英语在发生变化吗？Is English changing?

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I’m Alice…
大家好，欢迎收听六分钟英语，我是爱丽丝。
And I’m Neil.So Alice, can you think of an example of how the English we speak is changing?
我是尼尔。爱丽丝，你能想出一个例子可以证明我们说的英语在变化？
Yes, I can – teenagers saying like all the time…
可以啊，青少年总是说like，
Oh, that’s, like, really like annoying, like?
like, 就是很烦人，like？
Well, the subject of today’s show is how and why the English language is changing.And teenagers definitely have their own code– including text speak when they’re on the internet or using their phones.Fomo, bae, plos – do you have any idea what those terms mean, Neil?
今天节目的主题是英语如何变化以及为何变化。青少年有他们自己的话语包括他们在网络上或使用手机发信息时有自己的语言。例如 Fomo, bae, plos，你知道这些术语的意思吗？
I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about, Alice.They‘re pretty baffling – and that means hard to understand.But that’s the idea, isn’t it?We oldies aren’t supposed to understand!
我不知道你在说啥。太让人令人困惑了，也就是说很难理解。就是这样。像我们这种老年人就理解不了。
Yes, exactly! Apparently, plos means parents looking over shoulder – which proves your point! Text speak is a lot to do with inventing cool new terms – and these change quickly.In a year, or even six months time, words that were once popular, have disappeared completely.
没错！显然，plos是指父母在你身后看着你，就证明了你的观点！文本语言有很多新发明出来的新词语，这些术语变化很快。一年，甚至六个月的时间，那些曾经风靡网络的词就完全消失不见了。
OK, I have a quiz question forming in my mind, Alice– so I hope you’re feeling up to the challenge, Alice.Can you tell me, what kinds of words are slow to change?Is it...a) nouns?b) pronouns?Or c) adjectives?
好了，我脑子里有一个问题要问你。希望你可以应对挑战。你能告诉我，哪类词类变化的比较慢？a) 名词？b) 代词？或者c) 形容词？
I think it’s a) nouns. The way we name things probably doesn’t change that quickly.
我觉得是a) 名词。我们对事物的命名不会迅速地改变。
We shall find out if you are right or wrong later on in the show. But let’s think about English grammar for a minute, and what changes are occurring here.
节目的最后我们再看你回答得是否正确。但是我们先来看一下英语语法中有哪些变化。
I noticed you said shall there, Neil.And to my ear, that sounds pretty old fashioned.
我注意到你说的shall，在我听来，这听上去有些过时了。
And you’re very right, Alice.The modal verb shall is on the way out – meaning it’s disappearing. Why do you think that is?
你说的没错。情态动词shall即将过时，意思是正在消失。你觉得这是为什么呢？
Well, perhaps it’s because will sounds more natural these days.Let’s listen to linguist Bas Aarts,talking to writer and presenter,Michael Rosen on the BBC Radio 4 programme Word of Mouth, for his explanation.
也许是因为will听上去更自然。我们听听语言学家Bas Aarts的观点，他在BBC广播4台《口头相传》上与作家兼主持人的Michael Rosen解释了原因。
Why would we lose shall? I mean, if especially as we hold it in the interrogative. We say, you know, Shall we go swimming?
为什么我们不说 shall？尤其是在疑问句中。如，我们说，我们要去游泳吗?
Well, because it’s in competition with will.If you have two words that more or less express the same meaning,one of the two is going to be pushed out of the language.And in this case, it’s shall.
因为有竞争者 will。如果有两个词可以表示相同的意思，其中一个就会被淘汰。在这里就是shall被淘汰。
Bas Aarts there. And interrogative means a question.So it’s not just in nature that we get survival of the fittest– you know, the struggle for life – it happens in language too. Similar words are competing with each other, and some lose while others win out – or succeed after a fight. Do you know of any other modal verbs that are on their way out, Alice?
上述是Bas Aarts的看法。 interrogative是指疑问句。不仅自然界中有适者生存的法则，语言中也有这条原则。类似的词汇会彼此竞争，在竞争中有的会胜出有的会被淘汰。你还知道其他逐渐消失的情态动词吗？
Yes – must is declining rapidly.
恩，must的使用也在快速下降。
Why’s that?
为什么呢？
Must sounds authoritarian, and people are choosing to express obligation– or having a duty to do something – in different ways.
Must听上去有些独裁主义，人们选择用不同的方式表达指责，或者说有义务做某事。
OK, authoritarian means demanding that people obey you. For example: Alice, you must move on to the next point, now!
