A Pennsylvania German Reader and Grammar

Book excerpt: This book presents the language (Pennsylvania German, Dutch, or Deitsch) developed by the settlers brought to Pennsylvania from the Rhine Valley by William Penn. The settlers' dialects evolved into a formal language which has been spoken and read for three centuries throughout much of Pennsylvania and more recently, in parts of the Middle and Far West, and Canada. This book contains 13 readings--on such topics as school, house, farm, and town, as well as dates, weather, body parts, and clothing--each with the translations on facing pages and followed by vocabulary and grammatical rules. By the end of the book all major rules of grammar have been covered together with a substantial working vocabulary. An introduction gives an overview of the language and a guide to pronunciation; an appendix presents practice patterns for the serious student; and an index leads to definitions of all vocabulary words.