1.4 Language在线视频

Hi,everyone.
大家好

Today we will talk about language.
今天我们来谈谈语言

How many languages can you speak？
你会说几种语言

And why do you learn English?
你为什么学英语

English now is the most commonly used
英语是目前最通用的

international language.
国际语言

English is either the official language 
英语不仅是近60个国家的

or an official language in almost 60 sovereign states.
唯一的官方语言或官方语言之一

It is the most commonly spoken language
它是英国、美国

in the United Kingdom,
加拿大、澳大利亚

the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland,
爱尔兰和新西兰等国

and New Zealand.
最通用的口语

The language of English has developed
英语语言已经发展了

over the course of more than 1,400 years.
1400多年

The earliest forms of English,
最初的英语

a set of Anglo-Frisian dialects 
是盎格鲁-弗里西语的其中一种方言

brought to Britain 
由盎格鲁撒克逊

by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the fifth century.
移居者在5世纪带到英国

With the settlement of these people,
随着这些人的定居

English replaced the old Celtic language
英语取代了古老的凯尔特语

as the dominant language of the land.
成为了这片土地的主流语言

The country became known as England，
这个国家被称为英国

meaning“the land of the Angles”,
意思是“盎格鲁人的土地”

and English is the language of the Angles.
英语是盎格鲁人的语言

English of this period is called Old English.
这一时期的英语被称为古英语。

Old English includes most of the daily used words
古英语包括绝大部分的日常用语

like house, man and woman.  
如房子、男人和女人

Middle English began in the late 11th century
中古英语始于十一世纪下旬

with the Norman Conquest of England
随着诺曼底人对英国的征服

with numerous words come into the vocabulary
大量单词随之进入英语词汇表

such as market, etiquette and pork etc.. 
如市场、礼节、猪肉等

So Early Modern English 
十五世纪末

began in the late 15th century
随着印刷机引进伦敦

with the introduction of the printing press to London
以及钦定版《圣经》的出现，

and the King James Bible. 
早期现代英语成型

Through the worldwide influence
随着大英帝国

of the British Empire,
对整个世界的影响

modern English spread around the world
从17世纪到20世纪中期

from the 17th to mid-20th centuries.
现代英语传播到世界各地

Through all types of printed and electronic media,
随着形形色色的印刷和电子媒体的传播

as well as the emergence of the United States
同时美国以一个世界超级大国

as a global superpower,
身份的出现

English has become the leading language 
英语已成为国际交流中的

of international discourse
主导语言

and the lingua franca in many regions
许多地区的通用语就是英语

and in professional contexts
英语在许多专业领域中占据主导

such as science, navigation, and law.
比如科学、航海和法律

Modern English has little inflection 
与其他语言相比

compared with many other languages,
现代英语没有什么变化

and relies on auxiliary verbs and word order 
它依赖助动词和词序

for the expression of complex tenses, 
表达复杂的时态

aspect and mood.
情态和形态

Despite noticeable variation
尽管不同国家和地区

among the accents and dialects of English used
英语的口音和方言有

in different countries and regions,
显著的不同

and sometimes also vocabulary, grammar and spelling 
但词汇、语法和拼写是一致的

– English speakers from around the world
-因此世界各地说英语的人

are able to communicate with one another effectively.
彼此能够进行有效的交流

The U.K. does not have an official language
英国没有官方语言

but the predominant language is English,
但最主流语言是英语

it is spoken by 95% of the population
全国95%的人都把英语

as the only language.
当作唯一的语言

Dialects and accents of English
英语的方言与口音

vary among the four countries
在英国的四个国家中

of the United Kingdom.
都有不同

The major divisions are normally classified
主要可以分为

as English English,
英格兰英语

Welsh English and Scottish English.
威尔士英语和苏格兰英语三类

Welsh English refers to the dialects of English spoken
威尔士英语是指威尔士人在威尔士

in Wales by Welsh people.
使用的英语方言

The dialects are significantly influenced
