Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: American litterature

The United states of America were discovered only in 1492,so there are
natives' few papers which were found.Surely the indian extermination
contribuited to loss of these papers.So,what is the starting point of study
of american litterature in schools?

The United states of America were discovered only in 1492,so there are
natives' few papers which were found.Surely the indian extermination
contribuited to the loss of these papers.So,what is the starting point of
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>So,what is the starting point of american litterature?
I don't know when the American LITTER -ature started, I know we have got a
lot of it!
Sorry, bad joke. (Molte faccine sorridenti).
P.S. literature is spelt with only 1 t.

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news:GcVqe.2457$bc....@tornado.fastwebnet.it...
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There were no "papers" to be found, since there was no written
language among the native peoples except to a very limited
extent in the glyphs of the Aztecs and Maya in Mexico, so the
native American literature is purely an oral tradition. Native
American languages, when written, use the Roman alphabet
to transcribe the phonetics of the language.
The Cherokee language uses special characters for the
written language, but these special characters were not developed
until about 1819, after exposure to the English language.
http://www.omniglot.com/writing/cherokee.htm
Even in Europe, the exploits of the Irish hero Cuchulain were
an oral tradition for hundreds of years before they were
ever committed to paper.
In American schools, the first "American" literature which is taught
is that which was written in English by writers living in North
America.
Before independence, Americans read English writers, for the most
part.
Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, Nathaniel Hawthorne, David
Henry Thoreau, and Edgar Allan Poe are among the early writers studied
almost universally in the schools.
James Fenimore Cooper is considered by many to be the first great
"American" (English speaking born in North America) writer.
Most of the early writers studied in American schools were born after
1800.
The writings of some of the early American authors were inspired by
native American oral legends and traditions, most notable of which is
the legend of Hiawatha, immortalized by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in
his poem, "The Song of Hiawatha", which takes great liberty with its
portrayal of the historical figure Hiawatha. There is a man called
Hiawatha, part historical and part legendary, in the history of
the Iroquois people, who is credited by the Iroquois with bringing to
them the idea of the "Great Peace", i.e., that there should be no
bloodshed between tribes. He is credited with creating the Iroquois
Confederation, in which the Five Nations (later the Six Nations) each
had chiefs selected by the women of the tribes. The Iroquois
Confederation inspired Benjamin Franklin and others to consider
Iroquois federalist ideas in the creation of the American government.
During the Revolutionary War, the Oneida nation of the Iroquois chose
to fight on the side of General Washington, only to have their lands
destroyed by the American General Sullivan during his scorched-earth
march through New York State. The general has a county in New York
State named after him for this great feat of bravery.
The Iroquois Confederation survives today, but in great disarray,
because of the rivalries between Canadian and American councils, each
of which claim to be the keepers of the Iroquois tradition. But
perhaps what has done the most to break down what was once an
admirable institution is the division and violence, often resulting in
murder, which is a direct result of the building of casinos on
Iroquois reservation land, in both New York State and Canada.
Early American literature;
http://bartleby.com/225/index.html
Joe from Massachusetts

 of american litterature in schools?
The Colonists.  We begin with the Mayflower.
bye
Ari