英语翻译The English Language,Part IIPeople who have spoken English all their lives are usually surprised to learn that Old English,which was spoken in the British Isles from about 450 to 1100 A.D.,is like a foreign language to them.To understand

英语翻译The English Language,Part IIPeople who have spoken English all their lives are usually surprised to learn that Old English,which was spoken in the British Isles from about 450 to 1100 A.D.,is like a foreign language to them.To understand
英语翻译
The English Language,Part II
People who have spoken English all their lives are usually surprised to learn that Old English,which was spoken in the British Isles from about 450 to 1100 A.D.,is like a foreign language to them.To understand it,they must study it in school,just as they would study Spanish,Latin,or Japanese.Many of the sounds of Old English,as well as the grammar and a great deal of the vocabulary,are different from those of Modern English.The spelling is so different that,without special study,one cannot read the language at all.
The language of Chaucer's time,known as Middle English,is more like Modern English; even so,most people feel at a loss when they first start to read it and find that they need special instruction.The language of Shakespeare's time is sometimes called Early Modern English,but most students of English need some help in order to read Shakespeare's plays intelligently.Shakespeare's vocabulary was large,and the words he used often had different meanings from what they have today.His grammar,too,was different from modern grammar,especially in word order.
Even in Modern English there are variations in usage from place to place.For instance,the English used by an Australian is not exactly like that used by a Canadian.But most educated speakers of English have little trouble communicating with each other,regardless of what part of the world they come from.As was pointed out earlier,there is enough tolerance within any language so that minor variations in pronunciation,grammar,and word usage do not interfere with communication,even though another's use of the language may sometimes seem a little strange.English is not unique in this respect.Every living language grows and changes,losing some sounds,grammatical features,and words,while changing others and adding new ones.Thus,your own language will surely continue to develop in the future.These changes are interesting to observe.
English is the language of one of the greatest bodies of literature in the world.And so much other writing has been done in English that a person who knows this language has a tool with which he can explore every known field of study.Not only has a great body of writing been produced in English,but most of the significant literature and information produced in other languages has been translated into English.

英语翻译The English Language,Part IIPeople who have spoken English all their lives are usually surprised to learn that Old English,which was spoken in the British Isles from about 450 to 1100 A.D.,is like a foreign language to them.To understand
那些终生说英语的人,通常对要学习古典英语而感到惊讶.在公元450—1100年的英国说的古典英语,现在对他们来说也如同外语一般了.为了能理解古典英语,他们要在学校学习它,就像要学习西班牙语,拉丁语或是日语那样.古典英语中的许多发音,语法以及大量的词汇都与现代英语有着很大的区别.连拼写也是如此,如果不专门学习拼写,没人能读懂古典英语.
在乔叟时代的英语,就是在众所周知的中世纪时代,他们的语言已和现代英语十分相近了.既便如此,大多数人在初次阅读时仍感到困惑不解,需要特别的指导.在莎士比亚时代的英语时常称作“近代英语”,但大多数读英语的学生为了准确地理解莎士比亚的戏剧而寻求帮助.莎士比亚的剧作词汇庞大,他所用的单词词义与当今的词义有不少出入.语法也是如此,与当代的语法不同,特别是词序上的不同.
即使是现代英语,不同地区的用法也各不相同.譬如说,澳大利亚人用的英语就不同于加拿大人.但是绝大多数学过英语的人在交流上毫无阻碍,尽管他们来自世界各地.正如早期指出的,任何语言在发音,语法和单词用法上的细微差别都应当具有足够的宽容度,以致不影响到交流,即使另种用法有时看似有些奇怪.英语在这方面也不例外.任何存在的语言发展并更新着,省略某些发音,某些语法特点和单词,同时也会新增内容.为此,你的母语才会在未来不断发展.
英语是世界文学主体中极为重要的语言之一.有许多英语写成的作品,只有懂得英语的人才能把它大作当作工具来探索未知的领域.英语不仅是写作的主要形式,许多重要的外来文献和资料也都被翻译成了英语.