Pennsylvania Dutch English

1

Pennsylvania Dutch English is a dialect of English that has been influenced by the Pennsylvania Dutch language. It is largely spoken in South Central Pennsylvania, both by people who are monolingual in English and bilingual in Pennsylvania Dutch and English. The dialect has been dying out, as non-Amish younger Pennsylvania Germans tend to speak General American English. Very few non-Amish members of these people can speak the Pennsylvania German language, although most know some words and phrases. The World War II generation of the mid-20th century was the last generation in which Pennsylvania Dutch was widely spoken outside the Amish and Old Order Mennonite communities.

Features of Pennsylvania German influence

Pennsylvania Dutch English differs from standard English in various ways. Some of its hallmark features include: Other calques include: Other idioms include "Make wet?" meaning "Is it going to rain?", "hurrieder" meaning "faster", and "dippy eggs/ecks" meaning "over-easy or soft-boiled eggs".

This article is derived from Wikipedia and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. View the original article.

Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
Bliptext is not affiliated with or endorsed by Wikipedia or the Wikimedia Foundation.

Edit article