View source for Pennsylvania Dutch English

{{Short description|Dialect of English}}{{Use American English|date=January 2019}}{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox language
|states = [[United States]], [[Canada]]
|region = [[Pennsylvania]]; [[Ohio]]; [[Indiana]]; [[Ontario]]; and elsewhere
|familycolor = Indo-European
|fam2 = [[Germanic languages|Germanic]]
|fam3 = [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]]
|fam4 = [[North Sea Germanic]]
|fam5 = [[Anglo-Frisian languages|Anglo–Frisian]]
|fam6 = [[Anglic languages|Anglic]]
|fam7 = [[English language|English]]
|fam8 = [[North American English]]
|fam9 = [[American English]]
|ancestor = [[Old English]]
|ancestor2 = [[Middle English]]
|ancestor3 = [[Early Modern English]]
|script = [[Latin script|Latin]] ([[English alphabet]])
|isoexception = dialect
|map = GreaterPennsylvaniaDutchCountry.png
|mapscale = 1
|mapcaption = The [[Pennsylvania]] counties of [[Pennsylvania Dutch Country]], where Pennsylvania Dutch English has 
traditionally been spoken
}}
'''Pennsylvania Dutch English''' is a dialect of [[English language|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 (language)|English]] and bilingual in [[Pennsylvania Dutch language|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.<ref name="Tony">{{cite news |last1=Di Domizio |first1=Tony |title=Pennsylvania Dutch dialect is still alive in the region |url=http://www.montgomerynews.com/soudertonindependent/news/pennsylvania-dutch-dialect-is-still-alive-in-the-region/article_906840c3-08cf-5fde-b5b3-0d65f373fb14.html |work=Souderton Independent |date=2010-11-10}}</ref>

==Features of Pennsylvania German influence==
{{Refimprove-section|date=June 2022}}
Pennsylvania Dutch English differs from standard [[English (language)|English]] in various ways.<ref name="Lynch">{{cite news |last1=Lynch |first1=Larry |title=Pennsylvania Dutch: Structure, Pronunciation, and Popular Expressions |url=https://www.brighthubeducation.com/studying-a-language/54938-the-pennsylvania-dutch-language |work=Bright Hub Education}}</ref> Some of its hallmark features include:

* Widespread [[voice (phonetics)|devoicing]] of [[obstruent]]s, such as “round” being pronounced “rount” or “eggs” as “ecks”.
* The use of certain vowel variants in specific [[phonology|phonological]] contexts.{{Explain|date=May 2017}}
* The use of Pennsylvania German [[verb]] and [[noun]] stems in word construction.{{Examples|date=May 2017}}
* Specific intonation patterns for questions.{{Examples|date=May 2017}}
* Special placement of [[prepositional phrase]]s in sentences (so that "Throw some hay over the fence for the horse" might be rendered "Throw the horse over the fence some hay").
* The use of "ain't" and "not" or "say" as [[tag question|question tags]].
* The use of "still" as a [[habitual aspect|habitual]] verbal marker.{{Examples|date=May 2017}}
* The use of the phrase "what for" to mean "what kind of", as in "What for drink do you have?" (German = "was für")
* Use of the word "yet" to mean "still," such as "do you work at the store yet?" to mean "do you still work at the store?"
* Use of terms such as "doncha know" and "so I do" or "so he does" at the end of declaratory sentences.
* Use of the word "awhile" at the end of sentences proposing simultaneous actions (e.g. "Go get the tea out of the pantry; I'll start boiling the water awhile."). This comes from the semantic calquing of the German word “alleweil,” which means “right now” or “in a little while.” English speakers in contact with Pennsylvanian Dutch speakers adopted the word but phonologically adapted it by replacing “alleweil” for the more familiar, English “awhile.”
* Omitting "to be" from the passive construction in an infinitive following "needs" or "wants" (e.g. "the car needs cleaned" instead of "the car needs to be cleaned").

