European Origins
The ancestors of Pennsylvania German speakers came from various parts of the southwest corner of the German-speaking region of Europe, including the Electorate of the Palatinate, the Duchy of Baden (Badenland), Swabia, Württemberg, Alsace (German Elsass), and Switzerland. Many spoke West Middle German dialects and Alemannic dialects, and in the first generations after the settlers arrived it is believed that these dialects merged.
Read more about this topic: Pennsylvania German Language
Famous quotes containing the words european and/or origins:
“In European thought in general, as contrasted with American, vigor, life and originality have a kind of easy, professional utterance. American—on the other hand, is expressed in an eager amateurish way. A European gives a sense of scope, of survey, of consideration. An American is strained, sensational. One is artistic gold; the other is bullion.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
“The settlement of America had its origins in the unsettlement of Europe. America came into existence when the European was already so distant from the ancient ideas and ways of his birthplace that the whole span of the Atlantic did not widen the gulf.”
—Lewis Mumford (1895–1990)