2015考研英语阅读伦敦方言来袭_大学英语阅读

2015考研英语阅读伦敦方言来袭

　　Linguists are most excited by what MLE is doing to the rhythm of speech. English is usuallyspoken with a stress-timed rhythm, in which syllables are stressed at regular intervals.Speakers of MLE speak with a syllable-timed rhythm, in which all syllables are accordedroughly the same time and stress, as in French or Japanese. Syllable-timed speech is acharacteristic of languages that have come into contact with other languages. Versions of itmay have existed in multicultural places such as Hackney for centuries, thinks Mr Kerswill.

　　语言学家对MLE对语调带来的变化更感兴趣。英语一般是由重音引导的，就是音节按照时间规律重读。MLE的使用者则按照音节停顿，所有音节的语调基本一致，跟法语和日语大致相同。和其他语言相比，按音节停顿是其特点。这种语音特色可能已经在诸如哈克尼这种多元文化区存在数个世纪了。

　　Helped along by the exodus of old-fashioned Cockney speakers to Londons suburbs andcommuter towns, MLE is replacing Londons traditional vernacular. That worries some.Caroline Goyder, a former teacher who now coaches politicians and lawyers in the art ofpublic speaking, says she sees increasing numbers of school leavers who fear they areincomprehensible in job interviews. For one young Cambridge graduate working in Paris, thatrings true. His MLE accent is proving as much of a problem as his imperfect French. I knowits incongruous, he says, but its hard to lose, yget me?