这一英语方言明显受

by Welsh grammar 
威尔士语法影响

and often include words derived from Welsh.
并且通常包含源自威尔士语的词汇

In addition to the distinctive words and grammar,
除独特的词汇和语法外

a variety of accents are found across the country.
全国各地英语都有各种各样的口音

For example, the vowel of cat 
例如，cat的元音

is pronounced as a more central near-open front
被发音成一种更中央打开的

unrounded vowel,
不圆唇元音

As for Scottish English,
至于苏格兰英语

in addition to its distinct pronunciation,
除了独特的发音

grammar and expressions,
语法和表达外

it has distinctive vocabulary.
它还有独具特色的词汇

Scottish English has inherited
苏格兰英语继承了

a number of lexical items from Scots, 
苏格兰语的许多词汇

which are comparatively rare
这一点在其他形式的

in other forms of standard English.
英语中是十分少见的

General items are wee,
苏格兰英语通常用wee

the Scots word for small; 
来表达small的意思

bairn for child,
bairn表示child

bonnie for pretty, attractive, 
bonnie表示pretty，attractive

pinkie for little finger, 
pinkie表示little finger

numpty for witless person etc.
numpty表示witless person等

Besides English,
除英语外

there are also four Celtic languages in use in the U.K..
英国还有四种凯尔特语

They are welsh, Irish Gaelic,
分别是威尔士语、经常被

or most of the time,
称为爱尔兰语的

referred to as Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Cornish,
爱尔兰盖尔语、苏格兰盖尔语和英国的

which is a minority language of the UK.
一种少数民族语言康沃尔语

Meanwhile, there are many ethnic minorities
同时，也有许多少数族群

within the country
在英国国内

also speak their own languages,
也会说本民族的语言

such as Cantonese. Greek, Hindi, Mandarin etc.
比如广东话、希腊语、印地语、普通话等

However,
然而

the situation across the ocean is far more complicated.
大洋彼岸的美国的情形却复杂得多

Many languages are used,
美国是一个正在使用

or historically have been used in the United States.
许多语言或者说历史上曾使用过许多语言的国家

The country does not have an official language
就联邦政府层面而言这个国家没有

at the federal level.
法定语言

The most commonly used language is English.
最主流的语言就是英语

There are also many languages indigenous
北美或美国各州也有

to North America or to U.S. states.
许多土著语言

Languages were brought to the country
来自欧洲、亚洲或世界其他地方的

by colonists or immigrants from Europe, Asia,
殖民者或移民者将他们的语言

or other parts of the world,
带到了这个国家

and they make up a large portion
这些语言成了当前用语的

of the languages currently used.
很大一部分

several languages, including creoles and sign languages,
包括克里奥耳语和手语在内的几种语言

have also developed in the United States.
都在美国被创造出来

Approximately 430 languages are spoken
大约有430种语言正被美国人

or signed by the population,
用于口语表达或书写

of which 176 are indigenous to the area.
其中176种是当地土著语言

Fifty-two languages formerly known
这个国家内，已知的

in the country's territory are now extinct.
52种语言现在已经绝迹了

The most common language in the United States
美国最主流的语言

is known as American English.
被称为美式英语

English was inherited from British colonization,
英语在英国殖民化中被继承下来

and it is spoken by the majority of the population.
美国大多数人在说这门语言

It serves as the de facto official language,
英语成为了事实上的官方语言

the language in which government business is carried out.
即政府公务所用的语言

Since the 1965 Immigration Act, 
自《1965年移民法》颁布以来

Spanish is the second most common language
西班牙语成为这个国家第二种

in the country,
通用语言

and is spoken by approximately 35 million people，
大约有3500万人在说西班牙语

that is nearly 15% of the total population.
约占总人口的15%

The United States holds the world's fifth largest
美国拥有世界第五大

Spanish-speaking population,
西班牙语人口

outnumbered only by Mexico, Spain, Colombia,
仅次于墨西哥、西班牙、哥伦比亚

and Argentina;
和阿根廷

other estimates put the United States at over 50 million,
而有人则估计美国西班牙语人口世界第二，仅次于墨西哥

