"huzzah" labelled Colonial speech

[Mullins, Bill AMRDEC]

Readex/Newsbank's "Early American Newspapers" gives numerous hits for
"huzzah" from the late 1700's/early 1800's.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society
> [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Amy West
> Sent: Friday, March 24, 2006 7:33 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: "huzzah" labelled Colonial speech
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Amy West <medievalist at W-STS.COM>
> Subject:      "huzzah" labelled Colonial speech
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> -----------------
>
> I've quickly checked WordOrigins, but I haven't checked the
> ADS-L archives....
>
> I've spotted this tidbit in my morning paper in an article
> (AP) on the new Revolutionary City gimmick at Colonial Williamsburg:
>
> "Now they're [costumed workers] performing a play,
> improvising a bit as they walk among the audience, asking
> observers whether they want to break free from England and
> encouraging people to shout 'Huzzah,'
> a Colonial cheer."
>
> Has this in fact been found to be the case concerning
> "Huzzah"? The only place I've encountered it is at Ren Faires
> as part of the
> (fakey) Elizabethan-speak. I see that C11 dates it to 1573.
> But is it still used in the late 1770s?
>
> This development is really worrisome (to me) because in the
> museum field, we often look to Colonial Williamsburg as a
> leader in conservation of artifacts and historical interpretation.
>
> ---Amy West
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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