If you ask people to name one person who had the greatest effect on the English language, you will get answers like“Shakespeare”,“Samuel Johnson”and“Webster”but none of these men had any effect at all compared with a man who didn't even speak English---William the Conqueror.
Before 1066, in the land we now call Great Britain lived people belonging to two major language groups. In the west-central region lived the Welsh, who spoke a Celtic language, and in north lived the Scots, whose language, though not the same as Welsh, was also Celtic. In the rest of the country lived the Saxons, actually a mixture of Anglos-Saxons, and other Germanic and Nordic peoples, who spoke what we call Anglo-Saxon (or Old English), a Germanic Language. If this state of affairs had lasted, English today would be close to German.
But this state of affairs did not last. In 1066 the Normans led by William defeated the Saxons and began their rule over England. For about a century, French became the official language of England while Old English became the language of peasants. As a result, English words of polities and the law come from French rather than German. In some cases, modern English even shows a distinction(区别) between upper-class French and lower-class Anglo-Saxon in its words. We even have different words for some foods, meat in particular, depending on whether it is still out in fields or at home ready to be cooked, which shows the fact that the Saxon peasants were doing the farming, while the upper-class Normans were doing most of the eating.
When Americans visit Europe for the first time, they usually find Germany more“foreign”than France because the German they see on signs and advertisements seems much more different from English than French does. Few realize that the English language is actually Germanic in its beginning and that the French influences are all the result of one man's ambition.
46.The two major languages spoken in what is now called Great Britain before 1066 were _____.
A. Welsh and Scottish B. Nordic and Germanic
C. Celtic and Old English D. Anglo-Saxon and Germanic
47.Which of the following groups of words are, by inference, rooted in French?
A. president , lawyer, beef B. president , bread, water
C. bread , field, sheep D. folk , field, cow
48.Why does France appear less foreign than Germany to Americans on their first visit to Europe?
A. Most advertisements in France appear in English.
B. they know little of the history of the English language.
C. Many French words are similar to English ones.
D. They know French better than German.
49.What is the subject discussed in the text?
A. The history of Great Britain. B. The similarity of Great Britain.
C. The rule of England by William the Conqueror. D. The French influences on the English language.
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