The English language is a story of invasions, thefts, sloth, caprice, mistakes, pride and the inexorable juggernaut of change. In its broadest strokes, these problems come down to people being greedy, lazy and snobbish.
英语是一部侵略、盗窃、懒惰、反复无常、错误、自豪和势不可挡的变革金刚的故事。从最广义的范畴来说,这些问题都可以归结为人的贪婪、懒惰和势利眼。
First, the greed: invasion and theft. The Romans invaded Britain in the 1st Century AD and brought their alphabet; in the 7th Century, the Angles and Saxons took over, along with their language.Starting in the 9th Century, Vikings occupied parts of England and brought some words. Then the Norman French conquered in 1066 – and replaced much of the vocabulary with French.