The English language has existed for a little over one and a half thousand years.

英語已存在超過 1500 年。

Which, in the grand scheme of things is just a blip in the history of human language.

這在宏偉的語言史洪流中，只算得上是一滴露水。

And an even smaller blip in the history of humankind.

縱觀整個人類史，1500 年更是微不足道。

The language is called English because of its associations with England.

此語言被稱為英語，是因為其與英國有關。

Which sounds straightforward enough, although it's actually a bit more complicated than this.

聽起來很簡單，但實際由來比這更加復雜一些。

English had its roots here in the north of Europe.

英語起源於歐洲北部。

Although, of course, it wasn't called English then.

想當然，過去它並不叫英語。

There were a number of germanic tribes,

當時有許多日耳曼部族，

the Angles, Saxons, and the Jutes, who crossed the channel;

盎格魯人、撒克遜人和朱特人，一同跨越海峽。

It wasn't called the English channel until the 18th century.

直至 18 世紀，此海峽才被命名為英吉利海峽。

And found out across the island of Great Britain,

他們發現了對面的大不列顛島，

which at the time was inhabited by Britons who spoke Celtic languages,

那裡當時居住著講凱爾特語的布立吞人，

the ancestors of Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, and Cornish.

威爾士語、蘇格蘭蓋爾語和康瓦爾語都源於此語言。

Before the Anglo-Saxons arrived,

在盎格魯撒克遜人到來之前，

the Romans had also colonised large parts of the island along with people from various parts of the Roman Empire.

羅馬人和來自羅馬帝國各地的人早已經在該島大部分地區建立殖民地了。

Later the Vikings came, and then the Normans.

後來維京人也來了，接著是是諾曼人。

All speaking their own languages and also mixing their languages with English.

所有人都說著自己的語言，並與英語混合使用。

It wasn't until the 14th century that English became properly established as the language of England

直到 14 世紀，英語才正式確立為英國的正式語言，

and was used for the first time in parliament and in the law.

並首次用於議會和法律中。

The first king of England to speak English as his native language was Henry IV.

英國第一位英語母語者國王為亨利四世。

Henry came to the throne in 1399, almost a thousand years after the Anglo-Saxons arrived.

亨利於 1399 年登基，距盎格魯撒克遜人到來近一千年後。

But once English was established, it also began to spread, or more accurately, it began to be spread.

但在英語地位確立後，此語言開始傳播開來，準確來說，是被傳播開來。

The most important driver for this was colonialism.

殖民主義是最主要的驅動因素。

In lots of countries, English pushed out the local language, and indigenous forms of English developed.

在許多國家，英語排擠當地語言，本土話的英語逐漸取而代之。

In other countries, English existed alongside the local languages and new forms developed.

而在其他國家，英語與當地語言並存，發展出新的形式。

In the 20th century, it continued to spread through the entertainment industry, politics, the media, and technology,

在 20 世紀，英語持續透過娛樂、政治、媒體和科技傳播，

so that today it's a truly global language.

如今，英語已是一種全球化語言。

Throughout its history, it's always changing...

縱觀其歷史，英語不斷在轉變…

and will continue to do so far into the future.

相信未來也會如此。