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6 j2 C1 ? J9 L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。. W6 Z1 G# w3 E! f" v
1、Where English comes from
9 H3 V S% F/ W# }, f3 s2 ~The English language has existed for hundreds of years.. G L; S% ^4 s
Many words came into English from various European languages.; q+ W( c0 o2 _8 I O
For example, St. Augustine and other Latin-speaking* n0 Y6 ^% q# l
missionaries to England used such words as bishop and
# d# E$ L7 I! w) _5 D; Spriest. Latin was the language of scholarship and religion.
# `0 J6 W6 K i- [& _- sWherever Latin scholars, missionaries, and government officials7 @# \: _1 H8 B, T
exerted important influence, Latin words became' \1 ]' b- z2 c+ o- L
known. When the Scandinavians invaded and settled in Britain,( q. q" }3 F& c+ s
some words beginning with sk- were adopted into English.
3 t: x2 a# E9 _$ V9 ^. h) `For example, skill, skirt, and sky. The Scandinavians& d5 f% h1 j' u* }- s w0 }
also contributed important pronouns such as their, them,- Y+ a: }1 P) a
and they. Words of French origin include army, blue, chair,
6 Q, I& h3 x' d, |, f% @; C, ?' Adinner, government, jolly, mayor, paper, and towel. Balcony,% b' E0 u: I6 U1 U' J' L
piano, and pizza come from Italy; fiesta and siesta,
! G( K5 a' h1 O) ?8 \ V* h) ffrom Spain; orchestra, from Greece; boomerang, from Australia;$ k+ f$ v" v/ P; ?6 s2 S
vodka, from Russia; and igloo, from the Eskimos.$ L, Z8 t! |1 r7 z" Z$ `- u
English is always growing and changing. Words constantly9 H# U% @* h |1 G+ }
are being added and falling into disuse. Many words that
7 @# W+ w; ~' R$ |- M G$ ^. |" jyou hear, speak, and read today were not part of the language
9 Z+ e. ^1 z; i/ a, G7 x2 dyour grandparents used. Look in a dictionary published
, V6 Z5 F% y$ X: O6 V. }at that time and you will not find such words as astronaut,
* A. @0 _3 r' }& zculture shock, miniskirt, rolamite, and microfiche.) u; Z6 I8 u( M* V9 X
Every time new inventions, scientific discoveries, art forms,
( h' l! S5 a- t, H1 Vor fashions appear that do not have names to identify them,- y0 j. {! N& ^
new words must be invented or old words given new applications, m9 ?8 h+ a( Q8 O" P7 j, k: X
or taken from other languages.
. ]0 b3 n- c. x4 s4 i M7 X( b* G When words are not used, they become obsolete. Obsolete
j$ t) b( P! a. U" Y" Nwords are included in the dictionary because they are- o' u7 T9 Y( Y/ a0 S/ e
part of our history and our culture. You will want to know R& ~+ e: a. r, a. g1 [; r% ]2 a) w; x: ~
what they mean when you read them in old books or hear" T( J0 e2 t! }
them used in plays written a long time ago. Before the automobile
0 M5 N2 S8 s r, @was a common form of transportation, people traveled
7 V4 P- t# y, n, C3 b q! _in buggies drawn by horses. Now when you hear or
1 o- o% E0 K; u) rsee the word buggy you are inclined to think of something
' Y$ T4 j/ O/ l3 k6 Xold-fashioned or insect-ridden.
! p2 C, s# |% |5 a Many words have changed their meanings. For example,& _0 u+ d% u4 V8 x
sly and crafty people were once described as "pretty." At% x: K/ u6 ^, n; ]5 C! y1 f( U, ^
one time, when people wanted to picture someone as stupid8 s/ s9 ]4 [( D, u
and ignorant they referred to that person as "nice." Today,
; o' \: t9 b* tif someone tells us we are "nice" and "pretty," we feel flattered,/ ~% e. n+ }+ @) T$ g' v8 C
not insulted.# B4 V) A7 E& k* C" l, a
These are only a few of the ways in which language
3 `. v/ H# X- `, F; V$ r7 {changes and grows. By knowing how words become part of
% @4 p; ^+ b( i. [a language, you discover important clues to social, political,
; b' }2 q: a9 m8 w8 |and cultural changes that take place in the history of a4 k+ w, H+ ^2 q$ ]5 v5 Y3 V
country using that language.
