Posted by Dinah on November 16, 2011, at 20:45:39
In reply to Re: the political climate you would like » Dinah, posted by sigismund on November 16, 2011, at 17:37:16
Where you are, does English speaking generally mean Anglo-Saxon? That's not something that springs instantly to mind where I live. I think I may be slightly over 1/2 English, but I'm in the minority. Even our state law is based on the Napoleonic code rather than English common law.
The English language has proved to be very tenacious, hasn't it? I wonder why it wasn't superceded by Norman French? It incorporated it I guess. I started reading "The Mother Tongue" years ago and found it fascinating, though I never seem to manage to finish it.
It's funny, and perhaps unique to me. When I think of Anglo Saxons, I don't think power. I think of my serf ancestors. Of William the Conqueror (or B*stard, as I'm sure they preferred) and the Harrying of the North. Of Aethelred the Unready, and Harold Godwinson. Of the scorn the Norman nobility felt towards the Saxons. Though to be fair, my Saxon ancestors weren't overly nice to my Briton Celtic ancestors - as I remind myself whenever I start to feel too sorry for them.
poster:Dinah
thread:1001838
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20110926/msgs/1002818.html