plural forms beginning with th-: hi appears where
we would use they. Several aspects(方面) of word order will also strike
the reader as oddly unlike ours. Subject and verb are inverted(倒装)
after an adverb -- ta cw?e he "Then said he" -- a phenomenon(现象)
not unknown in Modern English but now restricted to a few adverbs
such as never and requiring the presence of an auxiliary verb like
do or have. In subordinate(复合句) clauses the main verb must be last,
and so an object or a preposition may precede it in a way no longer
natural: te hi of comon "which they from came," for ean
ee hi engla wlite habbae "because they angels' beauty have."
Perhaps the most distinctive difference between
Old and Modern English reflected in Aelfric's sentences is the elaborate(细微)
system of inflections, of which we now have only remnants. Nouns,
adjectives, and even the definite article are inflected for gender,
case(格), and number: e?re eeode "(of) the people" is feminine(女性的),
genitive(属格的), and singular, Angle "Angles" is masculine(男性的),
accusative(宾格的), and plural, and swilcum "such" is masculine,
dative(与格的), and plural. The system of inflections for verbs was
also more elaborate than ours: for example, habbae "have"
ends with the -ae suffix characteristic(特性) of plural present indicative
verbs. In addition, there were two imperative(祈使) forms, four subjunctive
forms (two for the present tense and two for the preterit, or past,
tense), and several others which we no longer have. Even where Modern
English retains(保留) a particular category(范围) of inflection, the
form has often changed. Old English present participles ended in
-ende not -ing, and past participles bore a prefix ge- (as geandwyrd
"answered" above).
The period of Middle English extends roughly(大概)
from the twelfth century through the fifteenth. The influence of
French (and Latin, often by way of French) upon the lexicon continued
throughout this period, the loss of some inflections and the reduction
of others (often to a final unstressed(非读的) vowel spelled -e) accelerated(加强),
and many changes took place within the phonological(音韵的) and grammatical
systems of the language. A typical prose passage, especially one
from the later part of the period, will not have such a foreign
look to us as Aelfric's prose(散文) has; but it will not be mistaken
for contemporary writing either. The following brief passage is
drawn from a work of the late fourteenth century called Mandeville's
Travels. It is fiction(小说) in the guise(外观) of travel literature,
and, though it purports(主旨) to be from the pen of an English knight,
it was originally written in French and later translated into Latin
and English. In this extract(摘录) Mandeville describes the land of
Bactria, apparently not an altogether inviting place, as it is inhabited(居住)
by "full yuele [evil] folk and full cruell."
The spelling is often peculiar by modern standards
and even inconsistent(不一致) within these few sentences (contré and
contree, o [griffoun] and a [gret hors], tanne and tan, for example).
Moreover, in the original text, there is in addition to thorn another
old character 3, called "yogh," to make difficulty. It
can represent several sounds but here may be thought of as equivalent
to y. Even the older spellings (including those where u stands for
v or vice versa) are recognizable, however, and there are only a
few words like ipotaynes "hippopotamuses" and sithes "times"
that have dropped out of the language altogether. We may notice
a few words and phrases that have meanings no longer common such
as byttere "salty," o this half "on this side of
the world," and at the poynt "to hand," and the effect
of the centuries-long dominance(统治) of French on the vocabulary
is evident in many familiar words which could not have occurred
in Aelfric's writing even if his subject had allowed them, words
like contree, ryueres, plentee, egle, and lyoun.
In general word order is now very close to that
of our time, though we notice constructions like hath the body more
gret and three sithes more tan is the water of the see. We also
notice that present tense verbs still receive a plural inflection
as in beren, dwellen, han, and ben and that while nominative(主格的)
tei has replaced Aelfric's hi in the third person plural, the form
for objects is still hem. All the same, the number of inflections
for nouns, adjectives, and verbs has been greatly reduced, and in
most respects Mandeville is closer to Modern than to Old English.
The period of Modern English extends from the sixteenth
century to our own day. The early part of this period saw the completion
of a revolution in the phonology(音韵学) of English that had begun
in late Middle English and that effectively redistributed(再分散) the
occurrence(发生) of the vowel phonemes(音素) to something approximating(接近)
their present pattern. (Mandeville's English would have sounded
even less familiar to us than it looks.) Other important early developments
include the stabilizing(固定) effect on spelling of the printing press
and the beginning of the direct influence of Latin and, to a lesser
extent, Greek on the lexicon. Later, as English came into contact
with other cultures around the world and distinctive(不同的) dialects(方言)
of English developed in the many areas which Britain had colonized,
numerous other languages made small but interesting contributions(贡献)
to our word-stock.
The historical aspect of English really encompasses(包括)
more than the three stages(阶段) of development just under consideration.
English has what might be called a prehistory(史前的) as well. As we
have seen, our language did not simply spring into existence; it
was brought from the Continent by Germanic tribes who had no form
of writing and hence left no records. Philologists(语言学家) know that
they must have spoken a dialect of a language that can be called
West Germanic and that other dialects of this unknown language must
have included the ancestors(祖先) of such languages as German, Dutch,
Low German, and Frisian. They know this because of certain systematic
similarities which these languages share with each other but do
not share with, say, Danish. However, they have had somehow to reconstruct
what that language was like in its lexicon(词法), phonology(音韵学),
grammar, and semantics(语义学) as best they can through sophisticated(先进的)
techniques of comparison developed chiefly(主要地) during the last
century. Similarly, because ancient and modern languages like Old
Norse and Gothic or Icelandic and Norwegian have points in common
with Old English and Old High German or Dutch and English that they
do not share with French or Russian, it is clear that there was
an earlier unrecorded language that can be called simply Germanic
and that must be reconstructed in the same way. Still earlier, Germanic
was just a dialect (the ancestors of Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit
were three other such dialects) of a language conventionally designated
(指定)Indo-European, and thus English is just one relatively young
member of an ancient family of languages whose descendants(后代) cover
a fair portion of the globe.
