A Brief History of the English Language英語簡史課件

AHistoryofEnglishSomeHighlightsEarlyInfluencesCelticborrowings:AfewCelticwords,suchascrag,enteredwhatwouldbecometheEnglishlanguage.Latinloans:RomansoldiersandpriestscametotheBritishIslesbeforethemassiveinvasionsofNorthernEuropeans.NorthernInvasionsAngles,Jutes,SaxonsFrisians,Danes,andNorwegiansbroughtnewlanguages.Angles,Saxons,andJutes“GermanicinvaderscalledthenativeCeltswealas(‘foreigners’),fromwhichthenameWelshisderived.TheCeltscalledtheinvaders‘Saxons,’regardlessoftheirtribe,andandthispracticewasfollowedbytheearlyLatinwriters…ReferencestothenameofthecountryasEngaland(‘landoftheAngles’),fromwhichcameEngland,donotappearuntilc.1000”(Crystal7).TheAnglo-SaxonChronicleAlthoughmostEuropeanchroniclesoftheeraappearedinLatinorFrench,thesewerewritteninOldEnglish.Thesemanuscriptsmakeupmultiplechronicles.ThechroniclescovertheperiodfromaroundthebirthofChristtothetwelfthcentury.Beowulf

manuscriptcopyfromtheoraltradition,ca.1000QuestionIn1066,whateventtookplacethatchangedthecourseoftheEnglishlanguage?AnswerTheBattleofHastingsAccordingtolegend,KingHaroldpluckedanarrowoutofhiseye.DomesdayBookIn1086,KingWilliam(Guillaume)orderedasurveyofEnglishlands,writteninLatin.WhichWitchisWhichHowdidweendupwithsuchweirdspellings?TheStoryofYeHowdoyoupronouncetheword‘ye’?ItallgoesbacktoathornWhatnowlooksliketheletter‘y’wasathorn,alettersoundinglikethecontemporary‘th.’Overtime,readerssoundedthisoutwitha‘y’sound.UneedtoseeaVManymanuscriptsusedavatthebeginningofawordandauwithintheword.ANewLookforOldEnglishScribesaddedletterstomakewordslookmorelikeLatinorFrench,languagesconsideredmorecultivatedthanEnglish;forexample,detbecamedebtandilandbecameisland.BritishBilingualismFrenchhelditsplaceasthelanguageofgovernment,law,literature,and,alongwithLatin,inthechurch.Englishremainedthelanguageofhouseholdstaffsandotherso-calledcommonpeople.Sometimesupper-classemployerslearnedEnglishinordertotalkwiththeirservants.FrenchwordsinEnglishBaron,count,courtier,duchess,duke,marchioness,marquis,noble,peerAppetite,beef,biscuit,confection,plate,raisin,supper,treacle,veal,vinegarAmbush,army,battle,enemy,garrison,lieutenant,moat,peace,sergeantByheart,cometoahead,havemercyonholdone’speace,takeleaveEnglish-FrenchPairsSheep-muttonCalf-vealDeer-venisonPig-porkBegin-commenceChild-infantDoom-judgmentFreedom-libertyHappiness-felicityHearty-cordialHelp-aidHide-concealHoly-saintlyMeal-repastStench-aromaWish-desireWordsfromOtherLanguagesLatin:Alias,homicide,diocese,mediator,scripture,lucrative,toleranceNetherlands:poll,skipperSpanish:cork,savvyPortuguese:marmaladeArabic:saffron,admiral,mattress,algebra,alkali,zenithPersian:chess,rook,checkmateMiddleEnglish“TheperiodwecallMiddleEnglishrunsfromthebeginningofthe12thcenturyuntilthemiddleofthe15th”(Crystal30).LanguageStandardizationWilliamCaxtonbroughttheprintingpresstoEnglandin1476.“In1041,movableclaytypewasfirstinventedinChina…JohannesGutenberginventedtheprintingpresswithreplaceable/moveablewoodenormetallettersin1436(completedby1440)”(A)Caxton’sConcernsShouldhereplaceforeignwords?Whichregionalvarietiesshouldheuse?Shouldheeditlocalwriterstomaketheirmoreworksmorewidelyunderstood?Scribeswrotewithmanyvariations.Whichspellingsandpunctuationsshouldheuse?DictionariesGrammarbooksappeared,recordingandprescribinglanguageuse.SamuelJohnson’sADictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage,publishedin1755,furtherstandardizedEnglishusage.MiddleEnglishLiteratureSirGawainandtheGreenKnight,astoryfromArthurianlegend,writteninEnglishbutshowingtheinfluenceoftheFrenchcourtlytradition.Late14thcenturyTheCanterburyTales,writtenbyGeoffreyChaucer(ca.1345-1400)E-ModTheRenaissanceShakespeareProtestantReformationPrintingPressesFirstEnglishcolonizationofAmerica:tobacco,potato,andotherwordsenterthelanguageEarlyModernEnglish(1400-1800)BibleTranslationsJohnWyclifferiskedhislifebytranslatingtheBibleinthefourteenthcentury.Althoughhesurvived,opponentsburnedhisbonesafterhisdeath.HowdidtheProtestantReformationchangeEnglish?KingJamesBible1611ThistranslationbecameoneofthemostcommonlyusedChristianbiblesintheworld.EnglishinEducationShakespearereadCervantesatatimewhenscholarsconsideredSpanishamoreimportantlanguagethanEnglish.Atthebeginningofthesixteenthcentury,LatinstillservedasthetonguespokenbyeducatedEuropeans.Bytheendofthe1700s,scholarshadbeguntoconsiderEnglishalanguageappropriateforacademia.Shakespeare’sNeologismsWilliamShakespeare(1564-1616)Shakespeare’splaysandpoemsintroducedaccommodation,assassination,barefaced,countless,courtship,dislocate,dwindle,eventful,fancy-free,lack-lustre,laughable,premeditated,puppi-dogs,andsubmerged.Notallofhiswordsremainedinthelanguage.Neologismsthatfailedtosurviveincludeabruption,appertainment,cadent,exsufflicate,persistive,protractive,questrist,soilure,tortive,ungenitured,unplausive,andvastidity.

