Carry On Icelandic: Culture [selections] (2004)
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Menning - Culture
Menning
Íslendingar hafa löngum verið fastheldnir á gömul verðmæti; tungu sína, þjóðerni og frelsi. Fastheldnin hefur lýst sér í baráttu fyrir þessum verðmætum um aldir. Varðveisla tungu og bókmennta hefur löngum verið eitt helsta baráttumál þjóðarinnar og barist var fyrir fullveldi og frelsi undan dönskum yfirráðum þar til sigur vannst. Íslendingar urðu frjáls og fullvalda þjóð á ný árið 1918, eftir nærri sjö aldir undir erlendri stjórn, fyrst Norðmanna, síðar Dana. Lýðveldi var síðan stofnað árið 1944. Nú þykir mörgum sem íslenskri menningu sé ný hætta búin af svokallaðri ameríkaniseringu. Aðrir telja slíkt fjarstæðu, Íslendingar fylgist einfaldlega vel með.
Culture
For a long time, Icelanders have held fast to old ways, to their language, nationality, and liberty. Over the centuries, their struggle for such values has attested their sense of tradition. The preservation of Icelandic language and literature has long been one of the Icelanders' greatest concerns, and the struggle for sovereignty and independence from Danish rule persisted until victory was gained. Icelanders won their independence and national sovereignty again in 1918, after nearly seven centuries of foreign rule, first under the Norway, then Denmark. In 1944, the Republic of Iceland was constituted. To many it now seems as though Icelandic culture is under a new threat, so-called "Americanization." Others think such concerns absurd - Icelanders are simply keeping up.
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