TA的每日心情 | 开心 2025-2-25 07:26 |
---|
签到天数: 1721 天 [LV.Master]伴坛终老
|
发表于 2015-11-18 17:58:01
|
显示全部楼层
zongyyc纠错专楼
, H. a+ f' r) b+ `20151118
6 K- T! j. E/ H3 T( _* p, t私以为可以将pdf正文前的多篇文章也加入词条,以完善词典的内容,并更好的使用词典。
0 Y, g3 q+ u2 i- J; D# z" \1、Where English comes from1 a( X8 O0 l) g( s, c' f
The English language has existed for hundreds of years.
: A; f5 w' h: gMany words came into English from various European languages.
5 d e+ G7 p; | m7 T$ g$ e8 P- }2 SFor example, St. Augustine and other Latin-speaking
) o0 _" o+ x5 t2 F3 f6 \missionaries to England used such words as bishop and0 g* r$ G v; F# O- n- j
priest. Latin was the language of scholarship and religion.3 ^9 |+ I1 @# M
Wherever Latin scholars, missionaries, and government officials% r# O# {0 m6 ~$ @' L9 @3 c& ]
exerted important influence, Latin words became
, _$ V! p+ `4 R7 c, cknown. When the Scandinavians invaded and settled in Britain,
! z: b" q. H d' Dsome words beginning with sk- were adopted into English.
# {# s3 \+ g, J8 C+ ?2 [, J* BFor example, skill, skirt, and sky. The Scandinavians
" d- f4 [9 b; w' ]+ Talso contributed important pronouns such as their, them,
0 _# S8 |) p& x! R& G xand they. Words of French origin include army, blue, chair,/ l5 z+ Y. k7 W0 v q" c
dinner, government, jolly, mayor, paper, and towel. Balcony,
" o* X' T. m1 ~: J0 w) ?7 spiano, and pizza come from Italy; fiesta and siesta,: S5 k7 F: E" ]- V0 q& O; d
from Spain; orchestra, from Greece; boomerang, from Australia;
! M8 T( H3 w l; K% S4 mvodka, from Russia; and igloo, from the Eskimos.9 F5 G+ q4 M' g
English is always growing and changing. Words constantly+ X1 S. Y$ }3 f6 F
are being added and falling into disuse. Many words that8 _4 m0 Q1 a$ b/ |2 W
you hear, speak, and read today were not part of the language; i8 d, W# ?4 X5 o
your grandparents used. Look in a dictionary published: \+ O. e7 U- g
at that time and you will not find such words as astronaut,
/ i0 X5 w. h. ~' sculture shock, miniskirt, rolamite, and microfiche.+ P x" A* f: l" V
Every time new inventions, scientific discoveries, art forms,6 T' `( ^7 t R2 S- |. k
or fashions appear that do not have names to identify them,# D$ [2 ^3 s2 r, F) y( w, i, [. _
new words must be invented or old words given new applications, R( ]3 ]& B0 S, ?
or taken from other languages.
6 i- j8 h. q9 q# X When words are not used, they become obsolete. Obsolete
# p& i' v& y( B6 v* ^! p$ zwords are included in the dictionary because they are
1 X+ @+ c' c7 z; A" i- Vpart of our history and our culture. You will want to know6 ?5 ]" N/ \& f2 U( z. `9 y' |
what they mean when you read them in old books or hear- i( h6 O7 B9 |. b
them used in plays written a long time ago. Before the automobile4 Y- q! X% `; _% w( C
was a common form of transportation, people traveled/ T" w0 X! X/ x6 c6 ?7 F
in buggies drawn by horses. Now when you hear or& p3 \* D) I) _
see the word buggy you are inclined to think of something9 d; n8 j. ]3 M! ]5 F
old-fashioned or insect-ridden.3 r5 B* L( ]" O9 ?4 y5 e/ M
Many words have changed their meanings. For example,: {% r: p$ V! P( N! r4 X ]
sly and crafty people were once described as "pretty." At
+ _0 P& I% g6 Wone time, when people wanted to picture someone as stupid
' x& l. ~' r6 yand ignorant they referred to that person as "nice." Today,
2 L% F" Q5 a) ^# ~if someone tells us we are "nice" and "pretty," we feel flattered,9 x* U5 t; ]. M- @/ c7 E& s) Z$ T3 |
not insulted.
