| 单词 | Smith Island |
| 释义 | Smith Island Smith Island NONE（无词性）A group of closely placed islands in southern Chesapeake Bay on the Maryland-Virginia border. Settled in the mid-17th century, the islands are the site of several small fishing villages.史密斯群岛：切萨皮克湾南部的一群密布小岛，位于马里兰州-弗吉尼亚州交界处。公元十七世纪开始有人定居，这些岛屿是数个小型渔村的所在地用法:Residents of Smith Island speak a variety of American English unlike any other, fostered in long-standing isolation from other varieties. This unique dialect has its roots in the British dialects of the latter half of the 1600s, when the first English speakers set up residence on this group of islands. It is characterized by the retention of a number of older language features, including the use ofhit for it, the use of an a- prefix on -ing verbs, and the use of phrases such as of a night for at night. A number of its most distinctive features do not represent retentions of Elizabethan English but actually arose in the latter half of the 20th century. For example, the pronunciation of (&9{º}) as (…¶)—as in (s…¶d) for side —is comparatively new, as is the pronunciation of (ou) as something like (³) or (&9{º}), which makes brown sound almost like brain or brine. ·The Smith Island dialect is also unique in that it actually seems to be getting more distinctive rather than less so, despite the fact that increased channels of communication and improved methods of transportation are inevitably bringing its speakers into closer contact with mainland dialects. Ironically, even as the Smith Island dialect gains in strength, it is rapidly losing speakers. The crabbing industry—the backbone of the economy—is faltering, and the islands have lost more than a third of their population in the past several decades; today only about 450 residents remain. The remaining Smith Islanders may be intensifying the distinctiveness of their dialect because of a desire to cling to their traditional lifestyle. 史密斯群岛的居民讲着各种不同的美式英语，孕育着长年以来与其它岛屿语言不相同的孤立性。这些独特的方言可以追朔至公元1600年代后半期的英国方言，当时首次有讲英语的人定居在这群岛屿上。其特色保留了数种古老语言的特色，包括使用hit 来代替 it ，使用以 a- 为前缀的字作为 -ing 动词，使用词组例如 of a night 来代替 at night 等。该语言最重要的几个特色虽然并非代表着其承接自伊丽莎白时代英语的特色，但实际上该特色却自二十世纪后半叶兴起。举例而言，替代发音(…¶)的((&9{º})──如 side 的发音(s…¶d)──比较而言较新，以及(ou)的发音接近(³)或(&9{º})，后者会让 brown 听起来比较接近 brain 或是 brine 。·史密斯群岛的方言另外一个独特的地方在于它实际上似乎演变得愈来愈具相异性而非愈来愈相似，即使事实上愈来愈多的通讯管道及交通运输的发达无可避免地让该岛居民得以更进一步接触美国本土的方言。讽刺的是，即使史密斯群岛的方言愈来愈有自己的分量，然而会讲该种语言的人却急速减少。 史密斯群岛赖以维生的捕蟹业逐渐衰退，这些岛屿在过去数十年亦有超过三分之一的人口流失；今日该群岛大约仅剩450位居民。这些仅存的史密斯群岛居民可能会由于忠实其传统生活方式的渴望而愈发增加其方言的独特性。 |
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