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4 `/ Y8 N% X: [. y9 }' a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。
( {/ r! w" \4 Z1 p( J6 ~1、Where English comes from j4 L: B$ G, S; A: i0 w
The English language has existed for hundreds of years.; ]) N! l. L: Z, z D, v( i
Many words came into English from various European languages.( Z$ N* I A6 k/ f* r+ C0 t+ f
For example, St. Augustine and other Latin-speaking
4 O0 `% {* l: C8 |; |# x( Fmissionaries to England used such words as bishop and2 M( Z6 S% y, o! W/ s
priest. Latin was the language of scholarship and religion.' u9 x' `% }9 |3 F! C2 H
Wherever Latin scholars, missionaries, and government officials
8 `0 l! k1 C) c6 f6 M& texerted important influence, Latin words became
& [5 M9 E2 j5 ~* U" {known. When the Scandinavians invaded and settled in Britain,6 Z8 h7 K- T1 \4 q P
some words beginning with sk- were adopted into English.
! @3 S, _& E- C$ \& f4 z0 @" `For example, skill, skirt, and sky. The Scandinavians
& Q: `' H7 j0 u" _/ u9 Halso contributed important pronouns such as their, them,9 \. Q# x5 h. a
and they. Words of French origin include army, blue, chair,
% ~5 Q5 X/ E9 K0 hdinner, government, jolly, mayor, paper, and towel. Balcony,1 r" \/ c z: n' Q1 [; ]
piano, and pizza come from Italy; fiesta and siesta,
% _4 N8 G% ~7 Q f9 C: _from Spain; orchestra, from Greece; boomerang, from Australia;" B1 D( _4 w9 q; a4 t
vodka, from Russia; and igloo, from the Eskimos.
/ e$ ~" ]1 ^' F) k2 @ English is always growing and changing. Words constantly
0 z: f2 ?! x( q sare being added and falling into disuse. Many words that0 Y o G$ E4 `
you hear, speak, and read today were not part of the language
: S, {3 N' E% f: J' w; Q( g" [your grandparents used. Look in a dictionary published3 `$ Z+ T' A- p8 Q6 Y) b
at that time and you will not find such words as astronaut,: h' U t: D4 q9 d) I3 H4 S
culture shock, miniskirt, rolamite, and microfiche.: w% v! c8 s: i: d+ R
Every time new inventions, scientific discoveries, art forms,! J" q+ f9 b+ {$ u. t8 c4 ?
or fashions appear that do not have names to identify them,; e6 E& L6 v' f' P
new words must be invented or old words given new applications,
/ G. K: G) \) o& tor taken from other languages.6 G: P& }% t" }4 l% U# o. A" E
When words are not used, they become obsolete. Obsolete' ?2 v% q$ O, m/ G
words are included in the dictionary because they are9 R" a% j1 v. Z; U# p# C
part of our history and our culture. You will want to know
7 {8 R# {+ k- Xwhat they mean when you read them in old books or hear
" {% U$ |2 `: P; Lthem used in plays written a long time ago. Before the automobile; u" I( h! y. A' x6 q
was a common form of transportation, people traveled
' @3 N+ q" D. P# X8 lin buggies drawn by horses. Now when you hear or
! n& ~$ G" b# }4 H X. Rsee the word buggy you are inclined to think of something% r' _3 p8 `4 a; k6 I2 q
old-fashioned or insect-ridden.
2 C4 K( Q) x4 w$ `. ]5 B8 V/ ^2 P- B Many words have changed their meanings. For example,3 d* ?* H8 {: V
sly and crafty people were once described as "pretty." At; R* m$ G7 g4 V6 F" q6 r) \; W6 S
one time, when people wanted to picture someone as stupid! ^# Z0 m$ R/ `( G2 a
and ignorant they referred to that person as "nice." Today,
* c. R" _! I3 d: {+ A8 t& ?if someone tells us we are "nice" and "pretty," we feel flattered,
) t, S3 N# m g% pnot insulted.