0 T. E& ~. a! | The story of how English originated is a fascinating one.& j9 q; `1 w" R& w2 g2 n
2 v/ x) d* p; R5 d% q% J- k2 E3 U
How English began1 l9 z$ z: m7 s
English comes from a common ancestral language believed( T* C1 C# C: p1 d: b% W% m
to have existed a very long time ago. It has been called; n* o% t* y- _5 Y
Indo-European. About 4,500 years ago, the people who$ H' ]7 }5 t t, c% x6 ]
spoke varying forms of this language split into groups that1 Y& c. b1 S3 G
drifted into Europe and parts of Asia. Different speech communities
2 i$ Q+ {) t+ N! Z# ?developed within these widespread groups eventually1 v: ?, w3 I/ |0 d
giving rise to several languages including Latin, from
* t9 P4 C) r4 D' G# u8 ]which many of the languages spoken in Europe today developed.. `( D P% E% n$ H$ J
One group of Indo-European languages is known as
: R j( e7 q. f- bGermanic, and this is the primary parent language of English
/ @1 r8 H0 N2 xand German.
0 V, t: L. a$ v7 Q Warrior-adventurers, who spoke Germanic, invaded what* a; s* v. {9 y. S0 U
is now Great Britain about A.D. 450. The invaders—called6 v3 t$ H; \8 D
Angles, Saxons, and Jutes—all spoke similar dialects. The/ ~( l; x3 D! e! L
people they conquered, known as Britons, spoke Celtic. The% Y/ H' a. C/ k! m2 l" K
Celtic language included Latin words because conquering
" _9 t* ?2 _( X! @Roman troops occupied Britain from A.D. 43 until the 400's.; G" S( l4 j- Q
The troops had to return home to defend Rome against invading- w6 a6 R* W8 L9 ]
armies. The Germanic tribes conquered Britain after- ^7 y4 R; l+ K* a9 z
the Romans left.; N5 ~/ C3 @. q5 I! _" r
As the invading tribes took over and settled in Britain, the: `, ?0 A( e' y# v+ m
Celtic languages gradually retreated. Since the Celtic people9 D* O& v+ _* C# T1 `+ b8 u; \
were forced to communicate with their rulers, the history of3 \3 S% X5 D; J
the English language begins with the take-over of Britain by
2 _* W; ]1 a$ P0 Jthe Germanic tribes. As a result, Celtic made only a small7 z' X8 }( ?; r$ i; ~' K" C
contribution to the English vocabulary with words such as
% ^! u+ b9 [: Y$ u/ V4 x9 {/ \9 }crag and bin. However, many place names were adopted
8 x J6 O, Z7 |$ Z- f6 |" jfrom the Celtic. Among them are Avon, Kent, London,. f7 u# g4 [" s0 C
Ouse, and Thames. Small groups of people living in Ireland,( e( B3 V. g2 R( s
Wales, and the Scottish Highlands still speak varieties of Celtic* y, a' j2 }2 |* ^4 l
such as Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Breton, and recently5 n- S m+ j( X3 v* U k6 T T
revived Irish.
$ V" r) [6 Z+ G( f/ X
' d5 o% t1 W, V& N; N' eOld English
3 F# S& _0 i% Q+ Y c3 R$ ?" F- }The Angles and Saxons occupied a large part of Britain. The! P f# y7 |' O% I
name of one of the former tribes eventually became the0 o. f( I+ T9 ]. G2 \
name of the land they occupied, England. The Anglo-Saxon( C3 n$ Y r+ s) z, P
language, now usually called Old English, became firmly established
, J4 h9 J5 S1 Z Y9 {/ Y* o. Win Britain in the period from the A.D. 500's to 1066.
