作业-基督文化对英语语言的影响

1、 外国语学院英语专业西方文化学期论文2011-2012年度第一学期Title: The Influence of Christian Culture on the English LanguageStudent Number: 200952010225 Teacher: 王国礼 Name: 张守琴 Date: 2012年01月 Comments: Signature: Mark: The Influence of Christian Culture on the English LanguageAbstract To know the history of English language i

2、s unlikely without bringing the influence of Christianity into consideration. In each aspect of English, Christianity has its distinctive impact upon the development of English. In this article, I mainly explore three aspects which are to be considered in this thesis: the influence of the Spread of

3、Christianity, Christian thoughts, and Bible translation remarkably upon the English vocabulary , euphemism and proverbs of English languageKey words Christian culture, the English language, influence, Bible1. IntroductionLanguage is closely connected with culture, and is greatly influenced by cultur

4、e as wellReligion is an important part of human ideas and culture, so language is closely connected with religionIn Englishspeaking countries, with Christianity as the dominant religion，Christian culture, one of the four western cultures(Greek, Roman and Germanic culture)，has a great influence on th

5、e English language2. Tile Influence of the Spread of Christianity on the English languageThe English language is of a mixed characterOn the one hand, it shares with West Germanic languages many common words and similar grammatical structuresOn the other handmore than half of the English vocabulary i

6、s derived from Latin and FrenchBesides，English has accepted words from other languages of the world in the course of its historical developmentThe Latin element came into the English vocabulary at different timesThere were five periods of Latin influences on English in the history of the English lan

7、guageThe second period of Latin influence should be specially mentionedThe greatest influence of Latin upon Old English was occasioned by the introduction of Christianity into Britain in 597From the introduction of Christianity in 597 to the close of the Old English period is a stretch of more than

8、500 yearsDuring this period Latin words had been making their way gradually into the English language，a few words relating to Christianity such as church” and bishop” were borrowed earlierMany words were reintroduced laterThe examples may be given in their modem formsThe list includes abbot，alms，alt

9、ar, angel，anthem，Arian，ark，candle，canon，chalice，cleric, cowl，deacon，disciple，epistle，hymn，litany, manna，martyr，mass，minister，noon，nylon，offer，organ，pall，plan，pope，priest，provost，psalm，psalter, relic，rule，shrift，shrine，shrive，stole，sub deacon，synod，temple，and tunicThe church also exercised a profound

10、 influence on the domestic life of the people. This is seen in the adoption of many words，such as the names of articles of clothing and household use：cap，sock，silk，purple，chest，mat，sack；words denoting foods such as beet，cabbage，lentil，millet，pear，oyster, lobster, rnussel and cook；names of trees，plan

11、ts and herbs often cultivated for their medical propertiessuch as box，pine，aloes，balsam，fennel，hyssop lily，mallow, marshmallow, myrrh，rue，savory and plant.A certain number of words having to do with education and learning reflect another aspect of the churchs influence. Such are school, master, gram

12、matical, verse meter, glossFinally we find a number of words of this period too miscellaneous admit of protitane classification，like anchor, coulter, fan，fever, place，sponge，elephant，phoenix，and some more or less learned or literary words，such as circle，legion，giant，consul，and mlent.Still there are

13、some words that though arent religious vocabularies now, they are originated from the primitive religious activitiesFor example, the word “contemplate” refers to think about, deeply and thoughtfully, especially when considering a possible cause of action or future eventIn Latin “con” is “with”, “tem

14、plum” means “temple”, for in ancient Roman, it was in the temples that the Roman priests thought hard；the word “giddy” means “dizzy” now, but several hundred years ago，its meaning is “possessed by god” and the word “enthusiastic has similar meaning，they both refer to the one who was under the influe

15、nce of a prophetic frenzy3. The Influence of Christian Thoughts on the English LanguageLanguage is inseparable from human societyLanguage is inseparable from mans thoughtAs the process of thinking is closely connected with language，without thinking there would be riot human languageThe formation and

16、 use of the English language has been affected by Christian thoughts3.1 The Influence of Christian Thoughts on English EuphemismEuphemism is a part of the vocabularyWebster Third New International Dictionary defines euphemism as “the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive word or expression for

17、 one that is harsh，indelicate，otherwise unpleasant or taboo；allusion to an offensive thing by an inoffensive expression；Or a polite，tactful of less explicit term used to avoid the direct naming of an unpleasant，painful of frightening reality.” That is to saythere are some things in life that should

18、not be stated bluntly or truthfullythat there are times when it is necessary, even wise, not to “call a spade a spade” but to use some better-sounding nameIn Englishspeaking countriesWith Christianity as the dominant religion，most of people show reverence for God consciously or unconsciouslyMore or

19、less they regard God as “All-knowing”, “Allpowerful” and God is where he wasSo, the name of God cannot be spoken of at any time，or be used to vow or swear, otherwise he is blaspheming the Lord GodOne of the Ten Commandments in the Bible is “You shall not take the name of the Lord God in vain; for th

