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Essay

The past in the present

By Samantha Loong


レイキャビクで英語の原点を見た

先月、筆者はアイスランドのレイキャビクを訪れたのだが、その野性的で広大な風景はもちろん、アイスランド語の音に魅了されたという。 巻き舌のrの音、隠すように発音される子音、旋律豊かなスタッカートのリズム…。 それらは英語が成り立つ初期の形態を留めるものだったのだ。

In February, I went with a group of friends to Reykjavik. It was an experience that can only be described as magical. With wild, ever-changing weather and landscapes, strange rocks that render building equipment useless, shimmering, dancing Northern Lights and magnificent scenery, it's no wonder over half the population believe in the existence of elves and trolls.

The Icelandic language also had its own sense of magic to it. I found myself continually drawn to listening to people speak in Icelandic. I loved the language's rolling r's, hidden consonants and rapid, yet melodic staccato rhythm. During our trip, one of our tour guides taught us how to say "thank you" (takk takk) and "see you" (bless bless). And I have now mastered how to pronounce Eyjafjallajokull. When said in full, the name sounds a lot nicer than calling it "E15" — which sounds a lot like a food additive — like many in the media resorted to during the volcano's eruption in 2010. Icelandic might seem like an alien language on the surface, but if you go back a thousand years or so, it turns out that the early beginnings of the English language might well have come from Icelandic.

An exhibition currently showing at London's British Library documents this evolution of English beautifully. It traces the roots of English as far back as the Vikings, with texts, recordings and songs. Very early English really was a lot like Icelandic and other Nordic languages. The exhibition also shows how modern English has split into so many varieties and how it has changed over the years. Televisions are set up where visitors can scroll through scenes from various British dramas throughout the years to see for themselves how even modern English is an ever-evolving creature.

A wonderful, interactive Accent Map allows users to move around different parts of the U.K. to listen to locals speak in their accent. And at the end of the exhibition, visitors of all nationalities can contribute to this ongoing language research by recording themselves reading a passage in English.

This is a truly fascinating look into the history and future of the English language. The textspeak that young people often use is often derided, but maybe in a few hundred years evry1 will speak n rite like dis. Or perhaps in the future all communications will be in 140 characters or less.

It would be amazing to have a similar exhibition in Japan — one that traces the Japanese language back to its origins and has its own Accent Map. By acknowledging our pasts in our present, maybe everyone will realize that although our mother tongues might now be different, when it comes to language families, we're all really from the same clan.



Shukan ST: March 11, 2011

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