) S$ Z+ s8 Y: s4 M1 b0 t' X These are only a few of the ways in which language, @( y) v. t& }/ j n8 y1 T
changes and grows. By knowing how words become part of
6 p# S4 u7 K& y; Q) N' V3 O1 Fa language, you discover important clues to social, political,
3 N7 o, ~! d6 Q8 [and cultural changes that take place in the history of a: E5 n0 ~5 t. B) \6 X
country using that language.% t, c$ c5 E9 ]6 {6 [% O# T
The story of how English originated is a fascinating one.
% \# v& t4 r0 ]0 C- {5 X; X: q
" U, a) f" B/ c; W/ l5 L& _How English began
$ g4 t6 E- |( d9 zEnglish comes from a common ancestral language believed) A7 x+ ^1 C# a5 J0 B
to have existed a very long time ago. It has been called- G9 y5 j, s0 d" j/ ^
Indo-European. About 4,500 years ago, the people who
2 P) J, N% }1 i) L- r% P- nspoke varying forms of this language split into groups that
* d1 O2 m+ `; p4 {7 \; V% {drifted into Europe and parts of Asia. Different speech communities( W) s- M6 q0 r# q! z
developed within these widespread groups eventually u1 F; h* [6 S0 Q! ?
giving rise to several languages including Latin, from# U D# E6 y$ W' _7 C8 z/ I! g
which many of the languages spoken in Europe today developed.9 X8 g4 \/ c0 @
One group of Indo-European languages is known as
' @ o' s4 M+ [' E7 m. N' MGermanic, and this is the primary parent language of English: W0 s8 w! P6 ]3 C
and German.9 X$ b1 }; [2 N
Warrior-adventurers, who spoke Germanic, invaded what
2 f p* |8 }# q! ~is now Great Britain about A.D. 450. The invaders—called
T+ T# E! @' MAngles, Saxons, and Jutes—all spoke similar dialects. The
, F; {' x$ F3 s2 ^& @, jpeople they conquered, known as Britons, spoke Celtic. The) t! N$ N( i* V! r- j
Celtic language included Latin words because conquering
# V/ N/ v x( U8 T8 X0 g! C" HRoman troops occupied Britain from A.D. 43 until the 400's.- v% k( X# o2 {5 a
The troops had to return home to defend Rome against invading
2 N: R N; ]5 Q8 Y2 I# Earmies. The Germanic tribes conquered Britain after7 C/ j4 j, G' B5 m: d
the Romans left.
+ p/ I3 W+ D- e3 o8 K As the invading tribes took over and settled in Britain, the* R& Z6 m" [& F, Y5 C! c/ @ N# i/ u
Celtic languages gradually retreated. Since the Celtic people
2 x, `- [0 f# ?2 @4 A2 _: N7 _were forced to communicate with their rulers, the history of- h8 B. M# W) Q9 @
the English language begins with the take-over of Britain by3 M8 M1 s6 a& P
the Germanic tribes. As a result, Celtic made only a small
) [& J+ `3 I; I1 _* u, ~contribution to the English vocabulary with words such as
- _. w* ]- I0 p) }crag and bin. However, many place names were adopted1 k1 s# P% S2 Y f! ?8 X5 R
from the Celtic. Among them are Avon, Kent, London,
2 ?; M+ w* G6 V9 P; w+ M/ MOuse, and Thames. Small groups of people living in Ireland,
/ n- m& r' G/ W% KWales, and the Scottish Highlands still speak varieties of Celtic6 S/ U$ f2 e/ f
such as Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Breton, and recently
/ Y3 ^- L% Y$ Z- `( K0 A+ qrevived Irish.1 z3 n" W2 E) h, D% [) V3 d' g
7 f# ~- t9 E# h/ b: b
Old English0 ?5 U0 d& i3 N5 ]- x
The Angles and Saxons occupied a large part of Britain. The
0 y( s9 g3 c r2 S) Nname of one of the former tribes eventually became the0 L& q( k/ T6 Q" S A, C( T2 @+ b
name of the land they occupied, England. The Anglo-Saxon$ |# f3 i: C' r# |# A
language, now usually called Old English, became firmly established
5 o( V* T7 h) D1 @5 {- d" S5 Hin Britain in the period from the A.D. 500's to 1066.
