I want you to imagine each of these two scenes in as much detail as you can.

我要你盡可能詳細地想像以下兩個場景。

Scene number one: "They gave us a hearty welcome."

場景一：「他們熱烈地歡迎我們。」

Well, who are the people who are giving a hearty welcome?

嗯，是誰熱烈地歡迎我們呢？

What are they wearing?

他們的穿著為何？

What are they drinking?

他們正在喝什麼？

OK, scene two: "They gave us a cordial reception."

好，場景二：「他們誠摯地款待我們。」

How are these people standing?

這些人站的方式為何？

What expressions are on their faces?

他們臉上的表情為何？

What are they wearing and drinking?

他們的穿著以及喝的東西為何？

Fix these pictures in your mind's eye and then jot down a sentence or two to describe them.

將這些畫面定格在你的腦海裡，然後以一兩句話來形容他們。

We'll come back to them later.

我們稍後再來談論他們。

Now on to our story.

現在，開始我們的故事吧！

In the year 400 C.E., the Celts in Britain were ruled by Romans.

西元 400 年時，英國的凱爾特人是由羅馬人所統治的。

This had one benefit for the Celts: the Romans protected them from the barbarian Saxon tribes of Northern Europe.

這對凱爾特人來說有項好處：羅馬人保護他們免於受到北歐蠻族撒克遜部落的侵擾。

But then the Roman Empire began to crumble, and the Romans withdrew from Britain.

但後來羅馬帝國開始衰敗，而羅馬人撤離了英國。

With the Romans gone, the Germanic tribes, the Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and Frisians quickly sailed across the water, did away with the Celts, and formed kingdoms in the British Isles.

當羅馬人離開後，日爾曼人、盎格鲁人、 撒克遜人、 朱特人與弗里斯蘭人迅速地駛過海峽消滅了凱爾特人，並在不列顛群島建立各自的王國。

For several centuries, these tribes lived in Britain, and their Germanic language, Anglo Saxon, became the common language, what we call Old English.

幾世紀以來，這些部落一直定居在英國，而他們的日爾曼語和盎格魯撒克遜語形成了共同的語言，也就是我們稱的「古英語」。

Although modern English speakers may think Old English sounds like a different language, if you look and listen closely, you'll find many words that are recognizable.

雖然現代英語的使用者可能會覺得古英語聽起來像是一種不同的語言，但如果你仔細看和聽，會發現有許多你認得出的字。

For example, here is what the Lord's Prayer looks like in Old English.

舉例來說，這是以古英語寫成的主禱文。

At first glance, it may look unfamiliar, but update the spelling a bit, and you'll see many common English words.

第一眼看上去，你可能會覺得陌生，但將字轉換成現代拼法，你會看到許多常見的英語單字。

So the centuries passed, with Britains happily speaking Old English, but in the 700's, a series of Viking invasions began, which continued until a treaty split the island in half.

幾百年來，英國人愉快地說著古英語，但到了 700 年代，維京人開始不斷入侵不列顛群島，侵擾持續到簽訂一項將島一分為二的條約為止。。

On one side were the Saxons.

一邊是撒克遜人。

On the other side were the Danes who spoke a language called Old Norse.

另一邊則是說著古北歐語的丹麥人。

As Saxons fell in love with their cute Danish neighbors and marriages blurred the boundaries, Old Norse mixed with Old English

撒克遜人與他們可愛的丹麥鄰居墜入愛河後，通婚使兩族之間的界線逐漸模糊，古北歐語便與古英語混合在一起。

And many Old Norse words like freckle, leg, root, skin, and want are still a part of our language.

許多古北歐語的單字如 freckle、leg、root、skin 和 want，仍然是英語的一部分。

300 years later, in 1066, the Norman conquest brought war again to the British Isles.

300 年後，西元 1066 年，諾曼人征服再次為不列顛群島帶來戰爭。

The Normans were Vikings who settled in France.

諾曼人是定居在法國的維京人。

They had abandoned the Viking language and culture in favor of a French lifestyle, but they still fought like Vikings.

他們放棄維京人的語言和文化，轉而選擇法國的生活方式，但他們仍然和維京人一樣好戰。

They placed a Norman king on the English throne and for three centuries, French was the language of the British royalty.

他們安排一位諾曼國王坐上英國的王位，因此整整三個世紀以來，法語一直是英國皇室的語言。

Society in Britain came to have two levels: French-speaking aristocracy and Old English-speaking peasants.

英國社會存在兩種階級：說法語的貴族，以及說古英語的農民。

The French also brought many Roman Catholic clergymen with them who added Latin words to the mix.

法國人也帶來許多羅馬天主教的神職人員，而這些人把拉丁詞彙加入至混合的語言中，

Old English adapted and grew as thousands of words flowed in, many having to do with government, law, and aristocracy.

古英文隨著大量詞彙不斷地匯入而變動及發展，許多詞彙與政府、法律和貴族息息相關。

Words like council, marriage, sovereign, govern, damage, and parliament.

例如以下的單字：council、marriage、sovereign、govern、damage 和 parliament。

As the language expanded, English speakers quickly realized what to do if they wanted to sound sophisticated.

隨著語言的發展，說英語的人很快地意識到，想要聽起來更有文化及品味的方法。

They would use words that had come from French or Latin.

那就是：使用來自法語或拉丁語的單字。

Anglo Saxon words seemed so plain like the Anglo Saxon peasants who spoke them.

盎格魯撒克遜語就像說這些話的盎格魯撒克遜農民一樣，如此樸素簡單。

Let's go back to the two sentences you thought about earlier.

讓我們回到影片開始時想過的兩句話。

When you pictured the hearty welcome, did you see an earthy scene with relatives hugging and talking loudly?

當你設想熱烈歡迎的場景時，你想像的是與親人擁抱和大聲交談的粗俗場景嗎？

Were they drinking beer?

他們喝的是啤酒嗎？

Were they wearing lumberjack shirts and jeans?

他們穿著的是伐木工的襯衫和牛仔褲嗎？

And what about the cordial reception?

而誠摯款待的場景呢？

I bet you pictured a far more classy and refined crowd.

我相信你想像的場景是一群更有品味且更有修養的人。

Blazers and skirts, wine and caviar.

西裝外套和裙子、葡萄酒和魚子醬。

Why is this?

為什麼會這樣呢？

How is it that phrases that are considered just about synonymous by the dictionary can evoke such different pictures and feelings?

為何在字典中視作同義字的用語，可以喚起如此不同的畫面和感受呢？

"Hearty" and "welcome" are both Saxon words.

「熱誠 (hearty)」和「歡迎 (welcome)」都是撒克遜的詞彙。

"Cordial" and "reception" come from French.

「誠摯 (cordial)」和「款待 (reception)」則來自法文。

The connotation of nobility and authority has persisted around words of French origin.

貴族和權力的內涵意義持續地圍繞在源於法語的單字上。

And the connotation of peasantry, real people, salt of the Earth, has persisted around Saxon words.

而農民的涵意——一般人、誠實善良的人，持續地圍繞在撒克遜語彙之間。

Even if you never heard this history before, the memory of it persists in the feelings evoked by the words you speak.

即使你從未聽說過這段歷史，但對這段歷史的記憶卻一直存在於你說的話喚起的感情之中。

On some level, it's a story you already knew because whether we realize it consciously or only subconsciously, our history lives in the words we speak and hear.

某種程度上，這是你一個早就知道的故事，因為無論我們是有意識或只是下意識的理解它，歷史存在於我們聽和說的話語之中。