第1页共10页编号：时间：2021年x月x日书山有路勤为径，学海无涯苦作舟页码：第1页共10页WhatisEnglish?HistoryoftheEnglishLanguageAshorthistoryoftheoriginsanddevelopmentofEnglishThehistoryoftheEnglishlanguagereallystartedwiththearrivalofthreeGermanictribeswhoinvadedBritainduringthe5thcenturyAD.Thesetribes,theAngles,theSaxonsandtheJutes,crossedtheNorthSeafromwhattodayisDenmarkandnorthernGermany.AtthattimetheinhabitantsofBritainspokeaCelticlanguage.ButmostoftheCelticspeakerswerepushedwestandnorthbytheinvaders-mainlyintowhatisnowWales,ScotlandandIreland.TheAnglescamefromEnglalandandtheirlanguagewascalledEnglisc-fromwhichthewordsEnglandandEnglisharederived.GermanicinvadersenteredBritainontheeastandsouthcoastsinthe5thcentury.第2页共10页第1页共10页编号：时间：2021年x月x日书山有路勤为径，学海无涯苦作舟页码：第2页共10页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),butitPartofBeowulf,apoemwritteninOldEnglish.AnexampleofMiddleEnglishbyChaucer.第3页共10页第2页共10页编号：时间：2021年x月x日书山有路勤为径，学海无涯苦作舟页码：第3页共10页wouldstillbedifficultfornativeEnglishspeakerstounderstandtoday.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,theIndustrialRevolutionHamlet'sfamous"Tobe,ornottobe"lines,writteninEarlyModernEnglishbyShakespeare.第4页共10页第3页共10页编号：时间：2021年x月x日书山有路勤为径，学海无涯苦作舟页码：第4页共10页andtechnologycreatedaneedfornewwords;secondly,theBritishEmpireatitsheightcoveredonequarteroftheearth'ssurface,andtheEnglishlanguageadoptedforeignwordsfrommanycountries.VarietiesofEnglishFromaround1600,theEnglishcolonizationofNorthAmericaresultedinthecreationofadistinctAmericanvarietyofEnglish.SomeEnglishpronunciationsandwords...
