Lesson 8 Ireland's Contribution to English

Nearly everyone knows that countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are primarily English-speaking countries; that is, English is the mother tongue used in these countries. What is less well known is that English is also the mother tongue in countries such as the Republic of Ireland (officially called Eire), Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad, and Guyana. Among these latter few, the Irish have made contributions to the English language in both its lexicon¹ and literature which can be considered second to none.
Virtually every aspect of English literature has been graced by the writings of the Irish. This fact is all the more amazing because Ireland is a relatively² small country, with never more than four million people throughout its long history. Yet many great "English" writers were indeed born and often raised in Ireland, though many, too, immigrated³ to the United Kingdom at some point in their lives. Among these pillars of English literature were Jonathan Swift, William Butler Yeats, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, and Edmund Burke. Many other lesser-known figures have punctuated⁴ English literature as well. These men's contributions to the English language and to Western thought in general are immeasurable. A review of two of these writers' major works will reveal why.
Jonathan Swift (1667 -1745) by most reckoning is the best English-language satirist⁵ ever, and one of the world's greatest as well. Born in Ireland of English parents, Swift went to school there through his bachelor's degree (Trinity College, Dublin, capital of Ireland). Thereafter he frequently Traveled between England and Ireland, including years spent at Oxford⁶ College, where he earned his master's degree. Swift wrote a great deal of poetry, but he is best regarded as a prose satirist. He wrote prolifically⁷ both in Ireland and England, nearly constantly shuttling from one to the other. In Ireland he worked on Gulliver's Travels, which he later had published in England in 1726. Already famous by that time, Swift would become immortalized with this last great work. What child does not know the story of the brave sailor Gulliver as he travels through lands in which he is at turn both a giant and a midget? Yet most readers are not aware of Swift's intent to satirize⁸ the political, academic, and religious leaders of his time. Read either way, Swift's genius as a writer of English cannot be denied.
A giant of English Theater was George Bernard Shaw(1856 - 1950) . Born in Dublin, Shaw moved to England with his family when he was 20 and stayed there for most of the rest of his long life. His early fiction writing was so poor that he could not find a publisher. Only when he began to work as a playwright⁹ did his fortunes improve. Among the many, many plays for which Shaw is famous, perhaps his most lasting¹⁰ (though not his most critically acclaimed) is Pygmalion (1916), the story of a language teacher who attempts to" civilize¹¹" a young prostitute by training her to speak correctly. If this story sounds familiar, it should: Pygmalion was later filmed winning on Oscar for Shaw and later again transformed into the highly popular Broadway musical My Fair Lady (1956). A good story never dies: the original Pygmalion has since been updated in the hit movie Pretty woman (1990) starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. As with Shakespeare, many of Shaw's plays are continually restaged or rewritten into new media because Shaw wrote on many themes which touch on the human condition, independent of time and space.
Among the constellation¹² of Irish talents, perhaps Swift and Shaw are two among the more brilliant stars, but much more could be written of those mentioned above and many others. Though English literature written by the British suffices as an eternal and shining canon of literature, it would be nonetheless dimmer without the considerable talents of its Irish contributors

1 lexicon   

n.字典，专门词汇

参考例句：

• Chocolate equals sin in most people's lexicon.巧克力在大多数人的字典里等同于罪恶。
• Silent earthquakes are only just beginning to enter the public lexicon.无声地震才刚开始要成为众所周知的语汇。

2 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

3 immigrated   

v.移入( immigrate的过去式和过去分词 )；移民

参考例句：

• He immigrated from Ulster in 1848. 他1848年从阿尔斯特移民到这里。 来自辞典例句
• Many Pakistanis have immigrated to Britain. 许多巴基斯坦人移居到了英国。 来自辞典例句

4 punctuated   

v.（在文字中）加标点符号，加标点( punctuate的过去式和过去分词 )；不时打断某事物

参考例句：

• Her speech was punctuated by bursts of applause. 她的讲演不时被阵阵掌声打断。
• The audience punctuated his speech by outbursts of applause. 听众不时以阵阵掌声打断他的讲话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 satirist   

n.讽刺诗作者，讽刺家，爱挖苦别人的人

参考例句：

• Voltaire was a famous French satirist.伏尔泰是法国一位著名的讽刺作家。
• Perhaps the first to chronicle this dream was the Greek satirist Lucian.也许第一个记述这一梦想的要算是希腊的讽刺作家露西安了。

6 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

7 prolifically   

adv.多产地，丰富地

参考例句：

• He wrote prolifically both in Ireland and England, nearly constantly shuttling from one to the other. 他几乎不断穿梭于爱尔兰和英国之间，并在两地写出大量作品。 来自互联网
• He had directed his first film in 1923 and had worked prolifically throughout the silent era. 1923年，沟口健二执导了他的处女作，在之后的整个默片时代里，他创作了大量作品。 来自互联网

8 satirize   

v.讽刺

参考例句：

• Somebody satirize that the general's lacking in courage.有人讽刺这位将军缺乏勇气。
• Luxun created such an image to satirize.鲁迅是为了讽刺才塑造这样一个人物形象的。

9 playwright   

n.剧作家，编写剧本的人

参考例句：

• Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
• The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。

10 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

11 civilize   

vt.使文明，使开化 (=civilise)

参考例句：

• We must civilize away the boy's bad habit.我们必须教育这孩子使其改掉恶习。
• Those facilities are intended to civilize people.那些设施的目的在于教化民众。

12 constellation   

n.星座n.灿烂的一群

参考例句：

• A constellation is a pattern of stars as seen from the earth. 一个星座只是从地球上看到的某些恒星的一种样子。
• The Big Dipper is not by itself a constellation. 北斗七星本身不是一个星座。