Other [[calque]]s include:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!Pennsylvania Dutch English term !! Standard English term !! Pennsylvania German term !! Related Standard German term !! Word-for-word Standard German translation
|-
|| Outen the lights. || Turn off the lights. ||	Mach's Licht aus. || Mach das Licht aus. || "Make the light out."
|-
|| The [noun(s)] is/are all. <br/>{{small|(e.g. The food is all.)}} || There is/are no more [noun(s)]. || Die [nouns] sin all, OR Der/Die/Es [noun] is all. || Die [nouns] sind alle, OR Der/Die/Das [noun] ist alle. || "The [nouns] are all."
|-
|| Don't eat yourself full. || Don't fill yourself up. || Iss dich net voll. || Iss dich nicht voll. || "Eat yourself not full."
|-
|| There's cake back yet. || There is cake to come. || Es gibt datt noch Kuche. || Es gibt da noch Kuchen. || "There is still cake." 
|-
|| It wonders me. || It makes me wonder. || Es wunnert mich. || Das wundert mich. || "It wonders me."
|-
|| Spritzing || Lightly raining || Schpritze || Spritzen || Spritzing
|-
|| Rutsching || Squirming || Rutsche || Rutschen || "Slipping / Sliding"
|-
|| Schusslich || Clumsy (with things, usually due to hurrying) || Schusslich || Schusselig || "Scatty / Scatterbrained"
|-
|| Doplich / Doppich || Clumsy (with oneself) || Dappich || Täppisch / Tappig || "Clumsy"
|-
|| Yah, well. || Whatever / It makes no difference || Ya, well. || Ja, wohl. || "Yes, well."
|-
|| Wutz || Pig (when someone eats a lot) || Die Wutz || Die Wutz || "The Pig" (regional word)
|-
|| Kutz / Kutzing || Vomit / Vomiting || Der Kotz / Kotze || Die Kotze / Kotzen || "Vomit"
|-
|| Schtriwwelich || Uncombed or stringy || Schtriwwelich || Strubbelig || "Disheveled"
|-
|| Brutzing / Grexing || Whining / Complaining || Brutze / Grexe || Jammern / Klagen || "Whining / Complaining"
|-
|| Wuntz (Once) || For a second / Quickly || Eemols || Einmal || Once / One-time
|-
|| Mox nix || Irrelevant || Macht's nix || (Das) Macht nichts. || "(That) Matters not."
|-
|| Nix nootz / Nix nootzie || Misbehaving (usually referring to a little kid) || Nixnutz || Nichtsnutz || "No-use."
|-
|| Schnickelfritz || Troublemaker (usually referring to a little kid) || Schnickelfritz || Schnacken + Fritz || "Chatting Fritz" 
|-
|| Right like || Exactly the same as || Genau wie / Yuscht wie || Genau wie || "Just like"
|-
|}

Other [[idiom]]s include "Make wet?" meaning "Is it going to rain?", "hurrieder" meaning "faster", and "dippy eggs/ecks" meaning "over-easy or soft-boiled eggs".

==See also==
* [[Lunenburg English]], a dialect of Canadian English similarly influenced by German
* [[Northeast Pennsylvania English]]
* [[Philadelphia dialect]]
* [[North American English regional phonology]]
* [[Regional vocabularies of American English]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{cite web | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDChsbf_0kY | title = Pennsylvania German versus Germany German | work =Get Germanized | date = January 19, 2014 | publisher = youtube.com}}
* {{url | www.padutchdictionary.com }}
* {{url | www.Deitshbooks.com }}

{{English dialects by continent}}
{{Languages of Pennsylvania}}
{{Languages of the United States}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:City colloquials]]
[[Category:Dialects of English]]
[[Category:English language in the United States]]
[[Category:Languages of Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Ohio culture]]
[[Category:Pennsylvania culture]]
[[Category:Pennsylvania Dutch language]]