. O! S: h' T8 e! ] Even as this happened, changes were taking place. Latinspeaking1 ?# Y) P8 w* i" W
Roman and Celtic missionaries under St. Augustine,& d1 E- c+ ]' c" _4 K @
began spreading Christianity in Britain. The introduction of
6 d: B- Q+ V% ]Christianity exerted a great impact on the English language./ a8 q: l0 M, d5 h! v
Religion brought with it many new ideas and customs. And
6 f. l" `: U& M8 N$ qChristianity used Latin. In their attempt to identify and deal$ ]2 ^" C3 ^* N, G
with all these new ideas and customs, the Anglo-Saxons did
$ w; D- }! u# e! |not hesitate to borrow from Latin the special vocabulary" o1 f/ f6 @6 e3 }9 e
needed for the new religious life. Among the words taken
/ g! }1 u' X1 o4 r D# zfrom Church Latin which still survive are:! {0 ~ W( ~/ m
# T5 z2 c% X8 s& h# Y4 J7 w8 ~Latin Old English Modern English
* m* N( ]% @/ qabbatis abbod abbot
, n' Z5 |: E s5 G- @$ wcandela candel candle6 `0 F% q' ~; I- U/ P n
altare altar altar
6 l, b; l, I! \8 I$ A# Damen amen amen
+ Z6 j& W; I" A6 s$ l( eapostolus apostol apostle
; V+ I* k( F8 H$ s& t; J
" _# T$ P4 M$ G However, users of Old English did not borrow as heavily' H( E7 Q& G( q
from Latin and other languages in this period as they did/ X7 w. s9 m) Z( H' n: J
later when there was greater communication with the Continent.
0 ]0 c4 L) o: Z: O( i4 Y- x1 PSometimes they changed the meanings of native
/ H. t+ {0 w2 S1 ewords. The word for Easter (eastron) originally was the8 O7 }* U, q' Y$ K; F/ e1 b
name for the spring festival honoring the goddess of dawn.
% ?# J# i( F3 l6 N3 \Ceol (Yule), the name of the festival held to celebrate the) b( q2 \! k. D
passing of the shortest day of the year, came to denote+ d5 F& h/ z3 g2 S
Christmas.$ v' D! I$ j. D6 G0 W9 P
Native ingenuity was shown in creating new words by# |" W1 ~( f. N9 h, M8 N1 L5 e
combining two native words in much the same way as we
8 ?1 Q8 l8 ]1 i$ Unow combine words such as space and worthy to form, D% _2 G5 X* `9 O, i, ~/ q
spaceworthy. Old English words such as Icececraft (leechcraft),
6 U9 J1 ~' `0 r; d! t9 {5 y4 K6 [meaning medicine, and handboc (handbook), meaning& i" l4 t7 D7 j/ D* `9 R' v
manual, illustrate this practice.% ?- t3 C5 F8 B% p" ~
The growth of the Old English vocabulary during this, a4 A1 s# x1 r" Z
period of language history reflects the growth of English culture.0 `9 i* i; j6 |$ K" k8 r
Because of the Church's influence, scholarship was encouraged
~6 {1 W9 u" g5 Y. @and Britain began its rise as one of the intellectual
: f" n3 V' r4 r! _3 B Sleaders of Europe.% N$ }# e( A$ e1 ^% k1 ?3 X8 G7 L
Toward the end of the 700's, hardy Vikings from Denmark,
) f6 m7 W* @% T% T! iNorway, and Sweden began invading and settling in3 m. L5 j7 _/ H) \- V
many parts of Britain. By the 1000's, a Danish king ruled
: o( l2 U9 }/ d3 e9 ABritain. As a result of the invasions from the Danish peninsula,8 G I: T! f3 I% Q2 ~* z
many Scandinavian words became part of English.
0 ]/ N1 \5 W; P. m) lThese did not identify new ideas and objects. They were everyday
2 \* M' b& W" w9 Qwords for which the English already had terms and expressions.
