首页
登录
职称英语
The English language, like all languages, has evolved over time. Old English
The English language, like all languages, has evolved over time. Old English
游客
2023-10-15
37
管理
问题
The English language, like all languages, has evolved over time. Old English(OE), developed from the Germanic branch of Indo- European languages and was characterized by limited vocabulary with word endings that identified the gender, number and case of words. Middle English(ME)was distinguished by a large influx of French words into the language, and the shift to more simplified word forms. Modern English featured a move toward standardization of the language by formalizing both usage and spelling.
Some 17 th and 18 th century writers held a rather low opinion of English. They felt that because French and Latin followed specific patterns and rules, these languages were more prestigious than English. Such writers as Jonathan Swift and John Dryden concluded that the corruption they saw in their native tongue could be improved by standardization of the language. A number of these writers advanced the idea of a language academy, modeled after the Italian and French academies, as a move toward standardization. The Italian and French academies had both set about creating dictionaries of their respective languages , so it was proposed that the English academy should create a standardized grammar and dictionary for the English language. An English academy was never actually established, but various writers did succeed in establishing a process of standardization by the end of thel700s.
The first writer to publish a book of grammar rules for "proper" use of English was William Loughton, in 1734. This was followed by Joseph Priestley’s attempt at establishing grammar rules in his Rudiments of English Grammar. Priestly’s grammar was not nearly as famous as his later scientific work and his discovery of oxygen. Other grammar texts followed later. All of these works based grammar rules on the writers’ opinions of correct usage of the language rather than on an analysis of how people really used the language.
The move toward regulation proposed by Dryden and others was to prescribe correct usage of the English language. A few of the rules proposed in the prescriptive grammar texts of Dryden’s time were changes in the use of double negatives, contractions, and spellings. Such rules are known today as prescriptive grammar. Later, another way of looking at the roles of English grammar developed. Writers of this second kind of grammar texts objectively described the rules native speakers seemed to follow. This kind of grammar was later referred to as descriptive.
The debate between the prescriptivists and the descriptiv-ists has continued until the present day. For example, according to prescriptive grammar rules set up by Dryden and his colleagues, English sentences should never end with a preposition. In common usage, however, prepositions show up quite regularly at the end of sentences. Prescriptivists also view the usage of "ain’t" as a contraction of "am not" as inelegant and wrong, whereas many dictionaries list "ain’t" , indicating the word is used by speakers of English.
The prescriptivists also disallow regional usage that does not follow the standard rules of English. Such regional variations in American English include the use of "y’all" by speakers in the South to mean "you all". Contraction of the same words can be heard as "youse" in the Northeast, especially used by working-class speakers of English.
What then is right and wrong in language, and who decides? It can be argued that the final decision about correct or incorrect language rests with those who hold power in society. Language as cultural capital can be used to allow access to institutions or classes in society while excluding those who do not use the accepted form of the language. Most linguists would argue that the language of educated middle-class speakers is not better(or worse)than the language of other social groups. They would, however, acknowledge that some standardization of form is useful.
Is corruption of the English language a problem, then, as some prescriptivists claim? The descriptivists’ answer is that English is changing, as all languages must, but that such change is not a corruption of the language. Living language must change, adapt, and grow. Whether change is good or bad is not the question, descriptivists say, because change is inevitable. The only languages no longer in flux are those no longer in use.
Questions 71 -75:
Complete the summary below with information front the passage, using no more than three words for each blank.
The English language first developed from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. One of the major changes in the language from Old English to Middle English was the【R1】______of French words into the language. During the shift from Middle to Modern English, 【R2】______were introduced for standardization. Writers who supported this【R3】______ of the language held the opinion that, compared to Latin and French, English was inelegant due to its lack of rules. These writers set down【R4】______of grammar and spelling for others to follow. However, some modern linguists argue that grammars should describe the【R5】______of the language rather than force rules upon native speakers of the language. The debate between prescriptive and descriptive grammar continues today. [br] 【R4】
选项
答案
standardization rules
解析
(文章第三段指出“All of these works based grammar rules on the writers’opinions of correctusage of the language rather than on an analysis of how people really used the language”,可知这些编纂者依据所认为的正确用法制订使用规则,这些被制订的使用规范则成为标准规则。)
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3098889.html
相关试题推荐
Itcanbeshown,forexample,thatEnglishandGreekarerelated.______,theyg
WhereisEnglishusedinfringecountrieslikeJapan?A、Inacademicwriting.B、In
IfoundIcouldeasilymakemyself_________byusingsignlanguage.A、understoodB
InhisplaysShakespeare_________hischaracterslivethroughtheirlanguage.A、
ItisthedescendantofthelanguageoftheQuran(古兰经)thescaredbookoftheIsl
Foronething,peoplewho’sfirstlanguageisEnglishvaluetheirlinguisticid
Pronunciationisoneofthemostobviousareas.Forexample,inOldEnglish,pe
Companiessaythatinmanycases,thebenefitsofforeign-languageknowl
Companiessaythatinmanycases,thebenefitsofforeign-languageknowl
Companiessaythatinmanycases,thebenefitsofforeign-languageknowl
随机试题
Ireadveryslowly_____________________(以免我读错一些单词).forfearthatIshouldmis
Whichofthefollowingisthebesttitleforthepassage?[originaltext]Whe
砖砌体砌筑施工工艺顺序正确的是( )。A.抄平、放线、摆砖样、立皮数杆、盘角、
各类管线的垂直排序,由浅入深宜为下列哪项?()A.电力电缆、热力管、给水管,
二类高层公寓楼,每层标准层建筑面积为300㎡,每层至少需配置9L的水型灭火器多少
A.流感疫苗 B.乙肝疫苗 C.脊髓灰质炎疫苗 D.麻疹疫苗 E.百白破
( )是指具有实体,可进入流通领域,但并非在零售环节进行销售,具有商品属性,用
股份有限公司以超过股票票面金额的发行价格发行股份所得的溢价款应当列为公司的(?)
女性内生殖器官正确的说法除外A:成年人子宫重约50g B:阴道壁由黏膜层、肌层
某大型项目拟生产市场急需的某种产品,预测该产品含销项税的目标市场价格为1200元
最新回复
(
0
)