Plautdietsch

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Plautdietsch
Spoken in: Germany, Canada, United States, Russia, Ukraine, Paraguay, Mexico, Bolivia
Total speakers: 260,710–318,500[1]
Language family: Indo-European
 Germanic
  West Germanic
   Low German
    East Low German
     Plautdietsch
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: gem
ISO/FDIS 639-3: pdt
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. See IPA chart for English for an English-​based pronunciation key.

Plautdietsch or Mennonite Low German, is a language spoken by Russian Mennonites who trace their roots to the Low Countries and north Germany, but who adopted an East Low German dialect with Dutch (Dietsch = Diets) influence while they lived in the Vistula delta area of Royal Prussia (later the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth), beginning in the early-to-mid 1500s. Beginning in the late 1700s, when the region became part of the Kingdom of Prussia, many Mennonites left and created new colonies north of the Black Sea (present-day Ukraine), in an area that Russia had recently acquired in one of the Russo-Turkish Wars. Many Mennonites migrated to North America — especially Canada and the United States — and Latin America — especially Paraguay and Mexico, — most of them live as rural settlers and added some Spanish and Portuguese words to their own language.

Today Plautdietsch is spoken in Paraguay, Mexico, Ukraine, Germany, Canada (particularly Manitoba and Saskatchewan), Brazil, Belize, and the United States. There are two major dialects which trace their division to Ukraine. These two dialects are split between the New Colony and Old Colony Mennonites. Many younger Russian Mennonites in Canada and the United States today speak only English. For example, Homer Groening, the father of Matt Groening (creator of The Simpsons), spoke Plautdietsch as a child in Saskatchewan in the 1920s, but his son Matt never learned the language.

Certain groups like the Old Colony Mennonites of Mexico have guarded the language better than others. However, as Old Colony Mennonites from Mexico resettle in Canada and the United States, the stability of Plautdietsch in this group may be put to the test in their new homes, especially if the current stigmatisation of Old Colony Mennonites because of their poverty continues, as is the case in some places like Ontario by more prosperous neighbours. This may ultimately lead to an abandonment of the language by even this group in the future.

Contents

[edit] Writing

The Lord's Prayer in Dutch and two Low German dialects, Plautdietsch and Low German.

[edit] Plautdietsch

[edit] Low German

[edit] Dutch
Ons Voda em Himmel, Uns Vader, in Himmel. Onze Vader die in de hemel zijt,
lot dien Nome jeheilicht woare; Heiliget is dien Naam. Laat Uw naam worden geheiligd (Uw naam worde geheiligd),
lot dien Ritjdom kome; Dien Riek sall komen. Uw rijk kome.
lot dien Welle jedone woare, Dien Will doch doon, Uw wil geschiede,
uck hia oppe Ed, soo aus em Himmel; up Welt as dat is in Himmel. op aarde zoals in de hemel.
jeff ons Dach fe Dach daut Broot, daut ons fehlt; Gäv uns dis Dag, uns dagliks Brod. Geef ons heden ons dagelijks brood,
en vejeff ons onse Schult, Un vergäv uns uns Schuld, en vergeef ons onze schuld,
soo aus wie den vejewe, dee sich jeajen ons veschuldicht ha; as wi vergäven uns Schuldners. zoals ook wij aan anderen hun schuld vergeven (zoals ook wij vergeven onze schuldenaren).
en brinj ons nich en Vesetjunk nenn, Un bring uns nich in Versuchung. en breng ons niet in verzoeking,
oba rad ons von Beeset. Aber spaar uns van de Übel. maar verlos (red) ons van het kwade (boze).

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Probably less than 300,000 Plautdietsch speakers out of nearly 8 million Low German speakers. Epp, pp. 102-5.

[edit] References

  • Epp, Reuben The Story of Low German & Plautdietsch, Reader's Press, 1996. ISBN 0-9638494-0-9

[edit] Further reading

  • De Bibel, Kindred Productions, 2003. ISBN 0-921788-97-5
  • Epp, Reuben The Spelling of Low German & Plautdietsch, Reader's Press, 1996. ISBN 1-963849-41-7
  • Rempel, Herman Kjenn Jie Noch Plautdietsch? A Mennonite Low German Dictionary, PrairieView Press, 1995. ISBN 1-896199-13-5
  • Thiessen, Jack Mennonite Low German Dictionary / Mennonitisch-Plattdeutsches Wörterbuch, University of Wisconsin, 2003. ISBN 0-924119-09-8

[edit] External links

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