Pennsylvania Dutch English is a dialect of English that has been influenced by Pennsylvania German. It is largely spoken in the South Central area of Pennsylvania, both by people who are monolingual (in English) and bilingual (in Pennsylvania German and English). The dialect has been dying out, as non-Amish younger Pennsylvania Germans tend to speak modern General American English (Midwestern Accent). Very few non-Amish members of these people can speak the Pennsylvania Dutch language, although most know some words and phrases. The WWII Generation was the last generation in which Pennsylvania Dutch was widely spoken, outside of the Old Order Amish and Old Order Mennonite communities.
Read more about Pennsylvania Dutch English: Features of Pennsylvania German Influence
Famous quotes containing the words pennsylvania, dutch and/or english:
“The Republican Party does not perceive how many his failure will make to vote more correctly than they would have them. They have counted the votes of Pennsylvania & Co., but they have not correctly counted Captain Brown’s vote. He has taken the wind out of their sails,—the little wind they had,—and they may as well lie to and repair.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Too nice is neighbor’s fool.”
—Common Dutch saying, trans by Johanna C. Prins.
“What a prodigious growth this English race, especially the American branch of it, is having! How soon will it subdue and occupy all the wild parts of this continent and of the islands adjacent. No prophecy, however seemingly extravagant, as to future achievements in this way [is] likely to equal the reality.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)