- s" a# ~) T( r These are only a few of the ways in which language
) |; Q, v6 P/ {; u0 M4 d2 x) Jchanges and grows. By knowing how words become part of
- t; K; I: C' V* \ ja language, you discover important clues to social, political,5 U/ s7 l/ N9 P' P5 m
and cultural changes that take place in the history of a
1 e& E/ {$ M e" j2 w Zcountry using that language.7 X+ I" {' n% _. L
The story of how English originated is a fascinating one.
8 n$ c2 [& o2 k. Q! U' V0 } D/ C6 R d, S; q( @, H; w
How English began( H9 @) o/ W) R
English comes from a common ancestral language believed
6 h# L) @3 `7 N) ^/ c% o* x; Vto have existed a very long time ago. It has been called
+ Y6 f; ~$ }/ w4 N) @" bIndo-European. About 4,500 years ago, the people who- t! c, E; H5 S% h
spoke varying forms of this language split into groups that
7 T! X. f# f7 `! W/ A9 l; i* jdrifted into Europe and parts of Asia. Different speech communities+ E! G8 M: p7 ?- `7 G
developed within these widespread groups eventually
- g; a( s* c1 L) Egiving rise to several languages including Latin, from2 E* V$ Y+ X8 S% l7 E
which many of the languages spoken in Europe today developed.6 Z* y5 J `# E* ?* o
One group of Indo-European languages is known as. E$ \$ F5 w9 D# |" N: m
Germanic, and this is the primary parent language of English" ~4 J/ n5 j7 R# H8 W+ u$ Q& p
and German.
6 f; Z+ k5 ?2 N$ d _ ? Warrior-adventurers, who spoke Germanic, invaded what
' _6 d! }# x* E6 iis now Great Britain about A.D. 450. The invaders—called, c* X& _) X+ m3 K( e4 Y
Angles, Saxons, and Jutes—all spoke similar dialects. The
& n& n. x9 C8 ~- m* `people they conquered, known as Britons, spoke Celtic. The! v& Y, C5 `) B) O9 T
Celtic language included Latin words because conquering
; i9 P% z$ \$ Z0 IRoman troops occupied Britain from A.D. 43 until the 400's.
0 K6 N1 M" F9 S' Z6 L! a5 \9 ~The troops had to return home to defend Rome against invading
: D7 ?) S3 Y( p! Karmies. The Germanic tribes conquered Britain after8 e, S& a8 k9 J% o6 {/ G+ k# B
the Romans left.
" ]. o, F3 k. i T4 U As the invading tribes took over and settled in Britain, the
4 e% O$ k1 V3 kCeltic languages gradually retreated. Since the Celtic people
7 S9 R+ i+ e( R4 ~! v% ^were forced to communicate with their rulers, the history of3 G6 I7 f6 S" X! P" }6 V
the English language begins with the take-over of Britain by) R" X A1 ]* s) z/ k
the Germanic tribes. As a result, Celtic made only a small3 a9 B5 s* U! ~. Y
contribution to the English vocabulary with words such as
" n# w# |( B$ J" acrag and bin. However, many place names were adopted- D( J; x# x' G: d9 I
from the Celtic. Among them are Avon, Kent, London,
7 i: }7 G" o' `- pOuse, and Thames. Small groups of people living in Ireland,
& Y, L) U+ o N) R( M1 c8 {Wales, and the Scottish Highlands still speak varieties of Celtic$ T9 e6 X) l) v: D, F
such as Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Breton, and recently
$ V$ t2 E& n# W5 Q' \7 ^) d7 Y6 Arevived Irish.: c2 u4 f6 Y6 ]9 R; m) ~- x
; ?' N9 y9 a: Y8 Q" V
Old English
l$ m! [, w$ BThe Angles and Saxons occupied a large part of Britain. The
Q% P& s- m+ y$ W" vname of one of the former tribes eventually became the5 N: {' S R. d& m2 P
name of the land they occupied, England. The Anglo-Saxon% J8 `. R* i' _$ q8 Y8 m) x
