随身英语
How the Romans influenced English 罗马文明对英语语言的影响
罗马人在公元43年至410年间生活在英国。罗马人对英语语言的影响深远，直到今天，人们仍在使用一些由拉丁语衍变的词汇，尤其是与食物、饮品、建筑以及英国地名有关的词汇。本文介绍罗马文明对英语语言的影响。
词汇：Latin 拉丁语
The Romans lived in Britain between 43AD and 410AD but their legacy is still felt today and not just in physical ruins. The Romans left us language, including some common English words.
During the Roman Empire, Latin, an ancient language, was spoken in many parts of Britain. While the Romans wrote in classical Latin, they conversed in vulgar Latin – colloquial, everyday language that was used between soldiers and in trade. Because of trade, words that stuck often relate to food and drink, such as ‘wine’, which came from the Latin ‘vinum’. Others relate to dwellings such as ‘kitchen’, derived from the verb ‘cook’, and ‘wall’, which originally referred to a stake or post outside a fort.
Settlements and roads in Roman times were extensive. The word ‘street’, used generally as well as being used for specific names of streets, originally came from ‘strata’ which meant paved road. On a similar note, academic research from the field of linguistics indicates many well-known place names in the UK owe their origin to Latin. For example, the Romans used ‘castrum’ to refer to a city, which developed into the common place ending -chester, -caster or -cester. Consider Manchester. It is a former Roman fort which was known as Mamuciam. Other places with Roman derivations include Lancaster and Leicester.
A significant impact on English which came from the Romans is the use of the Roman alphabet. Manuscripts of Old English texts have shown a version not unalike written English today. Differences include some letters however, such as two symbols called ‘ash’ and ‘eth’. Nowadays you are more likely to see these symbols in a guide to pronunciation.
So, even though 1,600 years have passed, the Romans live on.
词汇表
legacy 遗产
ruins 遗址
Empire 帝国
ancient 古老的
converse 和…交谈
vulgar 通俗的
colloquial 口语的，非正式的
trade 买卖，贸易
stuck 保留下来
wine 红酒
dwellings 房屋
stake 桩子
fort 堡垒
settlements 定居点
extensive 广阔的，覆盖范围广的
paved 铺砌的
owe their origin 起源于
former 早前的
derivations 衍生物，起源
alphabet 字母表
manuscript 手写本
测验与练习
1. 阅读课文并回答问题。
1. True or false? The Romans left behind physical ruins and some language.
2. What language did the Romans write in?
3. Why did words related to food and drink stay in English?
4. What did the Latin word ‘strata’ mean?
5. Which three places originally derived from Latin place names?
2. 选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。
1. All that is left of the civilization are _______ of ancient buildings.
settlements ruins fort dwelling
2. Zoe didn’t enjoy her _______ job as much as her new one.
ancient colloquial vulgar former
3. They _______ luxury goods at the market.
alphabet trade manuscript language
4. His novel was considered his _______ when he died.
origin derivation left legacy
5. He had studied both contemporary and _______ acting.
classical extensive significant everyday
答案
1. 阅读课文并回答问题。
1. True or false? The Romans left behind physical ruins and some language.
True. They left physical ruins and some common words still used today.
2. What language did the Romans write in?
The Romans wrote in classical Latin.
3. Why did words related to food and drink stay in English?
Because they were used in trade.
4. What did the Latin word ‘strata’ mean?
‘Strata’ originally meant ‘paved road’ and evolved into the word ‘street’.
5. Which three places originally derived from Latin place names?
Manchester, Lancaster and Leicester.
2. 选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。
1. All that is left of the civilization are ruins of ancient buildings.
2. Zoe didn’t enjoy her former job as much as her new one.
3. They trade luxury goods at the market.
4. His novel was considered his legacy when he died.
5. He had studied both contemporary and classical acting.
