Pennsylvania German is Dying Out
CONTINUED FROM > The Pennsylvania Dutch
Deitsch and More German Settlements in North America
The German dialect spoken by the Pennsylvania Germans is a dying language. Fewer and fewer of the Amish, Mennonite, and other Anabaptist religious groups now use Deitsch (Deutsch, German), either in their religious services or at home. English has replaced German in all but a few settlements in Pennsylania and other areas of North America. The number of people who have grown up speaking Deitsch declines as the population ages, and the everyday use of the language is limited for the most part to a few phrases and expressions in Deitsch.
As with any transplanted language, Deitsch has simply been overwhelmed by the dominant language, English. Another handicap arises from the fact that it is a spoken dialect that has undergone change over the years. Deitsch, even in its original form, was never a written language, although a transcription system was developed later. But, thanks to two world wars, there was also a stigma attached to the use of Deitsch in public, further impairing its use. The realization over the last decade or so that it might be important to preserve the German dialect of the Pennsylvania Germans (and the other German religious settlements in the U.S. and Canada) may have come too late. But efforts to prevent the total loss of Deitsch are being made by the Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center at Kutztown University and by a few other organizations.
Not Just in Pennsylvania
Although we have been discussing the Pennsylvania Germans, it is important to note that there are many other similar Germanic heritage settlements spread out across North America and other parts of the New World. For instance, Hutterite settlements can be found in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia in Canada, and in North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Washington and Montana in the U.S. The Hutterian Brethren (named for Jakob Hutter) speak yet another German dialect, actually an Austrian (Tyrolean) dialect because they came from Austrian Tyrol, northern Italy (Südtirol) and the Austrian province of Carinthia (Kärnten).
The Hutterites are in turn divided into several groups: Schmiedeleut, Dariusleut and Lehrerleut. Their German designations reflect the profession (blacksmith, teacher) or name of each group's founder. Then there are the Bruderhofers (who are technically not Hutterites, but are linked to the Hutterian Brethren) in New York, Pennsylvania, and in England.
Similarly, there are various Mennonite groups (including the Amish, followers of the Swiss Jakob Ammann) located throughout the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. Although they can all be classified as Anabaptists (a sect founded by Menno Simons in Switzerland in 1535 and believing in adult baptism), there are many varieties of Mennonites.
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