- W, a& |7 M; V3 `4 _. M1 u Why did the Scandinavian words exist side by side with& t! ?' D" i, p$ G. S/ ^$ g
English words instead of replacing them? The Scandinavian8 y+ G% |+ m3 l7 B
invaders were Germanic people like the Anglo-Saxons. Their
9 K( q' T4 ^+ G4 m4 Dcultures were similar and their languages enough alike so
; J! _" u( S. K/ G4 S0 }that they understood one another. Many words were exactly1 H+ U9 X+ ^) L3 h) a) _5 ~
alike, such as father, husband, house, life, man, mother,& L$ K; D1 c8 H( b/ m4 r* |. a
summer, wife, and winter. Other words were so much alike
~/ P g, X$ J2 E5 o9 u' Pthey were used interchangeably.. L1 K# N w( @' c& I% W
Although the Scandinavians and the English fought each
9 s# c/ m) I, e) V. P! l4 O! d, K+ V/ D' Yother, many Scandinavians settled peacefully in Britain, married) b7 t" B6 P/ M( R7 {
English women, and raised families. Often both languages3 n) C8 @5 z. V. y& ?
were spoken in the same household. Where different
% k- X- {( U" r2 |! twords existed for the same thing, the Old English word usually
% r. _& u" v) I% e, ywon out, but there were some exceptions. The results of9 J G6 e0 |8 c; e
this absorption of language through close contact is seen in
. |. C' W% z6 h8 C. Pthe histories of such words from Scandinavia as skirt, skill,8 e4 s: R7 L# l
window, leg, gasp, birth, glitter, they, their, them, egg.4 ?( }5 i0 U+ N1 C
Scholars believe that at least 900 words of Scandinavian& d% v3 M1 l8 X7 v* F9 C2 l3 Q8 ?
origin have survived in modern Standard English. Many9 h0 `5 L5 N+ \3 S, X
more are still in use in Great Britain. They are found in dialects
; V2 W% o* l, F- ~" x* G' cspoken in regions heavily settled by the Swedes,
6 ~ |2 R) \% H# qDanes, and Norse in those early days.# }: i7 L# m5 W
" V( u+ r/ D4 ]# X3 QMiddle English0 A5 a' H `% {# ?' z+ T; q* O
Old English began to undergo a great change when the Normans
- R9 |9 g. ~7 U. I3 Yinvaded England from France in 1066. Until then, in
* W& Q' |1 p! G: g W# N Nspite of the Latin brought in by the introduction of Christianity,0 i/ r4 a- n( B/ Y% |! H, `
the influence on English was overwhelmingly Germanic.; R% \1 U" }" W. M0 Z( T8 d$ O" @+ d3 [$ T+ {
The Normans began a process that brought many5 f$ y- J% @3 w7 }2 L8 k/ n
French words into the English language. They replaced the7 [+ P5 ]! n( O @
English as rulers, chief landholders, and church officials and
& {. p8 V2 {1 C+ x- Z+ zNorman-French became the language of the ruling class.6 ^) H( M: ^$ Y D, W5 @9 d
However, the common people continued to speak English.
3 e- m* w1 B3 m( D& z H Norman-French and Old,English existed side by side until1 F9 L/ B1 x: b9 E3 T
political and social changes began to favor the use of English8 ?9 i( n0 {- {, ~2 j
by all classes. The Normans lost control of their territory in
8 y1 J Q5 Q; i/ dFrance in the early 1200's. Confined to Britain, the Normans2 G1 m9 h: l( i& N( q
began to learn English. Eventually, it replaced French as the0 I& l8 B) `: h L: V+ ?
language of the ruling class, the schools, and the courts. By0 i R8 d% f+ U. z
the end of what is known as the Middle English period- u# }: e% e: @' [1 K
(1100-1500), English again had established itself as the major
+ \% V; N9 f# Klanguage in Britain.+ N+ ^# F) V' R* W! [! Y
During this period, English continued to borrow words8 K% K7 U/ q2 T4 B& T c
from French and from Latin. In the English we now speak,+ b' y' z2 s; C/ Y% d5 f
more than half of the words in common use come from
' s/ o/ ~8 i- p+ Z9 @7 K& ~these two sources. Many words from Old English and Anglo-$ M/ z0 }0 O9 B# Q4 T- a7 j) K
French that are roughly synonymous exist side by side today.
