蒁the Road to Modern English

薀At the end of the 16th century, about five to seven million people spoke English. Nearly all of them lived in England. Later in the next century, people from England made voyages to conquer other parts of the world and because of that, English began to be spoken in many other countries. Today, more people speak English as their first, second or a foreign language than ever before.

膈 Native English speakers can understand each other even if they don’t speak the same kind of English. Look at this example:

蚃 British Betty: Would you like to see my flat?

袂 American Amy: Yes. I’d like to come up to you apartment.

肇 So why has English changed over time? Actually all languages change and develop when cultures meet and communicate with each other. At fist the English spoken in England between about AD 450 and 1150 was very different from the English spoken today. It was base more on German than the English we speak at present. Then gradually between about AD 800 and 1150, English became less like German because those who ruled England spoke first Danish and later French. These new settlers enriched the English language and especially its vocabulary. So by the 1600’s Shakespeare was able to make use of a wider vocabulary than ever before. In 1620 some British settlers moved to America. Later in the 18th century some British people were taken to Australia too. English began to be spoken in both countries.

羇 Finally by the 19th century the language was settled. At that time two big changes in English spelling happened: first Samuel Johnson wrote his dictionary and later Noah Webster wrote The American Dictionary of the English language. The latter gave a separate identity to American English spelling.

螃 English now is also spoken as a foreign or second language in South Asia. For example, India has a very large number of fluent English speakers because Britain ruled India from 1765 to 1947. During that time English became the language for government and education. English is also spoken in Singapore and Malaysia and countries in Africa such as South Africa. Today the number of people learning English in China is increasing rapidly. In fact, China may have the largest number of English learners. Will Chinese English develop its own identity? Only time will tell.

节通向现代英语之路

蝿16世纪末期大约有5百万至7百万人说英语，几乎所有这些人都生活在英国。后来，在17世纪英国人开始航海征服了世界其它地区。于是，许多别的国家开始说英语了。如今说英语的人比以往任何时候都多，他们有的是作为第一语言来说，有的是作为第二语言或外语。

螅以英语作为母语的人，即使他们所讲的语言不尽相同，也可以互相交流。请看以下例子：

袃英国人贝蒂：“请到我的公寓（flat）里来看看，好吗？”

葿美国人艾米：“好的。我很乐意到你的公寓（apartment）去。”

芇那么，英语在一段时间里为什么会起变化呢？事实上，当不同文化互相交流渗透时，所有的语言都会有所发展、有所变化。首先，在公元450年到1150年间，人们所说的英语跟今天所说的英语就很不一样。当时的英语更多地是以德语为基础的，而现代英语不是。然后，渐渐地，大约在公元800年到1150年期间，英语不那么象德语了，因为那时的英国的统治者起初讲丹麦语后来讲法语。这些新的定居者大大丰富了英语语言。在1620年，一些英国人搬迁到美洲定居。后来，到了18世纪，有些英国人也被送往澳大利亚，两个国家的人都开始说英语了。

蒄最后，到19世纪，英语才真正定形。那时，英语在拼写上发生了两大变化：首先塞缪尔·约翰逊编写了词典，后来，诺尼韦伯斯特编纂了《美国英语词典》，后者体现了美国英语拼写的不同特色。

羃现在，英语在南亚也被当作外语或第二语言。比如说，印度拥有众多讲英语很流利的人，这是因为英国于1765年到1947年统治过印度。在那期间，英语成了官方语言和教育用语。在新加坡、马来西亚和非洲其它国家，比如南非，人们也说英语。目前在中国学习英语的人数正在迅速增长。事实上，中国可能拥有世界上最多的英语学习者。中国英语会发展出自己的特色吗？这只能用时间来回答了。

袀STANDARD ENGLISH AND DIALECTS

罿What is standard English?Is it spoken in Britain,the US,Canada,Australia,India and New Zealang?Believe it or not ,there is no such thing as standard English.Many people believe the English spoken on TV and the radio is standard English.This is because in the early days of radio,those who reported the news were expected to speak excellent English.However,on TV and the radio you will hear differences in the way people speak.

薇When people use words and expressions different from the “standard language”,it is called a dialect.American English has meny dialects,especially the midwestern,southern,African American and Spanish dialects.Even in some parts of the USA,two people from neighbouring towns speak a little differently.American English has so many dialects because people have come from all over the world.

羂Geography also plays a part in making dialects.Some people who live in the mountains of the eastern USA speak with an older kind of English dialect.When Americans moved from one place to another,they took their dialects with them.So people from the mountains in the southeastern USA speak with almost the same dialect as people in the northwestern USA.The USA is a large country in which many different dialects are spoken.Although many Americans move a lot,they still recognize and understand each other’s dialects.

芁翻译中文是：

莇 标准英语和方言

芆 什么是标准的英语吗它是在英国、美国、加拿大、澳大利亚、印度和新Zealang吗? 信不信由你,没有什么标准英语. 许多人认为英语口语在电视和收音机是标准的英语. 这是因为在早期的收音机,那些报告预计说得一口流利的英语. 然而,在电视和收音机里,你会听到人们说话的方式上有差别。

肂 当人们使用的单词和表达不同语言的“标准”,它被称为一种方言美国英语meny方言,尤其是在中西部,南部,黑人和西班牙方言甚至在有些地区的美国,两个人从邻近的城镇讲一点点不同美式英语有很多方言,因为人们从世界各地来到这里。

地理位置也使方言有些人住在山里的东跟一位年长的英语方言当美国人从一个地方到另一个地方,他们把他们的方言所以人们从东南部山区的美国所说的方言几乎相同美国西北部的人美国是一个大国家,许多不同的方言虽然许多美国人搬了很多,他们还认识和理解对方的方言。

unit 2 English around the world课文及翻译