From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hutterite German (Hutterisch) is an Upper German dialect
of the Austro-Bavarian variety of the German
language, which is spoken by Hutterite communities in Canada and the United States. Hutterite is also called
Tirolean or Low German, but these
are anachronisms.
Distribution and
literacy
Hutterite is spoken in the US states of Washington, Montana, North and South Dakota, and Minnesota; and in the Canadian provinces of
Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Its speakers belong
to the Schmiedleit, Lehrerleit, and
Dariusleit Hutterite groups, but there are also speakers
among the older generations of Prairieleit (the
descendants of those Hutterites who chose not to settle in
colonies). Hutterite children who grow up in the colonies learn and
speak first Hutterite German before learning English, the standard language of the
surrounding areas.
As of 2003, there are about 34,000 speakers in the world, 85% of
them living in 333 colonies in Canada and the remaining 15% in 123
colonies in the USA. Canadian adults are generally literate in
Biblical German (Martin Luther's predecessor to Standard
German) that they employ as the written form for Scriptures
while Standard
German is used in the USA for religious activities. Children
learn English at school; Canadian Hutterites have a functional
knowledge of English. Hutterisch, is for the most part an unwritten
language, though in August 2006 Hutterite author, Linda Maendel
released a children's story titled, "Lindas Glücklicher Tag" in
which all the dialogue is written in the dialect. Maendel is also
working on a series of bible stories with Wycliff Bible
translators.
History and related
languages
Hutterite German is descended from the German which was spoken
in Carinthia, in Austria, in the mid-18th century, a Bavarian-Austrian language. Since dialects
spoken in Palatinate and in Alsace are mostly Alemannic
languages, Hutterite German is only 50% intelligible to a
speaker of Pennsylvania German
(source : The Ethnologue, 15th ed.). It is more closely
related to Austro-Bavarian (Bavaria and Austria), Cimbrian and Mócheno (both spoken in Italy).
It should be noted that, although at one time the Hutterites
spoke Tirolean
German, they no longer do. The switch among Hutterites from
Tirolean German to Carinthian German occurred during years of
severe persecution in Europe when Hutterite communities were
devastated and survival depended on the conversion of many Austrian
Protestant refugees to Hutterite anabaptism.
The language has since adopted some Slavic as well as
English loan words, which are the result of Hutterite migrations
into eastern Europe and now North America.
See also
External
links
| Varieties of German spoken outside
Europe |
|
|
|
|
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