% Q5 v6 Z: N- s( TFor example, dress and clothes, aid and help, royal
) ?8 q W% ^& A" sand kingly. In addition, trade between Britain and the Low! {$ W) y2 L( v& \: h$ u
Countries, especially Holland, accounts for the inclusion of9 C8 d. I6 |1 {9 t
perhaps as many as 2,500 words of Dutch origin in the English9 }5 \* T0 X$ S% y" X
language. Some examples are: boom (at the bottom of a2 p% R& R3 ~. S, O' @
sail), deck, easel, etch, freight, furlough, and stoop (porch1 V+ I F, a$ R
or entrance).
! C1 X- T) \5 h7 m# }2 r" T Before the Norman invasion, a great change in English! [! _1 l0 P; @# O$ J! F
was beginning to shift grammatical and pronunciation patterns.
$ }1 ]$ y/ o, `" j& tHowever, the coming of the Normans accelerated
4 s4 D- U1 Q8 Z9 s) Athese changes. Everyday use, growth of dialects, and contact k% E6 ?% R) z
with foreign languages caused inflections (word endings) to6 {# J: p2 }/ i: ^- P% N( `
lose their distinctive meanings and their usefulness. Instead5 q" c" _3 s1 N( P
of depending on word endings to give exact meaning to a
5 p: d: N2 I5 m3 v1 S/ l& fsentence, as had been the case in Old English, word order
# G0 j$ z7 l% Z; u2 `# Nbecame the important indicator.$ e3 @0 v# N0 P8 D
In Old English, for example, To his J>eowum se feeder cwaeoK
% J$ H! d' `$ ?; p! }meaning "The father said to his servants" or "To his servants
( Q, r* U' b# s1 [the father said," would have the same meaning no matter' \) u$ s1 [ x; a4 v
how the words were placed in the sentence. The -urn0 h$ b9 a9 O0 F' J% f$ l, I
ending on beow(um) would always indicate who was being3 A& }5 B4 d2 B4 m: m% S
spoken to. In modern English, if we shift word order to
! `# k" S2 l0 Wmake the sentence read " His servants said to the father,": H9 s$ w+ v' h2 F* ~' V1 L6 E
the meaning would be quite different.
2 E" n# _7 m8 U8 r# y1 ` English still retains some inflections, including plurals and/ E$ q6 T1 y8 y9 e$ U, K* w
the verb endings. But Middle English had far fewer inflections0 J1 W) f% M0 G; ~0 i1 j5 C
than Old English.
1 B; u& U. B2 w! f( u. o a7 o; e- s. M( B, \( L. u# Q
Modern English
; W1 e) I& @& G% A3 k* EThe Modern English period, starting about 1500, has been1 W# u% B5 \7 Z/ ^! I
concerned for the most part with regulating and standardizing7 o$ R8 O0 B5 K' ?
the language. But attempts to fix English into a permanent2 S& O9 L8 w/ Q$ N
form failed. The way a language is used gives it life,
% H' o5 _6 _) Y; wand usage produces change.! O0 F2 G# O4 o4 p( c2 n6 o, F2 b
However, fixing a language and freezing its usages into a
9 F" R# W' _! v* T3 d( Oform that tolerates no change is different from trying to
, [, J' P1 a0 L8 S- H+ kstandardize its spelling so that communication between inhabitants6 [& T) O3 V, V' T# s
of various regions of the country is easy and effective.
s3 _2 t' K4 A# m: n Several factors contributed to establishing Standard English3 w9 x5 b! g# p
spelling and some forms of usage and many of the traits that
2 X' @9 ~0 K: c5 @/ Mexist in modern English. These factors included the introduction
U% S3 ]' t. x1 h& I u tof the printing press into England in 1477 by William
! l* V! u: _5 ECaxton, the revival of interest in literature, and the growth of! H; w9 h' m7 y: k
popular education.