- Q$ f4 c8 u5 V6 m y7 ? Even as this happened, changes were taking place. Latinspeaking
# z4 i6 k; B( dRoman and Celtic missionaries under St. Augustine,. g( L: S* I, i% A% U; Q
began spreading Christianity in Britain. The introduction of
5 @% p# m' Z4 i" x/ N; }8 o" iChristianity exerted a great impact on the English language.9 S2 {) w4 s1 w5 m4 p' d+ h8 e+ f8 g& c
Religion brought with it many new ideas and customs. And+ |2 P! g' m, x- C: x! [
Christianity used Latin. In their attempt to identify and deal9 F8 y+ R+ |8 W' R. H0 [- k
with all these new ideas and customs, the Anglo-Saxons did
5 ?5 `, Y% l! i3 jnot hesitate to borrow from Latin the special vocabulary% y/ E$ v a- N% M; i9 C
needed for the new religious life. Among the words taken! u, D% P# k$ x& G |$ s$ r
from Church Latin which still survive are:$ k" Y O) T" ?8 Z* l
7 a/ L% o9 Y0 h! F/ v: Q
Latin Old English Modern English
* L$ t1 m$ f: wabbatis abbod abbot
0 Y5 v- f6 c- o8 g) @. T* ncandela candel candle
9 o1 ` f( z* ]& o1 saltare altar altar0 ]. M$ N5 j' D5 D! Y; T
amen amen amen
1 J }3 o9 _) l- H% V& W. hapostolus apostol apostle4 t0 }' h3 M6 h
( ]' \9 A. y) @7 e However, users of Old English did not borrow as heavily, {- T. W. E6 u4 S% x; l: @
from Latin and other languages in this period as they did- c- c* J+ }- A, A
later when there was greater communication with the Continent.) I; M& o6 g. m7 k) L7 `1 B! ?1 ~
Sometimes they changed the meanings of native7 o: K+ i/ n' j; d) C- r- D; j4 t
words. The word for Easter (eastron) originally was the! b- s( h9 |9 k* b
name for the spring festival honoring the goddess of dawn.4 B- p) s7 T @8 G$ z
Ceol (Yule), the name of the festival held to celebrate the
4 A2 p2 C- i$ P( u: z: Bpassing of the shortest day of the year, came to denote$ Z8 m0 C( [4 e8 T
Christmas.. f$ c/ G9 y2 J
Native ingenuity was shown in creating new words by
: C, t5 O: A3 c7 T' ^+ `combining two native words in much the same way as we
~- `* t- }* m# b, L" fnow combine words such as space and worthy to form
( d/ N" M6 S) c8 H1 a. sspaceworthy. Old English words such as Icececraft (leechcraft), q, K- B$ E6 ]8 H
meaning medicine, and handboc (handbook), meaning
7 h, X! _4 g1 k* r, P: C( c3 Imanual, illustrate this practice./ G$ ~* z0 F1 b7 U/ w% D Q
The growth of the Old English vocabulary during this& I4 Q5 N; D: l
period of language history reflects the growth of English culture.
8 R) X' _+ T/ L% ~5 k6 p* TBecause of the Church's influence, scholarship was encouraged
7 b) \7 { T& d4 s; U% gand Britain began its rise as one of the intellectual
0 ^. B, T T/ v# }) n7 @) cleaders of Europe.
1 @6 h! Z, u* | Toward the end of the 700's, hardy Vikings from Denmark,
# ^: f5 e5 V$ o$ _0 ] g( MNorway, and Sweden began invading and settling in
1 w9 Q. O* m0 e, j2 l2 F# Hmany parts of Britain. By the 1000's, a Danish king ruled
" {6 E% i7 R0 b- L# |; h" |" ?! ?/ `Britain. As a result of the invasions from the Danish peninsula,
6 A5 ?% k! x* B& ~' R$ ^many Scandinavian words became part of English.
: H9 J* L7 L4 \% }4 M5 bThese did not identify new ideas and objects. They were everyday9 z" l A$ r; y
words for which the English already had terms and expressions.5 F; U9 e0 k$ ]+ [5 N) t
Why did the Scandinavian words exist side by side with8 s/ t6 Y7 ^: b" `1 h, z$ }
English words instead of replacing them? The Scandinavian( ?8 Y8 O1 K5 ]& W$ ]- m
invaders were Germanic people like the Anglo-Saxons. Their
6 v2 x9 g' F3 Q0 pcultures were similar and their languages enough alike so! O2 |: L/ D$ ?" I" ]; [
that they understood one another. Many words were exactly, ^# |* i# M. H l, G
alike, such as father, husband, house, life, man, mother,
$ v/ ?! W& W& I# L1 dsummer, wife, and winter. Other words were so much alike
% E7 E# \+ ?3 f7 v) wthey were used interchangeably.