language, now usually called Old English, became firmly established% C3 F1 M/ R. N3 m4 M' {2 h
in Britain in the period from the A.D. 500's to 1066.+ t# F) G Q8 O7 P
Even as this happened, changes were taking place. Latinspeaking& g; j7 y5 o2 M7 V" H
Roman and Celtic missionaries under St. Augustine,# B; D0 q0 f+ I, q3 k1 ]
began spreading Christianity in Britain. The introduction of3 z! C0 G8 l7 W& l1 K; N! @
Christianity exerted a great impact on the English language.: I2 M8 ]6 {1 G( ~. Q0 F) i
Religion brought with it many new ideas and customs. And; z3 f. k& r8 Z
Christianity used Latin. In their attempt to identify and deal
+ N4 Q! }7 R2 f/ d4 @with all these new ideas and customs, the Anglo-Saxons did
+ K/ a* x' {% L8 m( }7 `not hesitate to borrow from Latin the special vocabulary
, L/ F2 o7 j- tneeded for the new religious life. Among the words taken
8 l% O. N& H( N! F) h2 vfrom Church Latin which still survive are:2 H1 d6 {4 U* I9 b6 I' \) {
1 W0 R4 K& x3 l) Y! \1 x- J
Latin Old English Modern English V2 s [) q/ ]9 G% k# y# D
abbatis abbod abbot
9 n& U2 k! m0 ^candela candel candle
. h+ Z6 v! h! O5 N) `altare altar altar
! h% c+ T8 M3 I6 damen amen amen
+ `( r- b k4 l1 ~) K% m) g+ L" y- E5 Uapostolus apostol apostle% I9 F! E* g' A6 @! X8 z- p; Q, L/ {
6 ?2 Z- \1 Z" ?) S5 a However, users of Old English did not borrow as heavily
1 Q0 S/ w T/ T* P4 |( ~$ _7 hfrom Latin and other languages in this period as they did
0 }" K9 }! l4 y, \. ulater when there was greater communication with the Continent.$ j( s5 s$ W; L) P& d7 Z! _0 X! ]
Sometimes they changed the meanings of native
5 A! r, n4 F6 Y+ Z, g3 hwords. The word for Easter (eastron) originally was the
, g$ p7 Z1 C5 x6 E1 \6 S1 H' L" Ename for the spring festival honoring the goddess of dawn.4 f' r# e& Z7 _. {
Ceol (Yule), the name of the festival held to celebrate the
3 y" d; d& }% s% c; Z! p6 dpassing of the shortest day of the year, came to denote
% E e2 s" A, J& J7 ^4 vChristmas.
7 S$ [* {# }4 r2 A) q: X Native ingenuity was shown in creating new words by3 i( s( _0 l) b0 {6 U8 {
combining two native words in much the same way as we
; {. N; Z; ]3 k( I( e% m% u7 T8 cnow combine words such as space and worthy to form" ^+ ?$ {6 n( F. g
spaceworthy. Old English words such as Icececraft (leechcraft),
% ?3 T3 G! f9 {1 d+ }2 z" Z% zmeaning medicine, and handboc (handbook), meaning0 H0 T" `& x8 U0 f3 z7 V
manual, illustrate this practice.% i4 |: C6 u' P* `/ A
The growth of the Old English vocabulary during this
8 q" `% X5 z, |( \: Yperiod of language history reflects the growth of English culture., {. ^9 l, J, |' n
Because of the Church's influence, scholarship was encouraged
7 C4 b6 _# D+ u. ^$ ~' }and Britain began its rise as one of the intellectual' R. v9 T) B& Q2 N3 o% `
leaders of Europe.
3 G# V' L! Q# U7 O/ C4 J Toward the end of the 700's, hardy Vikings from Denmark,, }+ ~- \% T1 j5 R- N7 E: G9 A
Norway, and Sweden began invading and settling in3 k9 ]2 N% o5 S( ^% G
many parts of Britain. By the 1000's, a Danish king ruled" z% k" Q: E) r" D9 p& V
Britain. As a result of the invasions from the Danish peninsula,8 F4 v/ F7 @' B; B0 H0 f
many Scandinavian words became part of English.9 }' a: R A3 Y5 u
These did not identify new ideas and objects. They were everyday
& y$ U7 i$ T" L P9 S4 |. swords for which the English already had terms and expressions.