独裁主义是指要求别人遵循自己的命令。例如：爱丽丝，你必须快说下一个重点！立刻！
Oh, you scared me a bit there, Neil!
天，你有点吓到我了，尼尔！
Exactly. I can see why people are shying away from – or avoiding –must.It sounds nicer to soften obligation by saying things like, You might want to move on to the next point now, Alice.
确实。所以可以看出人们为什么回避说must。如果这么说就会听上去柔和一些，爱丽丝，也许现在你想进行下一个话题。
OK, then, I shall. Let’s talk about tenses.Progressive tenses – formed from the verb be and the suffix –ing – are usually used for ongoing situations,for example, I‘m doing the show with Neil at the moment. But its use has been increasing rapidly.Let’s listen to Michael Rosen and Bas Aarts again talking about this.
好的。我们来谈谈时态。进行时由be动词和动词ing形式构成，通常用于正在发生的场合，例如，我现在在和尼尔做节目。但是这种时态的使用在快速增加。我们再听听 Michael Rosen和Bas Aarts 继续谈论这点。
It started increasing dramatically in the 19th century and has continued to rise in the present day.
进行时的使用率在十九世纪时显著增加，如今也呈上升趋势。
I think that‘s a cue for me to say, I‘m loving it, is that right?
对我来说，说我就喜欢它有一种暗示意味，是吗？
Well, that is one of the constructions that is coming in, I mean, I sometimes call it the Big Mac progressive because of course McDonald’s use that.
这是一种造句，我有时会称它为巨无霸进行时，因为麦当劳会用这种说法。
In this segment of the BBC Radio 4 programme Word of Mouth,Michael Rosen quotes the progressive form I‘m loving it– a slogan used by an American fast-food chain in its advertising campaign.
上述是BBC广播4台《口头相传》节目的片段，Michael Rosen 引用了进行时我就喜欢，这是美国快餐连锁店的广告语。
The verb love is a stative verb.It expresses a state of being – as opposed to doing– and is traditionally used in the simple form, for example, I love it.But these days, people are using stative verbs in the progressive more and more.
Love是一个静态动词。它表达一种状态，而非动作。Love传统上适用于一般时，I love it（我爱它）。但如今，人们越来越多的使用静态动词的进行时。
I’m hearing what you’re saying, Alice!Now, I think it’s time for the answer to today’s quiz question.I asked you: What kinds of words are slow to change?Is it… a) nouns, b) pronouns or c) adjectives?
我在听你在讲什么。我觉得是时候公布今天问题的答案啦。我问你：哪类词变化较慢？ a) 名词， b)代词还是 c) 形容词？
I said a) nouns.
我选的是 a) 名词。
And you were wrong, Alice!According to Professor Mark Pagel, evolutionary biologist at Reading University in the UK,pronouns like I and you and we evolve slowly – a thousand years ago we would be using similar or sometimes identical sounds. Similarly, number words evolve very slowly – our ancestors were using related sounds a thousand or perhaps even two thousand years ago. Whereas nouns and adjectives get replaced quite rapidly– and in five hundred years or so we’ll probably be using different words to the ones we use now.
你答错了。根据英国瑞丁大学的演化生物学家Mark Pagel，像我、你、我们这样的代词变化较慢。一千年前我们就用类似的单词或相似的发音。同样的，数字演化得也慢。我们的祖先在一千年前甚至是两千年前就用类似发音表示数字。而名词和形容词更新换代的速度非常快五百年后，我们使用的单词可能和现在截然不同。
Well, I got that completely wrong then!Who knew that one, two, three would have such staying power?
我大错特错了！谁知道一二三这种词有这么强的持久力。
I suppose numbers are pretty fundamental to our day-to-day lives – sort of part of who we are.
我觉得数字是我们日常生活的基础，是我们的一部分。
OK, let’s hear the - hopefully - more permanent words we learned today.
让我们听听今天学到的暂时用着的单词吧。
There were:
今天学到的单词有：
baffling
令人困惑的
on the way out
过时的
interrogative
疑问句
win out
胜出
obligation
义务
authoritarian
独裁主义
shying away from
退出
progressive
渐进的
stative
静态的
Well, that’s the end of today’s 6 Minute English. To recap, we’re enjoying the progressive tense.
今天的六分钟英语就到这里。再重述一下今天的重点，人们喜欢用进行时态。
And we‘re loving will and should, but avoiding shall and must.Don’t forget to join us again soon!
人们喜欢用will和 should，避免用 shall和 must。不要忘了下期再会！
Bye!
再见！