second only to Mexico.
总数过5000万

Throughout the Southwestern United States,
在美国整个西南部

long-established Spanish-speaking communities coexist
历史悠久的老西班牙语群体与

with large numbers of more recent 
大量新移民过来的西语语系者

Hispanophone immigrants.
和平共处

Although many new Latin American immigrants
虽说许多新的拉丁美洲移民者

are less than fluent in English,
英语不流利

nearly all second-generation Hispanic Americans 
但几乎所有西班牙裔美国人的后代

speak English fluently,
都能流利地说英语

while only about half still speak Spanish.
却只有约一半的人会说西班牙语

Over 2.6 million Americans speak some variety of Chinese,
超过260万的美国人说着各式的汉语

and this makes Chinese the third most-spoken language
这使得汉语成为这个国家的

in the country.
第三大口语

Until the late 20th century, 
二十世纪末以前

Yue dialects including Taishanese and Cantonese 
包括台山话和广东话在内的粤方言

were the most common among immigrants
在移民或移民后代中

or the descendants of immigrants,
十分通用

especially in California.
特别是在加州地区

Since the opening of the People's Republic of China, 
中国实行对外开放后

Standard Chinese 
标准汉语

that is Mandarin,
即普通话，

the official language of China,
中国的官方语言

has become increasingly prevalent. 
在美国变得越来越流行

Many Americans of all ethnic backgrounds
许多不同种族的美国人

are also learning Mandarin.
也在学习普通话

In New York City at least,
在纽约

although Mandarin is spoken as a native language
尽管只有10%的中国人

among only 10% of Chinese speakers,
以普通话为母语

it is used as a secondary dialect
但在他们当中把普通话

among the greatest number of them
作为第二方言的比例最高

and may in the future replace Cantonese
将来普通话可能取代粤语

as their lingua franca.
成为他们的通用语

French, the fourth most-common language,
法语，第四大最常用语言

is spoken mainly by the native French,
主要由当地法语使用者

and French-Canadian populations.
和法裔加拿大人使用

It is widely spoken in Maine, 
法语在缅因州

New Hampshire, Vermont, and in Louisiana.
新罕布什尔州、佛蒙特州和路易斯安那很流行

Many of the New England communities
许多新英格兰群体说的话

are connected to the dialect found across the border
都与加拿大魁北克和新不伦瑞克交界

in Quebec or New Brunswick.
的方言有联系

More than 13 million Americans
超过1300万美国人

possess primary French heritage,
拥有法国的基本遗产

but only 2 million speak French or French Creole
但只有200万的人会在家里说克罗奥尔法语

at home.
或法语

Besides English,
除了英语

Spanish, Chinese, French
西班牙语、汉语、法语

and some Native American languages,
还有一些美国本土语言

all other languages are usually learnt
其他语言都是

from immigrant ancestors
在美国独立后

that came after the time of independence
从移民祖先那里或者

or learned through some form of education.
通过某种形式的教育学习来的

Every generation wrestles
每一代人都在

with the role of foreign languages in schools,
教育、社会与国家安全

society and in the interests of national security
和经济繁荣中因语言不通而

and economy prosperity.
挣扎

All right.
好了

I hope now you have some understanding
我希望你现在对英美两国

of the languages in the UK and the US.
的语言状况有了初步了解

That's all for today.See you.
今天就到此为止，拜拜

Did you know?
你知道吗

The most common letter in English is "e".
英语中最常见的字母是“E”

The most common vowel in English is "e",
英语中最常见的元音是“e”

followed by "a".
其次是“a”

The most common consonant in English is "r",
英语中最常见的辅音是“r”

followed by "t".
其次是“t”

Every syllable in English
英语中的每一个音节

must have a vowel sound.
都必须有一个元音

Not all syllables have consonants.
并非所有音节都有辅音

Only two English words in current use end in "-gry".
目前只有两个英语单词以“-gry”结尾

They are "angry" and "hungry".
那就是“angry”和“hungry”