the Road to Modern English 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. Native English speakers can understand each other even if they don’t speak the same kind of English. Look at this example: British Betty: Would you like to see my flat? American Amy: Yes. I’d like to come up to you apartment. 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 500 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 to. English began to be spoken in both countries. 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. 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. 英语 Reading 通向现代英语之路 16世纪末期大约有5百万到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。 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： 英国人贝蒂：“请到我的公寓(flat)里来看看，好吗?” 美国人艾米：“好的。我很乐意到你的公寓(apartment)去。” 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，英语不那么像德语了。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，特别是在词汇方面。所以到17世纪，莎士比亚所用的词汇量比以前任何时期都大。在1620年，一些英国人搬迁到美洲定居。后来，到了19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。 最后，到20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，诺厄·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。 现在，英语在南亚也被当作外语或第二语言来说。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?这只能由时间来回答了。 Using Language 标准英语和方言 什么是标准英语?是在英国、美国、加拿大、澳大利亚、印度、新西兰所说的英语吗?信不信由你，(世界上)没有什么标准英语。许多人认为，电视和收音机里所说的就是标准英语，这是因为在早期的之声节目里，人们期望新闻播音员所说的英语是的英语。然而，在电视和收音机里，你也会听出人们在说话时的差异。 当人们用不同于“标准语言”的词语时，那就叫做方言。 美国英语有许多方言，特别是中西部和南部地区的方言，以及黑人和西班牙人的方言。在美国有些地区，即使是相邻城镇的两个人所说的语言都可能稍有不同。美国英语之所以有这么多的方言是因为美国人是来自世界各地的缘故。 地理位置对方言的产生也有影响。住在美国东部山区的一些人说着比较古老的英语方言。当美国人从一个地方搬到另一个地方时，他们也就把他们的方言随着带去了。因此，美国东南部山区的人同美国西北部的人所说的方言就几乎相同。美国是一个使用多种方言的大国。虽然许多美国人经常搬迁，但是他们仍然能够辨别、理解彼此的方言。 本文来源：https://www.wddqw.com/doc/84c2f01774a20029bd64783e0912a21615797f58.html