英文欣赏：英语中的法语(上)
French in English
英语中的法语
There is no doubt that today English is one of the most important and richest of the world’s languages.
毫无疑问,英语是当今世界上最重要、最丰富多彩的语言之一。
Probably the most significant factor accounting for the latter quality was the Conquest of England by the Normans more than 900 years ago.
影响英语后一特征最重要的因素很可能来自于九百多年前的诺曼人对英格兰入侵。
The conquering Normans spoke French. Most of the inhabitants of the conquered nation spoke varieties of Anglo-Saxon of Germanic origin.
被征服的诺曼人讲法语,这些被侵略的国家的大部分居民都讲着各种由日耳曼语起源的各种盎格鲁撒克逊语言。
Of course, the Normans were stronger than the local inhabitants politically and naturally their language became the language of the King’s court.
当然,诺曼人在政治方面比当地居住的其他种族都要强势,自然而然,他们的语言就成为了宫廷用语。
It also became the language for written documents, together with Latin, and was generally regarded as “more literary” and somehow “better” than the language of the common people.
后来还同拉丁语一起成为了官方书写文件的语言。他们普遍认为,自己的语言比平民用的语言更”好”且更文雅。
In spite of apparently being “worse”, however, the language of the ordinary inhabitants of England, and especially the language spoken by the inhabitants of the central part of the country, did not die out.
抛开明显的”缺陷”, 英格兰普通居民的语言,特别是中部地区的语言,在今日并未消亡。
For centuries, the two languages continued to exist side by side.
数世纪以来,英语和法语一直并存。
Besides this invasion French has influenced English in several others ways.
除了这次侵略外,法语也在其他几个方面影响着英语。
First, France had its renaissance earlier than England and was a wealthier country than England for many centuries, so England borrowed many words and phrases for cooking, fashion, and arts from France.
首先,法国比英国更早进行文艺复兴运动,且数世纪以来都比英国更加富裕,英语中许多有关烹饪,时尚和艺术的词汇都是从法语中借用来的。
Second, French became the official language of diplomacy, so that many words and phrases for law, war, and travel came into English.
其次,法语是官方的外交用语,因此英语中也借用了许多有关法律,战争和旅行的词汇。