0 ^8 W. ]% _3 n Although the Scandinavians and the English fought each
$ E6 j: a/ g9 t- kother, many Scandinavians settled peacefully in Britain, married
1 Q( h! G5 l* U# N) s4 M f5 dEnglish women, and raised families. Often both languages4 W! K9 B8 l0 D! [0 V" P
were spoken in the same household. Where different" R2 x* l# k! K: Z; b' W v S+ T
words existed for the same thing, the Old English word usually& g+ z9 `2 |) o& f* h0 v) _$ h* V
won out, but there were some exceptions. The results of+ j+ h% D+ f( P# q# p. E
this absorption of language through close contact is seen in
) U9 E9 N# x. Othe histories of such words from Scandinavia as skirt, skill,4 `6 @$ p9 o6 G+ p
window, leg, gasp, birth, glitter, they, their, them, egg.
+ c# K9 L, K$ e, l" D* ~ Scholars believe that at least 900 words of Scandinavian
, H# C$ p! E4 |; z1 |: Rorigin have survived in modern Standard English. Many& \1 H7 b* R8 p
more are still in use in Great Britain. They are found in dialects
3 d$ f" y" T; }spoken in regions heavily settled by the Swedes,
# V8 Y+ U6 b& T# D3 FDanes, and Norse in those early days.* n. u$ s# Z! U3 Q& y- b
) [* K. n ]9 kMiddle English3 I+ z( \' g# w: i. E
Old English began to undergo a great change when the Normans. ?! s& }; K/ p: q& B
invaded England from France in 1066. Until then, in5 z) M/ Z# Z; f* \( v
spite of the Latin brought in by the introduction of Christianity,, a* }4 N4 x0 t. d
the influence on English was overwhelmingly Germanic.
3 H( A7 ~% j; ?, h& ~The Normans began a process that brought many
2 ~7 r: Q Q' C o* H8 ZFrench words into the English language. They replaced the# J, q7 @( p8 _3 H
English as rulers, chief landholders, and church officials and; w6 n, o O1 Y% L* q& n
Norman-French became the language of the ruling class.) u2 V1 I3 v% |( V+ y- ^
However, the common people continued to speak English.) `$ b# ?. _: z7 K. \
Norman-French and Old,English existed side by side until
0 F" f: p q0 q" T$ a/ N2 C! V0 x# Mpolitical and social changes began to favor the use of English1 a0 _1 Q( C* q
by all classes. The Normans lost control of their territory in7 C1 `) b$ C4 [( g! @
France in the early 1200's. Confined to Britain, the Normans
+ A* U- p* m7 Q& x8 d5 W& _began to learn English. Eventually, it replaced French as the
) G) N; c3 ~+ w3 clanguage of the ruling class, the schools, and the courts. By0 Q" T3 q1 q% f
the end of what is known as the Middle English period
+ a/ e5 j" {) s$ O" @(1100-1500), English again had established itself as the major
' R* {7 I& E! z8 ylanguage in Britain.
3 L4 `) r/ u6 i* K/ c* l During this period, English continued to borrow words$ P5 a1 e1 Q, K6 N
from French and from Latin. In the English we now speak,( _" _8 [5 k2 A1 J
more than half of the words in common use come from6 y, a' @1 q u& [9 g7 ?3 ^! }' C
these two sources. Many words from Old English and Anglo-
1 m% E! \3 I- N C6 y& jFrench that are roughly synonymous exist side by side today.7 G- G; @; ~( C
For example, dress and clothes, aid and help, royal
( K( V1 \; x9 f& H% N& B$ |and kingly. In addition, trade between Britain and the Low( A: T! P+ M/ d+ H- S! w1 Z
Countries, especially Holland, accounts for the inclusion of
?# r. d6 o( v% cperhaps as many as 2,500 words of Dutch origin in the English4 s) }& f% U7 @. O r7 M5 Y
