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Pennsylvania Dutchified English




Pennsylvania Dutchified English is a dialect of English that has been influenced by Pennsylvania German ( Pennsylavania Deitsch ). It is largely spoken in the South-Central area of Pennsylvania , both by people who are monolingual (in English) and bilingual (in Pennsylvania German and English). The dialect has been dying out, as non-Amish Generation X and Generation Y Pennsylvania Germans tend to speak modern Middle Atlantic English . Very few non-Amish members of these two generations can speak Pennsylvania Deitsch , although most know some words and phrases.
The WWII Generation was the last generation in which Pennsylania Deitsch was widely spoken among the non-Amish.

Pennsylvania Dutchified English differs from standard American English in various ways. Some of its hallmark features include the following:
  • Widespread devoicing of obstruents

  • The use of certain vowel variants in specific Phonological contexts

  • The use of Pennsylvania German Verb and Noun stems in word construction

  • Specific intonation patterns for questions

  • Special placement of Prepositional Phrase s in sentences

  • The use of "ain't" and "not" as question tags

  • The use of "still" as a Habitual verbal marker

  • 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 delcaratory sentences