Pennsylvania Dutch

Paper Summary:

Just as many other language varieties, Pennsylvania Dutch has become the victim of our time, which is a time of constant and rapid change, in which nothing remains stable. Only in small religious communities such as the Mennonites or the Amish, the dialect has been preserved and is still spoken today. In this paper, firstly, the immigration history of the Pennsylvania Dutch is described briefly; afterwards a closer look at the dialect itself and its special features is taken. The paper then discusses why language varieties vanish in general and why Pennsylvania Dutch, specifically, is facing the phenomenon of the so-called "language death." Afterwards, the paper examines what may prevent a language from dying out and why may contribute to its preservation. This is done using the example of Pennsylvania Dutch, with special account of its survival in little religious communities such as the Amish.

Paper Outline:
Introduction
Immigration History of the Pennsylvania Dutch
The Dialect of Pennsylvania Dutch
Why Dialects Vanish: The Case of Pennsylvania Dutch
Preservation of the Dialect
Conclusion
Bibliography

From the Paper:

"A different and probably one of the most influential factors to contribute to the loss of a language is mass culture (cf. Schiffman 5/2000: 4). With the distribution of television and radio networks the English language prevailed. English was the fashionable language and was now omnipresent for speakers of a dialect. It cannot be denied that television and radio and the media in general have a tremendous impact on people's attitudes, which can be observed in our society today as well, in which the media plays a central role in public as well as in private life."

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