"huzzah" labelled Colonial speech

[carole crompton]

They also use Huzzah! at Plimoth Plantation.
cmc
On Friday, March 24, 2006, at 05:32 AM, Amy West wrote:

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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
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>
> 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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