U razvoju engleskog jezika postoje tri osnovna istorijska perioda:
- staroengleski
- srednjeengleski
- savremeni engleski
Staroengleski jezik (Old English) je, u stvari, prvobitni engleski jezik koji se govorio se od sredine V do kraja XI veka. Taj prvobitni engleski prilično se razlikovao od engleskog jezika koji se danas govori. Ilustracije radi, ovde ćemo navesti ovde jedan odlomak iz epske pesme o Beovulfu:
Beowulf mathelode, bearn Ecgtheowes:
„Ne sorga, snotor guma! Selre bith aeghwaem
thaet he his freond wrece, thonne he fela murne.
Ure aeghwylc sceal ende gebidan
worolde lifes; wyrce se the mote
domes aer deathe; thaet bith driht guman
unlif gendum aefter selest.“
Nije baš najjasnije, zar ne? 🙂 Ovako bi izgledao prevod na savremeni engleski jezik:
Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, spoke:
„Wise sir, do not grieve. It is always better
to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning.
For every one of us, living in this world
means waiting for our end. Let whoever can
win glory before death. When a warrior is gone,
that will be his best and only bulwark.“
Nakon što su 1066. godine Normani osvojili Englesku, dolazi do velikog uticaja francuskog jezika na engleski jezik. Došlo je do gubljenja mnogih nastavaka za građenje deklinacija i konjugacija, kao i doznačajnih fonetskih promena i promena u pravopisu. Taj jezik se govorio od XI do kraja XV veka i poznat je pod nazivom srednjeengleski jezik (Middle English). Najpoznatije delo iz tog perioda su Priče iz Kanterberija Džefrija Čosera. Kako bismo videli kako je taj srednjeengleski jezik izgledao u odnosu na današnji savremeni, navešćemo jedan kratak odlomak iz Kanterberijskih priča:
Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours yronne,
And smale foweles maken melodye,
That slepen al the nyght with open ye
(So priketh hem Nature in hir corages);
Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages
And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes
To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;
And specially from every shires ende
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
The hooly blisful martir for to seke
That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seeke.
Prevod na savremeni engleski jezik bio bi sledeći:
When in April the sweet showers fall
And pierce the drought of March to the root, and all
The veins are bathed in liquor of such power
As brings about the engendering of the flower,
When also Zephyrus with his sweet breath
Exhales an air in every grove and heath
Upon the tender shoots, and the young sun
His half course in the sign of the Ram has run
And the small fowl are making melody
That sleep away the night with open eye,
(So nature pricks them and their heart engages)
Then folk long to go on pilgrimages,
And palmers long to seek the stranger strands
Of far off saints, hallowed in sundry lands,
And specially from every shires’ end
Of England, down to Canterbury they wend
The holy blissful martyr, quick
To give his help to them when they were sick.
Savremeni engleski jezik (Modern English) deli se na dva perioda:
- rani (od 1500. do 1800. godine)
- i kasni (od 1800. godine – do danas)
Britanski narod je ostvarivao sve veći broj kontakata sa drugim narodima što je dovodilo do toga da se u engleski jezik uvode nove reči iz drugih jezika. Taj rani savremeni engleski jezik se u velikoj meri može razumeti i do našeg doba nije pretrpeo značajnije promene.
Najveći pisac svih vremena Vilijam Šekspir (William Shakespeare) pisao je na tom ranom savremenom engleskom jeziku. Sledi odlomak iz Romea i Julije:
Juliet:
O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name;
Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love
And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.
Romeo:
[Aside] Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?
Juliet:
‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy:
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What’s Montague? It is nor hand nor foot,
Nor arm nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O be some other name!
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
and for thy name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself.
Kao što i sami možete primetiti, jezik kojim se Šekspir služio lak je za razumevanje.
Engleski jezik online 