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1、HistoryofEnglishEnglandispartofthesmallislandofthewestcoastofEurope.YetEnglishisthespokenlanguageorelseistheofficiallanguageofallthesepartsoftheworld.Itisinfactaworldlanguage.Wherediditstart?SomewherebetweenSouthRussianeartheBlackSeaandBalticseveralthousandyearsago.Itis
2、agroupoflanguageswenowcallIndo-European.FromheretheyhavespreadalloverEuropeandintoAsia,theAmericas,AfricaandAustralasia.HereinNorthernEurope,oneoftheseIndo-Europeanlanguages,abouttwothousandyearsago,dividedintothreemaingroupsofdialects.Theeasterngroup,markedroughlyhere,
3、hasquitediedout.ThenortherngroupspreadacrossScandinavia,andmuchlaterintoIceland.ThewesterngroupbegantospreadoverthesepartsofEurope.NowBritainabout1,600yearsagowasstillpartoftheRomanEmpire.ItwasinhabitedbyCeltswhospokeCeltic,andbyRomanisedCeltswhospokeaformofLatin.Butthe
4、Romanshadtogo,leavingthelandtotheCelts.Afewyearslater,GermanictribesfromnorthwestGermanyinvadedtheisland.TheCeltsretreatedtothewest,wheretheCelticlanguagesurvived.InvadersquicklysettleddowninthefertilelandandbecametheEnglish.TheyspokefourEnglishdialects.OfthesefourEngli
5、shdialects,thecentralone,Mercian,isthebasisofmodernEnglish.ThisearlyEnglish,broughtfromnorthwestGermanywasalreadyasatisfactorylanguagewithfirststraightpoetry.Fromitcomeouressentialandfamiliarwords,suchasman,woman,bairn,eat,drink,sleep.Alreadyinthefifthcentury,Englishwas
6、aflexiblelanguage,quitereadytoenrichitsstockofwordswithnewacquisition.FromtheoriginalCelticlanguagetheEnglishbeganborrowinganywordstheywanted,notablyrivernames,ThamesandSevern,orthenamesoftowns,suchasDover,London,Lincoln,Leeds.FromtheRomanisedCeltstheEnglishborrowedLati
7、nwords,manybeingnamesofplantandagriculturalimplements.TypicalLatinwordsadoptedinthisperiodintoEnglisharecock,pear,cup,pail,anchor.AboutahundredyearslatermissionariescamefromRomantoconvertEnglandintoChristianity.FromthemtheEnglishtakemanymoreLatinwords,especiallytermsofr
8、eligion,suchasminster,alms,altar.1Duringtheninthcentury,theVikingsfromScandinaviaattackedmanypartsofSouthernEu