- g" ?" a. ^2 D( } The need for standardization was recognized as early as
$ k4 }: D+ T0 F- Y/ R: v8 l" e, Hthe mid-1300's. From that time, the London dialect (East y9 r4 u& G; S6 i. m7 ~
Midland) was gradually adopted from the four main dialects0 E8 c- X# A- t4 E0 P
in existence (Northern, East and West Midland, and Southern)
2 \4 q$ Q% |* x' Kas the basis for Standard English. The choice was made
5 l8 g- ~( R. O/ V8 Lbecause the London dialect was the language of contracts' t/ |3 d- G# Q8 t1 N) Y
and commerce and the speech of the ruling court. All official& W( Q/ x1 x8 B
documents originating there were written in the London
$ n% h& B5 [& pdialect. Furthermore, the translation of the Book of Common! |/ m( N+ d- _
Prayer and the King James version of the Bible became tremendous* @/ b- b/ ?6 B5 C/ b
forces for elevated English.
/ ?& i1 Q& D9 k* ^$ k Before Caxton, literary works were written for the most
% o" \: t" L8 h8 [8 cpart in the dialect of the author. Spoken dialects continued: Q/ f3 {2 z! j, C2 y+ a
for a long time and, indeed, still exist. But, by the end of the; d0 H/ z% P* X+ V6 I1 c4 I
1400's, the London dialect was becoming accepted literary2 w* i7 I$ I* S" y8 U2 E. G: p
usage.1 @* @/ k* |. Z2 c; Z
By the early part of the 1600's, more than 20,000 different$ R# n9 G) x5 ~* E
works were printed in England alone. Books were available
( ?4 D/ n. V! V1 {to all who could read and afford them. The printed
( S( O1 A$ e2 g& `! Pword helped to make spelling more uniform. Up until that
! @$ N) s$ L: [+ _4 ktime spelling usually varied from region to region.
5 {1 S/ B7 V8 e( A From the 1500's through the 1700's, many writers experimented3 s/ d! k+ _0 M3 e
with words. Over 10,000 new words entered the
) B) n7 @! q# u% ~& J& nEnglish language. Many of these were taken from Latin and2 a* O" B4 n: ^) v
Greek by scholars who wanted to replace the forms earlier3 q8 B C0 O% b% x, Q5 N7 X9 C2 X
adopted from French. Translators and writers believed the
0 ~0 d# N; |# I$ l1 b& c" {language was rough, unpolished, and incapable of doing
# d( }: m7 z( a- `, ~1 Z Cwhat Latin and Greek had done, and what Italian could do.
4 L7 F" j& ^* l/ xThey set about enlarging the vocabulary, chiefly by translating* a: @4 u4 g' S0 c
words from Greek and Latin. More than twenty-five per
9 Z0 s) @: {3 A% _cent of modern English words come almost directly from
! v$ [( ]$ q5 i3 p" U& |classical languages. Very often we have two words that go [, c! y8 U2 I: s
back to the same Latin original—one brought in by the Normans,
9 l) u: g/ [+ O. J* ]$ kand one taken in directly. For example, words such as8 g. f, f# H% d1 t O& K3 a
paint and picture, certainty and certitude. The adoption of
- _( H8 f3 L0 Z. ~. i7 _Greek and Latin forms became so abundant and so outrageous
' A' p l1 i3 \* [: o3 jthat many of these borrowings were dubbed "inkhorn
4 r- j2 l* d6 ?terms" because of their bookishness. However, some of
9 q- c+ l% z4 D- e, A' qthese terms were useful and necessary and they have survived
4 [* O# e+ Z6 ]9 p8 Z/ Uto this day. Among them are conduct, dexterity, extinguish,, @1 H0 J, c9 S' v: b
scientific, and spurious.7 Q, |5 y8 l: s* @: h# p) O
' G; i. W- f0 B9 {5 s
American and British English; l; [! `1 }- l8 N" B) e
After the British colonized America, the English language( D, C( p8 W. y; z6 a$ t2 w
used by Americans began to change from that in the old- D* B: ]0 m+ {9 T7 p
country. The biggest factor in this change involved the need) m P" I& j* W! }+ l; ]. c
to create or adopt words to identify unfamiliar objects. Animals,
2 H0 Q8 r8 j' t0 `3 \/ [trees, food, and the physical features of the land were
9 ^3 v a* y8 g! M, c: R6 }) H8 Zdifferent. The Americans took words from the Indians to
$ s7 I/ q+ p) }5 m6 h* Gidentify a raccoon, a tomahawk, a papoose, and a wigwam.