language. Some examples are: boom (at the bottom of a
0 A* ?6 b7 g- C7 n/ \/ F2 y2 Vsail), deck, easel, etch, freight, furlough, and stoop (porch
* \& m8 w6 p8 Z- v) [3 Nor entrance).( `& J9 d$ o3 k* |7 K G+ {" f' s% N
Before the Norman invasion, a great change in English
# H3 d: o1 v' B3 U/ hwas beginning to shift grammatical and pronunciation patterns.
. o7 k# x. K3 A3 J4 A% SHowever, the coming of the Normans accelerated7 L) G9 a/ S( |# }- x' ?4 @1 ^
these changes. Everyday use, growth of dialects, and contact
3 f0 `( i! Y/ Y3 r0 J1 Bwith foreign languages caused inflections (word endings) to2 V. }: A' i5 @& o
lose their distinctive meanings and their usefulness. Instead5 }# Y5 w* `, L3 i" Y) h. b
of depending on word endings to give exact meaning to a
) {% y3 Y) @- J2 Asentence, as had been the case in Old English, word order, [3 q# F- E: g
became the important indicator. q. J; O& o* G+ {
In Old English, for example, To his J>eowum se feeder cwaeoK4 E9 _8 ]) n; u( `
meaning "The father said to his servants" or "To his servants/ c7 q" ?6 X; R/ D
the father said," would have the same meaning no matter: k# W2 n$ Z5 L, e! s* F. M
how the words were placed in the sentence. The -urn
& k4 g& P5 o0 t X9 T% Iending on beow(um) would always indicate who was being9 P! ~' a/ L* B
spoken to. In modern English, if we shift word order to- y! H0 l9 Z5 U a* }8 p! {) X k
make the sentence read " His servants said to the father,"
! _$ ]- @' G( R4 s6 B" Xthe meaning would be quite different.$ i5 K& \/ c a: ]
English still retains some inflections, including plurals and9 L, K( M- c2 ]- u
the verb endings. But Middle English had far fewer inflections
# J2 F6 C" s0 Qthan Old English.0 V9 e; r0 h2 r
) J1 B( I! R5 r5 b: ?( NModern English( V6 Y5 j& X; T* z! R
The Modern English period, starting about 1500, has been9 q- F3 R7 A( i& g( [
concerned for the most part with regulating and standardizing
1 d8 D8 ]9 h0 @: Z# f) Z, {6 Sthe language. But attempts to fix English into a permanent
0 n6 N7 h$ h1 nform failed. The way a language is used gives it life,
{6 O. H3 C+ P3 V: P0 C; Wand usage produces change., D& E' G8 q) ~3 U
However, fixing a language and freezing its usages into a
: q' ]7 f! I) l6 ^2 b1 i2 iform that tolerates no change is different from trying to) [) J7 a8 ?1 e5 _ x8 a
standardize its spelling so that communication between inhabitants
% N% ]' _, k: j# P* K: ]) h" ^of various regions of the country is easy and effective.
4 T1 ^' }5 p/ R8 J$ f- X3 p Several factors contributed to establishing Standard English1 Y( w5 t* F, W2 F6 h
spelling and some forms of usage and many of the traits that
- e, s1 L* @/ S' T; Z3 P" mexist in modern English. These factors included the introduction
" E: j8 r2 L4 f4 H& p- {of the printing press into England in 1477 by William
$ H! }* i9 e, I: JCaxton, the revival of interest in literature, and the growth of* N4 M+ [% M6 x, N
popular education.- v0 d7 p6 ?# F
The need for standardization was recognized as early as
* V7 L4 g! \2 J: W. Pthe mid-1300's. From that time, the London dialect (East
6 C* p; J6 Z. }" j! rMidland) was gradually adopted from the four main dialects
& v1 O% `' d0 W: D! u5 B: Ain existence (Northern, East and West Midland, and Southern)
' b, w2 T; o' Y9 k M. E& Was the basis for Standard English. The choice was made
. q. a5 I4 V6 t$ X! a3 X$ n3 K7 vbecause the London dialect was the language of contracts
) ^! w) R! y4 ]and commerce and the speech of the ruling court. All official
' D' A( _1 J0 W- |, B0 L5 }/ @: qdocuments originating there were written in the London
, M* N0 _2 [# q% q" i- ?6 g. j1 ]dialect. Furthermore, the translation of the Book of Common# s* E' l y( a" U3 g" v$ w
Prayer and the King James version of the Bible became tremendous8 J$ ?" z0 q8 K* M& U$ |; x* a
forces for elevated English.