+ {! M; s$ O$ s9 n r Why did the Scandinavian words exist side by side with* X! ? B% u. \+ R$ R3 t" B
English words instead of replacing them? The Scandinavian
2 c! U0 T) K4 A( s" Q/ Yinvaders were Germanic people like the Anglo-Saxons. Their
& Z* n( T0 p6 s+ lcultures were similar and their languages enough alike so
, S0 T# M9 {" Lthat they understood one another. Many words were exactly
: @+ U' A, |0 `: Y6 balike, such as father, husband, house, life, man, mother,
5 x9 G+ T( a! u& O4 ~; vsummer, wife, and winter. Other words were so much alike7 v4 s& V) I3 O) z$ q1 k. F
they were used interchangeably.
8 [7 g, }/ h, N Although the Scandinavians and the English fought each
& s4 C% ^) N4 T/ ]other, many Scandinavians settled peacefully in Britain, married3 H0 x' ]1 W+ N' O
English women, and raised families. Often both languages- ~$ Z8 E4 r+ E5 ?, J) Q
were spoken in the same household. Where different
: _) b2 o$ y! _; M( `0 V1 n$ qwords existed for the same thing, the Old English word usually* E$ }% ]. g" J5 T5 e
won out, but there were some exceptions. The results of9 w, i; c2 a% s0 T
this absorption of language through close contact is seen in
( O9 a% m8 r) Z. N4 C) M0 @the histories of such words from Scandinavia as skirt, skill,- K# a* ^7 v ]0 y1 N& M9 i4 G
window, leg, gasp, birth, glitter, they, their, them, egg.3 t; O( d( @, ]; g6 L
Scholars believe that at least 900 words of Scandinavian( V/ Q) ]1 p7 J" y
origin have survived in modern Standard English. Many
* O/ h! ~# C4 \' S! e! gmore are still in use in Great Britain. They are found in dialects
8 l; y z. }: ?& v, C( uspoken in regions heavily settled by the Swedes,
# Y8 z9 ?" C9 P. q7 T& f; @Danes, and Norse in those early days.& |) @- e/ G- w- V: s
9 g; X/ a/ L- h' z" X/ ^: j; g) fMiddle English
( B" Y! A/ K0 D) ]- ~Old English began to undergo a great change when the Normans
! h& C$ C5 {, @invaded England from France in 1066. Until then, in' a% G- a+ |+ X
spite of the Latin brought in by the introduction of Christianity,1 j- S" d; N& Q+ d2 d
the influence on English was overwhelmingly Germanic., i8 i: J' Q! C! `( ^/ j
The Normans began a process that brought many
8 U1 C; C# Y4 ]1 r7 Y4 XFrench words into the English language. They replaced the( g- j0 C0 S. L( ?0 J m d# o
English as rulers, chief landholders, and church officials and
# a& g- `# y7 a3 e. E$ B) ~Norman-French became the language of the ruling class.
+ o$ b0 ~. p0 WHowever, the common people continued to speak English.$ X8 d1 }2 c8 b; h: d& u$ z
Norman-French and Old,English existed side by side until
0 Z& E+ n) E( `- b! o; v; |political and social changes began to favor the use of English: w' O7 q3 @6 d0 \0 C; r
by all classes. The Normans lost control of their territory in4 n& l( N) J( U1 R1 A. A
France in the early 1200's. Confined to Britain, the Normans: |1 B0 Q: S/ D# q
began to learn English. Eventually, it replaced French as the. [8 X, D% J5 I5 S' H/ F
language of the ruling class, the schools, and the courts. By
/ U2 h; y7 T! Sthe end of what is known as the Middle English period
, M0 q6 P Z4 D3 o2 Y) [. I(1100-1500), English again had established itself as the major: O* J: O( K0 Y$ C# x3 z
language in Britain.
4 `; [: T: P' Y8 Z L8 p$ S During this period, English continued to borrow words$ G0 h2 g& C# t& X2 O
from French and from Latin. In the English we now speak,
& V9 @: X4 G9 S& n+ Imore than half of the words in common use come from& a* I& @9 V, { l/ ]5 S4 q4 T
these two sources. Many words from Old English and Anglo-1 S) u% |. F+ v2 j
French that are roughly synonymous exist side by side today.