20、e Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain”However, when they make an oath or swear, they are used to having God as a witnessUnder this contradictory circumstance，euphemistic expressions of God have been createdGenerally speaking，the euphemisms of deities have been created by thre

21、e ways：phonetics，spelling and semantic: If people show reverence for God，then they are frightened of, even scared by the devilsThey are afraid that speak of the devil and he will appearSo，they also have erected the euphemistic expressions of devil and hell by the way of semantic changes; Apart from

22、the euphemisms of deities and devils，some expressions of oaths and swearwords have been part of the euphemismsThey are created by the way of phonetic distortion and spelling changes.3.2 Tile Influence of Christian Thoughts on English ProverbsProverbs are a special kind of expressionThey are rich in

23、content and succinct in wordingHundreds of English proverbs have great vitality because of their wide general application among people of all social strataThey express in a few words，a fact or a truth which deals with everyday experienceAs Christianity is the dominant religion in the western world，w

24、hat the English people believe are that：there is the Only One God，everyone is born with the original sin and with equality，everyone should love God and love others，God is the source of graceAll of the thoughts are reflected from the proverbs on a certain degree(1)The Proverbs About the Authority of

25、the Only One God：Christians believe that the Only One God is omnipotent，authoritative and also perfectThe following are some proverbs：Man proposes，God disposesThe mills of God grind slow but sureYour nay make your plans，but god directs your actionsGod build the nest of the blind birdGod never sends

26、mouth but He sends meat(2)The Proverbs About SinsSin and sorrow are inseparable，Sin is the seed and death is the harvestSin plucks(pulls)on sin(3)The Proverbs About EqualitySk feet of earth make all men equalSix of one and half a dozen of the otherWe are all Adams children(4)Proverbs About LoveLove

27、harms no manLove is the bond of perfectionLove never fails(5)Proverbs About Gods Grace or MercyGod sends fogune to fooIsGod tempers the wind to the shorn lambOf course，one cannot just rely on the grace of God，he himself should work hard to succeed，the proverbs are: God help those who help themselves

28、4Bible Translation and English Languages“No work except Shakespeare has had so much influence on the phraseology of English as the author sized version of the bible at one time familiar to all households” said Pro.f Earnest Weekly. The effect of the Bible On readers is matched not only by its influe

29、nce on literature, but also on the English language especially on English idiomatic expressions or idiomsThe history of biblical translation is so long that it contains a huge amount of evidence about how English had changed over centuries. The impact of Bible on English language is so big that one

30、can easily tell a phase directly from Bible. Bible translation influences the development of English in many ways. We shall go through the history of Bible translation in English, considering the contribution of John Wycliffe, Tynda le, and Authorized Version, to reveal the effects that holy script

31、brings to English.The main version of the bible used in the early Middle Ages was Vulgate, Saint Jeromes Latin translation from Greek and Hebrew. The first translator we should know in this process is John Wycliffe. His translation of Bible is the first complete Bibles in the English language. When

32、John Wycliffe translated the Bible, he enlarged the English language by adapting many Latin words into his English Bible. The words treasure and mystery, glory and horror, female and sex all owe their English usage to Wycliffe s Bible ( English Language Words/Phrases) . His translation preserved Lat

33、in constructions and word order even when they conflicted with English usage. The words like “unstatiable” or “unglorious” were produced by Wycliffe. If you go though old edition of Bible you will be likely to read “impossible” as “unpossible”. His translation was in use throughout the 15th century.

34、Tyndale can be considered as father of English literatures phrases and compounds, especially related to great feelings and mood. “Broken- heart”, “long- suffering”, “peace- maker” and “mercy- seat” are few examples. He coined words from the Dutch and Germanic sources as well as French. His translati

35、on of New Testament was completed in 1525. So many of the phrases Tyndale coined are still in English language today. “The 1611 King James Bible”, known as “translation to end all translations”, became the most widely used protestant English Bible. It is the first authoritative state bible, also kno

36、wn as the Authorized Version. Its influence has been more profound on the linguistic habits of English- speakers than any other book. It has helped to shape the language for nearly 400 years. For centuries a copy of the Bible was to be found in virtually every house, read and consulted regularly. Pe

37、ople could express their reaction to life in biblical language, specifically the language of the King James Bible. The first recorded use of many of the words used in ordinary English today can be found in the early translations of the Bible into English. To be exactly, Bible translation enables com

38、mon people to have access to the holy script and at the same time help them to formalize their national language , in the process of which a great deal of English idioms that includes common sayings, idiom，proverb，allusion，maxim and allegorical saying as well as the names of persons and places are d

39、irectly and indirectly quoted from the Bible .Even though some of the English idioms from the Bible have had some changes, they still exist today as a essential part of English language.5ConclusionFrom the above analysis one can see that the English language is closely related to Christian cultureChristianity culture has e