Where did English come from? - Claire Bowern

英語從何而來？ - 克萊兒．寶雲

譯者: Crystal Yip 審譯者: Marssi Draw

When we talk about English, we often think of it as a single language

談到英語時 我們時常認為它是一種語言

but what do the dialects spoken in dozens of countries around the world

但在全世界數十個國家的方言之間

have in common with each other,

究竟有什麼相同的地方？

or with the writings of Chaucer?

與喬叟的文字有何相同之處？

And how are any of them related to the strange words in Beowulf?

這些英語又與《貝武夫》中的 陌生文字有何關係？

The answer is that like most languages,

答案是，如同大部分的語言

English has evolved through generations of speakers,

英語是經過世代口耳相傳而演化出來

undergoing major changes over time.

期間經歷一些重大變化

By undoing these changes,

透過還原這些變化

we can trace the language from the present day

我們能夠從現今的英語

back to its ancient roots.

追溯至其古代根源

While modern English shares many similar words

現代英語與拉丁語衍生的羅曼語

with Latin-derived romance languages,

有很多相似的單字

like French and Spanish,

正如法語和西班牙語

most of those words were not originally part of it.

大部分英語單字原本並不屬於英語

Instead, they started coming into the language

而是在1066年 諾曼人入侵英格蘭時傳入

with the Norman invasion of England in 1066.

成為英語的一部分

When the French-speaking Normans conquered England

當說法語的諾曼人佔領英格蘭

and became its ruling class,

成為其統治階級

they brought their speech with them,

他們帶來了自己的語言

adding a massive amount of French and Latin vocabulary

非常多的法語和拉丁語字彙

to the English language previously spoken there.

被引入於當時本土所說的英語

Today, we call that language Old English.

今天，我們把那種英語稱為「古英語」

This is the language of Beowulf.

即是《貝武夫》所用的語言

It probably doesn't look very familiar,

古英語可能看似較為陌生

but it might be more recognizable if you know some German.

但如果你懂一點德語的話 就較能辨認出古英語

That's because Old English belongs to the Germanic language family,

這是因為古英語屬於日耳曼語族

first brought to the British Isles in the 5th and 6th centuries

於5至6世紀，初次傳入不列顛群島

by the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes.

透過盎格魯人、撒克遜人和朱特人

The Germanic dialects they spoke would become known as Anglo-Saxon.

他們所說的日耳曼方言 日後成為了盎格魯-撒克遜語

Viking invaders in the 8th to 11th centuries

於8至11世紀，維京人的入侵

added more borrowings from Old Norse into the mix.

為英語帶來源自古北歐語的新字彙

It may be hard to see the roots of modern English

要理解現代英語的根源似乎相當困難

underneath all the words borrowed

因為需要溯源至

from French, Latin, Old Norse and other languages.

這些分別來自於法文、拉丁文 古北歐語和其他語言的單字

But comparative linguistics can help us by focusing on grammatical structure,

但比較語言學 能夠幫助我們專注於文法結構

patterns of sound changes,

語音轉變的格式

and certain core vocabulary.

和一些核心字彙

For example, after the 6th century,

例如，公元六世紀後

German words starting with "p," systematically shifted to a "pf" sound

德文中，以「p」為首的單字 一律轉成發「pf」音

while their Old English counterparts kept the "p" unchanged.

而在古英語則保留了「p」的發音

In another split, words that have "sk" sounds in Swedish

在另一種情況中，瑞典語中的「sk」音

developed an "sh" sound in English.

於英語發展成「sh」音

There are still some English words with "sk,"

現在仍有英語單字保留「sk」

like "skirt," and "skull,"

例如「skirt（短裙）」 和「skull（頭骨）」

but they're direct borrowings from Old Norse

它們雖然直接來自古北歐語

that came after the "sk" to "sh" shift.

但是在「sk」音變成「sh」音後 才傳入英語

These examples show us

這些例子告訴我們

that just as the various Romance languages descended from Latin,

正如種種羅曼語同源於拉丁語

English, Swedish, German, and many other languages

英語、瑞典語、德語和很多其他語言

descended from their own common ancestor known as Proto-Germanic

同源於一種語言

即是於約公元前500年 使用的原始日耳曼語

spoken around 500 B.C.E.

Because this historical language was never written down,

因為這古老的語言 從未留下任何書面記錄

we can only reconstruct it by comparing its descendants,

我們只能夠比較它的後繼者來重塑它

which is possible thanks to the consistency of the changes.

這方法有賴於語言轉變的連貫性

We can even use the same process to go back one step further,

我們甚至可以運用相同方法來更進一步

and trace the origins of Proto-Germanic to a language called Proto-Indo-European,

把原始日耳曼語溯源至

約6000年前的原始印歐語

spoken about 6000 years ago

on the Pontic steppe in modern day Ukraine and Russia.

來自東歐大草原 位於現今烏克蘭和俄羅斯境內

This is the reconstructed ancestor of the Indo-European family

原始印歐語是印歐語系重塑出來的祖先

that includes nearly all languages historically spoken in Europe,

印歐語系包括絕大部分的古代歐洲語言

as well as large parts of Southern and Western Asia.

和大部分的古代西南亞語言

And though it requires a bit more work,

雖然尚有工作還未完成

we can find the same systematic similarities, or correspondences,

但是我們能夠在印歐語系 各種語言的相關詞彙之間

between related words in different Indo-European branches.

找出相同的系統相似性或對應性

Comparing English with Latin,

例如，比較英語和拉丁語

we see that English has "t" where Latin has "d",

可以發現單字中 英語有「t」，拉丁語則有「d」

and "f" where latin has "p" at the start of words.

而英語有「f」，拉丁語則有「p」

Some of English's more distant relatives include Hindi, Persian

部分英語的遠親包括了印地語、波斯語

and the Celtic languages it displaced in what is now Britain.

和現時仍存在於不列顛上的凱爾特語族

Proto-Indo-European itself descended from an even more ancient language,

原始印歐語本身源於更古老的語言

but unfortunately, this is as far back as historical and archeological evidence

但不幸地，這已經超出歷史和考古證據

will allow us to go.

無法讓我們繼續深究

Many mysteries remain just out of reach,

很多謎團尚未解開

such as whether there might be a link between Indo-European

例如印歐語系和其他主要語系之間

and other major language families,

有沒有關聯

and the nature of the languages spoken in Europe prior to its arrival.

以及原始印歐語傳入前 歐洲本土語言的性質如何

But the amazing fact remains that nearly 3 billion people around the world,

但奇妙的事還有 全球當中有約30億人

many of whom cannot understand each other,

雖然大部分聽不懂對方說的話

are nevertheless speaking the same words shaped by 6000 years of history.

但經過6000年語言演變 都仍說著相同的字彙