| An independently published Ingallish-language periodical digest of news and commentary from newspapers and magazines edited and distributed in the Kingdom of Altland. |
| His Altlandic Majesty has taken a
bold step forward with his proposal that in the future all Altlandic
children, in both Romandia and Old Altland, be made fluent in
Ingallish and that henceforth standard international Ingallish
become the official common language of the realm and of the Altlandic
Family of Nations, which has in any case been employing it to
transcend the linguistic barrier among its members' people. The tensions between the two ethnic halves of the kingdom, whose languages are not even closely related, have not significantly abated since the Restoration, despite the very vigorous efforts of the government to remain scrupulously fair in its use and promotion of the two languages. Romandians continue to chafe at the fact the most government documents and inner communication is done originally in Teuts, even if a Romança version is always immediately produced. The location of the national capital in Midlburgh probably makes this bias inevitable. The king's father, although heir to the throne of Romandia, was brought up speaking both languages and seems to have preferred to think and speak in Teuts after his marriage to Queen Marie, who as Duchess of Estgorth was heir to the throne of Altland through the extinction of its direct male line, and his establishment of the royal government of his whole realm in Midlburgh. The present king was even more inclined to use Teuts, since the influence of his mother was preponderant in his early years; he has never been entirely comfortable in Romança and, in fact, makes frequent errors when it comes to spontaneous, informal, idiomatic speech in that language. Indeed, the language issue was one of those upon which the Neonesians often relied to stir up anti-royal sentiment on their successful path to usupation. The adoption of Ingallish as the official common language has much to recommend it. International trade, scientific exchange, and technology is conducted almost entirely in Ingallish, and it is already the official lingua franca (in spite of vigorous objections from Phenixia) of the Altlandic Family of Nations. A recent survey conducted by the Office of Language Preservation in the Chancellory for the Common Weal found that already 56% of Altlanders throughout the realm considered themselves fluent in international standard Ingallish. If the language is made a complusory part of the educational process for all of the King's young subjects, this percentage should be raised to 75 in a single generation, quite apart from the result of efforts by older subjects who have already passed their third scrutiny to acquire the language based on the requirements of their employment or the language's enhanced official status. We believe, as does his Altlandic Majesty, that the adoption of Ingallish as a common medium of thought and communication which will be equally "foreign" to both the nation's linguistic communities will in fact have the effect of drawing them together without one group feeling that it has been force to take second place to the other. In addition, universal competence in Ingallish will enhance the position of the country in international commerce and technical advancement. For these reasons, we enthusiastically support the King's initiative and we urge the people in all parts of nation to get behind him as well. |
 MIDLBURGH (RNS) The King's return to Midlburgh has resulted, among other things, in a flurry of diplomatic activity leading to newly established diplomatic relations with the recently emerged nation of Cimera, as well as with the long-spurned TDCorp, which rules a strangely elongated piece of territory on the continent of Melania that shares a border with the Protetorate of Afrazure Altlandique. The corporation was the first political entity to take adavantage of the newly established centralized foreign relations office of the Altlandic Family of Nations' General Secretariat.  |
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 Jergenpalas
last night around 9:30. (Merkur photo) |
MIDDLEBURGH [Novalta PA] The return of George II Victor to his capital yesterday was not planned to be secret, but was treated as a matter of course. Without fanfare, or even any announcement the King arrived about 7:00 p. m. at the rear entrance of the Jergenpalas and the royal standard was hoisted above the peak of the main pediment of the front entrance. Then, about 9:00, that familiar light suddently shone from the window of the monarch's personal study, a reassuring beacon in the gathering gloom. At last, after more than three years, the King of Altland was home. |
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News Item: KING TO RETURN FROM SECLUSION AT ST. VICTOR Alexicot Said to Wish to Resign Midlburgh, 10.VII.05. [SPECIAL TO DE NIUE TIJD] The Jergenpalas announced today that the King would be returning soon from a period of self-imposed seclusion in the Royal Abbey of St. Victor. The King entered the monastery in whose church his royal ancestors lie buried on a undisclosed date in March of 202 and has remained there, in touch with affairs through his Arch-Chancellor, Sir Alexander Alexicot, KJA, ever since. It has been reported by sources in the abbey that His Majesty has used the time set aside in the daily horarium for work and recreation to read dispatches and send instructions to his govenment, but that in all other respects, dressed in the habit of a lay-brother, he has led the ordinary life of a monk. It should be noted that the King has never actually professed monastic vows. The monarch's return to the Jergenpalas and to the normal routine of a ruler is attributed by sources inside the government to the desire of his faithful friend and minister, Arch-Chancellor Alexicot, to lay down the burdens of office and retire again to private life. If such is the case, it is far from clear whom the King would choose to replace his old friend, who was the hero of the movement in 299 that restored him to his throne. Before reappointing Alexicot to the Arch-Chancellorship in 202, the King had himself exercised the functions of that crucial and burdensome office for a year before. Some familiar with the inner counsels of the court suspect that he may now do so again, since there has been no flurry of activity such as there has been in the past preceding an appointment to a major post in the government. Another motive for the King's return may have to do with the fact that the summoning of the Great Council is now overdue, and it would be difficult for the legislative branch of government to function in the monarch's complete absence. If the Great Council is to meet this summer the traditional time of year for its sessions the King's writ would have to be issued within a week from now to allow sufficient time for the members to be chosen, gather, and conduct their business before the beginning of autumn. |
Editorial: 10.VII.05 It comes as no surprise that His Altlandic Majesty, George II Victor, has decided to end his monastic idyll and return to the real world of rulership and politics. When he departed for St. Victor in March of 302, it was announced that the exertions of his Restoration and the strains of his being his own Arch-Chancellor had made a year of rest and recuperation necessary. (The King had suffered a mild heart attack in early February, 300, although this fact was not disclosed to the public until he reappointed Sir Alexander Alexicot to the Arch-Chancellorship in 302.) But the King's year off came to look as if it might never end, and now it is Sir Alex, the King's exact contemporary (sixty-two at the start of August) who can no longer bear the burdens of office and seeks honorable retirement. In fact, Sir Alex's age, as well, perhaps, as his deeply-felt reluctance to accept office, has shown itself in a certain lassitude in the conduct of affairs over the last several months. In both foreign and domestic policy, the Kingdom of Altland is now adrift from the inaction of its government. The summoning of the Great Council is over a year overdue; diplomatic relations, especially with the planet's newly emerging countries, have been entirely neglected; Altlandic participation in international gatherings and competitions has all but ceased; industry is caught in a long-term recession and international trade has suffered. All of these problems need the attention and direction of a vigorous executive, and the King must either return to provide the needed leadership himself or find a new Arch-Chancellor who will take charge with more energy than has been exercised by his friend Alexicot. Our somewhat unusual unwritten constitution has served the nation well enough over the past century, since the union of Old Altland and Romandia. But it has succeeded because of inspired leadership, sound policy and good administration, not because of magic or miracles. The King has no choice now but to apply himself to the work of governance as he has not for the past three years and to see to it that the nation is put back on the path of prosperity, progress, and active collaboration with the other nations of Vexillium. |