: J* b5 Y+ K5 |, h. v, E Before Caxton, literary works were written for the most
' n8 ~6 D2 E0 H4 k* }- @2 t7 kpart in the dialect of the author. Spoken dialects continued6 z2 e) K0 Q- c1 F+ Z$ o' E$ V
for a long time and, indeed, still exist. But, by the end of the
/ _% E \: w* c6 x2 t1400's, the London dialect was becoming accepted literary7 ` P. Z! w6 T) @3 ~3 U2 I
usage.- n8 ]8 n6 l5 z3 m6 ^. V
By the early part of the 1600's, more than 20,000 different
' M# @+ K) s5 Z9 H# f' T1 W( b! Xworks were printed in England alone. Books were available3 \2 Y( l% S" Q1 i3 A$ }
to all who could read and afford them. The printed
. \! h* _* s$ s' r, P S" Z! _word helped to make spelling more uniform. Up until that L& s# L1 t7 O ^
time spelling usually varied from region to region.
5 }! q6 ~. G+ h8 G* C From the 1500's through the 1700's, many writers experimented: h0 @% V- u9 o& Z3 O9 k- A9 i4 D
with words. Over 10,000 new words entered the
0 Q" b1 z* g5 y. w( }; uEnglish language. Many of these were taken from Latin and
( \5 S( g# W$ k5 {% k! r+ oGreek by scholars who wanted to replace the forms earlier
$ P' Y$ } o3 h. ~; h4 Uadopted from French. Translators and writers believed the# }: n/ `4 M$ M* a2 p9 [1 W
language was rough, unpolished, and incapable of doing ~9 h% b$ I% V" K! p
what Latin and Greek had done, and what Italian could do.# {" I# V/ `$ k, k4 V8 [
They set about enlarging the vocabulary, chiefly by translating
; ^( E0 R' r+ Y5 G0 R- C: Fwords from Greek and Latin. More than twenty-five per
. C p% t5 |9 ~ C' K% a, F( Ocent of modern English words come almost directly from
h. q% O: K) ]! J& b* ]classical languages. Very often we have two words that go; v& S4 K( ?, K6 w4 ?$ g+ ]9 \
back to the same Latin original—one brought in by the Normans,6 q l0 w6 r: H/ ^( c4 k# D: w
and one taken in directly. For example, words such as8 Z7 J2 H) u! q' [! o) T+ x
paint and picture, certainty and certitude. The adoption of6 n, Q7 h a# W3 E. ^1 x/ P4 v
Greek and Latin forms became so abundant and so outrageous
& e. M$ h* @: y, O" R( tthat many of these borrowings were dubbed "inkhorn
1 r& T, ^/ c3 Q; u+ {: |terms" because of their bookishness. However, some of( j# o; Y9 h2 u
these terms were useful and necessary and they have survived
4 z& X/ d) S; ]/ pto this day. Among them are conduct, dexterity, extinguish,
: s7 j; ?" e. d& Z0 K" X. @scientific, and spurious.
$ H- t2 m3 S1 ]# d r
9 I4 \7 W3 y+ P% q% ~$ A/ M' m3 e, cAmerican and British English
1 C* ]0 p2 f" m, l, ^: RAfter the British colonized America, the English language& O3 ]' n8 u6 \; X" V! k+ k3 q
used by Americans began to change from that in the old! K7 J3 g. x, _: Y
country. The biggest factor in this change involved the need
& S6 M3 w/ Y6 G* ]/ Lto create or adopt words to identify unfamiliar objects. Animals," n2 @. i7 x/ j8 E9 O
trees, food, and the physical features of the land were
7 h' M' G% B& {+ p4 Q" fdifferent. The Americans took words from the Indians to8 h, s% B4 Q+ w; H
identify a raccoon, a tomahawk, a papoose, and a wigwam.
