Added April 10, 2004. Updated July 16, 2004, 12:59 -5 hours GMT.

This page will be updated occasionally to add and revise information.

The Amish and Related People: Historic Old World Traditions in the New World^©

By

Maximilian and Christel Baldia

Under Construction!

Figure 1. Amish Country (June 2003), Holms County, Ohio. Road sign, cautioning of Amish horse drawn buggies. European visitors from left to right: Drs. Sandor Gulyas, Pál Sümegi, Imola Juhász, and Francesco Menotti.

The Amish people have maintained Pennsylvania German diligently of since they entered the US. The use of a language other than English is another outward sign by which the Amish people reinforce their distance from the English world. Pennsylvania Dutch (deutsch) is a mixture of German dialects that differ(ed) regionally. The Amish people picked up the dialects as they migrated north from Switzerland to the Alsace into Palatinate, and finally into the US where the language homogenized. Not only does this common use of their language reinforce separation from the English, but it also reinforces group ties and group identity within the Amish population itself. Assigning unique names functions as identity markers for the individual group member.

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References

Haldeman, S. S.

1872 Pennsylvania Dutch: A Dialect of South German with an Infusion of English. Reformed Church Publication Board, No. 54, North Sixth Street, Philadelphia. Tübner and Co., 8 and 60, Paternoster Row, London. (A digitized version of the book is available for download in two PDF files -- Part I and Part II, Copyright © 2004. All rights reserved. A version without the copyright stamp is available for researchers at cost. Please contact Dr. Max Baldia for details.)

(The Comparative Archaeology WEB Copyright © 2004 - July 16, 2004. All rights reserved)

Please send comments or questions to Max Baldia.