Varieties
As one might expect from a spoken language which traditionally lacked a consistent writing system, several regional differences have developed. However, the major differences seem to have originated in the beginning of the 19th century in the two Mennonite settlements in New Russia (today Ukraine), known as Chortitza or Old Colony and Molotschna (New Colony), as noted above. Some of the major differences between these two varieties are:
| Old Colony dialect | Molotschna dialect | Contemporary other Low German | meaning of word | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| verbs and other -en endings | räden, | räde | reden, räden | to speak, to talk |
| oa diphthong | Froag | Froag | Frag | question |
| u/y sound | Hus/Hüs | Hus | Hus | house |
| s/ts sound | Zol (Ssol) | Zol (Tsol) | Tal | number |
A few other differences sometimes related to this issue are the exact pronunciation of the IPA c sound and words as jenau/jeneiw, but according to some studies, those might be due to the level of education and the influence of Russian and German.
Some Plautdietsch speakers might show a mixture of both dialects. Those, for instance, who trace their origin to the Bergthal Colony in New Russia (Ukraine), a daughter colony of the Old Colony, show all the phonetic distinction of the Old Colony version, but they drop the final -n as the Molotschna speakers do.
Read more about this topic: Plautdietsch Language
Famous quotes containing the word varieties:
“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.”
—Bible: New Testament, 1 Corinthians 12:4-6.