Plautdietsch in Contact: Influences of English and Spanish on Mennonite Plautdietsch Speakers in Seminole, Texas
Plautdietsch is a Germanic language mostly spoken in the Americas. With a long history of migration, it has been influenced by a variety of linguistics contact situations. This paper provides qualitative analysis of Mennonite Plautdietsch-speakers in Seminole Texas. The dialect of Plautdietsch spoke...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | deu |
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University of Akron
2020-06-01
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| Series: | The Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/amishstudies/vol8/iss1/4 |
| Summary: | Plautdietsch is a Germanic language mostly spoken in the Americas. With a long history of migration, it has been influenced by a variety of linguistics contact situations. This paper provides qualitative analysis of Mennonite Plautdietsch-speakers in Seminole Texas. The dialect of Plautdietsch spoken shows influence from its contact with English (Texas and Canada) and Spanish (Mexico). This influence appears in borrowings and sound changes. The degree of linguistic influence correlates with the identity of the Mennonite community. Historically insular, the community in Seminole, which stems from an Old Colony Mennonite settlement in Mexico, practices a more progressive and modern lifestyle. In addition to Plautdietsch being genetically more similar to English than Spanish, the progressive identity of the community, since being in Seminole, has expedited the process of English influencing Plautdietsch. Conversely, said progressive identity is the same means by which Plautdietsch is gaining institutional support and maintenance. [Abstract by author] |
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| ISSN: | 2471-6391 2471-6383 |