& H. U# N* \+ |0 ]For example, dress and clothes, aid and help, royal
+ j; }/ ?8 m9 c, H% {! h2 O& Gand kingly. In addition, trade between Britain and the Low% L8 [0 F( k H- U* u9 s
Countries, especially Holland, accounts for the inclusion of
7 b: X6 H4 ?- T# w/ a$ F( _" iperhaps as many as 2,500 words of Dutch origin in the English
; d5 M+ i. E+ w2 Q" o; Xlanguage. Some examples are: boom (at the bottom of a
/ }& U3 f* q$ y# n; a3 @sail), deck, easel, etch, freight, furlough, and stoop (porch
; k) V' n5 ^; y) A" Z4 J' p ior entrance).
8 P; P9 b2 [: o; b3 c Before the Norman invasion, a great change in English7 @( z8 f4 T- N
was beginning to shift grammatical and pronunciation patterns.
) G; L+ n. ^- L I$ W+ JHowever, the coming of the Normans accelerated
4 R8 \% m3 E# d5 `6 B6 r6 \4 L( Kthese changes. Everyday use, growth of dialects, and contact6 v( ~" @7 D; E% c9 a8 U3 ^* n+ P7 R
with foreign languages caused inflections (word endings) to# h# {" @ B3 e9 R) d# t
lose their distinctive meanings and their usefulness. Instead1 h1 H; B$ A6 E% t8 J N
of depending on word endings to give exact meaning to a: U, c6 C% H2 |; N0 e7 j' M. F4 C
sentence, as had been the case in Old English, word order& F' d4 c& s% ~1 Q
became the important indicator.+ }1 D7 A6 ?1 F/ U3 K# c
In Old English, for example, To his J>eowum se feeder cwaeoK
) \, l7 R6 b. C+ O0 i/ Fmeaning "The father said to his servants" or "To his servants4 P* D7 \) H# d0 {0 r
the father said," would have the same meaning no matter
8 B0 j2 l3 E1 ]! z0 s% Jhow the words were placed in the sentence. The -urn
: I- @' G# A4 m9 D& D1 j" oending on beow(um) would always indicate who was being
8 F8 q" d2 ~0 E! }( k$ pspoken to. In modern English, if we shift word order to( X! d! X! j2 w+ z7 A
make the sentence read " His servants said to the father,"; Z' [+ E/ u. n7 M
the meaning would be quite different.
/ @. r8 u* r1 _6 e English still retains some inflections, including plurals and
2 T# T$ E- \3 i0 o: m+ {the verb endings. But Middle English had far fewer inflections
" N2 ^' F& N5 B# n9 fthan Old English.
9 C' V1 j9 j7 i0 ^$ C; h, V
. ], c" y E! }/ ~! I* tModern English
) \+ d* z) f* H6 t7 m9 oThe Modern English period, starting about 1500, has been
9 h. B& r& T4 C( |9 q( I/ n6 Tconcerned for the most part with regulating and standardizing; b# B& \# a" Q
the language. But attempts to fix English into a permanent
' u) `( e0 t/ |" c; V; z( W, Q5 Uform failed. The way a language is used gives it life,
* `, W% y( A, d7 T8 F0 w9 vand usage produces change.
