英語的起源 (1) (The Origins of The English Language (1))

作者(Author): 莫妮卡老師(Miss Monica)

文章分類(Category): 文學與歷史(Literature & History)

程度(Level): 高級(Advanced)

英語是現今世界上的共通語言,莫妮卡老師主修英語,蘿蔔哥請她為我們簡單介紹一下這個語言的起源與發展.

蘿蔔哥

This week, Robert has asked me about the origins of the English language. Language evolves slowly over time so it is easy to see how a language may progress as it develops. A language’s development is a social phenomenon, meaning it typically evolves as a result of the interaction between different groups of people. Because of this, major changes in the language’s development will coincide with major historical events. 

這個星期蘿蔔哥問我關於英語的起源. 語言隨著時間慢慢地演進,並不難看出當一個語言發展的時候是如何地改變. 一個語言的發展是一個社會現象, 表示它通常牽涉不同群體彼此互動的結果. 因此, 語言的發展會與主要的歷史事件在時間上一致.

While the English language was first introduced to the Americas by British colonists in the early 1600s, it had been developing since 100 AD. Several Germanic tribes - the Angles, Saxons, Frisii, Jutes and possibly some Franks (inhabitants of modern-day Holland, Denmark, and Northwest Germany) - moved West and began to live, trade, and fight with Latin-speaking people in Britain during the decline of the Roman empire. This practice was common throughout Europe and Northern Africa at this time so historians refer to the period between 400 and 700 AD as the Migration Period. The Germanic tribes began to settle in England by the 5th century. At this time, the Brittonic language of the indigenous people was replaced by the dialects of the new tribes and  Old English emerged. An example of Old English writing is the epic poem Beowulf. The introduction of Christianity around 600 AD also meant that Latin words were incorporated as well.

雖然英語起先被英國殖民者在17世紀初期引進美洲, 它早在公元100年時就開始發展了. 一些日耳曼民族 -盎格魯族, 撒克遜族, 弗里斯族, 朱特族, 和也許一些法蘭克族 (居住在現今荷蘭,丹麥,德國西北部) - 往西移動並且開始在英國生活,貿易,和與說拉丁話的民族爭戰當羅馬帝國衰落的時候. 在公元400到700年,這個過程是常見並遍布歐洲及北非的,這是歷史學家稱為歐洲民族大遷徙的時候. 五世紀的時候日耳曼民族開始在英格蘭定居. 這個時後,本地人的布立吞語被新民族的方言所取代,這樣古英文出現了. 一個古英文寫作的例子是史詩貝奧武夫. 約公元600年時基督教的引進,代表拉丁文字也被融合進來.

To Be Continued 待續…