Chapter 2 The Development of the English Vocabulary
第二章 英语词汇的发展史
1. The Indo-European Language Family印欧语系的谱系关系
识记：印欧语系的各个分支和各个分支的主要语言
Armenian (亚美尼亚语) –existing till now
Eastern set:
Albanian （阿尔巴尼亚语） Balto-Slavic(波罗的海语系) Indo-Iranian 印度伊朗语系 –existing till now
Prussian 普鲁士语
Lithuanian 立陶宛语 Polish 波兰语
Czech 捷克语
Bulgarian 保加利亚语
Slovenian 西洛文尼亚语
Russian 俄罗斯语
Persian 波斯语 Bengali 孟加拉语 Last 3 derived from Sanskrit 梵文(dead) Hindi 印地语 Romany 吉普赛语 Scottish 苏格兰语 Celtic 凯尔特语 Irish 爱尔兰语 Welsh 威尔士语 Breton法国布里多尼语 Portuguese 葡萄牙语 Western Set :
Italic 意大利语系 Hellenic 希腊语 Germanic 日耳曼语 Spanish 西班牙语 French 法语 Belong to Italic Italian 意大利语 Through Latin Rumanian 罗马尼亚语 Greek 希腊语 Norwegian 挪威语 Icelandic 冰岛语 Scandinavian Danish 丹麦语 斯堪的纳维亚语 Swedish 瑞典语 German德语 Dutch 荷兰语 Flemish 弗兰德语 English 英语 2. A historical overview of English vocabulary英语发展的历史回顾
考点：英语词汇发展的三个阶段：古英语词汇，中古英语词汇，现代英语词汇及其特点 Inhabitants of the Island:
Celts(Celtic) – Roman Legions(Latin，55) – German Tribes(Anglo-Saxon，410)-Norwegian and Danish Vikings (Scandinavian，900) – Norman（French, 1066）
① Old English 古英语 （450-1150）(Anglo-Saxon)
Character:
1. Latin speaking Roman missionaries under St. Augustine came to spread Christianity at the end of the 6th century. The introduction of Christianity had a great impact on English vocabulary.
(New Words: abbot男修道院长, candle, altar圣坛, amen, apostle使徒)
2. Didn’t borrow as heavily as later, they changed meaning of native words, the common practice was to create new words by combining two native words.
（e.g. handbook）
3. Many Scandinavian words came into the English language. Many of the words are alike or interchangeably.
4. Old English has a vocabulary of 50000-60000 words, which was highly inflected. Nouns, Pronouns, Adj., verbs, Adv, had complex endings or vowel changes, differ greatly from what we use today. 内部高度曲折，有复杂的词尾原音变化。 ② Middle English （1150-1500）中古英语
Character:
1. English were defeated, reduced to the status of an inferior people like, French
became the polite speech. English, Latin and French existing simultaneously for over a century.
2. Between 1250-1500, 9000 words of French origin poured into English.75% of
them are still in use today. 2500 Dutch words found their way to English as
Britain had trade relationship with the Low Countries. (荷兰、比利时、卢森堡) 3. Retained much fewer inflections. Endings of Nouns and Adj. making distinction
of number, case and often of gender lost their distinctive forms. The same is true of verb. If we say Old English was a language of full endings, Middle English was one of leveled endings. 内部曲折形式少了很多，标志名词和形容词的数，格，性词尾形
式已经不再明显了，动词情况也是一样。如果古英语尽是词尾的话，那么中古英语的词尾已经去了一半。
② Modern English 现代英语（1500-up to now）
1. Subdivided into Early English(1500-1700) and Late English(1700-Now) 2. Borrowed heavily from Latin during 1500-1700 known as Renaissance which
is a new upsurge of leaning ancient Greek and Roman classics, over 10000 new words entered English Language, many of which were taken from Latin and Greek by scholars who wanted to replace the forms earlier adopted form French.
3. English absorbed words from all major languages of the world.
(Experienced by Bourgeois Revolution and industrial Revolution, rose to be a great economic power and began to stretch tentacles to every corner of globe)
4. More words are created by word formation since the world has seen
breathtaking advances in science and technology.
5. Word endings were mostly lost with just a few exceptions. English has
evolved from a synthetic language to the present analytic language. 英语从古英语的综合型语言变成了现在的分析型语言。
3. Growth of Present-day English Vocabulary 当代英语词汇的发展状况
考点：当代英语发展的现状
New words sweep in at a rate much faster than any other period in the history. Three main sources of new words: Rapid development of science and technology; Social economic and political changes; Influence of other cultures and languages. 4. Modes of Vocabulary Development 词汇发展的方式
考点：词汇发展的3个主要方式 创造新词，旧词新意，借用外来语。 各种方式的地位和作用
① Creation 创造新词: By using the existing materials, namely roots, affixes and
other elements. Most important way of vocabulary expansion.
② Semantic Changes 旧词新意：Old form takes a new meaning to meet the new
needs. Enrich the vocabulary by creating more new usages of the words.(not increase the number of words)
③ Borrowing 借用外来词：Vital role in the development of vocabulary, particular
in earlier times.
