1、Chapter two,The Development of the English Vocabulary,Contents of todays lecture,Indo-European Language Family History of the development of English vocabulary General characteristics Foreign elements in the English language Growth of contemporary English vocabulary Modes of the development of moder
2、n English vocabulary,2.1 The Indo-European language Family,3000 (some say 5000) languages in the world 3000300 language families The Indo-European Language Family is made up of most languages of Europe, the Near East, and India.,The languages in this family fall into 10 principal groups, which fall
3、into an Eastern set: Balto-Slavic, Indo-Iranian, Armenian, and Albanian; and a Western set: Celtic, Italic, Hellenic, Germanic, Hittite, and Tocharian.,All these languages are important to English to a greater or lesser extent since each has lent words into the English language.,2.2 Three Phases of
4、the Historical Development,1. Old English (450-1150) Romans invaded the British Isles and occupied till about 410. After the withdrawal of Romans, Anglos, Saxons and Jutes came. Old English=Anglo-Saxon, Old English has a vocabulary of 50,000 to 60,000 words with a few borrowings from Latin and Scand
5、inavian,Latin words were brought in with religious conquest in the 6th century: abbot, candle, altar, amen, apostle,The Scandinavian words entered the English language with the Northmen invasion by Norwegian and Danish Vikings in the 9th century.,北方人,北欧海盗,Many Scandinavian words entered the English
6、language: father, husband, house, life, man, mother, summer, winter,Old English was a highly inflected language. Nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs had complex systems of endings or vowel changes or both, which differ greatly from the language we use today.,2. Middle English (1150-1500)
7、,The Norman Conquest happened in 1066. Normans brought large numbers of French words. Those in power spoke French; the native tongue became a despised language,By the end of 13th century, English became dominant again. Wycliff translation of the Bible and writings of Chaucer, Langland in English,125
8、0-1500: about 9000 French words entered: 75% are being used now State, power, prince, duke, judge, court, crime, angel, mercy, peace, battle, pork, bacon, fry, roast, dress, coat,Endings of nouns and adjectives marking distinction of number and case and often of gender lost their distinctive forms.
9、Middle English was a period of leveled endings. (词尾平化的语言),3.Modern English (1500-present),Early Modern English (1500-1700) and Late Modern English (1700 up to the present),Early Modern English(1500-1700),Renaissance: Classicism Large numbers of Greek and Latin words were brought in.,Late Modern Engl
10、ish (1700-present),Since the mid 17th century: Bourgeois Revolution followed by the Industrial Revolution England became a great economic power Colonization: absorb words from all major languages of the world,After WWII, the world had seen great advances in science and technology Many new words have
11、 been created to express new ideas, inventions, and scientific achievements.,2.3 General Characteristics of Modern English,1.Receptivity, Adaptability and Heterogeneity Anglo-Saxon was almost a pure language, but later it received all kinds of foreign elements,2.Simplicity of Inflection,Old English
12、full endings Middle English leveled endings Modern English lost endings,Examples:,Old Middle Modern Leorn-ian lern-en learn Mon-a mone-e moon Stan-as ston-es stones Sun-ne sun-ne sun Sun-u sun-e son,3. Relatively Fixed Word-order,The semantic relation is closely connected to the positions of the wor
13、ds. Change of word-order=change of meaning,2.4 Foreign Elements in the English Vocabulary,1. Latin For 2000 years it has borrowed so heavily and complexly from Latin,1) The Pre-Anglo-Saxon Period,The Anglo-Saxons were descendants of 3 Germanic tribes, who had lived on the European continent, where L
14、atin was the language of a higher civilization, from which the Anglo-Saxons had much to learn.,Words borrowed reflected new conceptions and experience in war and agriculture: Battle, banner, wall, pit, street, wine, trade, bargain, dish, cheese, pepper, butter, pipe,2)The Old English Period,Many wer
15、e religious terms: Alms, angel, mass, nun, shrine, pope, minister Trade terms and words for articles of commerce, agriculture and domestic life: cap, sock, purple, chest, mat, radish, oyster, cook, pine, lily, master, circle, elephant,3) The Middle English Period,The 14th and 15th centuries were esp