- A1 d1 K H9 Y4 Y+ G5 sWhen there were no appropriate words, they did what their
# M5 x& Z# X! V3 P: Iancestors had done. They combined words and gave them5 U* n8 }0 c- r1 b
new meanings. The combination of garter and snake produced$ G+ V# A. ?* f9 O* `$ \! X+ f4 L7 r
a word to describe a crawling creature they had
' L2 }6 x: @& T/ T) k; J0 Wnever seen before. They named the sweet, edible root of a
$ ~3 b% a8 W% Xvine belonging to the morning-glory family, sweet potato.
/ u! l# e2 L! N0 E9 d1 o$ LThey adapted from the Narraganset Indians the name for the
) \: [6 X; D3 a% e% {8 tfruit of a plant of the gourd family, the squash.+ v) s5 |0 \- S8 }1 F
The growth of American nationalism led to a desire for, N% w* c, ~6 v7 B" z- x
cultural as well as political independence from the mother
8 o: x# P. C/ jcountry. This, too, influenced American English, as in conscious0 B) C: g2 j* a9 d( n
attempts to reform spelling so that in time, musick ^7 B9 O. ~) U. l) c
became music, and labour became labor. New ideas in the
* }: h/ m' ]! k: Tarts and sciences and the coming to America of people from
; N$ J* z8 L$ xmany different countries had a powerful effect on American" H9 {7 X. D5 {4 k p, P" c0 W
English.
6 v% g( | P# V3 T0 D Changes have not been so extensive that we speak a new2 t. R% N! @0 V! O
language. Many Americans may not know that when an
8 m% f6 {2 [7 M+ `5 Q! ^Englishman says fitment he means an alteration, and that: J& x4 W& a; B5 i% ?( F
the British goods wagon is the American freight car. But, for
/ m" r, P* Y. X% c6 |+ ethe most part, Americans and Britons communicate easily6 U' ^/ V# `! j' c$ r4 m" Y1 n
because grammatical and phonetic patterns have not
5 c5 k0 c4 t- u% d1 hchanged, though many words or lexical content are different.; I2 ]- @/ \1 j( h. |
The gap between American and British English has
( Y( y3 Q/ a8 o/ a) t9 {become smaller in recent times, especially with the great increases! I* b. I0 N4 T9 O: ~
in the ease of transportation and communication.6 c/ A+ `7 F" ?. {. j* k/ e. C
Neither the Americans nor the British have any qualms6 f& I" K( x$ P, V4 @
about appropriating words from other languages when they; W# S2 M! J4 P; ?4 A9 d( e
express concepts better than native words can. The British: f) e4 O1 \( F- z; M1 g
have taken American words such as telephone, jazz, and
& |$ O# w9 N; c+ \typewriter. Americans take words from many languages.
4 ~0 L/ |0 W8 i6 K+ { Q6 K English has also changed in other countries where it is
0 @- ^8 T* @1 gused. Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, and others. Q- [* [/ R. H3 h/ m
have adapted English to fit their own needs. Although all
& R- d7 ]0 N% f* L5 c, g$ nEnglish-speaking people can generally understand each2 t1 z. I$ C& b% c$ T8 g! C5 ]' r
other, each English-speaking country has developed distinctive, e' b% Q& J! r1 x
ways of using the language. For example, New Zealanders
9 C+ z4 Z3 ^% E3 Y8 _" vrefer to a section (a building lot in a city), Australians to7 [) A1 a5 z5 V
a mob (a group of animals), and Canadians to a chesterfield
, B9 K9 w3 ]0 P6 H3 W: C4 ?(an overstuffed sofa).8 e# A2 K6 L! R
As long as travel and trade exist between nations, as long
% x8 k2 P1 {* W* j& T% J$ Y4 \as large groups of people continue to settle in countries
* k& W" D+ W9 E# l' `# R+ Aother than their native lands, and as long as the sciences B7 h7 a" B/ j6 M. y9 ?: d% L
and the arts progress, new ideas, new words, and new usages
+ r) x7 K$ f l1 Dof words will continue to keep language changing and: f* P& Q0 c7 p0 a8 w
growing. |
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