% Z' \0 o3 x& m1 h# e$ }4 R+ { However, fixing a language and freezing its usages into a
2 c- E7 Q' ^6 e( A0 y5 I! E; X. ]$ ^form that tolerates no change is different from trying to5 O) C" N. x- G: E( I
standardize its spelling so that communication between inhabitants+ U- k! h- |. B9 u( n
of various regions of the country is easy and effective.0 p" Q! {" f+ ]! E8 [
Several factors contributed to establishing Standard English
* u: m- H; F( Mspelling and some forms of usage and many of the traits that
' v8 R' f6 }- G/ |) B1 Vexist in modern English. These factors included the introduction }+ o+ f( }: v4 J: f
of the printing press into England in 1477 by William( P/ L' E: ?* |2 R0 @
Caxton, the revival of interest in literature, and the growth of! W, b# x- ]1 t9 L9 P+ s2 }
popular education.; e2 Z7 i* @/ ~
The need for standardization was recognized as early as
5 j0 a/ N( u' Z1 cthe mid-1300's. From that time, the London dialect (East
0 g7 A9 o U: sMidland) was gradually adopted from the four main dialects
3 L0 w! O% z; J7 I# ^in existence (Northern, East and West Midland, and Southern)
" m6 v b* a+ U' ^1 sas the basis for Standard English. The choice was made
: L% y0 b7 v& \: @) abecause the London dialect was the language of contracts
* [) F0 y3 g: t7 A$ ]' b$ M+ T3 sand commerce and the speech of the ruling court. All official( b1 J: x: ^2 o* x/ k, M
documents originating there were written in the London5 j$ `! {8 q7 X7 \0 k
dialect. Furthermore, the translation of the Book of Common
# z5 L! [5 B7 |! h9 G# c0 ]Prayer and the King James version of the Bible became tremendous
4 V$ N/ }4 T) [5 uforces for elevated English.3 }7 ~- L# k; \* |
Before Caxton, literary works were written for the most
: _' H. X0 f; B4 M! n& @part in the dialect of the author. Spoken dialects continued
) d" l; B4 R$ K$ M# q' ~+ Q1 [for a long time and, indeed, still exist. But, by the end of the8 t4 e! Z3 K; [" y
1400's, the London dialect was becoming accepted literary
+ O7 R% n& s) f" l" d2 F3 Husage.
; _0 p a& X; b! G) p- |: @: e/ R By the early part of the 1600's, more than 20,000 different: X' R) f% j, r! M) U! I
works were printed in England alone. Books were available
/ S% B7 C% Y; [; bto all who could read and afford them. The printed
8 ?# Y& p9 l( G# X& t% D, Vword helped to make spelling more uniform. Up until that; q: y( M. X1 |
time spelling usually varied from region to region.
) {6 u: V) f. c From the 1500's through the 1700's, many writers experimented* [3 S5 v" n! [
with words. Over 10,000 new words entered the; R- K9 |0 m9 u+ p( x8 B
English language. Many of these were taken from Latin and
; U/ E) m8 B7 |( U6 U2 h/ q# bGreek by scholars who wanted to replace the forms earlier' L/ r- C7 ?( ^7 v
adopted from French. Translators and writers believed the
( c# B9 b, \" Q. @# S0 I: Wlanguage was rough, unpolished, and incapable of doing! j1 q0 u1 X" [: K
what Latin and Greek had done, and what Italian could do.3 j' Q. i; Q1 i; y* X+ R
They set about enlarging the vocabulary, chiefly by translating
, @! }! B0 S% Z5 {. W5 kwords from Greek and Latin. More than twenty-five per8 m( T1 l2 M' W7 q0 F' S
cent of modern English words come almost directly from
# R x# _& ~; D$ f% u% t: eclassical languages. Very often we have two words that go
1 o) a$ r5 v2 b L- y' R. P3 B- sback to the same Latin original—one brought in by the Normans,, q% \) j3 Y8 c3 u+ R% v+ M
and one taken in directly. For example, words such as
. s" l d" @# r, B7 epaint and picture, certainty and certitude. The adoption of- s8 S% |# [* |3 a5 t, e
Greek and Latin forms became so abundant and so outrageous
* y) r1 W6 S g8 H0 v. L. n; Ithat many of these borrowings were dubbed "inkhorn
/ F: E- D! Y) dterms" because of their bookishness. However, some of
: i" @. Y" r" t) ~these terms were useful and necessary and they have survived
* s$ G+ ]9 e1 f4 Eto this day. Among them are conduct, dexterity, extinguish,6 G% F( a% B# K
scientific, and spurious.
1 n2 I/ W8 o, F& W
0 S6 x% \3 |0 S: l9 q( ` rAmerican and British English
! i D5 P5 |9 i. W# PAfter the British colonized America, the English language( m' c) U/ R# o7 G$ s" q0 V
used by Americans began to change from that in the old' G* ?0 i5 {$ v, ]6 w) I7 h
country. The biggest factor in this change involved the need% c7 ^9 ?, M9 p, z V+ T8 K( E
to create or adopt words to identify unfamiliar objects. Animals,
( [$ f/ L5 }$ \9 E4 r4 p7 vtrees, food, and the physical features of the land were; T9 ]* Q4 O% I& N4 z
different. The Americans took words from the Indians to0 x2 v6 Y1 M; u( z4 i0 F
identify a raccoon, a tomahawk, a papoose, and a wigwam.