16、ecially prolific in Latin borrowings under the influence of Renaissance: Frustrate, gesture, history, minor, picture, polite, popular, summary, quiet, nervous, legal, necessary,4) The Modern English Period,Words borrowed are mostly of abstract and scientific character: radius, focus, status, bonus,
17、apparatus, nucleus, genius, vacuum, esteem, maximum, via, criteria, series, specimen,Many of the frequently used abbreviations are from Latin: i.e. (id est) e.g. (exempli gratia) a.m. (ante meridiem) etc. (et cetera) p. m. (post meridiem) cf. (confer) ibid (ibidem),2. Greek,Most Greek words have ent
18、ered English through Latin: democracy, monarchy, politics, anarchy, logic, academy, philosophy, atom, magnet, planet, arthritis, clinic, alphabet, grammar, idiom, athlete, architect, echo,3. French,About one fourth of modern English vocabulary has come from French. 1250-1500: 9000 French words were
19、borrowed, of which at least 75% are still in use today.,Government and administration: govern, state, crown, country Feudalism: feudal, fief, prince, peer, duke Law: justice, judge, jury Religion: religion, service, angel Morality: virtue, duty, grace,Military affairs: war, peace, battle Meat: beef,
20、 mutton, pork, bacon, Cuisine: sauce, fry, roast, soup Architecture: tower, pillar, porch Fashion: dress, robe, garment,1650-1800: Ballet, debut, canteen, champagne, ridicule, routine Since 1800: Resume, faire, clich, dtente, attache, garage, camouflage,The earlier loan words (from Norman French) ha
21、ve entered the basic word stock, whereas the later ones (from Central or Parisian dialect) have largely kept their distinct French features.,Early Late Chandler chandelier Chapel chaperon Message massage Cabbage mirage Baron buffoon,4. Scandinavian,Scandinavian languages: Norwegian, Swedish, Danish,
22、 and Icelandic Many were basic and everyday words: n.: skill, husband, sister, cake, window pron.: both, they, them v.: get, take, want, hit a.: happy, ill, low, odd,5. Other Foreign Elements,1) Italian Most Italian words are of a technical nature: Corridor, balcony, design, sonnet, stanza, miniatur
23、e, profile,Italian terms for half the musical instruments: Piano, bass, violin, accordion Food terms: macaroni, broccoli, salami, Military terms: campaign, cannon, cavalry,2) German,German influence on English is very slight. Most are of a highly technical nature: Cobalt, quartz, nickel A few became
24、 common: hamburger, noodle,3) Dutch,Most Dutch words were borrowed in the 15th , 16th , and 17th centuries: Boom, sloop, yacht, drill stove, wagon, Santa Claus,4) Spanish and Portuguese,Many Spanish words are about physical and cultural objects: Alligator, potato, cafeteria, armada, booby Portuguese
25、 words are mainly associated with slave culture: veranda, apricot, albatross, molasses,5) Celtic,The language spoken by the earliest people in the British Isles It has little influence on English vocabulary bannock, clout, cradle, down, dun, slough Place names: Thames, Avon, The first syllable of Wi
26、nchester, Manchester, Exeter are Celtic loans.,2.5 Growth of Contemporary English Vocabulary,New words sweet in at a rate much faster than at any other historical period of time. 3 main sources:,Rapid growth of science and technology,Social, economic and political changes,Food: fast food, TV dinner,
27、 soy milk Clothing: granny glasses, pant suit Music: disco, punk rock Television and films: talk shows, boob tube Education: open university,The influence of other cultures and languages,Middle East: stir frying, pita bread African: dashikis Far East: aikido, dojo,2.6 Modes of Vocabulary Development
28、(发展方式),Modern English develop through 3 channels: creation, semantic change and borrowing.,1. Creation,Creation: using the existing materials (roots, affixes) to form new words supercomputer fruice (fruit+juice) Clinton-speak,2. Semantic change,It means an old form which takes on a new meaning to me
29、et the new word. break (dance) mouse (鼠标) web,3. Borrowing,Borrowing has played an important role in the development of vocabulary, particularly in earlier times. In earlier stages, French, Latin, Greek and Scandinavian were the major contributors.,But in modern times, borrowings become less important. Borrowed words constitute merely 6-7% of all new words,
