紹介
本書は英語という言語が2000年以上の歴史を経て、いかに変容し、淘汰され、国際語として洗練され、やがて世界で使われる最大、そして唯一無二の言語となったのか、その過程を紐解く英文書籍です。全文、平易なアメリカ英語で執筆されており、関連する世界各地の写真を90枚以上使用し、その一助としています。英語史を軸に、現在世界の英語圏で話される英語を視野に入れ、それぞれの地域で文学作品として使用される英語や、日常会話で使われる各地の英語の特質を紹介、分析し、さらに世界に広がる英語が将来どのような形になるかという主題を考察するものです。本書は、グローバルランゲージに至った英語の歴史と、インド、シンガポール、南アフリカまで含めた英文学史の両面から英語の本質とその魅力を論じた、本邦初となる英語英文学史の書です。英語教育に携わる方、語学系学生、大学院生のみならず、英語に多少なりとも関心のある一般の方々にも興味を持って一気に読み進んで頂けるものと確信します。大学一般教育科目の語学用テキストとして最適です。
目次
1. The Celts and the Romans
2. The Anglo-Saxons
3. Old English
4. The Vikings and Beowulf
5. The Norman Conquest
6. Anglo-Norman English-speaking kings
7. Middle English Grammar and Vocabulary
8. Literary works of the Middle Ages
9. Chaucer
10. Modern English
11. Shakespeare
12. The Romantic Age in England
13. Wordsworth
14. Austen and Dickens
15. Charlotte Bronte
16. Conan Doyle and Detective Stories
17. Class Society and Sexuality
18. Cockney
19. Scottish English
20. David Hume
21. Sir Walter Scott
22. Irish English
23. American English
24. Black English
25. Canadian English
26. Australian English
27. New Zealand English
28. English spoken in India
29. English spoken in Singapore
30. English spoken in South Africa
前書きなど
If we get a glimpse of the history of England from ancient to medieval times, we will find that it is a history of racial fusion. The country intercepted a new invader, fighting, defeated, and was finally ruled by the invader. The confrontation between the conqueror and the conquered continued, and then the country was invaded by other races again. There was a repetition of ethnic conflict and fusion, although it's the same island country as Japan, which had not been invaded by other races for more than 2000 years. Aside from that being good or bad,in Britain, individualism developed, industry developed, and literature flourished. Being prospered as a nation, England became the center of the British Empire with colonies all over the world. On the other hand, some people mainly living in northern England, got out of the country and headed for North America, eventually founding the United States. America has now become the leading nation of the world, whereas its homeland, England, is now a small country, whose glory as the former British Empire on which the sun never set, has faded. Still, England, the United Kingdom, affects the world, showing its new life-style, its new art,and its unique culture. The UK is driving the world politically, same as the USA. Many of the former colonial countires continue to use English as their official language. English spoken in various parts of the world is changing and developing independently over time, and sometimes it becomes far from the original English. However, nowadays, with the development of the Internet, a wide variety of English spoken in the world is beginning to settle down. In various countries, a number of writers whose novels written in English have won the Nobel Prize in Literature. While absorbing local words that deeply related to the identity of each country, English is steadily evolving as a global language. The essense of the English language is that it is simple and at the same time it can accurately convey complex and diverse content. Its plain expression that it is easy for everyone to understand is welcomed by many non-native speakers. The history of the English language is the history of human progress and it is also the history of the fusion of various racial groups with different values all over the world.