VocabularyAccordingtosomelinguists,Englishcontainssome500,000words.Shakespeareemployedabout30,000.TheKingJamesBiblecontainsabout12,000.Generally,speakerswithwell-developedvocabulariesemploy30,000Thatleavesthemostarticulateamongusabout470,000wordsshort.EnglishTodayModernEnglishcameintobeingduringtheeighteenthcentury.Evenso,authorssuchasJaneAusten(1775-1817)useformulationsthatseemoddtoourearsandwords,suchas‘direction’asanaddress,thatnowconveydifferentmeanings.EnglishOutsideofEnglandAnAmericanDictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage,publishedin1828 NoahWebster(1758-1843)TheUseofEnglishhasSpread1.MandarinChinese(1.1billion)2.English(330million)3.Spanish(300million)4.Hindi/Urdu(250million)5.Arabic(200million)6.Bengali(185million)7.Portuguese(160million)8.Russian(160million)9.Japanese(125million)10.German(100million)11.Punjabi(90million)12.Javanese(80million)13.French(75million)Estimatesoflanguageusevaries.GeorgeWeber’sarticleTopLanguages:TheWorld’s10MostInfluentialLanguages”inLanguageToday(Vol.2,Dec1997).EnglishinaGlobalContext“Morethan40countriesaroundtheworldconsiderEnglishtheirprimarylanguage”(UniversityofTexasatAustinwebsite).Antigua,Australia,Bahamas,Barbados,Barbuda,Belize,Botswana,Cameroon,Canada,Dominica,Ghana,Grenada,Guyana,Ireland,Jamaica,Kenya,Kiribati,Lesotho,Liberia,Malawi,Mauritius,Micronesia,NewZealand,Nigeria,PapuaNewGuinea,Seychelles,SierraLeone,SolomonIslands,SouthAfrica,St.Lucia,St.Vincent,Swaziland,TheGrenadines,ThePhilippines,Trinidad&Tobago,Uganda,UnitedKingdom,UnitedStates,Zambia,andZimbabweEnglishinaGlobalContextManyothercountries,suchasIndiaand