你觉得500年后英语语言会有变化吗?我们还会使用今天英语中的词汇和语法吗?到那时,英语语言会有哪些变化呢?本期《随身英语》谈语言进化。 课文内容词汇: language 语言 You're learning English, right? You might think you can work out the grammar and have built a vast vocabulary, but then you come across an expression like 'plos'. According to online urban slang dictionaries, it means 'parents looking over shoulder'. Teenagers are to blame. They have their owncode, including 'text speak' when they are on the internet or using their phones. Text speak has a lot to do with inventing cool new terms – and these change quickly. Maybe you shouldn't be surprised if an English friend says you sound a bit old-fashioned. Themodal verb 'shall' is on the way out because 'will' sounds more natural these days. Bas Aarts, Professor of Englishlinguistics at University College London says, 'If you have two words which more or less express the same meaning, one of the two words will get pushed out of the language.' People have been shying away from using the modal 'must' because it sounds authoritarian and people are choosing to express obligation in different ways. It sounds nicer to softenobligation by saying 'might'. For example, 'You might like to read this article.' Progressive tenses - formed from the verb 'be' and thesuffix 'ing' - are used for ongoing situations, for example, 'I'm writing this article for you to read'. But its use has been increasing rapidly. Bas Aarts says that this might have to do with advertising. A fast-food chain uses the expression 'I'm loving it' in English-speaking countries. But the verb 'love' expresses a state of being – as opposed to doing – and is usually used in the simple form, for example, 'I love it'. These days, people are using stative verbs in the progressive more and more. Before you despair and throw your English book in the bin, be assured that some words take a very long time to change. According to Professor Mark Pagel at Reading University in the UK, pronouns like 'I', 'you' and 'we' evolve slowly – a thousand years ago we would be using similar or sometimes identical sounds. Nouns and adjectives, on the other hand, get replaced rapidly – and in 500 years or so we'll probably be using different words to the ones we have now. But let's leave the problem for the future generations. 词汇表grammar 语法 测验与练习1. 阅读课文并回答问题。 1. Why are teenagers helping to change language? 2. Why might an English-speaking person think a non-native speaker of English sounds old-fashioned? 3. Why is the word 'might' often used to replace the word 'must'? 4. What has been interfering with the way grammar is used? 5. Which word is likely to change faster: 'likable' or 'they'? 2. 请你在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处 。 1. 'I'm living in Beijing.' This is an example of _________. a stative verb a progressive tense an adjective old-fashioned English 2. 'Ourselves' is a _________. adjective noun new word pronoun 3. These cars are mass produced. They are supposed to be _________. similar identical equal same 4. The current use of the verb 'like' is: We _________ it! are liking likes like will be liking 5. An informal use of language in a context known to a particular group is called _________. adjective slang old fashioned progressive tense 答案1. 阅读课文并回答问题。 1. Why are teenagers helping to change language? 2. Why might an English-speaking person think a non-native speaker of English sounds old-fashioned? 3. Why is the word 'might' often used to replace the word 'must'? 4. What has been interfering with the way grammar is used? 5. Which word is likely to change faster: 'likable' or 'they'? 2. 请你在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处 。 1. 'I'm living in Beijing.' This is an example of a progressive tense. 2. 'Ourselves' is a pronoun. 3. These cars are mass produced. They are supposed to beidentical. 4. The current use of the verb 'like' is: We like it! 5. An informal use of language in a context known to a particular group is called slang. |
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