Pennsylvania German Language - Adoption of English Vocabulary

Adoption of English Vocabulary

The peoples from southern Germany, eastern France and Switzerland, from whom the Pennsylvania German culture and language sprang, arrived in America beginning in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, before the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. To a more limited extent, this is also true of a second wave of immigration in the mid-19th century, which came from the same regions, but settled more frequently in Ohio, Indiana and other parts of the Midwest. Thus, an entire industrial vocabulary relating to electricity, machinery and modern farming implements has naturally been borrowed from the English. For Pennsylvania German speakers who work in a modern trade or in an industrial environment, this could potentially increase the challenge of maintaining their mother tongue.

There are numerous English words that have been borrowed and adapted for use in Pennsylvania German since the first generations of Pennsylvania German habitation of southeastern Pennsylvania. Examples of English loan words that are relatively common include "bet" (Ich bet, du kannscht Deitsch schwetze = I bet you can speak Pennsylvania German), "depend" (Es dependt en wennig, waer du bischt = it depends somewhat on who you are); "tschaepp" for "chap" or "guy"; and "tschumbe" for "to jump". Today, many speakers will use Pennsylvania German words for the smaller numerals and English for larger and more complex numerals, like "$27,599."