Unscripted America

Indigenous Languages and the Origins of a Literary Nation

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, American, Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Language Arts, Linguistics
Cover of the book Unscripted America by Sarah Rivett, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Sarah Rivett ISBN: 9780190492588
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: October 27, 2017
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Sarah Rivett
ISBN: 9780190492588
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: October 27, 2017
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

In 1664, French Jesuit Louis Nicolas arrived in Quebec. Upon first hearing Ojibwe, Nicolas observed that he had encountered the most barbaric language in the world--but after listening to and studying approximately fifteen Algonquian languages over a ten-year period, he wrote that he had "discovered all of the secrets of the most beautiful languages in the universe." Unscripted America is a study of how colonists in North America struggled to understand, translate, and interpret Native American languages, and the significance of these languages for theological and cosmological issues such as the origins of Amerindian populations, their relationship to Eurasian and Biblical peoples, and the origins of language itself. Through a close analysis of previously overlooked texts, Unscripted America places American Indian languages within transatlantic intellectual history, while also demonstrating how American letters emerged in the 1810s through 1830s via a complex and hitherto unexplored engagement with the legacies and aesthetic possibilities of indigenous words. Unscripted America contends that what scholars have more traditionally understood through the Romantic ideology of the noble savage, a vessel of antiquity among dying populations, was in fact a palimpsest of still-living indigenous populations whose presence in American literature remains traceable through words. By examining the foundation of the literary nation through language, writing, and literacy, Unscripted America revisits common conceptions regarding "early america" and its origins to demonstrate how the understanding of America developed out of a steadfast connection to American Indians, both past and present.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In 1664, French Jesuit Louis Nicolas arrived in Quebec. Upon first hearing Ojibwe, Nicolas observed that he had encountered the most barbaric language in the world--but after listening to and studying approximately fifteen Algonquian languages over a ten-year period, he wrote that he had "discovered all of the secrets of the most beautiful languages in the universe." Unscripted America is a study of how colonists in North America struggled to understand, translate, and interpret Native American languages, and the significance of these languages for theological and cosmological issues such as the origins of Amerindian populations, their relationship to Eurasian and Biblical peoples, and the origins of language itself. Through a close analysis of previously overlooked texts, Unscripted America places American Indian languages within transatlantic intellectual history, while also demonstrating how American letters emerged in the 1810s through 1830s via a complex and hitherto unexplored engagement with the legacies and aesthetic possibilities of indigenous words. Unscripted America contends that what scholars have more traditionally understood through the Romantic ideology of the noble savage, a vessel of antiquity among dying populations, was in fact a palimpsest of still-living indigenous populations whose presence in American literature remains traceable through words. By examining the foundation of the literary nation through language, writing, and literacy, Unscripted America revisits common conceptions regarding "early america" and its origins to demonstrate how the understanding of America developed out of a steadfast connection to American Indians, both past and present.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book Helping Parents with Challenging Children Positive Family Intervention Facilitator Guide by Sarah Rivett
Cover of the book A History of US: Making Thirteen Colonies by Sarah Rivett
Cover of the book A Brief History of the Mind by Sarah Rivett
Cover of the book Reconstructing the World Trade Organization for the 21st Century by Sarah Rivett
Cover of the book Josephine Lang by Sarah Rivett
Cover of the book Warranted Christian Belief by Sarah Rivett
Cover of the book The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets by Sarah Rivett
Cover of the book How Physics Makes Us Free by Sarah Rivett
Cover of the book The Cities on the Hill by Sarah Rivett
Cover of the book Extending Rights' Reach by Sarah Rivett
Cover of the book Antisocial Media by Sarah Rivett
Cover of the book The Modern American Military by Sarah Rivett
Cover of the book Oxford Children's Classics: World of Adventure Bundle by Sarah Rivett
Cover of the book Audible States by Sarah Rivett
Cover of the book Morale by Sarah Rivett
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy