Ancient American English
Ancient American English was a language spoken on Old Terra during its industrial period and later into the Wormhole Rush. The de facto official language of Ancient America and its successor states, it held major global influence both during and after that nation's time as a world superpower, and in the following centuries became the root of most other Americanist languages in the Starweb today.
The name "English" for this language may seem paradoxical without historical study, but comes from Ancient America's origins as a colony of pre-industrial Eng Land. After it rebelled and won its independence, the language and its name were kept and only much later did it evolve into one distinct enough to be called "American". Until then, it remained largely mutually intelligible with British English and the Englishes spoken in other former British colonies. When Ancient America became a Terran superpower, it gained a prominence in international relations.
In the modern Starweb, Ancient American English is considered an extinct language since no cultures natively speak it. It continues to be studied historically by researchers of American culture and pre-interstellar human history, as many of the records from some of those times are written in it. Even so, it can be said to still hold some sigificance as prominent Ancient American documents, in particular its Constitution and Declaration of Independence, were written in an early form of it. These documents, some of which have gained a status similar to religious scriptures in some modern American cultures, are revered as founding texts of the American way of life and so study of this language still occurs among the general population. Archaeologists may also encounter examples of it when searching for ancient American artifacts on Terra or former American colonies.
Derivative languages include Americ, the language of the American Federation during the Second Interstellar Period and of most of American Space today, as well as several languages spoken by lupens and marsi, two species uplifted by American bio-engineers.
The name "English" for this language may seem paradoxical without historical study, but comes from Ancient America's origins as a colony of pre-industrial Eng Land. After it rebelled and won its independence, the language and its name were kept and only much later did it evolve into one distinct enough to be called "American". Until then, it remained largely mutually intelligible with British English and the Englishes spoken in other former British colonies. When Ancient America became a Terran superpower, it gained a prominence in international relations.
In the modern Starweb, Ancient American English is considered an extinct language since no cultures natively speak it. It continues to be studied historically by researchers of American culture and pre-interstellar human history, as many of the records from some of those times are written in it. Even so, it can be said to still hold some sigificance as prominent Ancient American documents, in particular its Constitution and Declaration of Independence, were written in an early form of it. These documents, some of which have gained a status similar to religious scriptures in some modern American cultures, are revered as founding texts of the American way of life and so study of this language still occurs among the general population. Archaeologists may also encounter examples of it when searching for ancient American artifacts on Terra or former American colonies.
Derivative languages include Americ, the language of the American Federation during the Second Interstellar Period and of most of American Space today, as well as several languages spoken by lupens and marsi, two species uplifted by American bio-engineers.
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