& s) v; ?5 V; HWhen there were no appropriate words, they did what their& b: \- {5 {1 _; @% S0 X
ancestors had done. They combined words and gave them
0 }' T5 p7 T6 V& Pnew meanings. The combination of garter and snake produced1 q$ D8 S$ v9 s4 S
a word to describe a crawling creature they had
" ?$ E+ |8 ]5 }6 s* Inever seen before. They named the sweet, edible root of a$ s: q. N& T7 B* G$ R# F
vine belonging to the morning-glory family, sweet potato.) i' X2 v* D" t
They adapted from the Narraganset Indians the name for the) J3 f2 k" ~/ }0 ]' _! R4 a' Q! e
fruit of a plant of the gourd family, the squash.
' M7 d( y2 y$ g, X: j S The growth of American nationalism led to a desire for
$ c& Z! Z6 S. x4 rcultural as well as political independence from the mother
& q! M& Z& O& l3 {9 M6 Zcountry. This, too, influenced American English, as in conscious @3 M6 ]* u. ~" b
attempts to reform spelling so that in time, musick! j y+ Y( V. P& s% ~6 c- A
became music, and labour became labor. New ideas in the
' _$ R9 i9 j/ y3 ]' c+ ^% }4 {2 qarts and sciences and the coming to America of people from0 @, V( a7 A. D0 z, I- A
many different countries had a powerful effect on American6 [2 v- f0 _/ B/ Y
English.8 B( B l! R9 t
Changes have not been so extensive that we speak a new
+ j$ [( o) X3 r2 A8 T$ llanguage. Many Americans may not know that when an( L( b# W/ g2 g1 l0 y( \4 y
Englishman says fitment he means an alteration, and that4 I6 \0 x& T6 x! x/ D0 n# h2 P
the British goods wagon is the American freight car. But, for
* _# ?( }) H; f9 ^2 F7 Uthe most part, Americans and Britons communicate easily
* T+ p4 \' B( b0 V" G$ jbecause grammatical and phonetic patterns have not8 F( r) | e+ J# [. X1 _; k
changed, though many words or lexical content are different.
& K& o$ n }- U8 x1 z* E5 o The gap between American and British English has
" U b3 B: `: z# gbecome smaller in recent times, especially with the great increases
+ w/ X) }8 U, ?in the ease of transportation and communication.
5 A3 v( ^; K) N& x7 v' x/ a) nNeither the Americans nor the British have any qualms2 Q: w; V: |' R- ]" V N5 y
about appropriating words from other languages when they3 g8 x5 H7 @+ i1 e, Z2 r m2 v1 f3 s
express concepts better than native words can. The British
& \2 o) W7 g( N1 hhave taken American words such as telephone, jazz, and
3 t5 T0 Z3 E7 Utypewriter. Americans take words from many languages.
) K$ E6 N, Z v1 E English has also changed in other countries where it is& }6 D5 }% {3 H+ C
used. Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, and others
3 o9 K; `3 b4 d$ `# o7 \have adapted English to fit their own needs. Although all
0 _' N/ |2 r1 u- v/ bEnglish-speaking people can generally understand each' {% k0 K. ^$ R/ ?2 B) w
other, each English-speaking country has developed distinctive* D$ p% @& O" T! h
ways of using the language. For example, New Zealanders
6 S. R$ k t4 K' Y+ }1 c9 krefer to a section (a building lot in a city), Australians to0 P- ~' X3 b( p
a mob (a group of animals), and Canadians to a chesterfield* C3 _. t. Y5 C) \) h
(an overstuffed sofa).
! A1 `* y) K2 z% R( d As long as travel and trade exist between nations, as long4 F6 A2 L, n' g7 E: F* Y& d* z1 x
as large groups of people continue to settle in countries6 M$ Y/ _% L' e4 f$ e& I
other than their native lands, and as long as the sciences
; S9 F3 d2 E l& i/ w( d$ Hand the arts progress, new ideas, new words, and new usages# L' l# p9 @( B
of words will continue to keep language changing and
; ~6 G! S' q+ l* H3 f5 m0 Ogrowing. |
|