8 i6 v1 ]3 U' m- \% T* CWhen there were no appropriate words, they did what their
& W: S3 Z( H4 [% xancestors had done. They combined words and gave them
+ ~7 w2 V( Y3 e) X) Ynew meanings. The combination of garter and snake produced
# t; s$ W0 E' N5 D! Fa word to describe a crawling creature they had" O" W1 A" e8 b7 C+ k5 A
never seen before. They named the sweet, edible root of a) M# [- a0 R `& C$ B+ H1 u
vine belonging to the morning-glory family, sweet potato./ ]: {# W1 L# ?% n
They adapted from the Narraganset Indians the name for the
+ @( O% i4 `$ k1 G, _8 @fruit of a plant of the gourd family, the squash.
: y- K( M- @6 y G$ N The growth of American nationalism led to a desire for& V2 K7 e) v$ `: o+ P% G
cultural as well as political independence from the mother4 q4 ^7 N2 v& G0 H5 g
country. This, too, influenced American English, as in conscious9 d, L. y& ~, Z) ]. \# b0 Z
attempts to reform spelling so that in time, musick! O* H3 D' _2 D" x* f
became music, and labour became labor. New ideas in the
' ^0 z: m. @2 k U+ {arts and sciences and the coming to America of people from
- q% X8 U1 W& j" Jmany different countries had a powerful effect on American: M( s9 e# D- ^
English.
9 ^2 M: I! F# O! _$ n$ K Changes have not been so extensive that we speak a new
3 l" f, J' ^- F/ j. k1 W+ H" ulanguage. Many Americans may not know that when an: n* N+ T5 D' R
Englishman says fitment he means an alteration, and that! q2 a4 J2 K% C. x6 r4 N) O
the British goods wagon is the American freight car. But, for
`: b1 x" y* J- Lthe most part, Americans and Britons communicate easily; ?% s! `3 c/ `7 n4 n, c$ C: a& V
because grammatical and phonetic patterns have not/ d4 ]$ M& n# c1 U+ ]
changed, though many words or lexical content are different." o5 i! A3 ~$ ?& [% {
The gap between American and British English has
- I1 K* J8 s0 hbecome smaller in recent times, especially with the great increases y! P( j$ R, M
in the ease of transportation and communication.
# e! [: b* \; tNeither the Americans nor the British have any qualms
! z. g- S# r& b2 }' Y( Aabout appropriating words from other languages when they
$ {* O+ Y# M5 M- bexpress concepts better than native words can. The British6 P+ W8 N! I5 H# q2 _* m, s
have taken American words such as telephone, jazz, and
6 g% a3 S$ W* w. {# X" _typewriter. Americans take words from many languages.
4 M# N. H6 T( X! ~/ K English has also changed in other countries where it is
* U+ d- L) e* X5 X3 R# ?used. Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, and others: l' F6 c# D1 D b: E& [# N* |
have adapted English to fit their own needs. Although all
! N) A) B% f6 }2 O2 _$ S6 _English-speaking people can generally understand each" u o4 O: E. A
other, each English-speaking country has developed distinctive
1 J+ u' A7 c7 ?1 N+ Xways of using the language. For example, New Zealanders
% E7 [% t! w0 \8 a+ C! u8 jrefer to a section (a building lot in a city), Australians to+ ]- r/ [( F' O* `/ r w. Z
a mob (a group of animals), and Canadians to a chesterfield1 m9 B' v: Q$ L% M
(an overstuffed sofa).
9 G" b* A! J# ?& {5 g* X$ j7 K As long as travel and trade exist between nations, as long
5 a1 x0 ?# m3 ]" g; U0 d4 n! f, Mas large groups of people continue to settle in countries" L1 [ c. r1 S& g
other than their native lands, and as long as the sciences5 u# \* Y; V7 V- A' u7 X
and the arts progress, new ideas, new words, and new usages+ b4 B6 }' R( w
of words will continue to keep language changing and V: E; I9 c w' B
growing. |
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