Selected from homepage by Eleston
To the top(回页首)
English History
These pages provide a quick tour of the English
language and the some of the changes it has seen. Included for your
reading pleasure is a brief tour of Old English and Middle English.
In addition, I have some Items of Interest and Related Links at
the end.
Below is an excerpt of The Nativity according to Luke, first in
Old English, then in Middle English (two translations, about 225
years apart). If you look at them carefully, you can see the similarities
-- and the striking(明显) differences. Those who know German or a
Scandinavian language can see why English is called a sister language
of German. Also, there was a time back in the Old English period
when the Scandinavian languages (Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic)
and English were mutually understandable. English is certainly the
one that has broken further away from the other four (Scandinavians
can still pretty much understand each other's dialects), but the
strong influence of Latin (mostly through the church and scholars)
and the Norman invasion(入侵) of England brought about significant
changes in the language, as did a host of smaller influences.
The Nativity was chosen because the gospels are
available in all three "languages".
Old English
Sotlice on tam dagum w?s geworden gebod fram tam casereAugusto,
t?t eall ymbehwyrft w?re tomearcod. Teos tomearcodnesw?s ?ryst geworden
fram tam deman Syrige Cirino. And ealle hig eodon,and syndrige ferdon
on hyra ceastre. Da ferde Iosep fram Galilea of t?receastre Nazareth
on Iudeisce ceastre Dauides, seo is genemned Bethleem, for tam te
he w?s of Dauides huse and hirede; t?t he ferde mid Mariante him
beweddod w?s, and w?s geeacnod. Sotlice w?s geworden ta hi tar w?ron,
hire dagas w?ron gefyllede t?t heo cende. And heo cende hyre frumcennedan
sunu, and hine mid cildclatum bewand, and hine on binne alede, for
tam te hig n?fdon rum on cumena huse. And hyrdas w?ron on tam ylcan
rice waciende, and nihtw?ccan healdende ofer heora heorda. TA stod
Drihtnes engel wit hig, and Godes beorhtnes him ymbe scean; and
hi him mycelum ege adredon. And se engel him to cw?e, Nelle GE eow
adr?dan; sotlice nu ic eow bodie mycelne gefean, se bie eallum folce;
for tam to d?g eow ys H?lend acenned, se is Drihten Crist, on Dauides
ceastre. And tis tacen eow bye: GE gemetae an cild hr?glum bewunden,
and on binne aled. And TA w?s f?ringa geworden mid tam engle mycelnes
heofenlices werydes, God heriendra and tus cwetendra, Gode sy wuldor
on heahnesse, and on eorean sybb mannum godes willan.
Middle English
(translation by John Wycliffe, c. 1380-83)
And it was don in tho daies, a maundement wente out fro the emperour
August, thatal the world schulde be discryued. This firste discryuyng
was maad of Cyryn, iustice of Sirie. And alle men wenten to make
professioun, ech in to his owne citee. And Joseph went vp fro Galilee,
fro the citee Nazareth, in to Judee, in to a citee of Dauid, that
is clepid Bethleem, for that he was of the hous and of the meyne
of Dauid, that he schulde knouleche with Marie, his wijf, that was
weddid to hym, and was greet with child. And it was don, while thei
weren there, the daies were fulfillid, that sche schulde bere child.
And sche bare hir first borun sone, and wlappide hym in clothis,
and leide hym in a cratche, for ther was no place to hym in no chaumbir.
And scheepherdis weren in the same cuntre, wakynge and kepynge the
watchis of the nygt on her flok. And lo! the aungel of the Lord
stood bisidis hem, and the cleernesse of God schinede aboute hem;
and thei dredden with greet drede. And the aungel seide to hem,
Nyle ye drede; for lo! Y preche to you a greet ioye, that schal
be to al puple. For a sauyoure is borun to dai to you, that is Crist
the Lord, in the citee of Dauid. And this is a tokene to you; ye
schulen fynde a yong child wlappid in clothis, and leid in a cratche.
And sudenli ther was maad with the aungel a multitude of heuenli
knygthod, heriynge God, and seiynge, Glorie be in the higeste thingis
to God, and in erthe pees be to men of good wille.
(King James version, c. 1604)
And it came to passe in those dayes, that there went out a decree
from Cesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this
taxing was first made when Cyrenius was gouernor of Syria) And all
went to bee taxed, euery one into his owne citie. And Joseph also
went vp fro Galilee, out of the citie of Nazareth, into Judea, vnto
the citie of Dauid, which is called Bethlehem, (because he was of
the house and linage of Dauid,) To be taxed with Mary his espoused
wife, being great with child. And so it was, that while they were
there, the dayes were accomplished that she should be deliuered.
And she brought foorth her first borne sonne, and wrapped him in
swadling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no
roome for them in the Inne. And there were in the same countrey
shepheards abiding in y field, keeping watch ouer their flocke by
night. And loe, the Angel of the Lord came vpon them, and the glory
of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And
the Angel said vnto them, Feare not: For behold, I bring you good
tidings of great ioy, which shall be to all people. For vnto you
is borne this day, in the citie of Dauid, a Sauiour, which is Christ
the Lord. And this shall be a signe vnto you; yee shall find the
babe wrapped in swadling clothes lying in a manger. And suddenly
there was with the Angel a multitude of the heauenly hoste praising
God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace,
good wil towards men.
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