Bucks
Pennsylvania German Language
Dear Friends,
Good morning. You can still find the Pennsylvania German culture alive and well in Bucks County. Many incorrectly identify it as Pennsylvania Dutch. I tell my friends that the Dutch are from Holland. Those who emigrated to Pennsylvania in the 17th and 18th centuries came to Pennsylvania from Germany…hence, Pennsylvania Germans.
Last week I wrote a column for the Morning Call about my friend William Greenawald from Allentown. I’ve known Bill for 30 years and served with him on the East Penn board of directors. He was fatally struck with a heart attack so I wrote a piece about his life.
Because Bill loved his Pennsylvania German heritage, I thought it would be appropriate to end the column with an expression, which meant, “Farewell, ‘til we meet again.” So off I went…searching for Pennsylvania German linguists.
My first call was to Linda Ott, attorney J. Lawrence Grim Jr.’s expert assistant. Larry’s right hand is fluent in Pennsylvania German. Her first suggestion was “Fariwell” (the “w” is pronounced, “v,” just as it is in High German. But she’d do some research and tell me more. By day’s end, I had unwittingly unleashed language frenzy at my dear friend’s law firm.
In the
meantime, Larry Grim suggested the Internet and I Googled “PA German
vocabulary.” Among several options, Google identified the PA German Society in
Kutztown. By the way, its phone number is
Quinter was a treasure trove of information. He knew Bill Greenawald’s reputation and spoke about his love of family, church and culture…“Mudder Schproch,” Quinter told me, meaning, “mother tongue.” He worries that the Pennsylvania German dialect is dying. “But I have students in their teens, 60’s and 70’s who want to learn the language,” he said. “There’s great camaraderie in the class.”
Quinter suggested “Adshee” as a possibility. “It’s close to “adieu” in French, meaning “goodbye,” he added.
Larry Grim thought that “Sey Dich Widder” would do. But Linda Ott hit the home run. Well into the evening, she called me. “Charles,” she said, “ It’s “Bis Mer Witter ‘Tsuma Kuma,” until we meet again.
And that’s how I finished my Greenawald column.
Mary Bittenbender is also with the law firm. She told me that she took a course from Arlington “Puts” Lewis of Quakertown. Mary is proud of her Pennsylvania German diploma, which she received from him.
“But, it’s no wonder that the language is dying,” she laughed, “No one knows how to spell it.”
That’s true because the language is spoken, seldom written. Pennsylvania Germans spell the words just as they sound. That’s why the Ridge Valley United Church of Christ (near Sellersville) has a misspelled corner stone. It reads “Rich Vally 1854.” Pennsylvania Germans didn’t see the reason to spell “vally” with an “e.” And they pronounce “ridge,” rich.
I got a kick out of one of its pastors who would have none of my explanation. He insisted that “Rich” was short for Richard Penn, one of William Penn’s sons. If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell.
There are two churches across the street from each other in Ridge Valley. Known as union churches, St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church is younger (1899). Both congregations worshiped in the same church until the weaker of the two gained enough parishioners to build their own church. There are union churches throughout Upper Bucks and Montgomery, plus Berks, Lancaster, Lehigh, and Northampton Counties…the land of the Pennsylvania Germans.
Mary Bittenbender told me that the Lutheran Church in Weisenberg (Lehigh County) conducts a service entirely in Pennsylvania German in November. Now, there’s a suggestion for an outing. She also believes that the annual Pennsylvania German, Ground Hog Day ritual may be dying because women are excluded from the attending Grunsow (groundhog) Lodge meetings.
Look out, “Puts,” my friend! This lady may be onto something.
As a lark, I once took a Pennsylvania German course with a few pals: Larry Grim, Rodney Henry, John Moyer, and the late Bill Thatcher. They were much better at Pennsylvania German than I. I only could count to 100. That’s my only connection to the language.
I’ll close with two thoughts. The first is my favorite Pennsylvania German expression: “My off is all.” It means my vacation (my off from work) is finished (all gone).
The second was what I finally learned, 50 years after the ninth grade. The children from Quakertown’s nearby farms spoke English and Pennsylvania German. When we first met up with them in the ninth grade, we often poked fun at their strange accents.
What I didn’t have the good sense to realize at the time was…they were bi-lingual and I was not. As the Pennsylvania Germans say, “We get too soon old, and too late smart.
Sincerely,
Charles Meredith