История языка 19-21

19.  Semantic changes in the vocabulary of Early New English Period. The growth of the English vocabulary in the course of history has not been confined to the appearance of new items as a result of various ways of word formation and borrowings. Internal sources of the replenishment of the vocabulary include also multiple semantic changes which created new meanings and new words through semantic shifts and through splitting of words into distinct lexical units. Semantic changes are commonly divided into widening and narrowing of meaning and into methaphoric and metonymic shifts, though a strict subdivision is difficult, as different changes were often combined in the development of one and the same word.  Examples of narrowing can be found in the history of OE deor which meant ‘animal’ and changed into the modern deer. Widening of meaning can be illustrated by journey which meant a day’s work or a day’s journey (from O Fr journee related to jour ‘day’); holiday was formerly a religious festival, as its first component comes from OE kalis, NE holy, but came to be applied to all kinds of occasions when people do not work or attend classes.

20.  Borrowings from classical languages, with special reference to the age of the Renaissance. Latin continued to be used in England in the OE and ME periods in religious rituals, in legal documents and in texts of scientific and philosophical character. After the Norman Conquest (1066) it was partially replaced by official Anglo-Norman but still its main spheres remained the Church, the law courts and academic activities. The period of the Renaissance saw a new influx of Latin borrowings (including Greek loan words). In the 16th and 17th c. Latin was the main language of philosophy and science, its use in the sphere of religion was more restricted after the Reformation and the publication of the English versions of the Bible. Many classical borrowings came into Early NE through French for the French language had adopted many loan-words from classical languages at the time of the Renaissance. New ideas encountered in classical works were not susceptible to precise translation – so scholars retained the Latin terms. A distinction should be made between genuine Latin and Greek words, which were used in ancient times with the same meaning, and those which were based on Latin and Greek roots but were made as new terms in modern times. These borrowings were adopted in their original form and meaning or with slight adaptation (dropping or change of the ending) from the 16th c. They mostly indicate abstract concepts and belong to the vocabulary of educated people. Many Latin and Greek words were first used by Thomas More (early 16th c.) who wrote in Latin and English (anticipate, contradictory, exact, exaggerate, explain, fact, monopoly, necessitate, pretext). Many classical borrowings first appeared in Shakespeare’s works (accommodation, apostrophe, dislocate, misanthrope, reliance, submerge). Some borrowings belong to scientific terminology (mostly Greek prototypes): acid, analysis, antenna, apparatus, appendix, atom, axis, complex, diagnosis. A distinct semantic group of Greek loan-words pertains to theatre, literature and rhetoriс (comedy, climax, critic, dialogue, drama, epilogue, episode, metaphore, rhythm). Some classic words underwent sematic changes (atom meant ‘smth indivisible’, but changed its meaning due to the new discoveries in physics). Сlassical languages have provided a supply of roots in the creation of new roots. (Thomas Elyot (16th c.) introduced the Greek word democracy, education and encyclopaedia). Latin and Greek have supplied English (as well as other modern languages) with a great number of derivational affixes which have become productive in English. humanism (-ism from Greek –ismos, Latin – ismus); fraternize (from the Greek –izen, Latin – izare); The Greek prefixes anti-, di-, neo-, the Latin (and French) prefixes de-, ex-, re-. One of the effects of the classical borrowings was the increase of the number of synonyms. Native English kingly, French royal, Latin regal. 

21.  New English Grammar. In this period grammar became fixed. The Grammar we know now.

22.  Geographical expansion of the English Language. English outside Great Britain. West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family that is closely related to Frisian, German, and Netherlandic languages. English originated in England and is now widely spoken on six continents. It is the primary language of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and various small island nations in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. It is also an official language of India, the Philippines, and many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa. 

