中古英語(英語:Middle English)是指英格蘭王國中世紀中後期——即從公元1066年諾曼征服英格蘭開始到1489年都鐸王朝建立結束期間的金雀花王朝時期——所通用的英語變種。這個時期的英語和中世紀早期盎格魯-撒克遜時期古英語相比,在讀音拼寫詞彙語法方面都產生了較大的變化,一大部分古英語詞彙被淘汰,轉而吸收了羅曼語系法語諾曼語)和拉丁語的很多詞彙和短語

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語法

中古英語的語法在形態變化方面發生了簡化。名詞逐漸失去了古英語複雜的數和格的變化,簡化成了單數複數兩種形式,複數以詞尾-s表示。形容詞則簡化成了沒有任何變化的詞類。

詞在句子中的關係不再通過性、數、格的變化來表示,而是由詞在句子中的位置來表示。

發音

相對於語法上的諸多改變,中古英文在發音上,比起古英文卻沒有太大的變化,仍舊是近似德語的發音方式。

詞彙

中古英語吸收了大量法語的詞彙,數目有幾千之多。此外,中古英語還吸收了拉丁語、佛蘭芒語荷蘭語低地德語的一些詞彙。同時,大量古英語的詞彙由於不再使用而被淘汰。

中古英語文選

下文載自《坎特伯雷故事集》(Tales of Caunterbury),喬叟著,14世紀

More information 中古英語原文, 現代英語直譯[1] ...
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中古英語原文 現代英語直譯[1]
Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote When [that] April with his showers sweet
The droȝte of March hath perced to the roote The drought of March has pierced to the root
And bathed every veyne in swich licour, And bathed every vein in such liquor,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour; Of which virtue engendered is the flower;
Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth When Zephyrus eeked with his sweet breath
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth Inspired has in every holt and heath,
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne The tender crops; and the young sun
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours yronne, Has in the Ram his half-course run,
And smale foweles maken melodye, And small fowls make melody,
That slepen al the nyght with open ye That sleep all the night with open eye
(So priketh hem Nature in hir corages); (So pricks them Nature in their courages);
Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages Then folk long to go on pilgrimages
And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes And palmers [for] to seek strange strands
To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes; To far-off hallows, couth in sundry lands;
And specially from every shires ende And, especially, from every shire's end
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende, Of England, to Canterbury they went,
The hooly blisful martir for to seke The holy blissful martyr [for] to seek,
That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seeke. That them has helped, when [that] they were sick.
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