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| King George III from Royalisticism,blogspot.com |
Thorvald (brother to Leif
Eriksson) spoke Old Norse.
According to my eight-grade
history book (The Free and the Brave by Henry F Graff), Thorvald, with
his Viking adventurers, landed on the shores of North America hundreds of years
before other Europeans or those folk from Great Britain.
And while it was the
English language that sailed on the Mayflower to Plymouth rock (or elsewhere),
the first prominent European language came over on the Niña, the Pinta, and the
Santa María, all carrying the Spanish flag.
Of course, early in the
European adventures on the American continent Portugal and France also
contributed language and other cultural attributes.
But, also, let’s be sure
to recognize the indigenous languages already present here as those Europeans
and Great Britains arrived.
Furthermore, recognize
the languages forcibly brought over from Africa.
Assuredly, English is
what most of us in the United States grew up learning, writing, and speaking.
Now consider this, those
colonists who separated from Great Britain in 1776 did not create English as a
language original to this continent. That language, even used to compose the
Declaration of Independence, was imposed upon this continent by those same
powers that the colonists were rejecting.
At this point, many may
think “Well, they used English to write the Declaration merely as a matter of
convenience.”
I agree. More to my
point, I think all language is merely a matter of convenience rather than as an
indicator of patriotism or nationhood.
Perhaps, if we are so
invested in making a language which traveled from across the Atlantic centuries
ago to be our nationally recognized language, we should all learn Old Norse as that
was the first European language on this continent.
Those that insist that
English is the only authentic language of the United States are willfully self-subjugating
to the residual colonial effect of the Empire of Great Britain.
Far from rolling in his
Royal grave at St. George’s Chapel in England, King George III is having the
last laugh even as we approach our semi- quincentennial celebration.