23.  American and Canadian English. American English, variety of the English language spoken in the United States. Although all Americans do not speak the same way, their speech has enough in common that American English can be recognized as a variety of English distinct from British English, Australian English, and other national varieties. American English has grown up with the country. It began to diverge from British English during its colonial beginnings and acquired regional differences and ethnic flavor during the settlement of the continent. Today it influences other languages and other varieties of English because it is the medium by which the attractions of American culture—its literature, motion pictures, and television programs—are transmitted to the world.  All speakers of English share a common linguistic system and a basic set of words. But American English differs from British English, Australian English, and other national varieties in many of its pronunciations, words, spellings, and grammatical constructions. Words or phrases of American origin, and those used in America but not so much elsewhere, are called Americanisms.  In broad terms, Canadian and American speakers tend to sound like one another. They also tend to sound different from a large group of English speakers who sound more British, such as those in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. For example, most Canadians and Americans pronounce an r sound after the vowel in words like barn, car, and farther, while speakers from the British English group do not. Also, some British English speakers drop h sounds at the beginning of words, so that he and his are pronounced as if they were spelled ee and is. The English spoken in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa sounds more like British English than American English does because these varieties have had less time to diverge from British English. The process of separate development began later in these countries than in North America.  Although Canadians and Americans share many speech habits, Canadian speakers of English sometimes tend more toward British English because of the closer historical association of Britain with Canada. One prominent difference between American English and Canadian English is the vowel sound in words like out and house. Americans often say that the Canadian pronunciation sounds as if the words were spelled oot and hoose

24.  Australian English, New Zealand English. Australian English is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. Australian English is the country's common language and de facto national language. While Australia has no official language, English is the first language of the majority of the population, being the only language spoken in the home for about 72.7% of Australians. It is also the main language used in compulsory education, as well as federal, state and territorial legislatures and courts. Australian English began to diverge from British English soon after the foundation of the Colony of New South Wales in 1788. The settlement was intended mainly as a penal colony. The British convicts sent to Australia were mostly people from large English cities, such as Cockneys from London. In addition to these many of the original immigrants were free settlers, military personnel and administrators and their families.  Australian English differs from other varieties in its phonology, pronunciation, lexicon, idiom, grammar and spelling. Australian English is relatively consistent across the continent; however, it encompasses numerous regional and sociocultural varieties. The English spoken in Australia, with its marked diphthongization of vowels, also makes use of special words, retained from English regional dialect usages, or taken over from indigenous Australian terms. There are still many Aboriginal languages in Austalia, though they are spoken by only a few hundred speakers each and their continued existence is threatened. More than 80 percent of the population is British. By the mid-20th century, with rapid decline of its Aboriginal tongues, English was without rivals in Australia. Some Australian English terms came from Aboriginal speech: the words boomerang, corroboree (warlike dance and then any large and noisy gathering), dingo (reddish-brown wild dog), galah (cockatoo), gunyah (bush hut), kangaroo, karri (dark-red eucalyptus tree)

25.  The Future of English. Geographically, English is the most widespread language on earth, and it is second only to Mandarin Chinese in the number of people who speak it. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has five official languages: English, French, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese. The influence of these languages upon one another will inevitably increase.  It is reasonable to ask if changes in English can be predicted. There will doubtless be modifications in pronunciation, especially in that of long vowels and diphthongs. In weakly stressed syllables there is already a discernible tendency, operating effectively through radio and television, to restore the full qualities of vowels in these syllables. This tendency may bring British English more into line with American English and may bring them both a little nearer to Spanish and Italian. Further, it may help to narrow the gap between pronunciation and spelling. Other factors will also contribute toward the narrowing of this gap: advanced technological education, computer programming, machine translation, and expanding mass media.  Considerable changes will continue to be made in the forms and functions of auxiliary verbs, catenative (linking) verbs, phrasal verbs, and verb phrases. In syntax the movement toward a stricter word order seems too many to be certain to continue. In vocabulary further increases are expected if the present trends continue. The influence of the mass media appears likely to result in standardized pronunciation, more uniform spelling, and eventually a spelling closer to actual pronunciation. Despite the warnings of linguistic purists, new words are constantly being coined and usages modified to express new concepts. Its vocabulary is constantly enriched by linguistic borrowings, particularly by cross-fertilizations from American English. Because it is capable of infinite possibilities of communication, the English language has become the chief international language.